Norm,
I think you make an excellent point about predators. One surprising aspect of my little experiment, as least surprising to me, has been the growth of the HSB that were stocked as predators in the little TGG pond.. The HSB were stocked as 3-4 inch fish last December and now are 10+ inches.
This result has certainly opened up the possibility of using a HBG pond as a grow-out pond for HSB. It could also be a grow-out pond for HBG for those who might wish to stock them in larger ponds and avoid predation.
