# small mouth question?



## steelheadtracker (Oct 1, 2006)

I was just curious y u only see largemouth in ponds and not smallmouth? Or maybe its just the ponds I fish?


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## LilSiman/Medina (Nov 30, 2010)

Most people choose to just stock largemouth in ponds because they survive better in smaller waters. The largemouth will reproduce better if there isn't alot of time put into structure also. 

In my pond we stocked largemouth about 10 years ago along with everything else and we had just put 10 smallies into the pond too this year about 12-14''. We've been catching them alot lately and I love the fight they have on the fly reel. We will see if they are going to reproduce and maybe start a population. Probably not.


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## celtic11 (Jun 30, 2011)

Just based on my personal fishing experience, which is limited compared to many on here, it seems the smallmouth bass has a very different natural habitat than LMB. That's not to say you couldn't stock smallmouth but I don't think the fish would thrive, as they're more commonly found in rocky areas with cover.

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## steelheadtracker (Oct 1, 2006)

thanks for the info guys


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## Pigsticker (Oct 18, 2006)

Smallies can survive and thrive if dropped into a pond but they'll never reproduce. Firstly you'll need like a minimum of 30 to have what's known as a minimum"breeding stock" not just a handful. The eggs never get a chance in the heavily silted bottoms of ponds. There's no current in most all ponds which is needed to keep the silt off the eggs so they can get proper sunlight. Doesnt bother bucketmouths though.


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## celtic11 (Jun 30, 2011)

Pigsticker said:


> Smallies can survive and thrive if dropped into a pond but they'll never reproduce. Firstly you'll need like a minimum of 30 to have what's known as a minimum"breeding stock" not just a handful. The eggs never get a chance in the heavily silted bottoms of ponds. There's no current in most all ponds which is needed to keep the silt off the eggs so they can get proper sunlight. Doesnt bother bucketmouths though.


I guess to me part of a species thriving, would also mean them reproducing. Either way, good info. 

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## steelheadtracker (Oct 1, 2006)

Thanks pig sticker


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## Pigsticker (Oct 18, 2006)

Yw man. Yeah what i meant by thriving was they can live a full life and put on size and end up a lunker. I once caught a nice 4-5lb smalljaw in a city metro park in Cleveland. I was there originally to fish for steelhead in the creek in mid April but had no luck. It was one of the last places id expect to catch one. It was obviously dumped in the pond by an angler who'd caught it in the creek only 100 yards away. It was robust and healthy.


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## Stoney84 (Aug 20, 2012)

Pigsticker said:


> Smallies can survive and thrive if dropped into a pond but they'll never reproduce. Firstly you'll need like a minimum of 30 to have what's known as a minimum"breeding stock" not just a handful. The eggs never get a chance in the heavily silted bottoms of ponds. There's no current in most all ponds which is needed to keep the silt off the eggs so they can get proper sunlight. Doesnt bother bucketmouths though.


Pigstickers correct, smallmouth have a harder time reproducing in ponds due to lack of current combined with water temp. But with aeration you can increase the odds, as well as the addition of gravel beds and such. The real problem is, smallmouth do not protect their frye, opposite of largemouth and bluegill, the two most common predators present in ponds. To increase the odds in their favor, smallies can be stocked with rock bass, and channel cats which are both known as bonus fish, as they won't regularly raid bass beds, destroying the spawn rates. 
But as far as saying they can't reproduce in ponds is ridiculous. They just almost never are put in a suitable environment to begin with.


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## Bassbme (Mar 11, 2012)

Stoney84 said:


> Pigstickers correct, smallmouth have a harder time reproducing in ponds due to lack of current combined with water temp. But with aeration you can increase the odds, as well as the addition of gravel beds and such. The real problem is, smallmouth do not protect their frye, opposite of largemouth and bluegill, the two most common predators present in ponds. To increase the odds in their favor, smallies can be stocked with rock bass, and channel cats which are both known as bonus fish, as they won't regularly raid bass beds, destroying the spawn rates.
> But as far as saying they can't reproduce in ponds is ridiculous. They just almost never are put in a suitable environment to begin with.
> 
> 
> Outdoor Hub mobile, the outdoor information engine


Hold your cards ladies and gentleman......... we have a bingo !!!


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## celtic11 (Jun 30, 2011)

Bassbme said:


> Hold your cards ladies and gentleman......... we have a bingo !!!


Ugh. This game is rigged.

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