I have (or had) a lot of GSF in my pond when I bought the land last year...literally thousands. All of the articles like SRAC I read said that they were trash fish. What makes them so bad?
I have added about 25 LMB (local catches from ponds, lakes and creeks) to my 2/3 acre pond and now I can't find hardly any GSF...and the bass are like footballs. When I first stuck in the bass, I would leave a fish trap in the pond to catch GSF. All of the GSF that I caught, I would cut their tales off to make them easier table fare for the bass...I think it worked. Now I miss the little buggers.
GSF are considered "trash" fish by most... There are some on here who love their GSF and I too enjoy catching them under certain circumstances. GSF are considered trash fish for a few reasons. First, they don't attain larger sizes like BG do. Even in properly managed ponds, a GSF will struggle to reach a pound. An 8" GSF is big, a 10" GSF is huge. Not the case with BG. GSF also have very large mouths compared to BG. This means they compete directly with young bass for food. This competition is generally unwanted. GSF make excellent forage for bass as they are less rounded and more fusiform than BG. However, their annual fecundity is much lower. These two factors means that in a pond where BG and LMB are also present, they are usually quick to go. The bass prey on them heavily and the BG out reproduce them... Generally in a year or two, they are few and far between while the BG numbers boom. Some ponds will see GSF numbers remain stable, often because they are less prone to fish kills and poor water conditions. It has been my personal experience that GSF tend to compete and do best in small to medium sized streams. There they excel. They can and will survive in ponds with bass and BG. However, their numbers tend to be low and they usually head to rocky areas where they stick close to the rocky crevices or heavily vegetated areas. Are they trash fish? Up to your goals and desires... I think they fight just as good if not better than a similar sized BG. They are easier to catch as they have such large mouths and they taste the same.
We have some good friends a couple of miles away who have GSF in their pond. They also have LMB, bluegill, and several large koi. Now and then, they have put trout in during the winter. It's been this way for quite a while. Somehow all of the fish thrive.
The pond is very fertile, and they have a bad FA problem. They are overstocked with bass, so the bass aren't huge. But, they regularly catch 9-10 inch BG and GSF.
As CJ said above, they taste about the same as a BG. The GSF are more aggressive. An 8-inch GSF will take a 6-9 inch rubber worm.
In the spirt of this political season I shall offer my well thought out rebuttal:
Originally Posted By: CJBS2003
GSF are considered "trash" fish by most...
Yo Mamma!
Originally Posted By: CJBS2003
There are some on here who love their GSF and I too enjoy catching them under certain circumstances.
Our brillance does occasionally touch everyone.
Originally Posted By: CJBS2003
GSF are considered trash fish for a few reasons. First, they don't attain larger sizes like BG do. Even in properly managed ponds, a GSF will struggle to reach a pound. An 8" GSF is big, a 10" GSF is huge. Not the case with BG.
This is a slanderous lie propagated by the hedonistic Bluegill. The Bluegill would have you believe that they are a wonderful fish that can obtain a bountiful size merely by throwing them in a pond and standing back and watching. GSF can and do reach 10 to 11 inches and weigh over a pound. It is just that most pond meisters have been spoon fed the hideous Bluegill propaganda and believe that the wonderful GSF only reaches a size of 3 to 4 inches. Blasphemy I tell you!
Originally Posted By: CJBS2003
GSF also have very large mouths compared to BG. This means they compete directly with young bass for food. This competition is generally unwanted.
All the better to eat you with my dear. Competition is what our nation was founded upon. Competition is patriotism at it's best. Don't let the commie BG tell you any different.
Originally Posted By: CJBS2003
GSF make excellent forage for bass as they are less rounded and more fusiform than BG.
Although we don't know what the word fusiform means it sounds slanderous. Our attorneys will be calling your attorneys.
Originally Posted By: CJBS2003
However, their annual fecundity is much lower.
That is because, unlike the harlot-like Bluegill, the almightly GSF is particular about it's mate. Contrary to the low self esteemed Bluegill, the GSF is not swimming around the pond spawning all willy nilly with any finned creature that happens to swim by.
Originally Posted By: CJBS2003
Some ponds will see GSF numbers remain stable, often because they are less prone to fish kills and poor water conditions.
The GSF is a miracle of evolution. It will show up and thrive where you least expect it.
Originally Posted By: CJBS2003
I think they fight just as good if not better than a similar sized BG. They are easier to catch as they have such large mouths and they taste the same.
IMHO, pound for pound the GSF outfights any other sunfish. They'll strike a huge lure and fight like a LMB.
Let me break it down for you. This is a case of follow the money. Have you ever asked yourself, who is funding the war on GSF? Russia? China? Big Blue Gill dot com? Evil doers are conspiring against the magnificent GSF. They would have you believe that a single GSF will ruin your pond. It's lies, based upon falsehoods, sprinkled with rumor and innuendo. The arrogant BG will stop and nothing to corrupt your mind.
They don't want you to know the truth.... that left unchecked the Bluegill will over populate your pond and turn it into a vanilla wasteland.
Rise up I say, stand and be counted. Do not buy into the imperialist propaganda.
And remember we are watching. We are always watching.
JHAP ~~~~~~~~~~ "My mind is a raging torrent, flooded with rivulets of thought cascading into a waterfall of creative alternatives." ...Hedley Lamarr (that's Hedley not Hedy)
JHAP ~~~~~~~~~~ "My mind is a raging torrent, flooded with rivulets of thought cascading into a waterfall of creative alternatives." ...Hedley Lamarr (that's Hedley not Hedy)
I wish they made some kind of feed that the GSF wouldn't eat. I'm sick of feeding them when it's intended for the catfish. Heck, they go after the biggest of feed varieties!!!
JHAP ~~~~~~~~~~ "My mind is a raging torrent, flooded with rivulets of thought cascading into a waterfall of creative alternatives." ...Hedley Lamarr (that's Hedley not Hedy)
Caught a nice 9.5 incher the other day, sure wish the camera would not have been dead. He was released to grow one more year before being tossed in the grease.
A 9.5 incher is a good sized GSF, not enormous but good sized.
JHAP ~~~~~~~~~~ "My mind is a raging torrent, flooded with rivulets of thought cascading into a waterfall of creative alternatives." ...Hedley Lamarr (that's Hedley not Hedy)
A GSF that was over 11 inches and/or over 1.5 pounds would, IMHO, be considered enormous.
JHAP ~~~~~~~~~~ "My mind is a raging torrent, flooded with rivulets of thought cascading into a waterfall of creative alternatives." ...Hedley Lamarr (that's Hedley not Hedy)
JHAP ~~~~~~~~~~ "My mind is a raging torrent, flooded with rivulets of thought cascading into a waterfall of creative alternatives." ...Hedley Lamarr (that's Hedley not Hedy)
catmandoo, Where do you get rubber worms? Mine are all plastic!
Uff da! I'm old. I'm grumpy.
I own a Green Hornet. I still call the refrigerator an "ice box." I still slip, now-and-then, and refer to aluminum wrap as "tin foil." I still refer to Thunder Bay as "Fort William/Port Arthur." When I buy rubber worms, I buy rubber worms, no matter what they are made from!
But, it isn't just me. Even the high-end experts, like Gamakatsu, know a rubber worm, no matter what they are made from. The Big $ Experts still make hooks for rubber worms, so they must still be as real as Santa and the Easter Bunny.
Originally Posted By: Louis Armstrong
You like potato and I like potahto, You like tomato and I like tomahto Potato, potahto, Tomato, tomahto
So if I go for scallops and you go for lobsters, So all right no contest we'll order lobseter
No matter what my rubber worms are made from, I'm still going to call them rubber worms!
Here is one I caught this last spring. I have it laying on a 12.5 inch long cooler. I did not have a tape on me but I know this one had to be 10.5 or real close!
The only difference between a rut and a Grave is the depth. So get up get out of that rut and get moving!! Time to work!!