Just about everywhere I look online, nothing really shows the SMB stock recommendation per acre?

Can’t be the same as LMB?

I’m putting in YP and RES this fall after minnows and now tadpoles are running wild in the pond.

Does anyone have the SMB rate? I can get them 3-5 and 5-7 inches.

Pond is just shy of .5 acre

I stocked mine with 10 SMB each in 2 consecutive years (20 total) in a 1 acre pond. They spawned pretty quickly.

Thanks, what other fish did you have in there?

I wish I had just a couple in already and they would be feasting on these 1000 bullfrog tadpoles

I stocked 75 fingerings (like 3" - 4", IIRC) in a half acre (Fall stocking about months after FHM and Gambusia) and they established no problem.

IME Bullfrog tadpoles are pretty low on their dietary preference list, as witnessed by the 100,000 tadpoles (estimated, I haven't had a chance to count them yet this year) in the above mentioned half acre. But if hungry enough they will eat them (it makes their poo smell REALLY bad).

That’s interesting, I have never had a pond but is there going to be a half million tadpoles every spring and early summer?

Also what other fish do you have with SMB in that half acre?

Before adding the SMB, I had FHM, RES, YP, and lake chubsuckers. I also added papershell crayfish. SMB grew fast.

I have hardly any Bullfrog tadpoles in my LMB pond. I believe LMB are much. much more likely to eat adult Bullfrogs than SMB are.

The SMB share their water with YP, CC, BGxRES, RES, and Grass Carp.

Thanks, does your SMB pond get thousands of bull frog tadpoles each season? They just either get eaten or move on elsewhere?

There's always a lot - some years more than others. 2019 had, this year have bumper crops.

They mature and hop out. Probably some go 75 yards to the LMB pond and are never heard from again.

In my experience managing several ponds with SMB, WE, YP, HBCP and/or HSB serving as apex predator I've never witnessed tadpole predation - even through intentional experiments. Per Bytor, it might happen if faced with starvation, but I too have hundreds of thousands of AMBF tadpoles that exist seemingly without a care in the world.

I further agree that LMB and perhaps CC too are able to overcome the enzyme on the tadpole skin which discourages predation from other fish. Several on the forum report their tadpole populations plummeted once LMB were stocked.

I wish tadpoles were readily utilized as forage by SMB, HSB, YP, WE or BCP - my fish would all exhibit 150 WR and I'd never have to feed again!

Regarding SMB stock rates - depends on several factors including other predator, panfish, and forage species, fishery goals, supplemental feeding program, dedicated spawning beds, etc.

Depending on these factors I recommend clients stock 10-100/ac and potential supplemental stocking [in presence of LMB]. Tell us more and we can help provide more defined guidelines.

If you want you can contact me and I can cover a lot more ground over a 30 min chat. Email me at tj@hudlandmgmt.com and we can set up a time to circle around. I've been working with these species specifically the past 13 years and have made every mistake possible, happy to share my experiences.

Thank you. The only other fish that will be in the pond are RES and YP. There’s a ton of FHM already and spawning like crazy. I was thinking of putting some SMB in the fall and maybe a second batch in the following season.

I would like SMB to grow to decent sizes and I will harvest out RES and YP if they are getting over populated. Also will be some nice pan fish for the family

I do not plan on putting LMB or BG unless I fail with this combo. Although all these tadpoles are making me want to put 1 LMB in and let it go wild.

I don’t plan on any CC or WE or Trout, but I’m not opposed to have a trophy fish or two in there

Once you add a breeding population of LMB (or BG), you can't go back. LMB will outcompete the SMB (more aggressive, lay more eggs - Dr. Dave WIllis did a study where LMB were introduced to a SMB pond; in 10 years, there were no SMB to be found) and the BG will likely outspawn the YP.

One LMB could be interesting - that's how Aaron Matos got Meanmouths (LMBxSMB).

Yea I keep seeing the posts about LMB ponds and they completely take over, I hadn’t considered the cross over breed with one LMB with SMB.

Might make for interesting thread conversation if others have tried it.

We did a SMB RES only lake in spring 2019. It was a new five acre lake that we wanted to make unique with SMB. We stocked 5000 RES and 250 SMB (3-5 inch). We fed Optimal since the initial stocking and RES came to food easily. Today we catch SMB over 14 inches, have had several success SMB reproductions and have some nice RES.

We are keeping the pond catch and release. I have a concern when we should start removing a few fish. Our removal will mean taking them to another lake to live with LMB.

I am checking back to this thread how is the SMB and RES pond doing? I may be doing that to my .5 pond and leaving YP out of it.

I’m not looking for trophy SMB but just some decent ones and a nice RES population for the kiddos to catch.

I saw a large BF with a BF tadpole tail hanging out of it's mouth two weeks ago. Large BFs will eat tadpoles and juvenile BFs.