Pond Boss Forums Thread Like Summary - Stocking a new pond with RES, YP and SMB

Im getting geared up to stock my new 3 ac pond this spring and have done a lot of research on this site and must say thank you for all the great info..

My primary goals are trophy SMB and big plump YP for the table. I do plan to feed purina aqua max. to maximize fish growth. I will be aerating the pond also.

My pond is about half full at this point so I have 6' of water in the deeper areas. I am pumping water in from my well and as the snow melts it will hopefully fill quickly. I'm guessing it to be around mid-late April before it is full pool.

My plans are to stock 300 6-8" pellet trained YP as soon as possible in hopes I can get a spawn this spring... I also plan on 250 2-3" RES with 60# of FHM and 20# of golden shiners.

I will wait until fall to stock 120 SMB.

Does anyone see any problems stocking the fish this spring given my water depths and it being a new pond?? I have put a lot of concrete slabs and rock/gravel for spawning. Also I am adding several plastic structures I have made out of 55 gallon drums and irrigation pipe. The pond has a 10' ledge running all the way around that is about 4' deep and also 2 long ridges running down the middle of the pond that will be 3 1/2 to 5' deep when at full pool.

Also how do the numbers of fish Im stocking look?

Thanks for any advice!

So after 7+ years of stocking my pond Id like to start giving some updates. Ive meant to do this long ago, but better late then never I guess. The largest SMB to date was caught this spring and was 21" long. Unfortunately I wasn't prepared to weigh him, but he was really fat and healthy! I guess him in the 4-4.5 pound range. SMB in the 16"-19" range are very common. I haven't fished for YP for at least a year, but they were between 13-14" back then so possibly have broken the 14" mark by now.

The forage base appears to be staying very strong as I see many large clouds of golden shiners around the edges of the pond, which Im very happy about. Ive continued to feed, but not as dedicated as Ive planned to. When we are feeding its pretty much every evening, but when we run out I can't always get away to drive the hour plus trip to get feed. So It goes a little while with out feeding. YP are still hitting it really well as expected, but what I didn't really expect was the large number of SMB that agressively hit the feed also. Its really something to see these huge fish explosively hitting the pellets just like a top water bait!

Over the last few years we've eaten some perch, but haven't removed them very aggressively. Ive noticed a good mix of sizes while feeding so I feel good about them reproducing in the pond thus far, but wouldn't say abundantly.

The smallmouth are also reproducing as we continue to catch young of the year fish every summer. We have removed almost all smb that are under 12" to this point and plan to continue to do so.

Over all I couldn't be happier with the pond. Its turned out to be everything I hoped it would to this point. But I keep pushing the goals up and up. Time will tell if Ill ever catch a 6# smallie out of this place or not, but it sure seems like 5# is becoming realistic.

Keeping the larger sized SMB growing well will be the biggest challenge going forward... Ive got a small forage pond that Ive been growing golden shiners in for the last several years. So its full of larger brood stock that are ready to be mover over as soon as I take the time to learn how to use a cast net.

Ive been feeding Zeigler silver pellets for years. Ive been told that they are perfect for the perch, but maybe a little low on protein for the bass. So I've been mixing in some Plantimum, but Im a little concerned about it being a little tough on the perch so I'm still feeding 75% silver. Any recommendations for that scenario? Id like to keep the bass growing well.

Just want to say thanks again to everyone on this site that shared so much great information! Without that help Im sure my pond wouldn't be where it is today.

Optimal Bass... 44% P, 8% lipid I believe, best case for both-I think this formula is really hard to top for both species.
And, it's delivered right to your door when you need it.