Frequency of ladder stocking of HSB has not been very well established nor the frequency firmly designated. IMO adding more HSB to an existing thriving HSB group would I think not need to be done more often than every 6 to 10 years. I have seen HSB live in our northern ponds for close to 20 years life span. Those old aging late teenager age HSB always seemed to be doing their job of eating small fish as long as they were alive until a DO shortage killed them and the SMB living with them. Thus as long as you are seeing or catching some HSB,,, IMO you would not need to add more HSB. Plus HSB are relatively cheap compared to SMB. How difficult is it to get more HSB from Jones (FtWayne) or Remlinger?? . I question how big of a task would it be to every 5-7 years add a few more new HSB? As opposed to all the messing around dealing with constant recruitment from smallies. If you later as in several years, become very busy and little time for pond management, the SMB could become over abundant and then decimate the panfish / minnow / shiner community. Then that becomes a new unneeded problem when family life tasks becomes hectic. Your pond, your choice, your life style for time managing a fishery.
PLUS good luck locating some SMB when they are needed. Apparently you have not dealt with fish farms offering SMB for sale. I've seen many fish farms promise to have SMB in the Fall to only then say in Fall "Sorry our spawn was not good this year or there is a shortage of SMB and no smallies". That even sometimes happen with LMB. Sorry sold out. Then if you don't have SMB reserved from an alternate remote fish farm getting them becomes another unneeded problem and you wait another whole year to MAYBE NUST MAYBE get some and they could be several states away. I've seen that happen many times for folks here on the forum.
If you are thinking of really needing SMB then I would do this. Get and stock some HSB get them surviving. Then try your best whenever to get at least several SMB. Good luck with that. I helped with several YP/RES ponds where the owner used both HSB and SMB as co-predators. They are very compatible living together.
Last edited by Bill Cody; 04/16/26 03:05 PM.
