Based on excellent info provided here, I now have a great SMB/YP pond with both species spawning. Our local ag university and DNR have both published recommendations against stocking SMB in small ponds due to the need for cold water, and the later info says they will not reproduce in ponds. I have contacted fisheries folks from both organizations and they both consider my pond an "outlier" (without any further investigation or a visit on their part). Have the pond professionals here ever had any luck getting university or government recommendations to stop perpetuating this myth? Seems like a lot more folks could be enjoying SMB ponds. Are you aware of any papers in fishery science journals that catalog how common these erroneous recommendations are? I have quite a bit of experience publishing scientific papers in my area of biology, but am not familiar with the fisheries field or journals. However, I would certainly be willing to help a fisheries professional from the Pond Boss family prepare such a manuscript with the intention of persuading those in official positions at universities and government agencies to better represent updated info on SMB as a good pond fish in the Midwest (when LMB and BG can be excluded). Any interest? Do those in other states have similar outdated recommendations? Are their any well respected fishery science journals that do not have page charges for those without funding?
Last edited by RAH; 12/16/22 06:57 AM.
