Pond Boss Forums STOCKING A NEW POND Types of fish to choose Small Mouth and Yellow Perch

A few years ago I attended a weeding in New Hampshire when my date wasn’t looking I took off and fished some of the local ponds. The water was crystal clear and the mix of fish were Small Mouth as the main predator and Yellow Perch as the primary forage fish. The Yellow Perch were very thick and were happy to bite. The Small Mouth had grown to quite a large size 2 to 4 pounds because of the numerous small perch that fit inside their mouths better then large sunfish. I know that two to four pound bass wont get F1 fans pumped up (until you hook one) but this is a great mix for folks that want to catch a lot of fish that fight well. Of coarse you would have to have a clear cool pond to pull it off.

Interesting observation and something that has peaked my interest. My future pond stocking strategy might change now.

That is exactly what I have in my pond right now. I started with fatheads and crayfish and waited to add the perch. A season after the perch were added the SMB were added. They seem to be growing well and my Perch have gotten rather large ( about 8 - 10 inches on some ) and the fatheads are still around the pond. Thus so far all is well and all is in balance. Only time will tell, but with all the great advice from here, I am feeling pretty good about the whole thing as long as I can keep summers like this one from drying up the entire pond.

Need small mouth to stock in my pond in Oklahoma.

The farther you go south the rarer SMB become in hatcheries. Contact our mentor Bob Lusk as to where he got his SMB in northern TX. Bob may post here where he got his SMB. Watch for an upcoming article in Pond Boss magazine as to how the SMB are doing in Bob's small pond.

Just reading through the forums....how is your SMB and YP pond? I am considering stocking my new pond with them and FHM?