I looked for it, but couldn't find it. There have been times where disagreement was actually accepted. My reference to this is an old post and the discussion was relating to fall stocking of LMB which everybody was on board with until Greg Grimes chimed in and disagreed with the consensus. Greg's point, if I remember the post correctly, was that the difference between fall and spring stocking was that spring LMB have not lost potential growth of their counterparts in the fall, and that the fall LMB many times are housed in overly crowded scenarios and potentially not optimal food quantities.
For my personal pond I like to have more than one opinion to choose from or mix a couple of opinions that I like from multiple sources. If the standard is that no two ponds are alike, even if they are 10' apart, how can all of the plans and opinions be the same. I, as a rookie, don't see the different opinions as bad at all. Think about Swingle for a moment. His research was accepted nationally if not internationally, and if nobody ever challenged him we'd all be stocking at 10:1 ratios to this day. Nothing wrong with 10:1 unless it doesn't meet your personal goals for the pond or lake.
What about the acceptance of TP, GSH, or RBT as extra forage for the pond, feeding fish pellets, training fish to eat pellets.....the list is endless.....
Lastly, I use both sides of the experience and projection from proposed data in planning for my pond. Part of it is that I'm new and lack experience, some of it is that by trying to map it out early I get to test my hypothesis, and lastly that I really enjoy it. I have found JPS's data on forward looking forage consumption annually valuable and I've also found advice from the pond pros around here very helpful as well. Had it not been for both pro and projection of forage needs, stocking needs I would have likely called the hatchery and had them stock whatever the heck they thought was right. I'm happy both were available to me personally. I thank you all, from the novices like me, to the non-pro, and the pro, for every bit of help and guidance you have provided.
