Faced with the disappointing realization that my dream LMB pond would never match expectations, I ran an experiment last year with HSB and Tilapia. The failure to match expectations was due to the Florida strain bass's ability to "learn" and also due to the observation that artifical feeding which promotes bass growth also leads to bass that will, for the most part, only feed on BG at the feeders.

The experiment has worked in that I can catch lots of large BG and catch respectable HSB virtually at any time within the limitations of my meager but now growing HSB stocking program. However, I still yearn for the big LMB, that is catachable.

This year, I'm going to try another experiment. I'm going to stock F1's in a 2 acre pond with coppernose BG, fatheads, and Tilapia. No artificial feeding, none. No fishing until fall, none.

My expectation and hope is to grow healthy, aggressive and large LMB which I can readily catch on flies...on infrequent occasions. For my more frequent fishing for family and friends, it will be for HSB and BG in the other larger pond.

That's my plan and would love to hear your comments/criticism of same. Thanks.

Meadowlark,

What happens if you turn off the feeders in the big pond a couple of days before you fish it. Is the bass fishing any better?

Please let us know how it works

Gumboot,

I've tried that and it definitely helps the BG fishing, especially around the feeders, but has no discernable effect on the LMB.

The only way I (or anyone else that has tried it) can catch bass is with small live BG as bait.

From my understanding Florida strain bass learn quickly and can only consistently be caught on live bait.

meadowlark in your existing pond the bass do not eat pellets, right???

I think the lmb that feed on pellets are the most agressive. My clients that stock Tiger bass as fingerlings are happy with the agressive nature. However for my fly fising clients we stock Tiger bass that are 6 inches or greater that are fed trained. They seem to hit about anything b/c they are used to eating a pellet floating on the surface. My point is you might want to try fed trained bass with feeding to see how it works. Good luck

Greg,

Good point. I was under the impression his bass were already feed trained. From my experience it's nearly impossible to feed train a bass after it reaches over 2 inches.

Cecil - To add more info to your endless expanding fish knowledge, LMB that are 6"-7" long and caught on worms under a bobber will feed train for me easily. This also applies to YP and BG. I am not sure why yet. Maybe it is my technique :rolleyes: .

You must have that special touch Bill. Can you faith heal too?

I've even had difficulty feed training bluegills that everyone says are so easy to train.

Greg,

Yes, some of my Florida strain LMB do take pellets, but mostly they take BG feeding on pellets and waiting to feed on pellets. Your experience on stocking somewhat larger F1's for even more aggressive behavior is interesting and gives me pause.

Greg, I may be totally wrong, as I have certainly been before, but I just don't see many artificial feeders on Lake Fork or any other lake that produces trophy bass.

I'm wanting to test a theory that artificial feeding, while great for BG and necessary for HSB, is not so great for LMB fishing when coupled with "catch and release." I want to establish an optimum forage base where no artificial feeding is needed....and as a result expect to be able to catch trophy bass on my fly rod.

The pond where the F1's are going is literally teeming with forage fish right now (BG, fatheads, Gambusia, and shad) and soon will be joined by prolific Tilapia.

As Dave Davidson says, the bass will only have to open their mouths to feed.

I hope this approach does several things in addition to creating a trophy LMB pond. It will eliminate the expense($15 to $20+ per bag of feed) and waste of artificial feeding, i.e. excess nutrients that you then have to deal with. It will set up a completely natural environment...and best of all, I hope to have catchable LMB.

Meadowlark,
Have you ever tried large swimbaits in bluegill patterns on your Florida bass?? I just got back from a trip to Adventure Lake in southern Mississippi and caught several good bass on large Storm brand swimbaits around feeders. You can't cast the lures instead you lob them and I think the splash and noise attracts the bass that feed on the bluegill around the feeders. The bass I caught absolutely slammed the baits when you reeled them in slowly. The bass in Adventure Lake are F1s, but it might work on Floridas. My lake has Floridas so I know what you mean. I'm going to try the swimbaits at my place this weekend and will post my results.
Bill

bdoug,

I've tried lipless crankbaits in BG patterns...and that worked one time, but never again. Is that what you were referring to or something else?

No not lipless crankbaits. These are the soft plastic swimbaits that they use in Southern California to catch those huge Florida bass out there. They use the rainbow trout patterns in those lakes, but they make the baits in shad, bluegill, baby bass, etc patterns. If you go to the Bass Pro Shop website and type in a search for swimbaits, you will see them. They are pretty cool baits and it would be something that your fish have not seen before. Might be worth a try.
Bill

meadowlark,
give it a try I would love to hear results. However we have a pretty big data set. I work on about 100 new ponds/yr. Those that have feeders setup to grow more bluegill forage also produce healthier bass. Of course they are also limitng numbers of bass with harvest,etc etc. BUT when compared to lakes that just do other pond mgmt without feeding the bass do not grow as well.

Now also these are 5-50 acre lakes. You are concerned with something completely diff when talking about catching the same bass many times. I still think though a bass that eats a pellet is more agressive and more likely to eat a lure.

Bill Cody do you mind sharing tech to train 6 inch bass to eat pellets? I agree with Cecil hard to train if you do not start early. Maybe add thsi under another topic. Thanks

Greg,

The wildcard I'm betting on is the Tilapia and the tremendous forage they provide.

Maybe you could suggest some typical sizes that LMB normally achieve in the fall after spring stocking and I could compare my results to those. I need some kind of baseline to measure against.

I'll probably be sorry, but I've always been one to push the envelope and try new things in an effort to achieve goals.

Thanks for your comments.

do not have a good handle on size the first fall after spring stocking. We do the first analysis the next fall basically 16 months after stocking. If climate is similiar to middle/north GA you can compare. Typically 2.5-3 lbs but (mentioned this before) had 4.2 lb bass. WIth Tilipia I think you might just pass this even without feeding. I wish we could stock them in GA.