Yesterday I stumbled across this article on smallmouths: http://www.americansportfish.com/?option=com_content&view=article&id=70%3Asmallmouth-bass-in-ponds&catid=18&Itemid=45. It suggests that as long as the right structure is in place, food, and lack of largemouths, smallies can survive quite well in small ponds. Don't think I'd be able stock them anytime soon, but I wanted to see your thoughts.

Smallmouth can do well in smaller lakes as long as the food chain is established correctly and there are absolutely no largemouth bass. Smallmouth feed mainly on insects, minnows, and crawdads. Without crawdads it is hard to build the right food chain for smallmouth. The big kicker on raising crawdads is they need oxygen at the bottom of the lake year round to survive, this means aerating the lake really well during the summer. Besides a good food chain smallmouth do prefer clearer water then we are accustomed to raising largemouth in. This means we will have to fight the very likely chance that coontail or some other rooted vegetation will take advantage of the high visibility and try to grow to the surface. Let's say we do get the food chain established correctly, aerate efficiently, and provide somewhat clearer water we still have to hope that mother nature or your neighbor don't try to do you a favor and stock a few largemouth into the lake.

I'd bet that article was written by a northern person who is unaccustomed to the effects of Texas heat.

It was by an Alabaman. He even addresses the heat factor in the article saying that their ponds they grow their smallies in get up above 90 degrees.

Interesting...give it a try and let us know how it turns out.

There's supposed to be Smallmouth in Lake Bryan, in Bryan/ College Station. Don't know how well they do but i suppose it's possible.

Smalloies are doing quite well in lakes where we have added ample nshallow fine habitat for fry to stage.Good article.

I think it would be cool to have them in a pond.how do yall think they would do in east tx?

I'm fairly certain I've seen pictures or read someplace that Grapevine Lake has smallies. If that's true, then it would be very possible to stock them... as long as you overcome all the other obstacles. Good Luck!!!

Grapevine does have smallies, I have seen them caught with my own eyes!

And yes, they can live in some extreme places. Idk if this is a good example but I have seen pics of smallies caught in Amistad.

Smallies are in Amistad because of the Devils River, FYI...

I know smallmouths have been caught near the dam on Roberts before. Probably transfered from Texoma in peoples livewells.

A Texas pond would be tough. I generally think of sustainable populations.

For any chance in a pond I think it would have to be deep, clear, and spring fed so as to stay cool during the summer.

yeah it will work even here in Texas... but have to have crystal clear water and needs to be deep... with an excellent crawdad population... in Texas most ponds and small lakes do have a nice crawdad pop. but the prob. is depth and water quality.. however, I have fished a few places with crystal clear water... another bonus is if there is an underwater spring present which ensures much cooler water during summer months...
also a lot of rock wouldn't hurt...