Centex, are you old enough to remember the Fram oil filter commercials? "You can pay me now [shot of small oil filter], or you can pay me later [shot of an engine being hoisted out of a car]!"
That is my interpretation of Bill Cody's advice.
Healthy, fast-growing bass with good genetics at the start of your stocking program are going to pay huge benefits for many years.
For very large orders, you need the fish hatchery to transport them to your pond in a specialized truck. However, for smaller orders, you arranging a pickup time with the seller, driving straight there, and then driving straight back to your pond to start the acclimatizing process is the LEAST stressful way to move fish to your pond.
Lots of people on the forum have reported excellent results transporting fish in oxygenated bags provided by the seller.
One of the quality fish farms near me charges $3 for each oxygenated transport bag, and they put 3-5 lbs of fish in each bag. (I believe that is based both on the species and the travel time to your pond.)
How many LMB are you planning to use in your initial stocking? I bet we have experts that could give you a good estimate of how many 4" bass fingerlings are in a pound.
My (non-expert) advice would be to pick up the best genetics possible (good fish farm) and pick them up at the optimal time of their hatchery production cycle (when you are going to get a large percentage of healthy fast-growers).
Good luck on the next phase of your pond management journey. You are now getting up to the really fun stuff!
