Thought I would share a video that clearly shows the difference between BG and HSB feeding. The video is self explanatory. You can easily see the difference. By the way I started off feeding Cargill Triton feed that I picked up with my fish from Overton's and my fished loved it. But I couldn't easily get the Triton in my area so I started special ordering Aquamax MVP from my feed store and my fish loved it. But the hassle of having to call or go in and special order this food became a pain and I usually ran out before I could get more. So, I decided to try Cargill Sportsman's Choice from Tractor Supply which I could pick up on my way home from work when needed and guess what........ my fish loved it. My point being that yes the other stuff may have higher protein content and smell more fishy, but for someone like me that just feeds his fish more for enjoyment than results, the cheap stuff works just as well for that. I hope the video is beneficial.

https://youtu.be/D4q8C3cgRAE

When those big splashes happen do you ever wonder if the HSB are actually hitting a pellet or actually hitting a BG?

Pretty sure they are just hitting a pellet. They were feed trained when I got them. I do however see LMB ambushing the BG during feeding time and they were pellet trained as well.

I have some pretty significant splashes after the feeder goes off. I'm never sure if it's the HSB, that I've never seen, or the SMB, that I've caught several of. Water has decent clarity, but I just can't get a good look at the fish. They are fast.

Your video shows how my hsb feed also. Yesterday afternoon I threw out some Aquamax LMB pellets (hydrated) into the open water section of the pond. I did this from a boat and it did not take long before I saw some nice sized hsb feeding on the pellets. That was a first for me. My hsb almost never feed at the feeders. I think that was due to several things, one is there are many many schools of TFS for the hsb to feed on. And lots and lots of bg feeding and now lots of Tp feeding at the 3 feeders. After what I saw yesterday, I may need to thin the herd with a cast net for the Tp, so many there would be a large black ball area of Tp. At least a hundred large Tp so that is why I wanted try to hand feed the hsb the large pellets away from the feeders. To be honest, I was not sure the hsb would feed on those large pellets.

HSB splash pattern differs markedly as a function of temperature. Watch for it.

Will do. Thanks.

Would you mind explaining this a bit more? In what ways will the splash patterns differ, and at approx what temps?
Thanks
Jeff

Thanks for asking that question. I was also quite curious about the different splash patterns. My HSB seem to always be quite aggressive. I put mine in April of 2016 and this summer they have been more active.

Jim, a little more explanation would help me know what to look for as well. Thanks!

How big are your BG in this video? When my 10 and 11 inch BG hit food it's a pretty significant splash although it is still different. What will help you determine the difference also is not only type of splash but sound. BG seem to have a bloop round type of splash the bloop in the center of the splash is not real deep sounding if you will. A HSB's bloop on the other hand is deep more violent.

I can only compare it to say a kid doing a cannon ball verses an adult doing a cannon ball off the diving board. It just sounds different and more violent. If you watch them feed long enough you will start to figure it out. Sometimes you can even catch a glimpse of the silver on the HSB then they come up to grab the feed but they are fast.....

RC

BG were stocked in March at 2-3" and are now the biggest are in the 4-5" range. I don't know for sure because I haven't sampled any. I have been just leaving them alone and letting them grow. The HSB were also stocked in March at 6-8" and are now in the 10-12" range.

I have definitely seen the quick flash of silver that you mentioned but it is almost too fast to see.

Oh yeah just wait... ha both your BG and HSB sounds will change over the next year. You will understand more what I am talking about once your BG hit about 9 inches and your HSB are 17 plus inches. It's crazy....

RC

My CNBG are a good bit more agressive since they are a little older, and now that I have some HSB water really flys when the feeder goes off.

Yeah, haven't been able to afford the feeder yet and I am inconsistent with the exact feeding time and miss some days when not home. That probably has the most effect on their activity level. Also, some of the food I throw sinks and some floats. So, I think some of the fish go after the sinking pellets and don't make the big splash.