When I got my fish the gentleman recommended sinking food fed a couple times a week. This was in mid March when we were relatively cool. Temps are now in the 80s with lows in the 60s. Do I need to switch to floating food, or continue feeding the sinking stuff. Does it even matter. I’ve got 150 HBG and 4 lbs of fathead minnows with wipers coming in an approximately 1/4 (will be 1/3 if we can get some rain) pond.

Hello.

I have 2 ponds of Yellow perch, and I prefer floating food.

A+

It seems that floating food is the most commonly desired type for the average pond steward since we can see the fish feeding. Since you are currently feeding the sinking kind, I think I would start mixing in some floating food with it and gradually wean them to the top of the water.

I don't think it matters much to the fish, I just like knowing that they are eating the food. A good rule of thumb is to feed NO more than the fish will eat in 15 minutes. You can't tell if they are eating off the bottom (assuming that your water is not crystal clear).

The only time I’ve heard of using sinking pellets was for small mouth bass bc they tend to eat off the bottom. This particular farm raised their small mouths on sinking so that’s what they recommended said they take them better. HBG and HSB will both readily accept floating fish food and HSB actually prefer eating off the surface. But like QA said with floating you can see how well your fish are eating that day and guage how much to give them. Some days if it’s windy or rainy or stormy or too hot or the barametric pressure is off all those things effect how well they feed so if you can’t actually see them eating there is no way to know for sure if it’s a good day to give a full feeding or not. If my fish don’t come up feeding like they normally do i don’t feed a full dose. If you do and it doesn’t get eaten the food added to the pond that doesn’t get eaten adds a ton of waste and eventually will lead to water quality issues and nucience algae issues. Not to mention who doesn’t like to see their fish eat it’s one of the most enjoyable things about managing a BOW! Not to mention when you draw your forage fish up for feeding it condenses them together creating a good feeding opportunity for your preditors! Nothing cooler than seeing a LMB or a HSB explode the surface of the water taking a Bluegill in the act of feeding on a pellet!

I would def suggest gradually switching your fish to floating and the highest quality you are willing to pay for the quality of your feed is critical to their success.

Bought some floating food and mixed it 50/50 with the sinking stuff. Less than 10 fish came up tonight. Feeding about 2 cups.

Hartleys fish farm where I got my SMB from feeds sinking feed. They have a mill make it for them specifically with the higher protein. All I can get locally in sinking is 32% catfish food. Most all the higher protein stuff is floating although there are some of the tiny starters that are sink or slow sink.

I would like to have some high protein sinking to mix in with my floating. I would like to feed about 10% of the total as sinking. Been a couple of years since I fed any of the 32% sinking but I may start again. I don't worry about it going to waste (feeding a small percentage) as I have CC who will find it. I have seen them with their heads out of the water getting floating feed that the wind had blown up against the bank right at the shore line. Throw a pile of it in a foot deep water and watch the fish attack it in a feeding frenzy till it is gone.

Key Feeds out of Clay Center is the sinking stuff I got. It says 36.5% on the bag.

The sinking feed is really good to feed when it is windy, if you hand feed. Floating feed gets blown to the bank unless you feed only a half handful or less at a time.

Wind is a problem. On windy days I avoid feeding on the side the feed will blow to the bank. Those fish just go hungry that day or move along the bank till they get to feed. If it is modest wind I feed a lesser amount on the windward side.

I normally feed 360 degrees around the pond from a UTV, except on windy days.

I really do not think feeding all around the pond is such a good idea. I think I would get more larger BG if I fed say in three specific locations (three acre pond). That way a few of the "hogs" would get more feed and grow larger. The way I feed the fish tend to get more uniform growth because there is not enough feed in any one place for individuals to get their "fill" from my limited feeding (about 2-3# per acre per day depending on conditions).

Problem is the fish have me trained. I have fed all around the pond for five years now, I see hungry fish, and it is just hard for me to abandon my routine.

I usually feed from about the same place every day. The ponds are only a quarter acre each, and when I walk up to feed, I can see V shaped waves all the way on the other side coming towards me. I think all the fish that eat feed come up in a big wad. The aggressive ones and larger BG tend to get the most feed. Last year they had to compete with some 5 pound plus albino CC, but now it's a BG free for all, rolling and splashing all at once.

We use floating feed but have sinking feed too. From the same company the only difference between the floating and the sinking is the fat content is higher in the sinking feed.

We feed a 50/50 mix in the fall to bulk them up, but the problem with that is we can't catch any I mean any fish through the ice in the winter. They are so well fed in the fall they do not need to eat all winter.

Cheers Don.

It’s almost always windy here. Yesterday sustained 15-20 gusts to 30

When do you expect a big frenzy? Seems like I get a few more each day, but appears to have plateaued at what appears to be 20 out of the 150 HBG I put in.

I have been getting a BG frenzy for weeks: Probably 80-100 of the original 150 or so stocked in fall of 2015, plus many of their surviving first spawn. It's like a hatchery feeding off my little pier. They crowd up in a wad with many fish competing for each pellet.

They really show up if you drive the SxS down there. You can see them headed to the south shore as soon as I cross the dam.

Same here. I have a road all the way around the main pond and any time I drive the Polaris UTV around it you can see wakes coming at it all the way around. The UTV is the fish "dinner bell".