Had a few high school students over back when I was still harvesting the pond. Here's a few more pictures. I estimate I have removed about 75 out of the 125 I originally planted at 4 to 8 inches 2 years ago. No idea where the rest went but they are not in the pond. Most likely natural mortality and nourishment for a GBH as I didn't get the entire pond staked in time last year.

Heaviest fish was 6 lbs. 11 oz. And the longest fish was 22 3/4 inches on a board. Not bad for 3 year old fish.

All males below:



Bottom two are females in this photo:



Close up of two females. Both five pounds right on the nose and full of eggs.

Nice looking fish Cecil. That's too bad about the 50 fish loss.

What is the plan for next year??

Haven't decided yet, but all the fish have been removed and the pond refilled.

Choices are:

Do it all over again with brook trout. Large brook trout are hard to find and a lucrative market.

Do it all over again with brook and brown trout. (Brown trout are also lucrative but not as lucrative.)

Rotate to all brown trout due to potential stress issues on brook trout by brown trout.

or

Use the pond for holding male yellow perch and female bluegill broodstock. Don't crank back up with trout until the pole building goes up and I get my airlift system and tanks going. I will be hatching my own eggs by that point from a supplier in Utah that sells four kinds of trout and diploids and triploids.

Very nice Cecil!

That type of mortality is probably much more common than most of us realize. Where did all those fish we put in go???

Those very fortunate high school students must have really had fun and got excited catching those trout. They will probably never catch trout like that again unless they fish again at Cecil's Trophy Pond. They probably did not realize what rare fish they were catching. Many anglers would pay big dollars to catch brookies that big and get their picture with a couple of those fish. CB1 You may be missing out on some extra dollars by not selling those angling opportunities on Craig's List.

I've considered it but would need extra insurance. I had two guys donate $500.00 to a trout club I belonged to for a few hours of fishing. Not sure it's worth the hassle.

The high school kids are very appreciative and responsible. The same ones fish for me in the spring for big perch and gills.

Have you checked on the price for some extra liability insurance? It may not be that much more added to your household insurance considering how much more income it may produce for building that new fish barn. Hassel may be less if you offer the opportunity to just the trout club members or other responsible anglers. Many anglers pay lots of money to go on vacation to catch a lot smaller fish. Proper marketing the opportunity to the right kind of people is probably key to success.

I'd be concerned that the more people that fish would raise the possibility of someone sneaking in. There is a church down the road that has a "honor" system and the preacher tells me that they rarely collect much money out of the box. I see plenty of cars there. Seriously, how much more lame can ya get than rippin off a church?

The trout club is now defunct. As older members died out newer members did not take their place. Additionally no one wanted to be president and the same guy filled that position year after year. He got tired of it.

Some good ideas Bill.