I'd like to post an update for the guys who were so gracious to give me so much advice and help me build my dream pond. Allso for those who have followed along and stocked their ponds in similar fashion. It really is taking shape and I don't think I couldn't expect it to be doing any better than it is at this point.

As of today the pond clarity is around 36" and has been steadily clearing as the summer goes along. I feel like this is just about perfect, but not sure if Im correct on that assumption...

The SMB are right at a pound and measure in the 12-13" range, HSB are 1 1/2# and are 14", perch are fat and feeding well and the larger ones are 11" 3/4#. The GSH are numerous in all lengths and up to 8" in size. The schools are quite impressive and Im really happy that I decided to stock them. Many of the bass we've caught look to be feeding well on them and are often regurgitating them as we fight them to shore. As of now the fathead minnows are still very much present and some of the schools are massive especially near the beach area as they seem to prefer the cover of the small pontoon boat that we tie there.

The perch and HSB are on the feed well and seem to be benefitting from it. It took about a year for the HSB to finally figure out where the feed was but now they are there feeding aggressively on a nightly basis. We really enjoy the HSB even though there are only 16 stocked at this point... Would it be a mistake to stock another 16 next spring?

I've been able to confirm that the SMB and the Perch have both had their first successful spawn which is exciting for me to see! The 0 year old SMB range in size from 2-4"and the perch look to be 2" or so. These lengths are only estimates as Im going off of sightings only. The visibility of the water has really improved and made it possible to easily identify the fish species. Also I realize this is when the management really begins...

Wish I had an update on the RES as we haven't seen a single fish dead or alive since we stocked 900 of them nearly 2 years ago... Im really baffled on this one! Should I be seeing young ones near bank as I walk around if they have successfully reproduced? Is there any chance they have all died and we didn't see a single dead fish?

The only real negative I have to report is the presence of GSF. Not sure how they got in the pond, but they are most definitely there. We are aggressively removing them and I am staying positive about it. We are actually making a game out of removing them from the pond at night with a net are really getting the hang of it. The numbers seem to be staying very low as we haven't notice them feeding on pellets at all and haven't caught them fishing yet unless we are targeting them. We spend a lot of time at the pond observing and just relaxing. We have been doing some fishing, but try not to over do it and have done well at not over pressuring the fish thus far..

When will it be time to begin removing SMB or YP? I feel like now that I've confirmed reproduction its probably not too far off!

Thanks for making this pond what it is shaping up to be! All the credit goes to the many pond meisters on this forum who have been so forth coming with advice!