esshup,
Thank you very much for your reply. I would shy away from HSB simply because I do not care to feed them, and I understand that is pretty much mandatory if one wishes to stock them. As for the optimal size of my SMB, I would definitely like to be able to pull large ones out of my pond, at least 2-3 lbs.+.
You don't "have to" feed them, they will consume fish all on their own, and will target the more open water fish vs. the fish at the bottom of the pond. I catch HSB on fish imitating crank baits in my pond as well as on imitation pellet lures. It all depends on how fast you want the fish to grow. Feeding them a good fish food will increase their growth rates. How much depends on how much you feed them. You can supplementally feed them, or feed them enough so that the food is the mainstay of their diet. The fish will always predate on other fish though.
IF GSH get too large in your pond for SMB to consume, after 4-5 years the HSB should be large enough to predate on the adults.
GSH adults frequent more open water, SMB stick closer to the cover. So, the GSH are a good choice for a SMB pond because some of the breeding adults will evade predation by the SMB to reproduce providing you have the correct spawning habitat for them.
