Pond Boss Forums STOCKING A NEW POND Types of fish to choose Stocking a new pond with RES, YP and SMB

J

I don't harbor any doubts you can achieve your goal of trophy SMB despite potential SMB recruitment. Remember your GSH, YP and age 1 SMB will hammer YOY SMB hard, so I'm suspecting SMB population management won't be a serious issue. Besides, if it does become an issue, you now have a good excuse to fish for SMB often and relocate/sell underachieving fish which will probably be fairly aggressive and easily culled. [FYI the SMB market nationwide is under-served and 8-12" SMB fetch a nice price - probably $10-20/ea - so that buys plenty of Aqua Max.] Catch, cage, and collect over a season and try to feed train/improve body condition and sell when you develop a market. Regarding the latter....I can think of three guys in IN on the forum now who would likely take all these fish off your hands annually.

Same goes for YP - excess 6-8" fish you can collect, cage, feed train and fatten up would fetch a nice price locally - probably $1+/ea. 6" YP in NE are about $.75/ea and that's my wholesale price. My obvious point here is that through assertive management techniques you can finally open that lemonade stand you've been dreaming about since you were 5.

*Remember, if you are selling fish to check state regulations and ensure compliance. In NE it requires a $76 annual license.*

Ultimately it's up to you whether or not to stock YP, however from my experience with these species in my own ponds I don't think presence of YP will do anything but improve your chances of achieving trophy SMB.

And...since I can't leave well enough alone...have you considered adding WE ladder stocking on an annual basis to provide a bonus catch? They will lean on your forage base much more than YP...but then again you could keep stocking numbers low and create put and take fishery. Say, 25-30 annually? Just a thought!