Stocked my pond Saturday (about a week ago). Among other fish, was 8 HSB. Saw this guy today when feeding.
Should be no larger fish in the pond. Pond was dry a couple months ago. Looks like it has been picked at. Not sure if it was picked at because it was sick, or sick because it was picked at, or if it has some other problem. I see schools of tilapia, and minnows. So I don't think it is a water problem.
Just "one of those thing", or is it something to worry about?
Well...it's supposed to be a HSB...at least that is what I asked for and paid for. There are a total of 8 in my pond, which is a little more than an 8th of an acre.
From what I was told, the pond is too small for them to breed...so wouldn't think it is breeding damage. And they have only been in there for a week.
Did they say it was a f1? Because that is a common reference for the northern-Florida cross of lmb. Although I still wouldn't call it a hybrid. Also they will spawn in a bathtub.
Well...it's supposed to be a HSB...at least that is what I asked for and paid for. There are a total of 8 in my pond, which is a little more than an 8th of an acre.
From what I was told, the pond is too small for them to breed...so wouldn't think it is breeding damage. And they have only been in there for a week.
Sean
Are you sure you were not "gifted" one female LMB to help control over population of your BG? This is common control pactice in my HSB/CNBG pond. George
Well...I don't have a whole lot of pics of the fish...before release....so don't know how many I got like this....they were in with the tilapia...
So...looks like I didn't get what I asked for? Let me go see if I can find the reciept and make sure of what it says... But I know what I asked for...and even showed him a list of what I wanted. This was from overton's...guess I wasted a 10 hour day and $70 in gas...
The plan was to get HSB so they would not breed in my little pond. Can LMB breed at 6 inches long?
Well...I don't have a whole lot of pics of the fish...before release....so don't know how many I got like this....they were in with the tilapia...
So...looks like I didn't get what I asked for? Let me go see if I can find the reciept and make sure of what it says... But I know what I asked for...and even showed him a list of what I wanted. This was from overton's...guess I wasted a 10 hour day and $70 in gas...
The plan was to get HSB so they would not breed in my little pond. Can LMB breed at 6 inches long?
Sean
Originally Posted By: Boburk
OK...25 HBG, and seven more pounds of minnows today...and I am done. Now it's time to wait...threw a dozen or so pellets out yesterday, with no action. I will try again tomorrow.
Sean
Sean, who did you purchase your HBG from? Overton does not handle HBG, IIRC. Please do not be offended - I have tried to help you on earlier thread, but I don’t think it is fair to place blame until more facts are known. Best, George
George, the HBG were small. Small enough that I feared they may just be food for the bass. Nothing that large in with them. The large fish were in the tilapia bag from Overton's. The bass and tilapia mixed together.
Sprkplug, I live on two acres on the edge of town. Back yard has a 5 ft tall fence around it (1.5 acres). The only ponds I know of near me are below mine. Mine is fed from runoff. There is a drainage ditch (normally dry) that catches rain from the church next door and my yard. We have lived here since 2008. I have never seen any fish in the pond...and it was dry a couple months ago.
I planned on asking questions, etc, when I got to Overton's (about food, aeration, if I could get 100 CNBG instead of the 60 I got. etc) but when I got there all I saw was two Hispanics. One that only spoke Spanish while I was there, and the other that didn't seem too interested.
In hindsight, I wish i had taken more pictures, but the bass were in with 4lbs of tilapia, so I don't think pics of the bag would have shown anything.
Anything is possible I guess, but I fear my 8 HSB are actually 8 LMB. I have been In contact with Overton's, but don't think I will know for sure until next spring when we start fishing it.
Hello Boburk very sorry for your problem. I take quality control very seriously, but I can't be everywhere all the time to oversee things, and I am sorry if my guys let one slip through.
Our HSB pond has very very very few fingerling LMB present, and they get beat up when we harvest HSB from the pond. Actually these few LMB get so beat up in this process that they are not intended for stocking, and are normally easy to spot and remove when we net your fish. The HSB that you purchased were 8-10", and I can verify the size. If you received an accidental beat up LMB with your HSB then I apologize, and surely it was only one fish since you purchased 8 HSB. Hopefully you removed it from your pond, and if not, it looks like it will die anyway. In my opinion, there is no chance that you received 8 LMB instead of the HSB. I simply to not have a vat of beat up LMB fingerlings that could have been mistaken for HSB, even by my hispanic employees.
I will insist that you did not "get taken", that you did not waste your time and money, that this was an accident (not intended), and that you did receive most if not all of the HSB that you intended to stock.
Our customer service department can be reached by calling my cell phone direct at 979-571-9481. I encourage you to call or text me direct with your problems or concerns. I may not catch every call, but I will get back to you. This line is open for everybody.
P.S. I am not sure where HBG got inserted into this thread. We have not been stocking any of these fish.
Todd (??), I didn't remove it because I didn't realize it was not a HSB. I am new to all this. If you look how this thread started...I was asking if I need to do something about my sick HSB...or if it was just "normal loss."
I went back out to look for it after the folks here informed me it was a LMB...not a HSB...and did not see it.
Are you saying the HSB did the damage, or the harvesting process did it? I guess I am wondering if the HSB don't like LMB, and if so, if they will finish the job (kill it).
Also, are you saying you think I got the 8 HSB I paid for AND this one? I guess I don't understand why they would do that.
I will add your number to my phone. I never catch her name, but have been texting with the lady with the 940 area code. She is the one that answered a week ago when I called the number listed on your website as your number (903-322-2626), and is whose recommendation I followed (other than adding the HBG...they were recommended here, to give kids something easy to catch). The HBG were picked up locally..but were about 1.5-2.5 inches long...so if the bass are eating fish, i figure most were bass food.
Goals for stocking was to get rid of the mosquitoes and to give kids (and me) something to catch. That is what led to the recommendation for HBG.
Yes this is Todd. The harvesting process with rough and rowdy HSB did the damage and if you saw it struggling around the pond then it is doomed. Dont worry about it.
A single banged up LMB from same vat with HSB could have ended up in your bucket of 8 HSBs by accident. I will tell the guys to be more careful, and I will make sure they know about your report. In my mind this is the only explanation. If you have more questions or would like to discuss then please call my cell phone.
It's refreshing to actually know the real-life explanations once in awhile. No guessing about unforeseen high water events, anglers with a bucket, or fish transporting birds. Nothing nefarious at all. A simple, human mistake.
It's refreshing to actually know the real-life explanations once in awhile. No guessing about unforeseen high water events, anglers with a bucket, or fish transporting birds. Nothing nefarious at all. A simple, human mistake....
Tony, honesty in dealing with incidents like this is one of the many reasons so many of us down here are so loyal to Todd.
As his tagline says, "It's All about the fish!", and he doesn't take that statement lightly.
I made a trip to Overtons because I wanted to add some RES to my pond and while I was there, I picked up some additional FHM's, all were packaged separately according to the type of fish. The Spanish guys were there and were very helpful in dumping some trash out of the back of my pickup (making room for my fish) and with loading sks of fish food and fish. They were there to please. With all the fish they handle, I can see how something might slip through the cracks, so to speak.
I didn't know what a HSB looked like when I started all this back in June. I did some googling and do now...
It has been close to 20 years, but I used to catch LMB when I was stationed in NC. It was the vertical dark stripe on their tail that I used to recognize them when fishing for them. I have no idea how many other bass look the same while in the water (I don't think I have ever caught any bass other than LMB).
Anyhow, while watching this fish swim around, it swam off SE. Shortly after it disappeared I thought i saw another NE of me. Small pond, so until I see more than one at once, I won't know for sure...but if these are LMB it looks like i will be having LMB in my pond instead of HSB...
Fish it out... Toss a live minnow on a hook in front of it or try artificial....
All is not loss, just get after it and remove it.
Originally Posted By: esshup
Or a whole live nightcrawler just hooked once thru the middle. Bare hook, no weight or bobber.
I saw what I thought was a LMB a couple weeks ago when feeding. I planned on getting the minnow trap out this weekend. Catch a few tilapia fingerlings and try them as bait. After seeing what I videoed yesterday...I feel I have LMB instead of HSB (if the one that was swimming on its side when this thread started was doomed, and this is a different one...that makes at least 25% LMB...small pond, only stocked 8).
I guess what I am trying to do now is figure out what to do. If they are all LMB...do I try to fish them out? Leave them and change my management plan? If it is just one, that is if I go fishing and catch a HSB, just leave it be? If I catch a LMB, get rid of it or take a pic and release...catch another, do the same...so i can compare to see if it is different fish, or the same one again...??
If they are LMB and I leave them, then what? What do i take out next year? The original stockers or their young? Do I need to change what else is in the pond?
I really believe this pond will be dead again within a couple years due to our on-again off-again draughts. So not really worried..little frustrated in the possibily of not getting what I asked for and paid for though (whether its 2 or all 8). Also looked forward to catching the HSB...which may not happen now.
No, I do not know for sure. When I released the fish in June, one bass sat under the dock for awhile....not doing well. I figured that was it.
Might go out later and sit by the pond with polarized sun glasses on...see if I can see more than one at the same time... Or go back to the original plan of getting the minnow trap out.
Good point .......did that "sick" fish actually survive?
what did you do with with it?
When I posted the pic of it swimming on its side here, and folks said it was a LMB, I went back to where I saw it, and it was no longer there. So I did not remove it, but figured it would die.
Loaded up the minnow trap with half a hot dog bun and some dog food and went out to put it in the pond...but when I got there, I didn't have to. I could see four of them schooling together.
Have you seen any baby ones, if they did not spawn this spring and you only stocked 8 of them it might be pretty easy to catch them out. then add the HSB,
You might actually be lucky in the fact you only stocked 8 of them.
get some live bait and yank them out.
have a fish fry,
brush up you your fish ID and carry on...Might not be that bad.
I just got the opportunity to let my trusty employee have it old fashion style, and got that off my chest. It's one thing (and would be a bonus IMO) to let a few cblmb go in with a lot of HSB to be stocked in an existing bass fishery, but dang this poor would-be pond boss ordered 8 HSB for his 1/8 acre pond and got at least 4 LMB.
Unacceptable. How can you screw it up this badly?
I hope you, Boburk, will have enough water in your pond to take my offer of true HSB to make up for the screw-up. I even have this trusty employee who may actually be quite happy to haul them LOL.
In addition, if you would like me to take a crew and seine these LMB out of your pond, just let me know and we will make that happen ASAP. I want to see the Glazener HSB in your pond (as long as it is holding water).
P.S. The bass were legacy genetics (still undecided on the name) and might be worth something to somebody.
For full disclosure....as I said I have been in touch with Todd. He offered replacement HSB this fall. Problem is it would be another 10 hours on the road and $70 in gas. Not a good option.
He also offered to send his guys here to fish them out.
And lastly he offered to meet me part way if they get close to me on one of their trips (if the pond has water, I will take him up on this offer).
Sean
EDIT: didn't see Todd's post until after I wrote this....as I told him on the phone...he has quite the following here and I figure he has earned that...just very frustrated right now.
Todd contacted me two days ago to see if I still had enough water for the HSB. I wish I had more water, but it is sustaining what I have in there. So he asked about bringing some out. I told him I had to go to Denton today for a medical appointment for my kid, and asked if that would work.
To try to keep this from getting too long, we normally swing by Cabela's when we hit DFW...he met me there and gave me 9 HSB.
So he/we found a way to make the order whole without any additional cost to me.
With all the fish they handle, I can see how something might slip through the cracks, so to speak.