Pond Boss Forums Thread Like Summary - Where have all of the small trout gone ?

Back again to the 35 acre lake our fishing club rents. Over the past two years we have been stocking trout to see if they will make it through the summer heat. Surface temps around 75-77 degrees on the hottest days with temps 65-67 degrees at the bottom - 20' foot depth. We know some of the trout survive the summer because we have caught them in the fall - although they are a little scraggly looking compared to when they are caught in the spring and early summer.

So with that background - here is my question : We have stocked aproximately (1000) 8-10" trout and (65) 17"-20" trout over the past two years. The issue is we seldom catch one of the smaller trout but do catch the larger trout from time to time. With a stocking ratio of small to large trout of 15-1 that doesn't make a lot of sense. We asked local Fish and Wildlife for their take and they said with the large amount of 8-12" LMB we have, they think they are eating the small trout. There are eagles and cormorants that visit the lake, but could they put that much of a dent in the trout ?

Your thoughts appreciated.

In deeper ponds, just because the water is cold enough in the deep water doesn't mean that there is enough O2 for them to survive. Especially if the water clarity is not 12 feet or so to get sunlight down below the thermocline. Pond Star, if you want to help manage the 35 acre lake, they really should buy a reliable O2 meter with a longer depth probe to be able to read O2 levels down 15 feet or so.