Pond Boss
Posted By: farmallsc Old Pond - 02/10/17 05:22 AM
My pond is approximately 300' long and 70' wide. It's completely surrounded by trees. It's pretty old. It was a gin tank a long time back according to my uncle. I have fished it many times over the years, but never caught anything. There are no signs of minnows. The only thing I see are lots of frogs. I'm not sure how deep it is, but I'm guessing it's pretty shallow and maybe only a few feet deep, but I've never seen it go completely dry. I was babtized in it nearly 45 years ago, and a few years later so was my lil Sis, so it's a special place to me. I want to have a place we can fish, so I had Overton do a water analysis. The good news it's in good shape.


Ph 7.5
Alkalinity 100 ppm
Hardness 84 ppm

The trees that surround it are a combination of hackberry, willow, mesquite, and black locust. When I was a kid it only had a few trees, but now it's a wilderness. I like the trees because they help with the highway noise. It's out in the middle of nowhere, but only 100 or so feet from a busy highway. So what's my goal?

Our family loves to fish. We fish several days a week. I was thinking of making it into a Bluegill pond. Not a trophy pond mind you, just a place to relax, pic-nic and fish. It does have vegetation under water. I don't see anything floating, but when I reel in my line, I have small amounts of stringy green stuff attached.

I'm not sure exactly how many BG or what size I should start with. I also thought about a few tilapia. What about FHM? Would they be beneficial as well? I will be getting them from Overton Fisheries. Let's say I start small with 5lbs of FHM and 100 BG. Should I hand feed them or let them survive on their own? Is this enough fish to start with? If so, At what point in time could we start to fish it?

Any and all thoughts and suggestions are welcome. I'm not opposed to other types of fish even catfish. We fish for whatever is biting. I wouldn't even mind stocking a bunch of rainbow trout next winter if I could find a place selling them.

Thanks for reading if you made it this far. I realize it was a long post.
Posted By: TGW1 Re: Old Pond - 02/10/17 11:42 AM
Overton's have a lot of experience with Texas ponds, so maybe ask them what they might recommend for that pond. As a new pond owner, I have been working with them for the past two and a half years, and they will make recommendations if asked. And Welcome to this place, lots of help here if needed, others will join in, I'm sure.
Posted By: snrub Re: Old Pond - 02/10/17 12:18 PM
If you want just a fun fishing pond hybrid bluegill might be a good option.
Posted By: highflyer Re: Old Pond - 02/10/17 12:35 PM
Are you considering cleaning out the pond and making it a little deeper? If so, do you renovations first.

Todd and crew are the man! You can't go wrong with them advising you.

Once you know your goals, talk them out again. Mine have changed some over time. If I had to do it all over again, there are a few things I would do differently, like talking to todd first and getting his recommendations before stocking. Also, genetics matter. Todd's fish are high quality fish.

Keep us posted, and if you have any pics, please post them.

Best of luck.
Posted By: farmallsc Re: Old Pond - 02/10/17 09:40 PM
nevermind----I found the answer
Posted By: farmallsc Re: Old Pond - 02/10/17 11:35 PM
Talked with Todd and here's the plan.

5 lbs FHM
200 (1-3") OTS Bluegill
100 (6 to 8") Channel cat
100 (2-4") Redear

Oh and while I was there, couldn't resist some Redear.
Posted By: farmallsc Re: Old Pond - 02/11/17 07:19 PM
Beautiful cloudy cool morning. Made it home with only 2 minnows lost. I don't think things could have turned out any better. Todd and his staff were absolutely awesome!
Posted By: Floridafish Re: Old Pond - 02/11/17 08:48 PM
All I see here are Bass but its covered in duckweed so who knows?
Posted By: Floridafish Re: Old Pond - 02/11/17 08:50 PM
What is your FHM abbreviation? BG I assume is bluegill.
Posted By: Bill D. Re: Old Pond - 02/11/17 09:25 PM
Originally Posted By: Floridafish
What is your FHM abbreviation? BG I assume is bluegill.


FHM is Fathead Minnow

You can find a complete list of forum acronyms on the link below:

http://forums.pondboss.com/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=92442#Post92442
Posted By: farmallsc Re: Old Pond - 02/11/17 10:08 PM
Hey guys, yes Bill is correct.

I have a few questions.

Now that I have my fish, what should I avert my attention to? I was told to give them a few days befor I started feeding. I bought a #50 bag of Cargill Aquafeed 4512.

I figured on waiting a week then start with a handful per day. For the amount of fish I have, what would you suggest?

200 (1" -3") BG
100 (2"-4") Redear
100 (8"-10") Channel Cat
5# FHM
Posted By: snrub Re: Old Pond - 02/11/17 10:19 PM
Probably a small coffee cup full would be plenty for that number of fish to start.

The FHM will be the first you see start eating. Then the BG. My CC were very skittish and would hardly eat while I was around till the second year. They would eat, just not so much while I was standing there.

Then just monitor and increase feed as the other fish start eating and cleaning up what you put out in 10-15 minutes.
Posted By: farmallsc Re: Old Pond - 02/11/17 10:28 PM
Thanks Snrub.

What are your thoughts about training them to the sound of a bell?
Posted By: snrub Re: Old Pond - 02/11/17 10:35 PM
I feed from a Polaris 900 Ranger and that is the dinner bell for my fish. I never tried a bell, but I would gess it would work. Some of my BG will come when they hear my footsteps on the dock.

A half coffee cup feed might be plenty to start with. Just enough to get them started. No need to waste it if they are not cleaning it up. But it will not take long to get them started eating. Seems like once a few get the idea, the rest sense a feeding frenzy when they realize some fish are eating and they are not.
Posted By: John Fitzgerald Re: Old Pond - 02/11/17 11:02 PM
It was 81 degrees today and windy, near 70 yesterday. My BG had not been fed since water got too cold late November. I gave them about a cup of Optimal Jr this afternoon. They gobbled it right up. I guess they have long memories. Footsteps will get them anticipating food. They sense the vibrations in the soil, I think. Sounds in air, not so much.
Posted By: farmallsc Re: Old Pond - 02/12/17 12:14 AM
I'll tell you guys, I haven't had this much fun since hatching chickens way back when. I can tell I'm going to enjoy spending time at this pond. I've been down there off and on all day.
Posted By: farmallsc Re: Old Pond - 02/12/17 01:04 AM
Given I have no known predators, at what time in the future should I begin to worry about over population. I don't think I need to worry about the CC or Redear, but from what I've heard the Bluegill will multiply. I only have 200, so I may not have anything to worry about. Just thinking out loud
Posted By: Bill D. Re: Old Pond - 02/12/17 01:21 AM
Originally Posted By: farmallsc
Given I have no known predators...


IMO you just stocked 100 predators when you stocked the 8 to 10 inch CC. IME those CC can grow like crazy and will become apex predators in your 1/2 acre within a year or so. Hope you like to eat CC! smile

Exciting times for you!

Good Luck and please keep us updated.

Bill D.
Posted By: farmallsc Re: Old Pond - 02/12/17 01:29 AM
Thanks Bill. Yeah we like Catfish!
Posted By: Floridafish Re: Old Pond - 02/12/17 03:02 AM
Originally Posted By: Bill D.
Originally Posted By: Floridafish
What is your FHM abbreviation? BG I assume is bluegill.


FHM is Fathead Minnow

You can find a complete list of forum acronyms on the link below:

http://forums.pondboss.com/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=92442#Post92442

Thanks, I knew FHM just not by abbreviation. What eat them besides bass?
Posted By: farmallsc Re: Old Pond - 02/12/17 03:05 AM
On the advice of Todd, I put them in for the benefit of the Bluegill once the bg grow larger.
Posted By: Bill D. Re: Old Pond - 02/12/17 03:30 AM
Originally Posted By: Floridafish
... I knew FHM just not by abbreviation. What eat them besides bass?


Pretty much everything including frogs eat FHM. IMO FHM are a great forage "kick start" in any new pond. They reproduce like crazy and are slow swimming easy prey for most game fish. Note I said "kick start." In most ponds they will not survive much past year two without great cover for them.
Posted By: Floridafish Re: Old Pond - 02/12/17 03:54 AM
I guess they would thrive with all the duckweed, LOL.
Posted By: Floridafish Re: Old Pond - 02/12/17 03:56 AM
Bait store sell them? How many to start? A few dozen?
Posted By: snrub Re: Old Pond - 02/12/17 02:10 PM
Originally Posted By: farmallsc
On the advice of Todd, I put them in for the benefit of the Bluegill once the bg grow larger.


Larger BG and RES definitely eat them, and I would guess even small hungry BG would eat the fry. Both my forage pond and sediment pond had sunfish only along with FHM. First year the FHM were thick. But over time as the sunfish population got larger in both size and number, the FHM population went almost totally away.
Posted By: farmallsc Re: Old Pond - 02/12/17 02:15 PM
I just returned from my walk from the pond. I was there right at sun up. I scared 3 ducks on my way down there. I used to see ducks all the time, but as me and Mom began spending a lot of time there, they had vanished until today.

The life across the pond is amazing. Either the minnows or fish are making ripples across the water. It's amazing and provides joy to me! I hope you will follow along with my journey.

You know, I have an abundance of trees and seeing as fish need habitat, I was wondering about trying to make something out of limbs and branches to put in the pond.in various places. This shouldn't hurt anything should it? I don't want to mess up the quality of my water and I don't think it would, but I could be wrong. I have a few big trees that have already fallen in and they didn't seem to hurt anything. I don't have any pallets to make hiding places for the minnows, so that's why I thought a few tree branch houses might help.

Thoughts?
Posted By: farmallsc Re: Old Pond - 02/12/17 03:12 PM
I just happened to remember seeing a pile of antique tires the other day. I bet those would a dandy habitat
Posted By: Dave Davidson1 Re: Old Pond - 02/12/17 03:21 PM
Avoid freshly cut oak. The tannins in it killed every fish I stocked. I had to pump it dry.

I use cedars and haven't seen a problem. But I dang sure don't overload it. Lusk told me that a cedar will last about 4 years in the pond.

If you question a piece of wood, test it by cutting a fresh piece and put it in a bucket of pond water. After 3 or 4 days, toss in some small fish and see what happens in a day or so.
Posted By: farmallsc Re: Old Pond - 02/12/17 03:31 PM
Thanks Dave. Great idea!
Posted By: farmallsc Re: Old Pond - 02/12/17 03:39 PM
Going after a water thermometer today. Something to do to pass the time. I sat under the trees till sunset yesterday. Happy and content with a slight breeze blowing. Woke up early this morning and made my way down there. About as peaceful of a feeling as a fellow could ask for.
Posted By: DonoBBD Re: Old Pond - 02/12/17 03:52 PM
Originally Posted By: Dave Davidson1
Avoid freshly cut oak. The tannins in it killed every fish I stocked. I had to pump it dry.

I use cedars and haven't seen a problem. But I dang sure don't overload it. Lusk told me that a cedar will last about 4 years in the pond.

If you question a piece of wood, test it by cutting a fresh piece and put it in a bucket of pond water. After 3 or 4 days, toss in some small fish and see what happens in a day or so.


The most rot resistant woods I know of are black locust, red mulberry, osage orange, and Pacific yew. The Osage Orange is has a very tanglely web of branches and the native indians would use these trees for corrals to hold their horses.

I know where there is one grove of osage orange close to me.
Posted By: farmallsc Re: Old Pond - 02/12/17 04:13 PM
I don't have any horse apple trees, but have a ton of black locust and mesquite.

Not real fond of those thorny trees either. I wish I could trade them for pecan or oaks.
Posted By: farmallsc Re: Old Pond - 02/12/17 06:54 PM
Could someone chime in on Hardy Lilies?

I was thinking about Texas Dawn and Fire Crest. Just to add some vegetation and color.


Here is what web site says about them.

Texas Dawn

Stunning water lily. Bright yellow blossoms (6-10") are held regally above richly mottled foliage (8"). A profuse bloomer, and wonderfully hardy. Adapts well to many climates. Will bloom heavily right up to the first frost.



Fire Crest
This is one of the fastest-growing lilies available for ponds. The light pink color of the flower petals contrasts nicely with the fiery red-orange stamens and bright green color of the pads. Expect this lily to spread one foot or more per year when planted into an earth-bottom pond.
Unknown hybridizer, originated circa 1930.
Posted By: Bill D. Re: Old Pond - 02/12/17 08:13 PM
Below is a link to the PBF archives for Water Lilies. A ton of good info there. FWIW I have Hardy Lilies in my pond and we are very happy with them.

http://forums.pondboss.com/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=253826
Posted By: Bill Cody Re: Old Pond - 02/12/17 11:28 PM
The TX Dawn will grow slightly deeper(1-2ft deeper) and faster than the Fire Crest. Both are considered Medium Spread lilies. Expect them to eventually grow to mostly 4'-5' deep.
Posted By: farmallsc Re: Old Pond - 02/13/17 12:54 AM
Originally Posted By: Bill D.
Below is a link to the PBF archives for Water Lilies. A ton of good info there. FWIW I have Hardy Lilies in my pond and we are very happy with them.

http://forums.pondboss.com/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=253826



Thanks Bill, The first few links wouldn't work, but down further in the thread was some good reading. I appreciate you posting the link. Thank you much!
Posted By: farmallsc Re: Old Pond - 02/13/17 12:55 AM
Originally Posted By: Bill Cody
The TX Dawn will grow slightly deeper(1-2ft deeper) and faster than the Fire Crest. Both are considered Medium Spread lilies. Expect them to eventually grow to mostly 4'-5' deep.


Thanks for the info Bill, given what you know, would you recommend either?
Posted By: Bill D. Re: Old Pond - 02/13/17 01:50 AM
Originally Posted By: farmallsc
.... The first few links wouldn't work, but down further in the thread was some good reading. ....


Unfortunately, if you dig a round in the archives much, you will find many of the older links have been corrupted. The forum moderators (most under appreciated guys on the forum IMO) fix the ones they can when they find them.
Posted By: farmallsc Re: Old Pond - 02/13/17 03:00 AM
I have my better half researching water lilies. Sounds like a good Valentine's Day gift. HaHa!
Posted By: farmallsc Re: Old Pond - 02/13/17 03:03 AM
On another note.

How long before my BG will be old enough to spawn. I've read on here about creating spawning beds, but that isn't necessary is it?
Posted By: farmallsc Re: Old Pond - 02/14/17 01:59 AM
Well, I started feeding today. I fed 1/2 cup over a period of around 3 minutes or so. To be honest, I wasn't expecting to see much activity, but was pleasantly surprised when I saw them hitting the surface after a few minutes. I watched the water for a little while before heading back to the house.

How many times per day do you guys feed? I was figuring once per day, but I dunno.
Posted By: John Fitzgerald Re: Old Pond - 02/14/17 02:05 AM
Morning and evening in warm seasons. Once (in evening) in early spring and mid to late autumn.
Posted By: farmallsc Re: Old Pond - 02/14/17 02:16 AM
Thank you, John.

You know, when I first started thinking about this pond, I had no idea how much fun this was going to be. My goal was just to put a few fish in so we would have a place to relax and fish. Now I'm thinking about pond plants, feeding, weighing/measuring for growth, creating habitat, removing trees, etc. A fellow can sure get carried away!
Posted By: Pat Williamson Re: Old Pond - 02/14/17 05:09 PM
Originally Posted By: farmallsc
Thank you, John.

You know, when I first started thinking about this pond, I had no idea how much fun this was going to be. My goal was just to put a few fish in so we would have a place to relax and fish. Now I'm thinking about pond plants, feeding, weighing/measuring for growth, creating habitat, removing trees, etc. A fellow can sure get carried away!

Farmall if you only knew! But it's fun anyway
Posted By: farmallsc Re: Old Pond - 02/14/17 05:22 PM
It sure is Pat.

Today is cold, wet, and miserable. Yesterday was absolutely beautiful. In fact, we've only had a few cold days and nights this winter thus far. Can't complain.


My leg is sore today. I tripped over a old barbwire fence that was laying on the ground and punctuated a hole in the back of my ankle and it sure is sore today.
Posted By: farmallsc Re: Old Pond - 02/14/17 07:45 PM
Here's a couple of frogs. I know absolutely nothing about frogs other than I have a ton of them from dime sized to hand size. Some are skidish, some not so much.

Attached picture IMG_3879.JPG
Attached picture IMG_3870.JPG
Posted By: farmallsc Re: Old Pond - 02/15/17 12:02 AM
Wow it's cold and windy. I didn't see much activity when I fed today. The pellets aren't floating or at least they don't seem to be, so it's hard to know how much is getting eaten. I stuck with 1/2 cup in case they aren't eating it all. Yesterday there was much more activity.
Posted By: Dave Davidson1 Re: Old Pond - 02/15/17 12:53 AM
The first one looks kinda like a toad. The second is a leapord frog.
Posted By: farmallsc Re: Old Pond - 02/15/17 01:32 AM
Thanks Dave. The pond has tons of frogs. When I walk down there all you here is splash
Posted By: Snakebite Re: Old Pond - 02/15/17 01:45 AM
Top frog picture is a cricket frog. They appear in hundreds of different colors. Quite a noisemaker for such a tiny thing.
Posted By: farmallsc Re: Old Pond - 02/15/17 01:58 AM
Originally Posted By: Snakebite
Top frog picture is a cricket frog. They appear in hundreds of different colors. Quite a noisemaker for such a tiny thing.


I plan to pay more attention to them from now on. I've been noticing them, but never really gave them much thought.
Posted By: farmallsc Re: Old Pond - 02/15/17 02:18 PM
I have a feeding questions for those who hand feed. Do you notice times when the fish aren't quite as active when you feed? Say cold rainy days. Just curious.
Posted By: Quarter Acre Re: Old Pond - 02/15/17 04:07 PM
May I suggest that the picture of the first frog might be a Spring Peeper. Either way, both the spring peeper and cricket frogs are incredibly loud on a warm nights. 10 frogs can sound like hundreds.

The second photo is definitely a leopard frog or as my wife calls them "basement frogs" because they frequent our sump in the basement.
Posted By: Dave Davidson1 Re: Old Pond - 02/15/17 05:58 PM
Yeah, I find times, sometimes for no obvious reason, when they have limited enthusiasm.
Posted By: farmallsc Re: Old Pond - 02/15/17 09:55 PM
Thanks Dave. I appreciate you guys answering all my dumb questions. When it comes to ponds and fish, I'm a double 0.
Posted By: farmallsc Re: Old Pond - 02/15/17 10:43 PM
I decided to take a couple more pictures with a penny to show the size. The stem of the plant is sort of light red.

Attached picture IMG_3927.JPG
Attached picture IMG_3925.JPG
Posted By: Flame Re: Old Pond - 02/15/17 11:48 PM
That almost looks like water hyacinth to me.
Posted By: liquidsquid Re: Old Pond - 02/17/17 01:55 AM
The bottom frog is a Wood Frog (edit) leopard frog, the top one I think is a cricket frog though I have never seen one myself. Wood frogs are cool in the sense they can freeze solid in winter and thaw out in the spring perfectly fine! The first frog does not have the toe pads and is too large to be a peeper.

Sorry, re-looked and it is not a wood frog.
Posted By: farmallsc Re: Old Pond - 02/17/17 10:59 PM
Absolutely beautiful day at the pond. Just sitting here relaxing.

Attached picture IMG_3943.JPG
Posted By: farmallsc Re: Old Pond - 02/20/17 08:00 PM
How much rain y'all get?

3.5 inches for me


Wife and Mom surprised me with a petal boat. We haven't had a chance to take a voyage yet.

Attached picture IMG_3946.JPG
Posted By: farmallsc Re: Old Pond - 02/22/17 01:05 AM
Couple of days ago, Mom and I went down to feed the fish, I've been giving them 1/2 cup, well they just devoured it in a few minutes. I don't know the exact time, but less than five minutes. Mom and I looked at each other and she said, go get some more. I brought back another 1/2 cup and they took a little longer, but still ate it all. I gave them a cup full tonight and it took about 10 minutes or so.

I guess I'll keep them at a cup or so for the next day or two and just see how they do. It seems like a few more fish are coming to feed. Maybe they are just catching on to the fact I'm feeding them.


Does this sound like I'm feeding enough?
Posted By: Bill Cody Re: Old Pond - 02/22/17 01:21 AM
Yes feeding amount is okay for initial training. As they eat the 1 cup of food faster then you can gradually increase the amount. If they eventually keep eating more, I would not feed any more than 1 gallon of pellets per day.
Posted By: farmallsc Re: Old Pond - 02/22/17 01:40 AM
Thank you, Bill.
Posted By: farmallsc Re: Old Pond - 02/22/17 02:06 AM
With my petal boat, I was able to check the depth of my pond. It stays about a foot deep till you get out about 15 feet from shore and slowly gets deeper. It ranges about 28 to 30 inches until you get about 40 feet out and then it gets to just over 4' and stays there for about 50 yards and slowly goes back till you get to the other end. There doesn't seem to be any drastic drop offs, but I only went straight down the middle.

I was hoping for a couple more feet, but it is what it is. I was using a tape measure so I couldn't tell how much soft muck was in the bottom, I'll try to check that next.

The good news it's not full and has plenty of room to catch more water. If we got some spring rain, I can see it holding 3-4 more feet easily.


Maiden voyage


Attached picture IMG_3948.JPG
Posted By: farmallsc Re: Old Pond - 02/25/17 05:57 AM
Mom was able to see our fish today while feeding. She said due to the FA they came up real close to where she was standing on the bank in a small area that didn't have FA. She said the only fish she could see looked like BG.

She didn't see any catfish. Recon why the CC are not coming in to eat? It's been the warmest Feb on record, yesterday it was 82.

And wonder why FHM don't come up to feed? We haven't seen nar one since we put them in other than seeing a few ripples in the middle of the pond that we assume are them.
Posted By: farmallsc Re: Old Pond - 02/28/17 10:37 PM
It's been 17 days since I stocked. Mom told me she saw a couple BG today near the edge of the pond and said they looked double the size we stocked. Possible?
Posted By: canyoncreek Re: Old Pond - 02/28/17 11:48 PM
No



.
.
.
.
.
.
.
Everything happens in a bigger way in Texas but I don't think BG can double in size in 17 days.
Posted By: farmallsc Re: Old Pond - 03/01/17 12:42 AM
I didn't think so either, neither one of see that great
Posted By: snrub Re: Old Pond - 03/01/17 02:30 AM
Water can have a magnification effect also. 25%?

Plus she might have been remembering the smallest of the stocked fish and the ones coming to feed may be of the largest sizes. It is unlikely that the fish were all exactly the same size to begin with.
Posted By: farmallsc Re: Old Pond - 03/01/17 02:44 AM
Now you mention it Snrub, that makes a lot of sense. I didn't think about the water playing tricks. Plus we've both been anxious to see them since we turned them loose. We have them where they don't seem to be real scared of us as long as we don't move around too much on the bank. They come up pretty shallow when we feed, but not close enough to get a real clear view. If either one of us could see better, it wouldn't be a problem to see them.
Posted By: farmallsc Re: Old Pond - 03/08/17 06:12 AM
I'm now feeding a Ranch Style Bean can (about 2 cups) twice a day.

I still ring bell and kick a tree stump, but it's not necessary as they are usually there waiting on me. They come right up into the shallow water about 3 foot from the bank.

It's become a family affair and we all go down to the pond at feeding time. My wife says there are definitely a few that are bigger than the rest and they have vertical stripes. She says they are an inch or 2 longer than the rest.

I know the RES were a little bigger than the BG, so I'm wondering if maybe a few of them are coming up to eat. More than likely though, a few of the BG were a little larger than the rest.

I
Posted By: farmallsc Re: Old Pond - 03/08/17 05:48 PM
Ok, I am going to stock 40lbs of the 8-10" Tilapia next month. Yes, that's a lot for my pond. I want this FA gone and I want it gone yesterday. Plus, I am hoping for some good rod and reel fishing PDQ. [pretty darn quick] If you know what I mean.


All that said and done, between the tilapia, BG and the Res offspring will I need anything besides the 100 small catfish that's in there? The catfish were 6-8" and they have been in there almost a month.


If I do need another predator, how long should I wait after stocking the Tilapia?




Posted By: Bill Cody Re: Old Pond - 03/09/17 04:49 PM
farmallsc - take a couple pictures before and later after you stock the 40lb of tilapia (80 lb/ac) to document how well and how fast of a job they do at cleaning up your algae problem. Keep us updated on your project as it progresses.
Posted By: farmallsc Re: Old Pond - 03/09/17 06:58 PM
Sure thing Bil. I'll get some pictures today. I'm having a hard time feeding when the wind is out of the south cause it blows it right into my feeding zone.
Posted By: farmallsc Re: Old Pond - 03/10/17 06:03 AM
This is how it looks today. I have to reach out there with a long piece of pvc and create a hole to feed. I try not to disturb the bottom as I don't want the water to turn muddy before feeding.

Attached picture IMG_3976.JPG
Posted By: farmallsc Re: Old Pond - 03/11/17 07:49 PM
Sakes alive did we get a bucket of rain last night!!! I had my petal boat pulled way up on the bank and the water rose and my boat is floating. It sure did muddy the water too! My SIL says we got about 5" of rain, I don't doubt it, but I haven't been over to check the gauge. I know my pond came up several feet.
Posted By: snrub Re: Old Pond - 03/11/17 10:45 PM
That ought to make that 4' deep water into 7'.

That should also help with the FA. Makes more of the water deeper so sun does not penetrate to the bottom over as much of the pond, and the dilution of the concentrated nutrients will
make the overall water quality better and not as nutrient rich per gallon.

Your fish ought to really thrive now.
Posted By: farmallsc Re: Old Pond - 03/12/17 01:25 AM
Originally Posted By: snrub
That ought to make that 4' deep water into 7'.

That should also help with the FA. Makes more of the water deeper so sun does not penetrate to the bottom over as much of the pond, and the dilution of the concentrated nutrients will
make the overall water quality better and not as nutrient rich per gallon.

Your fish ought to really thrive now.



It's coming another gullywasher tonight, so this should really fill up the pond. Once it's over, I'll get new depth measurements. I figure your about right just from what I saw today. I wasn't able to feed today because it was so muddy and it looks like it may be the same tomorrow.
Posted By: Dave Davidson1 Re: Old Pond - 03/12/17 12:54 PM
Enjoy it. Summer is coming.
Posted By: farmallsc Re: Old Pond - 03/12/17 10:29 PM
You know, I've been thinking(that's usually pretty dangerous.) You know, when I measured the size of my pond, I stepped off from waters edge to waters edge, not considering it would fluctuate. I may have underestimated its size. I guess it's better to underestimate than overestimate
Posted By: Bill D. Re: Old Pond - 03/12/17 11:27 PM
Originally Posted By: farmallsc
You know, I've been thinking(that's usually pretty dangerous.) You know, when I measured the size of my pond, I stepped off from waters edge to waters edge, not considering it would fluctuate. I may have underestimated its size. I guess it's better to underestimate than overestimate


FWIW....My pond is a watertable pond and fluctuates several feet every year. It ranges in size from .35 to .65 acres. The low pool is always in the hottest months when DO and water quality can be the biggest concern. Knowing this, I stocked and now manage the pond like it is .35 acres year round to be on the conservative side.
Posted By: farmallsc Re: Old Pond - 03/15/17 12:42 AM
My babies finally started eating again today. The last rain sure did muddy my water, but it's starting to clear up a bit.
Posted By: farmallsc Re: Old Pond - 03/21/17 07:19 PM
Caught a bunch of June bugs and have been feeding my fish. I didn't think they would be able to swallow them, but I be darned they attacked them like piranha
Posted By: canyoncreek Re: Old Pond - 03/21/17 07:30 PM
please, let us in on the best way to catch june bugs or japanese beetles? getting rid of them and feeding the fish at the same time sounds like a win/win for all of us!
Posted By: farmallsc Re: Old Pond - 03/21/17 07:37 PM
Originally Posted By: canyoncreek
please, let us in on the best way to catch june bugs or japanese beetles? getting rid of them and feeding the fish at the same time sounds like a win/win for all of us!


To be honest, I didn't setbout to catch them. They just happened to be there and I swept them up. Outside my RV, we have one of those plastic mats that's about 12' long and 8' wide. The June bugs seem to congregate there and I grab them. I was going to smash them up with some cornmeal, but wife put an end to that idea real quick. grin

If you could've heard the conversation, you'd still be laughing.
Posted By: farmallsc Re: Old Pond - 03/25/17 11:13 PM
Catfish are feeding! My wife found her camera and came with me down to the pond. Rain/wind has taken care of FA and she was able to get some good pictures!!!

Yea!!!!!

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Description: Catfish
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Posted By: Bill D. Re: Old Pond - 03/26/17 12:44 PM
Looks like you have quite a herd there! Well done! What else is in the pics besides CC?
Posted By: Pat Williamson Re: Old Pond - 03/26/17 01:24 PM
Lax nice liking fish!
All I see is BG
Posted By: farmallsc Re: Old Pond - 03/26/17 01:41 PM
Originally Posted By: Bill D.
Looks like you have quite a herd there! Well done! What else is in the pics besides CC?


There are some OTS CNBG in amongst them, but it looks like they are getting pushed around at feeding time. Those CC are chow hounds. The CC may have been coming to feed all this time and I just wasn't able to see. I'm feeding about 6 to 7 cups a day spread out over the day at morning, noon and late afternoon. I bet the CC is what's been gobbling up those June bugs I've been chunking in there.


Oh yeah, there are some RES in there, but I don't know if they are coming up to feed. All my research says probably not.




I'll tell you what I find amazing. One day you go out to the pond and it looks completely taken over with FA. The next day you get some breezy conditions or a rain and presto your pond looks crystal clear.



Oh yes, one more thing. New depth taken from several places in the middle and it ranges from 6'2" to 6' 11"
Posted By: farmallsc Re: Old Pond - 03/29/17 05:20 AM
Talked over my plan with Todd today. Since I don't have Bass, his recommendation is 5 to 10# of Tilapia.

That will be lots easier on the pocket book.


I forgot to ask him if they needed anything special for breeding habitat. Anybody know?
Posted By: Pat Williamson Re: Old Pond - 03/29/17 08:29 AM
Just water !
They are easy to care for
Posted By: farmallsc Re: Old Pond - 03/30/17 10:16 PM
If you're following along with some of my posts, I've had a twist of events. It appears I had some GSF in my pond when I stocked it last month. This should make things interesting.
Posted By: sprkplug Re: Old Pond - 03/30/17 10:43 PM
I thought so. Look at the mouth size, the fin tipping, and the color on an opercular. Some GSF influence definitely.
Posted By: snrub Re: Old Pond - 03/30/17 11:31 PM
You need to catch a couple of those and take pictures out of the water. They look kind of wide body like GSF. That may just be the water magnification though. Sprkplug is right on the opercular tab looking GSFishy.

They also look hungry. That is the way my fish come up and stare at me wanting fed. laugh
Posted By: farmallsc Re: Old Pond - 03/30/17 11:38 PM
Here ya go. What you think?

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Posted By: John Fitzgerald Re: Old Pond - 03/30/17 11:40 PM
Originally Posted By: farmallsc
Here ya go. What you think?


Green Sunfish. Certain.
Posted By: snrub Re: Old Pond - 03/30/17 11:48 PM
No doubt about those. You have yourself some potential trophy GSF there. Just keep feeding them.

That first picture is classic. Green bars on the cheeks, big mouth, coloration, more fusiform shape than a BG, opercular tab border.

Here is a thread you can read all about my learning curve on GSF and I think there is a link within of another persons experience.
100% Green Sunfish

Edit: that first picture the opercular tab does not show up that well because the fish has his gills flared so the border is out away from the body. I first noticed this when taking pictures of RES. In person I would see the bright red or orange border. Yet when I took a picture of the fish, if it had the tab flared out, it did not show up so much. Your second picture you can see the translucent orange border on the ear flap (opercular tab).
Posted By: farmallsc Re: Old Pond - 03/30/17 11:50 PM
Thanks John and Snrub!


Looks like I wasted my money on the stocking of fish. A bunch of them probably got ate. I would have bet my gizzard there were no fish in there. I should have bought a sack of feed before stocking. Oh well. Alls well that ends well.


I think Todd has some big OTS CNBG, I may get a few and see if they will eventually take over the pond.


A little disappointed, but not overly so. In hindsight I would have just bought bigger OTS CNBG.

I don't know about putting Bass in. Don't get me wrong, I like Bass. I'm just not sure what to do other than Feed, Fish and watch what it becomes.
Posted By: farmallsc Re: Old Pond - 04/01/17 12:47 AM
Wife stumbled upon this fellow.



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Posted By: Pat Williamson Re: Old Pond - 04/01/17 01:40 AM
He will be-a- singing before to long. Nice
Posted By: farmallsc Re: Old Pond - 04/01/17 10:41 PM
I caught a mess of fish. I stopped at 41. I should have one nice fish fry.

I was catching 4 and 5" fish as fast as I could chunk. I was using a #8 hook. I got tired of catching dinks, so I switched to a #2 Aberdeen Crappie hook with June Bugs and just tore them up. The largest was this fellow at 9" and I had a boat load that size. I could have kept catching, but I got tired. I was only down there about an hour.

The last one I had on my line felt like a monster, but it went into some brush and snapped my line.

I now have no doubt in my mind what happened to all the BG, RES, and FHM. They made them GSF a nice snack.

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Posted By: Bill D. Re: Old Pond - 04/01/17 11:02 PM
Wow! Those are some nice fish man! I see nothing wrong with a pond full of those. Your CC are probably ok but I think you may be right that all but your biggest CNBG stockers and most/all of the FHM are probably history.

Posted By: farmallsc Re: Old Pond - 04/01/17 11:10 PM
Originally Posted By: Bill D.
Wow! Those are some nice fish man! I see nothing wrong with a pond full of those. Your CC are probably ok but I think you may be right that all but your biggest CNBG stockers and most/all of the FHM are probably history.


Bill,

I had a lot of fun! I thought I might have thinned the herd, but when I fed tonight, I couldn't tell a difference. I still have a pond full.
Posted By: Bill D. Re: Old Pond - 04/01/17 11:16 PM
I would probably start looking for some 6+ inch LMB stockers. Maybe a few of Overton's Legacy Bass? smile GSF do not reproduce like CNBG so a few LMB will thin the herd. IMO now would be a good time to stock some 6+ inch CNBG as well.
Posted By: farmallsc Re: Old Pond - 04/02/17 01:02 AM
Originally Posted By: Bill D.
I would probably start looking for some 6+ inch LMB stockers. Maybe a few of Overton's Legacy Bass? smile GSF do not reproduce like CNBG so a few LMB will thin the herd. IMO now would be a good time to stock some 6+ inch CNBG as well.



Hey Bill,

How many 6" CNBG would you put?


I'll check on those Bass too.
Posted By: Dave Davidson1 Re: Old Pond - 04/02/17 10:37 AM
I would advise caution about bass in anything less than about 1.5 acres in Texas. Those suckers spawn and over spawn. They're also pretty good about getting hook shy. The "average" Texas pond that I see is bass heavy and bluegill light. I much prefer cats and Hybrid Stripers.
Posted By: Bill D. Re: Old Pond - 04/02/17 12:14 PM
Originally Posted By: Dave Davidson1
I would advise caution about bass in anything less than about 1.5 acres in Texas. Those suckers spawn and over spawn. They're also pretty good about getting hook shy. The "average" Texas pond that I see is bass heavy and bluegill light. ....



I wonder why that is? Could part of it be a pond owner expecting too much from a smaller body of water? It seems everybody that stocks LMB wants to grow big LMB. Could it be that a big LMB for a 1/2 acre is maybe 3 pounds but the owner chases the dream of 6 or 7 pounds and doesn't harvest appropriately? Or maybe the owner of that small body of water sets goals for high catch rates of big bass way beyond the capacity of the pond so again doesn't harvest appropriately?

Any thoughts?

Bill D.
Posted By: Pat Williamson Re: Old Pond - 04/02/17 02:33 PM
Originally Posted By: Bill D.
[quote=Dave Davidson1]I would advise caution about bass in anything less than about 1.5 acres in Texas. Those suckers spawn and over spawn. They're also pretty good about getting hook shy. The "average" Texas pond that I see is bass heavy and bluegill light. ....



I wonder why that is? Could part of it be a pond owner expecting too much from a smaller body of water? It seems everybody that stocks LMB wants to grow big LMB. Could it be that a big LMB for a 1/2 acre is maybe 3 pounds but the owner chases the dream of 6 or 7 pounds and doesn't harvest appropriately? Or maybe the owner of that small body of water sets goals for high catch rates of big bass way beyond the capacity of the pond so again doesn't harvest appropriately?

Any thoughts








































































Bill


Posted By: farmallsc Re: Old Pond - 04/02/17 02:52 PM
At the moment, you couldn't ask for more exciting fishing. I don't know how long it will hold out though. I've never targeted trophy fish. The bigest Bass I ever caught was around 5 pounds and was caught out of a stock tank. There's a story behind it and one of these days, I'll share. The absolute biggest fish was a halibut, but I had to travel to Alaska to catch them.

I've almost always fished for Crappie and Sunfish. When possible, I do love to chase Rainbow Trout. I've never caught a striper in my life. If I catch a 3 lb fish, I'm happy as a goat at a picnic.
Posted By: Pat Williamson Re: Old Pond - 04/02/17 03:29 PM
Bill
I have seen 10# bass come out of a small stock tank on many occasions. So you can't write off some big uns in small water.
Posted By: N.TexasHalfAcre Re: Old Pond - 04/02/17 04:56 PM
DD1, I have fished many, many ponds in Texas over the years. Most of them less than an acre, bucket stocked with zero management. Yes, they usually have tons of small bass but I have also caught many 4, 5 and 6 pounders from these same ponds. They may not be ideal for growing trophy bass but good size bass are possible. I have also caught large BG from these ponds usually by accident while bass fishing. I think nature has its own way of self managing through things like floods, fish kills, birds, self predation, etc. Not disagreeing with you since I am not educated enough in the management process to do that. Just sharing my experiences.

I think it is sometimes when we take matters into our own hands and prevent nature from being nature by aerating, feeding, scaring off birds, preventing flooding concerns, etc where problems can occur.
Posted By: Dave Davidson1 Re: Old Pond - 04/03/17 10:49 AM
Here's some of my observations and experience from quite a few years. And, as we say, all ponds are different. I'm also not a pro but a pretty dumb pond junkie. My curiosity has killed a lot of fish and my biggest mistake probably hasn't happened yet.

Even East Texas and West Texas are 100% different. Attribute this to rain and soil. Fertilizing, in my area, can just about guarantee a fish kill with the bigger fish going first. Pine tree country generally means that the water needs carefully applied fertilizer. Been there, done that, a long time ago and had to start over. I am also not qualified to give advice regarding ponds in areas where people look forward to fishing in hard water or any place where people can walk on their ponds.

Fish in smaller ponds get hook shy and bigger fish are generally those that have learned that my footsteps on the bank could be a problem.

By the end of summer, a 1/2 acre pond can become 1/4 acre and all of the pond dynamics change. Praying for rain and rain dances are futile.

Bass and BG are spawning machines. Only bass can keep up with BG spawning rates. And only BG can spawn enough to feed bass. And yet, the bass, even with plentiful groceries, can wipe out the BG base in 3 or 4 years in anything less than 3 or 4 acres. That's why it's important to remove all the small bass. Good luck on that.

Aeration works and fountains don't.

Lieing to the Wife about pond expenses can get you into trouble.

Ponds are like corvettes, boats, horses, and women. They are expensive, can cause trouble, and are sometimes hard to understand.

Being a nice guy and letting others fish your ponds or hunt your deer and hogs is generally not advisable.

If Lusk or Cody say it; you can bet that they are right.

There's a lot more and I expect you guys can add to this.
Posted By: farmallsc Re: Old Pond - 04/04/17 05:29 AM
Interesting day at the pond. Wife broke in her new 28 ga by blowing the head off a moccasin. Also saw a few catfish coming to feed.
Posted By: Custom 68 Re: Old Pond - 04/04/17 01:11 PM
Interesting and true take on things Dave
Posted By: farmallsc Re: Old Pond - 04/06/17 03:04 AM
My Catfish are now very actively feeding. Mom gets them and the Green Sunfish feeding and I'm over around the corner feeding the smaller fish. There doesn't seem to be many and I can't tell for sure what they are. I sure hope it's cnbg.

Some of you Texans chime in and let me know if

1. You plan on Tilapia and
2. When are you stocking?


It was windy and a tway bit chilly today, so I'm thinking it's still too early. I don't want to stock them and then get a cold snap. I would just be crushed. Patience is not my strong point, but I know it's needed.
Posted By: TGW1 Re: Old Pond - 04/06/17 12:12 PM
I try to stock Tp anytime after April 1st. My surface water temps are usually in the high 60's to low 70's at that time. And it would take a pretty hard winter weather event to drop water temps to the low 50's.
Posted By: farmallsc Re: Old Pond - 04/06/17 01:00 PM
Thank you Tracy!
Posted By: anthropic Re: Old Pond - 04/08/17 04:16 AM
Overtons now stocking TP, so obviously they think it is pretty safe. There are no absolute guarantees, but the weather odds are strongly in your favor.
Posted By: farmallsc Re: Old Pond - 04/08/17 05:10 AM
Yeah, we're going tomorrow cause I'm just about out of feed. I'll take a look at the TP and chat with Todd if he's in. I generally give him a heads up when we plan on stopping by, but I plain forgot to text him till late this evening. I sure hope he has plenty of feed cause I waited till I was at the bottom of the barrel
Posted By: farmallsc Re: Old Pond - 04/18/17 02:38 AM
It's coming a gully washer once again. The muddy water only slows the GSF down for a few days, but my small BG had just started eating good today.
Posted By: farmallsc Re: Old Pond - 05/07/17 01:47 AM
Tilapia day!!!!

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Posted By: snrub Re: Old Pond - 05/07/17 04:37 PM
That is a nice one. They will ba spawning in no time.
Posted By: farmallsc Re: Old Pond - 06/23/17 04:43 AM
Thought I would update my thread. The Tilapia have been in about a month and a half. I have seen improvement in the FA, at least it's not all over the surface of the pond like it was. It's not completely gone though, so next year I will most likely double my order.

The Catfish are eating like pigs! It is so much fun feeding them. Mom and I hand feed twice daily same time each day within a few minutes. Some days the fish show up in droves and some days we just have a few. We haven't quite figured out why that is. We notice they seem more active during the evening feeding.

I figure along about September, we will start fishing and see what we can catch. We haven't fished it since removing a bunch of the GSF. I don't know about the Bluegill and Res, but I can tell the Catfish are thriving. When they come to feed, you could literally walk across them!

Well that's about all I have. Stay tuned.
Posted By: John Fitzgerald Re: Old Pond - 06/23/17 04:53 AM
Originally Posted By: farmallsc

The Catfish are eating like pigs! It is so much fun feeding them. Mom and I hand feed twice daily same time each day within a few minutes. Some days the fish show up in droves and some days we just have a few. We haven't quite figured out why that is. We notice they seem more active during the evening feeding.


Sometimes our CC are erratic about feeding. We caught a two year old CC this evening that weighed in at exactly five pounds and 22-1/2 inches. You will be amazed at their growth if you feed as much as they want. Last year I fed them a mix of Optimal BG and regular CC pellets. I think the Optimal gave them a boost as I caught a 3 lb 14 oz CC late last fall.
I haven't taken enough CC out as they got bigger, and narrowly avoided a kill a few days ago. If I had it to do over, I would have taken more last fall and started earlier this year.
Posted By: farmallsc Re: Old Pond - 06/23/17 03:54 PM
Originally Posted By: John F
Sometimes our CC are erratic about feeding. We caught a two year old CC this evening that weighed in at exactly five pounds and 22-1/2 inches. .


Wow! I'm hoping mine do that well. Since I put mine in back in Feb, I wonder when I could start my harvest? Do you suppose late this fall I could have some 2 pounders?
Posted By: John Fitzgerald Re: Old Pond - 06/23/17 04:44 PM
You could have some 3 pounders by late October with satiation feeding, but be careful and don't spoil the water. I put my earliest ones in at 6 inches in Sept 2015. The growing season is shorter here than where you are.
Posted By: farmallsc Re: Old Pond - 06/23/17 05:25 PM
Thanks John.
Posted By: farmallsc Re: Old Pond - 06/28/17 03:15 AM
To refresh your memory, my pond ranges from 1/2 to 7/8 of an acre with varying depths when it's low the greatest depth in the middle may be less than 4' to when it's full about 7'.

I've got a bunch of fish! When we feed, Mom and I stand 40' apart and chunk in a sweeping motion. We have fish all around us and inbetween us! Some days you could walk across a 12' diameter of them.

We are feeding twice a day, same basic time daily and a 50# bag lasts less than a month. Usually 22 to 25 days.


Are we feeding too much, too little or just right? Water quality appears good, fish seem happy. A few turtles show up at feeding time as well. Catfish are now big enough to muddy the waters when feeding. Catfish darn near come up bank and take feed out of your hand.

Green Sunfish are abundant still. I'm not fishing currently due to heat, but will start again in Sept to remove GSF and Tilapia. Still have high hopes that CNBG and RES survived the initial stocking.
Posted By: John Fitzgerald Re: Old Pond - 06/28/17 03:25 AM
In my experience, you should cut back a little on feed, especially if your water temp is exceeding 85 degrees. From what I have gathered from your posts on your catfish, a 50 pound bag should last you about one month exactly at this stage. Have you sampled the CC for size? I believe you said 100 CC? They should be 12 to 13" by now with satiation feeding. For young CC, in my experience if you mix in some Optimal, they should grow even faster. We are catching two year old CC from two to five pounds....some individuals are more aggressive pellet hogs than others.
Posted By: farmallsc Re: Old Pond - 06/28/17 03:54 AM
I haven't sampled any up close, I can't see too well unless I am a couple of feet away, but My Wife says they are probably about what you said maybe a tad less, but she said it's hard to tell exactly. Wife says the fish cover the top of water when we feed and I hear a lot of splashing. My water temps are probably just like you say as it is HOT here! Pond has also started dropping in the last couple of weeks, its not low, but probably a foot less than it was. I will cut back 1/2 can on Mom's side. That will be about 2 cups less per day. That should stretch our feed out to a full month per bag.


Yes, I put 100 CC on Feb 11.
Posted By: farmallsc Re: Old Pond - 07/03/17 01:36 AM
I'll tell ya what I have noticed now the Catfish are growing. They can sure muddy up the area where they're feeding.
Posted By: snrub Re: Old Pond - 07/03/17 05:24 AM
If you do not want them to stir the bottom up make sure the water you are feeding in is at least five feet deep. If you want them to do some bottom stiring to facilitate muck stiring or want to get some of those bottom nutrients up into the water collumn add some sinking catfish food to the floating variety. They will root around in the bottom for the sinking pellets.
Posted By: farmallsc Re: Old Pond - 07/09/17 04:15 PM
@snrub I would have to wade out to the middle to find water 5' deep.


I haven't seen my Tilapia since stocking, but my FA has been reduced only to be replaced by a neon green film that covers my whole pond. Fish are still eating everything I throw, so I guess all is well. The green film I noticed this week. It started out in a small area and today the whole pond is that way
Posted By: farmallsc Re: Old Pond - 07/18/17 01:41 PM
Green film is gone now. I have very little FA just around the edges in a few places. Pond is looking real good, but dropping due to no rain lately. I wish those darn willow trees would never gotten started, but it is what it is. I'm really glad I added Tilapia
Posted By: farmallsc Re: Old Pond - 07/20/17 06:59 PM
Hi de ho, Everybody. At John F's recommendation, We cut back slightly so our 50# will last all month. The Tilapia have done good, though it took longer than I wanted. Next year, I will double my order. There is still some FA along some edges, but it's nothing like before we put them in. We're seeing lots of small fry, but we're not sure if it is Sunfish or Tilapia. I need to buy some traps and see up close. We see lots of turtles and frogs too! A darn snake came racing past me this morning and I almost messed my drawers. He went straight into the water and I never saw him again. I don't know if y'all know it or not, but I don't like snakes too much!

This pond is alive with all sorts of dragon flies and various other bugs. I haven't noticed mosquitoes being too bad though and that's a good thing. We have lots of chiggars though if you get close to that Johnson grass. We try to keep our feed trail clear so it isn't a problem if you don't wander off the trail. I do enjoy this pond and the joy it brings makes the few dollars spent stocking and feeding SO worth it!

We're not fishing it yet. I'm patiently waiting, but I tell u what, come September, ima gonna put some fish in the fryer!
Posted By: farmallsc Re: Old Pond - 08/10/17 09:53 PM
I waited as long as I could.

I wanted to see one of my CC's up close, so I caught a nice 15" Catfish the other day. Doggone it sure tasted good!

Yesterday about 2 pm, I put on a tiny hook and some Crappie bites. I caught a dozen GSF one right after another. They were all fat as mud balls, but tiny. They ranged in size from 3" to 6". I retuned all of them.

I didn't catch any BG, RES, or Tilapia.


I plan to start fishing heavily for Tilapia come sept.
Posted By: Pat Williamson Re: Old Pond - 08/10/17 10:26 PM
What you gonna catch the tilapia on? I didn't catch but one out of 50#s last year.
Posted By: farmallsc Re: Old Pond - 08/10/17 11:17 PM
Originally Posted By: Pat Williamson
What you gonna catch the tilapia on? I didn't catch but one out of 50#s last year.



Don't laugh, but I was going to try frozen peas and carrots. That's what my Brother suggested, but he may be pulling my leg.
Posted By: Pat Williamson Re: Old Pond - 08/10/17 11:36 PM
English peas may work,or corn,probably earthworms . Might try putting fish food pellets in the bend of hook, that works great on BG and CC
Posted By: esshup Re: Old Pond - 08/11/17 02:11 PM
Or https://www.stubbysteve.com/

Much better than using a pellet.
Posted By: RC51 Re: Old Pond - 08/11/17 02:36 PM
Maybe a chunk of celery... lmao.... You never know... Hard to put algae on a hook... lol or maybe some fried okra... hahaha no telling what them fish will eat...

RC
Posted By: farmallsc Re: Old Pond - 08/11/17 03:20 PM
Originally Posted By: RC51
Maybe a chunk of celery... lmao.... You never know... Hard to put algae on a hook... lol or maybe some fried okra... hahaha no telling what them fish will eat...

RC



Hmmm Algae on a hook. You just gave me an idea
Posted By: farmallsc Re: Old Pond - 08/11/17 10:47 PM
Well, the algae on a hook didn't work worth a hoot!

I took a #8 hook and loaded it down with algae I tried it suspended for awhile and also drug along the bottom. No nibbles, no bites.

Now the fun part. I put a Crappie bite on same hook thinking I might catch a Sunfish. First cast, as soon as bobber hit the water, under it went. Nice CC. I scratched my head cause that's the last thing I figured on catching with that small hook. I figured it was a fluke, put on another and same dadgum thing happened. Ok, now I have 2 nice CC in my basket. Mom said wait a minute, I'll be right back.

A few minutes later she has a handful of sliced frozen Okra we picked the other day. I wasn't expecting much, but bobber went skating across tank then under it went. Tried to set the hook, but missed. This happened several times and each time something got my bait. I changed tactics and only used a small portion of Okra and caught GSF one right after another until I got tired of catching them. When I got done fishing, I turned the CC loose cause I was too tired to clean them. I may never catch those 2 again according to what I've read. If that's the case, I'll have 2 smart fish in my tank. Haha. Don't you just hate an educated fish.


Oh btw, all the GSF were very small 3"to 4". I put them all back.
Posted By: esshup Re: Old Pond - 08/11/17 11:07 PM
If you would have fin clipped those CC, you would know for sure whether you caught them again or not!
Posted By: farmallsc Re: Old Pond - 08/11/17 11:39 PM
Good Idea, I didn't think about it at the time. I was plumb tuckered out.
Posted By: farmallsc Re: Old Pond - 08/16/17 10:54 PM
I will add...The Cargil 4512 food seems to make them fat. All the fish I've caught sure seem healthy and fat. I tried different sizes, but they appear to like the 1/8" best. They will eat the 1/4" too, but don't attack it near as well as the 1/8"
Posted By: Pat Williamson Re: Old Pond - 08/17/17 12:55 AM
Farm
That's just opposite from my fish I mix the 1/8" and 1/4" and they hit the 1/4" first then finally eat the 1/8" . I think cause they are bigger fish and don't want to waste energy on the little stuff. Very few small BG venture out in 8-10' of water
Posted By: farmallsc Re: Old Pond - 08/18/17 02:33 AM
Electric is about 75 to 100 yards from my pond, I think. Maybe closer. I'm poor at judging distance. These aerator systems I heard y'all talk about, are they 110 or 220? I've read just a small bit about them to understand that it's better to have small bubbles with a system on the bottom as compared to a fountain type. At least that's what I think I know.
Posted By: Dave Davidson1 Re: Old Pond - 08/18/17 09:23 AM
I've often said that fountains are about like race horses and trophy wives. They're nice to look at, expensive to buy and maintain but don't do a lick of work.
Posted By: farmallsc Re: Old Pond - 11/17/17 08:24 PM
I've cut their feed way back. I'm feeding 2 cups once a day. Water quality has improved greatly.
Posted By: Bill D. Re: Old Pond - 11/17/17 08:57 PM
Hey Farmall,

I've seen several folks post that once they introduce BG/CNBG into ponds with established GSF that they will eventually reduce the GSF herd substantially. Have you seen any signs of that yet in your pond?
Posted By: snrub Re: Old Pond - 11/17/17 10:03 PM
Farmallsc my wife usually fishes for CC conventionally with a baited hook laying on the bottom (she likes to knit better than she likes to fish, so she can knit while she fishes for CC that way). I rarely do that type of fishing because it is way too boring. I instead fish for BG with a small jig and very tiny bait. I like action.

I catch as many CC fishing for BG as she does fishing for CC. But she gets infinitely more knitting done than I do. grin
Posted By: farmallsc Re: Old Pond - 11/18/17 02:07 PM
Originally Posted By: Bill D.
Hey Farmall,

I've seen several folks post that once they introduce BG/CNBG into ponds with established GSF that they will eventually reduce the GSF herd substantially. Have you seen any signs of that yet in your pond?


No Bill, my GSF still way out number by BG. However; I believe that most of the BG I put in, were quickly consumed right along with the 5# of FHM. I could be wrong, but that's my gut feeling.

My pond is real low and I need some rain. We've gotten just enough to keep things from getting real bad.

On a positive note the CC have taken over the pond and act like their the Bull of the Woods. They are getting nice sized too.
Posted By: farmallsc Re: Old Pond - 11/18/17 02:15 PM
Originally Posted By: snrub
Farmallsc my wife usually fishes for CC conventionally with a baited hook laying on the bottom (she likes to knit better than she likes to fish, so she can knit while she fishes for CC that way). I rarely do that type of fishing because it is way too boring. I instead fish for BG with a small jig and very tiny bait. I like action.

I catch as many CC fishing for BG as she does fishing for CC. But she gets infinitely more knitting done than I do. grin


I'm with you, I like action. The CC seem to jump on the line. I changed the type and the size of bait, went with a small BG hook and I still catch a lot of the CC too.


Oh yeah, as far as the Tilapia go, I never saw or caught one out of the pond. I guess they did their job, but I was sure planning on putting a few in the freezer.
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