Did that this morning.... Have been catching crappie that way lately however thismorning sumpin tried to eat the cork! Bucket bass or CNBG prolly... This evening got a hit on a crank bait for crappie. Any other ideas beside rotenone (that's for Esshup)?
I have access to various lengths of 14" pipe. How would some of those be as structure if I was to stuff a bunch of small cedar trees inside and roll it into the pond in 3' water or so
Pat, the cedar tree in a pipe sounds like a good idea. But what about bolting three of them together into a pyramid tee-pee, stuffing with trees, then rolling the teepee into the pond? Might have to shove it out further with a long 2x4.
A 14" pipe is eventually going to get filled in around with sediment and act more like a 7" bump on the bottom of the pond. Something taller will last longer and attract more fish, in my humble opinion.
But I really like the idea of stuffing the tree in the pipe for more dense cover and have thought of doing that myself. I would not make the pipe sections too terribly long (maybe 3' max????) or the middle might not get used much.
Snrub Am planning at some point of having blue cats to be one of the apex predators as well as for eating the 2-3 lb ones. Won't putting pipe give them a spawning place when the cedar rots out?
Likely would be if they were CC. I'm not familiar with Blue catfish spawning habits so someone else will need to answer that question.
I don't know how much spawning will be a problem if you are going to have LMB to eat the fry. My understanding is LMB will keep CC spawn in check usually because the catfish fry are easy pickings. I will be finding out, because with stumps and concrete ledges am sure there are places for my CC to spawn, so I hope the LMB will control them and not become a problem. I'm in the wait and see stage.
For some reason the BCP and LMB have stopped biting . Even when the water temp was in the 40s they would bite.... Now it's warmed some nothing.... Is this just normal for this time of the year?
Interesting. I am definitely not a pro. Only things I can think of as food for thought....Some kind of hatch going on they might be focused on? Are they spawning already? Weather Front moving in? I am sure one of the other guys will be along to give you some answers.
what's your barometer doing? My experience with my BCP is they are much more prone to going off bite when the barometer drops than say BG are. No idea why or if this is consistent across other folks but it's been like that at my place for a long time.
Dale
"When tempted to fight fire with fire, remember that the Fire Department usually uses water." - anonymous
"Both white and black crappie reach sexual maturity at 2 to 3 years of age. Spawning begins in late March, April, or early May depending on geographical location. Black crappie spawn when water temperatures warm to 60 to 64 °F (15.6 to 17.8 °C), while white crappie spawn when water temperatures reach 65 to 70 °F (18.3 to 21.1 °C). Males select the nest sites and clear circular beds"
bcotton Hope mine are at least 2years old , they been in for a year and were 4-5" when stocked last February. So here's hoping that they pull off a spawn
It may delay the spawn a bit but will not stop it. The times when a spawn is missed/destroyed is when you have a big cold snap during the actual spawn (or influx of cold water from a big rain) which causes the eggs/fry to die.
Thanks Ewest Being the first year that the BCP are old enough to spawn I was concerned. Right now they are 8-12" long from what I have caught and released
The water temperature today was 55 deg. At the surface. The fish are not feeding at the feeder and not seeing any activity or catching anything! This is puzzling to me as to what is going on. The last cold snap dropped temp to 45deg
Yesterday we had 55 deg at surface and saw lots of fish in the shallows where the wind was blowing some floating FA to the north end of the pond. Ate some feed fair but not aggressively yet. Caught a few BG and one LMB. Still pretty sluggish.
Went out today and did not see nearly as many fish in the shallows and nothing much biting. Was overcast and not much sign of fish.
Yesterday with the sun out and clear water, when I would cast and the lure hit the water, eight to ten fish around it would swirl by the lure disturbance scaring them (but they did not bother to bite the lure - I'm not much of a fisherman). Lots of fish near the surface I assume feeding. Nothing much happening today.
Amazing what a difference there was in one days time.
Pat W. sent me these pics of his place. He told me it was ok to post a few. I am in pond envy....Again!
Yes, we are supposed time go by his place in the morning for coffee after we leave Overtons on our way to Dallas. Look forward to seeing his place first hand. I understand that his water level came up quite a bit in the last couple of days.