Calling Bill Cody regarding feed training bluegills - 08/25/02 12:19 AM
Bill,
I definitely am going to try your approach on putting one sex only bluegill in a small pond and feed training them to produce faster growing larger bluegills (not hybrids) next year. My bluegill right now are doing great, but I can't help thinking they would grow even faster under controlled conditions on pellet feed. As you indicated my largemouths that are feed trained and feeding daily are intimidating the bluegills off the artifical feed.
However, do you think it will be necessary to isolate the bluegills in a cage temporarily after culling from their native pond? The pond I will place them in is only 1/10 acre (88 by 59 feet), but I want to make sure they really key in on the feed twice a day and don't digress to natural limited feed.
It would be easy to put the cage in the small pond, and once they appear to be successfully taking the feed to flip the cage over and remove it.
How long do you retain the 8 inch male bluegills in the cage before you release?
I'm looking forward to this as not only will it prove interesting, but it will be fun harvesting the bluegills for the smaller pond. If it proves out it will be a way to produce large bluegills for sale under controlled conditions.
By the way, I hope to add a picture of one of the female 8 to 12 inch yellow perch (averaged probably 9 inches) I bought from Freshwater Farms this spring to my website this weekend. They're doing fine and some are now up to 13 inches. I also caught and released a largemouth and smallmouth and plan on adding their pics to the website http://www.ligtel.com/~jjbaird/bairdfish2.htm
Thanks,
Cecil
I definitely am going to try your approach on putting one sex only bluegill in a small pond and feed training them to produce faster growing larger bluegills (not hybrids) next year. My bluegill right now are doing great, but I can't help thinking they would grow even faster under controlled conditions on pellet feed. As you indicated my largemouths that are feed trained and feeding daily are intimidating the bluegills off the artifical feed.
However, do you think it will be necessary to isolate the bluegills in a cage temporarily after culling from their native pond? The pond I will place them in is only 1/10 acre (88 by 59 feet), but I want to make sure they really key in on the feed twice a day and don't digress to natural limited feed.
It would be easy to put the cage in the small pond, and once they appear to be successfully taking the feed to flip the cage over and remove it.
How long do you retain the 8 inch male bluegills in the cage before you release?
I'm looking forward to this as not only will it prove interesting, but it will be fun harvesting the bluegills for the smaller pond. If it proves out it will be a way to produce large bluegills for sale under controlled conditions.
By the way, I hope to add a picture of one of the female 8 to 12 inch yellow perch (averaged probably 9 inches) I bought from Freshwater Farms this spring to my website this weekend. They're doing fine and some are now up to 13 inches. I also caught and released a largemouth and smallmouth and plan on adding their pics to the website http://www.ligtel.com/~jjbaird/bairdfish2.htm
Thanks,
Cecil