Pond Boss Forums STOCKING A NEW POND Types of fish to choose Hybrid Black Crappie vs Bass in new Pond

Bill:

Hybrid Crappie would be available in Ohio, but only at Shelby Fish Farm, and only if Steve asks me to bring him some this Fall, AND I can get them. Three BIG IFs. They are sometimes available in the Spring on a limited basis, but I have no control over that. I was able to get Hybrid Crappie this past Fall, but it was like pulling teeth. I had an order in place to pick up, then when I called to confirm, they told me that they lost the fish in the holding tank and had to seine more, but they'd be a different size than what I had ordered.

I have had issues with that particular supplier not sorting his fish, and I have had mixed species when there was not supposed to be different species in the mix. I was able to also get Specklebelly Sunfish from the same supplier. The first order that I picked up was as ordered, the 2nd order had a considerable amount of Bluegill mixed in with them. At the time that I picked them up, they were small and you could not distinguish between species. I just found out about the mixed species last week.

SMB to my knowledge are only available from one supplier in Dorr, Michigan, and Jadog would have to drive up there to get them, or maybe this Fall I would be able to get them if enough customers need them. With the current price of diesel, and what transporting fish cost now, it gets expensive. Bagging fish for transport is iffy when travel times exceed 2 hours and there is no guarantee of the fish arriving alive at the pond once the customer leaves the hatchery.

I just received a fish price sheet from Laggis. They have a $300 minimum delivery charge, and they charge $4/mile one way for delivery. Laggis did not have SMB listed as being available. His daughter is taking over the business and this is the first year she's running the show.

Harvesting fish from the pond is a very important part of pond management, and people that don't harvest enough fish usually end up with ponds with stunted fish.

Cody Note - Laggis before he retired dependably had SMB. The farm no longer having them made them even harder to locate and buy.