This will be limited to those who can pick up or close proximity for delivery. We will begin removal of bass next week, let me know if anyone if interested. The full story is here on the blog. As well as pic of impressive bass growths we have been acheiving. We hope to update the bass progress next week and submit an aritcle for Pondboss with the full story sometime soon.

http://lakework.com/site/blog/

This is a very good testimony for plenty of proper type and size of forage combined with good genetics and wise management that includes thinning of the bass numbers. Not letting one year class get too abundant is an important part of growing large fish, thus your bass for sale promotion. Good work Greg. Those for sale bass should make some good stockers.

Interesting thanks....

Yeah it's amazing what you can do when you have the cash to do it!! Looks awesome guys and great job!! I hope Jeff is enjoying it as he should!! He is a good guy and I was glad I got to meet him once when he was here in Little Rock at that time still a stand up Comedian back in the early 90's at the Comedy House. He was as funny as it gets then and still is!

I don't think those big fish are primarily about having the cash. Growing big fish is more about doing things properly and paying attention to details like proper forage, decent or even average genetics, and managing predator fish so they are not crowded so ample forage is always present so fish are ALWAYS fat & growing. IMO most try to grow too many big fish per acre considering the available forage and the lack of knowledge about how to properly DO it. Most of the credit no doubt goes to Greg Grimes' good management.

Foxworthy would put his name on tree limbs if he could make money selling them.. I like the dude but that price on fish from a guy who's rich and doesn't actually need the fish is crazy.. No offense meant to anyone if I could buy them or do the same thing I would lol..

A gal here in MI won 1 million dollars last fall in the lottery. She got busted recently because she was still sucking off of government assistance from the State. Fraud, and a stay in a friendly hotel for a time are in her future.

Lawyers will make sure that the money is distributed to "them" in proper fashion.

Why did I post this?

I agree with Bill!

Fish don't know how much money you got! And some people are really stupid!!!

BGK, can you give us some examples of Jeff endorsing or representing things just to make money? I have spent time with him on a couple of occasions and have not seen examples of this. A couple of people I know very well are pretty close to him and they have never indicated that he was just out to make money.

Look up the episode of Leno making fun of him for endorsing everything.. Just off the top of my head how bout foxworthy's beef jerky and foxworthy's grilling sauce? Or foxworthys greeting cards and yearly calendars lol.. Or the fact he hosted a show about being smarter than a fifth grader? I've read somewhere he makes cuts from all the blue comedy guys still (which he should he founded it).. I love jeff foxworthy's skit.. He's a business man and a very smart man.. He knows what he's doin.. But if his names on something it's 100% for the paycheck.

Points well made, reminds me of how everybody talked about how cheap Jack Benny was when in fact he was a very generous man. Public personna and private conduct are often quite different.

I bet he's awesome in person.. He has no reason to seem like he's out for money because he's prolly not he's already rich lol (100 mil net worth).. Like I said I'd do the same thing if I could.. I'd love to be able to sell my throw away BG for top price, or put my name on beef jerky and get paid for it..

Someone is Jealous! and having a hard time!!!

Get over it, because He ain't you!, and you are not Him!!!

I have a local customer that may want some of these bass for his SMB pond I just treated with Alum...If I go down I would be happy to bring some back with me for our midwest guys to reduce everyones transport costs. Or if someone just wants to say they have one of the funniest guy ever's fish in his pond...I can air freight them just about anywhere.

My client is needing only 20 females to help control an explosion of BG in the pond.

Impressive fish Greg... You deserve to be proud of what you have accomplished and I hope Jeff is paying you well! Or at least letting you use his name to get an even bigger client base. I can't wait to see how large those bass get in the years to come. Do you have a deal where Jeff pays you a bonus if you grow a 20 pound bass for him? HAHA

I'm interested Rex.. PM me when you get a chance..

PS- Not one bit jealous of Jeff lol

Not really the intent of the post to talk about Jeff. I guess I'm naive to think some if this would not come up.  He is a great guy and his money is being used in many ways to glorify God not even known by most.  He has worked hard for his name. If he makes money off it I have no problem with that especially when it is given back in such a way. 

Thanks Bill for the comments. It is not just the money and it is not just the management. He did what we told him to do and the results have been incredible. He too had a budget on the lake. The point is we are showing what can be done on bass growth if done the right way. Not everyone will choose to spent the money on more forage than the norm nor manage it with aeration feeding fertilization harvest etc. 

These prices are only slightly elevated over other hatchery prices. The name is cool to some but these are awesome fish over 100 prct WR and young with good genetics. That was the point I hoped to make  to most PBers. 
CJ you nailed it on using name to hopefully get more clients. That is what is happening now.

Thanks Rex let me know when your headed down and I can let you know what we have. Shocking the lake first time since last fall and excited to see what we roll up. 

Stupid comment on my part.. But I didn't mean anything negative towards Jeff or you.. Moderators can erase my whole involvement in the conversation.. I want some of these fish for exact reasons listed above.. Greg is top of the heap in the south prolly much of the country.. And Jeffs pretty awesome too lol..

RC,
Basically he said the thread got completely off topic..

BK what you said was in no way harsh. You have the right to say it joking or otherwise. Just because someone disagrees with a moderator doesn't mean that moderator is right either? Opinions are opinions we all have them. And it does take cash even doing this on my own and I suck at it, it still takes cash!

I agree with that and I guess I had some part in that! Sorry guys.

RC - Opinions are opinions we all have them. Yes but they are not all equal.

RC - Just because someone disagrees with a moderator doesn't mean that moderator is right either? I am glad you put that as a question.

Just kidding - have to pick at RC a little.

I try to never say anything that could be seen as negative towards someone without a lot of thought first. Written words can easily be taken out of context as the emotion and nature that they are made in does not transfer to the written word. I learned a long time ago that I like to wear my shoes not chew on them.

Back on track - Greg tell us about the genetics and sources of the Foxworthy LMB.

I love it!! And you are right eric sometimes things can be taken wrong quickly in a post and it was not meant that way. I will take your advise and learn from it!

Yes, I'm a moderator. I'm sure I'm going to sound like I'm lecturing. And yes, I'm disappointed that this thread has gone a little negative in places.

However, I really hope that Greg will tell us a lot more about what he has done. We all have so much to learn from this.


I only say this with great respect to RC, and my posting is not meant in any negative way.

My comments are simply to emphasize that many Pond Boss's have done incredible things with very minimal cash, using mostly ingenuity, and they have succeeded especially because of the feedback and exchange of ideas from other Pond Boss forum members and magazine contributors.

In my years on the forum I have seen some incredible fish improvements and pond developments by people who I believe would challenge the thought of anyone thinking they may be wealthy.

I'll start by picking on my friend Cecil Baird.


I just wish I had a picture of Cecil's record yellow perch. The thing is monstrous. Cecil lets very little get in his way, including his lack of spendable income. (Cecil is the guy who taught many of us that "to make a small fortune in aquaculture, start with a big fortune.)

Oh sure, Bruce Condello is that extremely wealthy dentist (also a moderator, and keeper of BigBluegill.com). He is from Kornfield Kilopolis, Nebraska, a town where the population more than doubles when they host a college football game. Bruce scientifically developed his own strain of bluegill that grow really fast, are gigantic, and are extremely robust (Condello Strain Bluegill -- CSB).

Crazy Cecil Baird got hold of some, did a little more work, and now we have Bardello Strain Bluegill (BSB), with even more vigor. A few other Pond Boss members are rearing these fish now.

I guess what I'm saying, is that it mainly takes ingenuity and drive -- but in particular, it takes the sharing of dreams, ideas and information, to improve what we have in our ponds.

If it wasn't for Pond Boss, and all of the contributor's ideas and suggestions, I'd have just another minimal bass-bluegill farm pond. Instead, my main pond is highly productive with more than I ever envisioned. Just today, I pulled out a 2-lb., red-eared sunfish that was 12 inches long, and well over 2-inches thick Fat Sunfish

Our small "Mongo Ponds" (blame these on Pond Boss member "Mongo" aka Dave Sefton) are thriving with other fish, all because of our sharing, and our exchange of ideas. These Mongo Ponds are just small holes in our red clay, that are smaller than most in-ground swimming pools.

Let's grow (and enjoy) lots of big fish.

Ken

Hey Cat no offense taken at all! I am just saying money talks and gives you a whole lot more avenues and ability for a quality pond / lake that's all. I didn't mean anything ugly about it at all. What Greg does and can do is awesome bar none. I wish I could hire him!!

thanks,

What about George's CNBG - incredible genes in those fish.

Yeah George has great fish all around doesn't he?? HSB, CNBG, does he have any fish that are not great?? I hope I can get close to how great his HSB are.

Wished we were a bit further south so we could have some of CNBG for our ponds.

Originally posted by Catmandoo: Bruce Condello is that extremely wealthy dentist (also a moderator, and keeper of BigBluegill.com).

It is my understanding that all moderators are extremely wealthy!

Now that there is funny, I don't care who you are!

With the recession ongoing we mods could have a pay cut. But you know how that goes - nothing from nothing leaves nothing. --

The thing about wealth is that is depends on your viewpoint. The homeless person pushing a chrome shopping cart with 4 wheels looks wealthy to the homeless person carrying their stuff around in shopping bags.

Money is for spending. Wealth is everything else good in your life.

Greg, Those prices look great for LMB with that excellent pedigree. Can I get one 20 pounder for $300?

Go Dwight!!!! :-)

I think Dwight would settle for one over 10#'s and name her Darlene2.

This thread has a mind of its own. I hope to tell the whole story via pondboss magazine in the near future. Word has not spread on these bass. We plan to cash some in another pond Wednesday. I will know more then on what we will have.
Sources were pure northern from IL, northern from Malone hatchery, F1 from Malone hatchery, pure Florida from Malone via Todd Overton. We also raised f1 and stocked the fastest growers and those left after canabolism.

It would seem the bass would be limited to those who are in the area where F1 and FL bass are safe to grow as although you may be getting northern LMB, there is a high likelihood you are getting bass with at least 25% FL genetics.

Greg are you describing my LMB ?

Year 4 - looks like this plan is working.

CJ yes the bass have influence from all angles so yes with some FLA might not work too far north.

Eric that is awesome. We are not three yrs in yet so you got a yr on me but that is some good growth for sure. So you stocked what bass?

Greg,
Do you have these available?

So what's your thoughts on them in Illinois?

Greg those are the same (?) LMB you stocked in that lake. From Ill , AFS and Todd.

Yes Eric you do have some of the same bass. Spinnerbait what is the question. We will have foxworthy bass available after next week then any of the other three times we do removal. The other bass available when we go to those hatcheries. Also we are growing out 400 bass that are certified pure Florida we picked up from Ameican Sportfish lady year. Just call or email the office to let us know what you need. Thanks.

Greg what size are the Flas. ?

They grew Little over the winter so still about 5". Plan to put food to em and seine in late April. Update you then.

Would these FLMB stand a chance in an Illinois pond.

BGK, not all are FLA bass...the northerns came from Illinois, but to answer your question, no, FLA will not do well in ILL.

I think what we have us unique but due to genetic diversity and rapid growth. Negative is I dont know the genetics of the bass we are removing. I'm at the foxworthy lodge now all by myself. Just pulled some algae samples. Headed to Auburn for an algae lab first thing in the morning. Boring for us fish geeks but without good algae you aren't growing many good bass. Ill be under the scope until returning here Tuesday night. Update electrofishing results after wed.

Bgk the Florida bass we are growing out would not do well for you. However we will have them avail for southern folk in a few months we hope. They come with certification papers.

It appears we will quite a few stud 14-16" bass to remove/sell. Avg WR of bass removed of this size was 105%. Much fewer 8-10 and 10-12 inch bass.

I caught a 8 plus lb bass little before dark. Man what a bass. Post pics at somepoint but no time another 220 acres (5 ponds) to shock tomm. Love is great this time of year. If Amy want some of these 2 lb bass let us know first batch sold.

Do you have just northerns of these genes? I'm kinda confused on what a FLMB consist of?

We have no way to know the genetics of the foxworthy bass we sell without testing each fish. We also have pure certified Florida bass we are growing. Flmb are pure Florida at least to me. If you call them Florida they need to be pure.
We also work with several hatcheries to provide pure northern f1 and Florida bass.
Hopefully that clears that up.

I hope folks get the point of this thread this are young healthy bass for sell really that simple. Thx

But would the young healthy bass survive in Illinois? Not if there FLMB.. but you can get northern F1's.. I was interested in having Rex pick me some FLMB but i wanted to clarify if they'd live or not lol..

Fla LMB would likely live in southern Ill and maybe not north of there. The right question to ask is will Fla LMB do well in Ill. The answer is not likely ! I am not sure that I would even introduce Fla LMB genes (F-1s or FX LMB) into waters in Ill. The risk is that over time it reduces the fitness of the entire LMB population in that water.

There are potential pros and cons to introducing new genes into a pond. Know the risks first then weigh the possible rewards.

The scientific data over decades on LMB ponds/lakes ,with good water quality, regarding LMB size and condition shows that ample food/forage is a must (the first and most important requirement) and the that proper harvest (LMB mortality) is the next most important factor. Only after that can better genetics help - that is of course if they are better genetics than what you have for “that population”. “That population” includes both location and the existing genes (not all gene combinations work well together).

Eric, has good points. It is amazing how big northerm LMB will grow if they have ample food of the correct size and there are not too many smaller ones present over eating the food supply. Plus northern LMB normally live longer than fast growing southern LMB so after time the northern LMB can get big; it may just take a little longer.
As an example look how big and fast CB1 grew bass in one-two yrs when he kept the numbers down and fed pellets. Many in the north think they need FL bass genetics to get them big but in reality it just takes wise management to get big bass. After dealing with HSB and how big and fast they can grow, big fish people should be focusing on the HSB which put LMB to shame as far as inch to inch fighting power.

Actually Bill I didn't keep the numbers down. I had up to 400 bass from 2 to 6 + pounds in my .62 acre pond I was feeding at one time.

Ah, but you had unlimited amounts of food in the form of pellets. That's the key, either feed pellets or keep their numbers down if you rely on a natural food chain.

I was just looking for a good BG controller and thought maybe as a bonus I could have monster LMB.. I know I need a pond full of stunted LMB to control my BG #'s..

BTW I have some Ill Northern LMB in the renovated lake (via Greg)and they are holding their own over 4 years with both Flas and F-1s. Not necessarly as big but the condition is as good and they are very aggressive.

Of course.