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Ambassador Field Correspondent Lunker
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I've been thinking about printing and laminating some of Bruce's bluegill photos and suspend them between the 3 to 5 foot deep range in various locations of my pond, sort of an inspiration message to my young bluegill.
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)
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WHEN GOOD BLUEGILL GO BAD. SAME FISH 74 DAYS AGO. He's gone from 5.25 inches to 5.625 inches. Current Wr is 138.
Holding a redear sunfish is like running with scissors.
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Bruce, here's a sampling of CNBG that were stocked 9/20/06 @ 1"-1.5" (sampling was produced by the Wild Bill Cody Method) . I moved the top one to my Male BG pond, hope it's a male (only BG transferred so far)! How would you sex the other three? I can PM larger photos if needed.
Robert
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To small in those pics for me to hazard a guess.
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Pond Boss subscriber ever since I joined the forum. Thanks Bob!
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In response to FamTrad's post above.
I'd give my opinion on sex, and the percent certainty that I'd assign to it.
1. (top picture) Male 80%. The color is so washed out it's hard to say for sure.
2. Male 70%. Again the color is so bland I can't tell for sure.
3. No idea.
4. Even less of an idea.
I think if I saw a bunch of fish that were adults, out of this pond I could get a better feel for it, but the lack of color makes it kind of iffy.
Holding a redear sunfish is like running with scissors.
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Thanks Bruce, all fish were tiny when stocked last September and right now this is all I have to work with.
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I agree with Bruce's opinion. All four are immature. The top two fish might spawn later this summer. If I was stocking all male BG in a pond none of them would go in at their present condition. They need to be more mature to be 100% positive.
aka Pond Doctor & Dr. Perca Read Pond Boss Magazine - America's Journal of Pond Management
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FT check to see if I am right and post here when you know. I bet those BG grow 2 inches before summer ends and that they spawn this summer in your location with a new pond. The growth rates are good (normal).
Like Bruce and Bill based on the pics I would not put them in an all male pond. By July you should be able to tell much better on these fish. A few days before the full moon in late July fish on the BG beds and you will be able to tell which are males.
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Thanks for the responses Eric, Bruce and Bill.
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Measurements taken on April 13.
Top 75 bluegill average length is 5.26 inches and 62 grams.
Next 75 bluegill average length is 4.36 inches and 36 grams.
The water temperature is 52 degrees. The average water temp readings over the last two weeks of really cold weather has been 51 degrees. A little over two weeks ago we had water temps of 59 degrees in the tank. Obviously this has slowed the growth somewhat.
The overall winter average weight gain was a little bit over 2 grams per week, which I thought was a little less than I had hoped for, since that would mean it would take 4 years to achieve one pound, but I'm thinking that if the water temps get into the upper sixties and seventies for the next 26 weeks that maybe I can average a little better than that. If the year long average were 2.5 grams per week I would add 130 grams per year, which would get me to one pound in less than three and a half years.
Holding a redear sunfish is like running with scissors.
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If you raise bluegill on krill they get interesting markings on their gill plates.
Holding a redear sunfish is like running with scissors.
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....and if you let your Dad fish for yellow perch, sometimes he will catch a bluegill/redear sunfish.
Holding a redear sunfish is like running with scissors.
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Dang you Bruce !! I knew you would let the cat out of the bag on those giant Redgilled Meanfish or is it Blueared Angryfish. Now that you have posted a pic of the experiential version lets see all the data. Shorty and Nedoc will be over there fishing for them in the morning now that you have spilled the beans. I missed your earlier post on growth rates. From what I have read BG should have a much higher growth rate in summer than that compared to winter. If winter rate was 2 grams then summer rates should raise the average more than .5 . I will see what I can find.
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Looks like you've got a good patch of FA growing there. Nice fish for their age, though.
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Yeah Burger, I spent the last two days raking it away from my feeder dock so the fish could eat! I hope to get my tilapia from Todd next week and put them to work.
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Cut and pasted from another thread...
You know, Cecil got #105-305, and I kept #'s 1-104. This was out of around 6,000 sorted through. After Cecil got his fish I took the ones that I kept and put them in a lined pond and started up the automatic feeder. I've had two interesting observations, one expected, and one highly unexpected.
First observation: My bluegill are feeding very agressively. When the feeder goes off in the morning and in the evening the bluegill go nuts and eat every speck they can get ahold of.
Second observation (big surprise!): The fish are extremely spooky! I can't get a look at them because if I am in the near vicinity they will scatter and go completely off the feed. Why in the world would fish that I hand fed for six months in a 150 gallon tank be this way? Don't get me wrong--I'm glad they're spooky. I don't want them following around every tall object that happens by the pond (see notes on Great Blue Heron). Finally I got so frustrated that they wouldn't let me watch them, that I took an almost microscopic fly on my flyrod, and pinched down the barb and caught one. He fought like a freakin' maniac. 6 5/8 inches and fat as all get out.
Unfortunately I don't think I'm going to get that 8 inch threshold in 12 months. Maybe I've got a few 7's--I don't know.
I'm going to cut and paste this post to the "questions about raising bluegills" thread for future reference.
Holding a redear sunfish is like running with scissors.
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bruce, dont you think they had just enough "up close and personal" with you over the LONG winter? in this relatively huge pond environment, they probably feel free and are exhibiting their "wild" side now. i wish i knew the starting level of many of my fish. i stocked a range from 3-5 inches. it seems some will reach 8-inches this season, but it must be those that started their new life in Feb. as 5-inchers. many of my BG are in the "following around every tall object" category. my wife plays along and calls me the pied piper of my fish. truth is i'd like to think it was just me, my magnatism and wonderful personality, but i know they'd follow anybody......even the herons and egrets.....even jeff if he's willing to visit again i am AMAZED at the strength of BG in the 6-inch class on small fly tackle....its an absolute blast. the GSF in that size class are even stronger. if they get hook shy even to tiny flies, and to make sure yer guests can continue to outfish you (occassionally) .....have them put a tiny worm chunk on end of hook, reward the group later w/ a personal hand thrown bunch of aquamax....they will continue to be the gift that keeps giving. on a side note.....as with water witching....i am completely shunned by my father and brother for placing tiny worm chunks on flies and calling it "fly fishing". perhaps i share a small similarity in this light here w/ george and his pellet flies. fish on.
GSF are people too!
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Originally posted by dave in el dorado ca:
on a side note.....as with water witching....i am completely shunned by my father and brother for placing tiny worm chunks on flies and calling it "fly fishing". perhaps i share a small similarity in this light here w/ george and his pellet flies. fish on. Dave, alls fair in love, water witchin’, war, and fishin’…. My definition of a “fly”, is anything that can be cast on a fly line – I love to drive the purists nuts...
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Bruce, my forage/grow-out pond goal continues to evolve. Since larger HSB stockers are now readily available, there is no need to pursue “growing” out small HSB to avoid predation in main pond….. I am currently transferring 10-12 inch 2006 class HSB from ¼ acre pond to main 2 acre pond, leaving a few 2#+ 2005 class HSB in the ¼ acre pond to attempt controlling current prolific CNBG spawn. In attempt to enhance Florida CNBG genetics in main pond, my male only “cull” Arkansas strain CNBG are being moved to grow-out pond. I am removing ALL females caught from small pond. AQMX 600 feed program – don’t want the small gills to get feed trained, thus the larger pellets. I am moving all 9 inch+ male Arkansas trait CNBG to small pond BG pond for fun fishin’…. You guys have caused trouble for a guy that once thought BG’s were only bait?...
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Originally posted by george: ...I am removing ALL females caught from small pond.
Good man! I see I am infecting many of you with this madness.
Holding a redear sunfish is like running with scissors.
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Originally posted by george: AQMX 600 feed program – don’t want the small gills to get feed trained, thus the larger pellets. That sounds logical, george. I have noticed, however, that the smaller the BG I'm feeding, the bigger the pellet they try to eat. Anyone else notice this? Maybe my BG are completely illogical.
"Live like you'll die tomorrow, but manage your grass like you'll live forever." -S. M. Stirling
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Originally posted by Bruce Condello: Originally posted by george: ...I am removing ALL females caught from small pond.
Good man! I see I am infecting many of you with this madness. Bruce, you certainly infected me -- and it is really paying off. A little over a year ago I couldn't tell a boy bluegill from a girl bluegill until I was cleaning it. I don't have my spreadsheet in front of me, but of about 75 bluegill caught this season, my median size (male and female combined) is over 8 inches. We keep all females below about 9 inches, and all brightly colored males under about 6.5 inches. Most of the males we catch are between 8.5 and 10.5 inches. Thanks Bruce -- and Bill C., and Cecil, and Theo, and ewest . . . . and all the rest of you. Until I found Pond Boss, I never realistically believed anybody, especially me, could have such a fantastic bluegill pond. Ken G.
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Median size over 8 inches is fabulous! Good idea on releasing the biggest females. I think they have good genetics, and are most likely fish that utilize feed. This way you are tilting the balance a little bit toward rapidly growing, high feed conversion fish. I guess I should ask--are you feeding?
Holding a redear sunfish is like running with scissors.
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