Another and better option for tws3 Central Ohio pond and agreed to by another forum member here for the stocking of the LMB would be to stock a larger size bass than the 3"-4" fingerlings. This is because the eariler "bucket angler stocked" sunfish likely already produced some type of spawn of sunfish(BG) and the recruitment that has no doubt occurred in 2025. The bucket stocked "sunfish" could have spawned in both Summer or early Fall.This means the new offspring would have grown a few months and will need a larger size of bass to eat the 2025 crop of new sunfish. These new sunfish type recruits could easily over populate the new pond and cause prey - predator balance problems. IMO the best size of LMB to stock in Spring of 2026 would be those bass 8"-10" long. The main problem with this is finding a fish farm that has 8"-10" LMB for sale in Spring of 2026. If it were my pond, I would stock 20-25 of the larger size of bass.

If anyone has a differing opinion for stocking this 'casual' bucket stocked new pond please add your ideas. There are several ways this pond could be "officially" stocked to provide a fishery for the goals of general fishing of the owner.