Wanting advice on YP removal. My 1 acre SMP/YP/GSH pond seems to have many small YP. The pond was stocked in consecutive years with 10 SMB per year and I tried fishing last summer for a very short time and caught a 14"+ SMB and then stopped fishing to prevent any injury to my few stockers. I also caught a 6-7" GSH (on a small hard bait). I saw/see many small fish (1-3") along the banks so assumed their was plenty of food for everything (good amount of plant and brush cover). A couple heavy rain events pushed a couple hundred 4-6" YP out the tube last spring/summer as well (I returned what survived to pond). My neighbor just ice fished and caught about a half dozen small YP. I have a breeding population of YP and wonder if there is any harm in removing as many as I can fishing to help prevent stunting? I know this is limited information, but I am lucky to have a neighbor who will follow directions so if I give him a maximum number or size instructions, he will follow them. Would adding 10 HSB cause any problems for the SMB or help by limiting egg stealing? Recommendations are appreciated.
One option would be to feed the YP to add size and harvest accordingly. Another is to harvest some YP by net to sell as advanced size YP are often in demand. Be sure of all the populations status before implementing a plan. Also YP are more active in winter than many species.
How would one recommend netting yellow perch?
They tend to be in deep water suspended or on the bottom.
I have tried to trap them but with little luck.
Feed the fish. Once they are accustomed to eating put out the net as shown. Let them eat for a few days feeding between the net and shore. Then feed and pull in the rope net ends and sort.
Back to the original question - should I harvest all the YP caught or add HSB?
I need more information before I provide advice.
How old is the pond?
When was it stocked and with how many & what size fish added each time?
What was the neighbor using for bait? What size hook? How long did he fish?
What part and what depth was he fishing in the pond? Depth of the bait and depth of water under the ice hole?
Maximum depth of the pond?
"Catching 1/2 dozen small perch" What length range is a 'small perch'?
Did neighbor catch any large shiners?
Have the SMbass spawned?
How many times (springs) have the perch spawned?
Do you feed pellets? How many pounds each year so far?
What do you see eating the pellets?
What is the usual / most common water clarity during summer and now mid-winter?
You say "I saw/see many small fish (1-3") along the banks..." Are these all minnows / shiners?
How old is the pond? Built summer of 2012
When was it stocked and with how many & what size fish added each time? Best Guess
2013: 5lbs FHM
2014: 25 3-4 RES, 25 6-7 YP, 25 3 GSH, 12 3-4 LCS
2015: 100 3-4 YP, 100 papershell crayfish
2016: 10 6-7 SMB
2017 10 6-7 SMB
What was the neighbor using for bait? What size hook? How long did he fish? Using bee worms and he and his wife fished an hour or two through multiple holes targeting being just off the bottom (water very clear). Don't know hook size.
What part and what depth was he fishing in the pond? Depth of the bait and depth of water under the ice hole?
Could not find deep hole but fished in 7-10 of water with bait a foot off bottom. Fished from dam back to other side of the pond and near and far from banks. Said that when he first lowered just a lead weight to determine depth, something large took it sideways (must have had large mouth (SMB?).
Maximum depth of the pond? Originally a 14-16 hole with most of the bottom depth 8-10 feet sloping up to edges (plenty of deep water but also good plant life in shallows (lily pads and curly-leaf pondweed + lots of emergent plants).
"Catching 1/2 dozen small perch" What length range is a 'small perch'? 6 and not yet flattening out (very fusiform).
Did neighbor catch any large shiners? Yes A couple 6"
Have the SMbass spawned? I have not seen any small SMB but I originally placed rock structures. Afraid all the YP and GSH are stealing eggs.
How many times (springs) have the perch spawned? Saw egg ribbons in 2015 and 2016 but not 2017
Do you feed pellets? How many pounds each year so far? No feeding
What do you see eating the pellets? Actually threw some out once in 2016 but nothing came.
What is the usual / most common water clarity during summer and now mid-winter? Very Very clear now but maybe 18 to 30 inches otherwise.
You say "I saw/see many small fish (1-3") along the banks..." Are these all minnows / shiners? I have seen FHM, GSH, and YP. There may be other fish but nothing that has the classic sunfish bass shape. Small fish have a lot of plant cover.
Comment/question: Instead of HSB, maybe add another 10 SMB since a breeding population is what I want? Maybe just wait and see? Things may change if the snow-covered ice holds. This pond is far from electric. Hope to add winter aeration to my oldest pond this year.
I'm not sure of the pond size, but will assume 0.5 -0.7 ac. Firstly it was initially under stocked with too few YP and too long before predators were added and not enough of them. This assumes a goal of large YP is desired, but we learn below the goal is BIG smallmouth bass. All this will lead to the current status of the pond. The bass should be growing well and getting big and fat. IMO some bass or HSB should have been added in 2014 with the 25 YP for growing harvestable YP. Waiting 2.5 & 3.5 years before 10 (2016) and 10 (2017) SMB were added was not enough predation to adequately reduce the numbers of small fish esp good reproducing YP. However the 20 SMB present should be big and growing very well because of an overabundance of small fish. But only 20 SMB can only eat 'just so much food' if you want effective control of small perch.
Are you trap sampling to see the ratio of fatheads to shiners? With only 20 SMB there should still be very good numbers of FHM four years after stocking. A high FHM to GSH ratio means too few predators and or too many weeds, maybe both in your case.
Now it does not surprise me about the poor ice fishing angling success. Using bee worms when trying to catch bigger perch is not the best method especially when lots of small YP & larger shiners are present. It is normally a good ice fishing method, but I would be using dead or live FHM when targeting larger YP and SMB. Fishing around 10"-12" off the bottom is normally a good ice fishing location esp in the deepest part of the pond, BUT if you have curly leaf pond weed it is very likely growing well now (Nov-Mar),,, up to around 10"-18" tall. Thus the bait was hanging in the weed tops and not readily visible by most of the larger fish who were likely hanging out in the lower parts of the weeds. I never knew this until I got an Aqua-Vu underwater camera and used it ice fishing. I've had this poor ice fishing catch success problem in my pond until I started killing the curly leaf in the fall. Lack of a 16"-18" high weed carpet during ice cover makes a big difference for the winter YP catch success.
IMO you should get some more predators in the pond and or harvest lot of small perch 4"-6" using traps or angling. Adding more predators in spring will not do much to remove the 4"-6" over crowded YP. Newly stocked predators will probably / likely first target FHM and other small (2"-3") fish. If you stock more predators you will still probably need to help the predators reduce the current over crowded 'small' YP. Number of predators to stock will depend on size of added predators, specie/s of predator, and size of the pond.
Also if you had been feeding pellets the new in-pond spawned perch would not have grown so slowly and stayed thin bodied. So instead of them being mostly 6" now they would likely be 2"-4" bigger now at 8"-10" depending on year hatched. Pellet feeding for good growth is very important to keep perch fat and growing when perch tend to be crowded and predator pressure is light to low.
Thank you for the info. The pond is 1 acre. My main goal is trophy SMB and based on the one I caught last summer, at least one is growing faster than I thought possible. For this goal, it seems like adding 10 5-7" SMB per year could work and that removing all the small YP caught could help encourage some to grow larger. I'll let my neighbor know that he can use these small YP for raccoon and mink bait as he is a trapper. I'll try minnow trapping again when the ice gets out and see what I catch. I'll also pass on the fishing tips. I understand that I stocked light and was trying to use reproduction to increase numbers. At least my main goal of large SMB might happen. If the YP stay small, but too big for SMB, maybe adding HSB later will be required to eat up some of the stunted fish? I could add 5 of these next spring too if they will help the SMB grow better? I am not in a hurry. Can well-fed full-grown SMB eat stunted 6" YP? FYI - My neighbor thought the 6" YP were fat?
hmmm I'll have to see if my curly leaf is growing already in my pond!
If you use a fish finder or flasher while ice fishing you should be able to find and target some active schools of fish by drilling several holes and surveying the water column with it.
It is interesting, we have the same amount of YP stocking in similar sized ponds but mine is much more predator heavy.
Are your YP being kept in check?
They were just stocked in October but I think over time our ponds might be a fair comparison to one another based on size and initial stocking numbers
The wildcard is also cover which affects predation efficiency. When are YP too big for a full-grown SMB to target?
RAH asks - "Can well-fed full-grown SMB eat stunted 6" YP? When are yellow perch too big for a full grown SMB to target?"
It depends on your definition of full grown SMB. I would start buy looking at the mouth gape of smallies and the body depth of 6" long YP. What then is the shortest SMB that could eat a 6" YP?
From my personal data: a 10" SMB died eating a 5.5"; YP average body depth (1.2). Thus I conclude that 12" smallies can eat a 6" YP. Let's look at some numbers. My body depth measurements for 6" YP are from numerous direct measurements. Some of my gape sizes for smallies are calculated estimates. We on the PB Forum need those with SMB to provide more gape sizes or measurements for smallmouth bass. Get busy you guys with smallies and make some body length and mouth width measurements for your smallmouth bass. Your measurements will help us verify how close my numbers are for the mouth size of pond raised smallmouth bass. This has been done for largemoth bass by thoughtful PB forum members in this link.
http://forums.pondboss.com/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=453084Here are my data for gape width of smallmouth bass. The body depth of 6 Yellow perch ranges from 34-38mm (1.4). Note there is some natural variability (size width) in the gape for each length of SMB. For example the gape for a 10 SMB could be 30-34mm (1.25).
10 SMB Gape 32mm (1.25)
12 SMB Gape 36mm (1.4)
14 SMB Gape 46mm (1.8)
15 SMB Gape 49mm (1.9)
16 SMB Gape 53mm (2.0)
18 SMB Gape 59mm (2.3)
Thus IMO a 14 to 15 smallmouth could easily eat a 6 long yellow perch. When yellow perch grow to 9.5" long their body depth is 55 to 60mm (2.26").
Smallmouth bass were studied; 214 smallmouth bass ranging from 48 mm (1.9) to 486 mm (19) were measured for the study. A graph in this research paper shows the relationship between total body length and mouth gape for smallmouth bass in Lake Sharpe, South Dakota.
In this research: For all smallmouth bass collected, we measured total bodylength TL and maximum horizontal gape GW to the nearest mm. Maximum horizontal GW was measured by stretching the mouth open and measuring the distance between the outside edges of the maxillary bone (Lawrence 1958, Hill et al. 2004, Slaughter and Jacobson 2008).
https://openprairie.sdstate.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1112&context=nrm_pubsBased on your goals for growing big SMB, I think your pond's current conditions and management are very good to achieve that goal, but not necessarily a goal for growing big yellow perch. Adding more predators will reduce the abundance or numbers of good optimum forage items for the smallies. As the pond ages the fishery will naturally change by having more SMB. Thus expect the growth rate of the SMB to gradually slow down as the pond ages and more predators are present. You could counteract this by not allowing too many bass to survive, cull the smaller bass, and do your best to maintain a high density of smaller fish. As yellow perch become larger and more numerous they too will be predatious on the smaller fish. I've caught 10"-12" YP using 4" YP as bait.
Thank you once again Bill! I did find the SD study after my last post, but could not translate that into the size YP they might eat. If all of the original 10 SMB survived and grew like the one I caught last summer, then at least 10 fish are chowing down on the crop of 6" YP, but may be targeting smaller ones. The next crop of 10 SMB should get there next summer. Do you think adding 10 more SMB next year would help or hurt eventual SMB recruitment or hurt the eventual size of the SMB? If I catch any SMB in the minnow trap, I would probably hold off. BTW - Bill (and the other dedicated experts here) make the pond development experience so much more fun! Thank You! If you are passing west of Indianapolis and want to have a beer on the dock and tour the place, please let me know (especially when its warmer!).
Based on my experience and on Bill's comments above, increased SMB density will lead to increased forage competition and result in slower SMB growth, but the increased YP predation will yield fewer, but larger YP. It's a trade off either way. Since your goal is trophy SMB, I would be cautious introducing more SMB, especially since you could have SMB recruitment already you just haven't witnessed yet. HSB will hammer YP, so do WE, but both will also hammer your GSH population. Consider your micro pond's limited carrying capacity - be wary of carrying too much biomass, can lead to major stress issues in Summer or Winter.
If you want to manage YP populations, 3 HSB and/or 5 WE ladder stocked over 5 years could add angling diversity and also help manage the YP population dynamic. However, stocking additional apex predators will likely also impact your SMB growth rates to an extent. The trick here is to find the perfect balance - this can only be determined through experimentation. Good news is WE and HSB won't recruit, so if your SMB show signs of losing WR you can easily reduce competition by harvesting some WE or HSB.
My advice would be to stay your course and wait to see if you have SMB recruitment before adding additional SMB or other species if trophy SMB are your goal.
Thank you for your input. I am good waiting to see what I catch in minnow traps. This is all just fun for me, so I am happy to wait and see. The prolonged snow over ice may change things up also.
Age 0-1 SMB rarely sample in minnow traps in my experience - your best method for sampling would be seine or cast nets if you're looking for SMB recruitment evidence.
Great thread...got me engaged in the forum again. Back to hibernation until the next Northern Fishery topic pops up.
Too cold right now anyway. I am hoping that if the SMB spawned, some escaped predation. If they are not going to spawn in the pond, I will probably look for a different apex predator that will reproduce. Just not sure if the high population of YP and GSH will decimate any SMB eggs and fry? I am also wondering if the presence of small fish indicates that the YP are still well fed? Not sure where the RES fit in either. They must be getting pretty big?
Just not sure if the high population of YP and GSH will decimate any SMB eggs and fry?
Yes, but this is what you want in a trophy SMB fishery...if 99% suffer predation this limits recruitment for you and you avoid the SMB population management down the road.
I am also wondering if the presence of small fish indicates that the YP are still well fed?
Not sure I understand this statement - you mean the high population of small YP? Anytime you have an overpopulated species forage for that bottleneck size [4-6" YP] is limited - too many fish for the appropriate sized forage item - no forage = slow growth.
Not sure where the RES fit in either. They must be getting pretty big?
RES in your fishery IMO are not impacting anything negatively but carrying capacity, and I imagine their recruitment is pretty low due to density of YP population. They'll continue cleaning up your snail population and the fish that make it to age 3+ should end up being nice fish [8-10"+]. You probably have some trophy RES swimming as we speak. I treat RES as a zero negative impact fish with nothing but upside, generally.
You can probably answer a lot of your questions with more frequent sampling of the fishery either through angling, seining, or trapping and keeping good WR records. In summary - if your goal is to grow trophy SMB I would resist changing the dynamics of the fishery until you learn more - I think a strong albeit stunted population of YP will enable your SMB to continue to grow towards trophy status and keep SMB recruitment very low which also works in your favor. Hope some of my experience is helpful for you.
Thank you very much. What you say makes sense to me. I was just thinking that too many 6" YP should slam 1-3" fish, but I see lots of them near the shore and out past the plants in open water. Maybe they hang out there but can dart back into the plants before larger fish can eat them? The 6-7" GSH that caught was on a hard bait bigger than these small fish. As you say, there is probably no substitute for sampling. I also need to get my aquatic kids to do some snorkeling this summer if the water clarity allows.
In your size pond of 1 acre, I would not be concerned about lack of recruitment from the SMB. Ideally you would only need 8-12 new SMB each year/ac when trying to produce a trophy class SMB fishery. You want the fish community to always have high numbers of 4"-6" forage fish and ideally some crayfish as diversity. Large fingerling or juvenile SMB are not that expensive to periodically add to the pond considering the total cost of having a 1 acre pond and a population of big superb smallies. Keep the underwater vegetation well managed so the bass can better catch food and keep growing.
I agree with Bill !!! In most 1 acre +- pond situations it is much easier to manage with no or very limited LMB or SMB recruitment. Here is why. If you are short LMB or SMB it is easy to control the number by adding or subtracting a few adult/advanced fingerling SMB/LMB. What you can't manage for well if at all is the rate of survival of spawning LMB or SMB. If recruitment is low for a couple years then you are ok. However it is very hard to manage when the SMB/LMB have a big recruitment year and you have 50 times more young LMB/SMB survive than you need. That happens more than most people think.
Great advice! I'll stay the course. I must say that catching that SMB, the one and only time that I fished the pond, was a hoot. Can't wait to try again this spring.
When you catch one of those original smallies try to get a picture of it so others can see what a fishery like yours produces. Carlender indicates those originally stocked smallies should live 15-18 years. Keep in mind they could become harder to catch as they get old and more conditioned to angler's baits. Please keep us advised as to their progress with pictures or body measurements in this thread. If those bass only gain 1/2 pound a year they could weigh 8-9 pounds near the end of their life. The Indiana state record angler smallmouth was 7 lb 4 oz. Current conditions of your pond are ideal for growing trophy smallies. I put this thread in the archives under the SMB Discussions - Northern Ponds topic.
More Reading Material - Here is a link to a good discussion about amount of forage needed to produce high quality and/or trophy fish:
http://forums.pondboss.com/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=369585#Post369585 The pond of RAH as decsribed appears to be on the path to growing big smallmouth bass: few predators and numerous appropriate sized forage fish - a high ratio of Forage to Predator. Keep in mind that RAH does not feed pellets to his fish so the forage:predator should be a high ratio when the goal is trophy sizes.
Hello.
A study made in U.S.A, reported here in the newspapers.
https://translate.google.com/translate?h...e7a677694d228dc
Interesting article.
Thing is, do we really want them to be all that successful in reproducing? In other words, does it really matter in actual practice?
I'll try to get pictures next year. When is it certain that the SMB have finished spawning and caring for nest? As far as becoming hook shy, so far only one has been caught a single time. I am concerned mostly about injuring these stockers before they successfully spawn. The cover protects forage , but must also increase the chances for SMB fry to survive. Now it just needs to warm up! Maybe you'll be west of Indy this summer and want to wet a line?
RAH - For your location my best guess the SMB fry are free swimming as a school by May 20-27. Soon after LMB get started spawning well. SMB normally spawn 1-2 weeks before the LMB. Again as a reminder, if you get recruitment of the SMB, the pond is less likely to produce the maximum sized SMB trophies.
I understand that more mouths to feed equals smaller fish, and that I have somewhat conflicting goals. I plan to leave the forage be with the possible harvest of a few large YP if they are caught. I am hoping that some SMB survive, but I won't be taking any action to favor this except keeping good cover for small fish. I'll wait till June to see if I can catch a SMB and take a photo. I will not be removing any big SMB and hopefully these will continue to free-feed. I still do not know if the papershells did OK near the stone peer, so I will need to get out with a light and check on this when things warm up. I only added 100, so it will likely take some time for them to reach carrying capacity. The plants should help.
There are a few tricks to help SMB reproduction and fry survival. They are in the SMB archive. A log or wood cover near the nest is one of the aids mentioned. In the pic below there is a wood pier about 6-8 feet away with pilings and cross pieces in the water.
.jpg)
.jpg "Bacc 15 (158).jpg")
I am a bit conflicted. I did add rock structures before the pond filled to provide SMB spawning sites because I do not want to keep stocking, but more predators means smaller predators. My issues are knowing what numbers of each species and their sizes, and also how that interacts with the available cover to affect future fish population dynamics. There are a lot of variables even if one understands the basic principles. I guess the uncertainty and the prospects of experimenting are part of the fun for me. Having a place to pick the brains of experts and discuss issues makes it a whole lot of fun.
You are conflicted because your goals are not firmly established and somewhat conflicted. Producing the biggest SMB involves limiting their reproduction to none or minimal reproduction. Not wanting to ladder stock then infringes on the best method to achieve trophy SMB. So if you like the uncertainly, experimenting, and to learn the basic fishery management principles then encourage the SMB to be prolific. Your experimenting should still allow you to produce some 3-4 lb (16.5"-19") smallies in one acre.
My goals are not conflicted, but rather not possible... (Big fish of all species). My strategy for trophy SMB is to follow your advice and leave things be (low apex predator numbers relative to prey). If the SMB reproduce prolifically, then I will need to remove many of them by fishing, but may fail. Not ladder stocking should work for getting a few very big SMB, if I understand things. Since you indicate they can live up to 15 years, it is possible that the existing 20 SMB might produce some offspring even if it is not every year and in very small numbers (which sounds like it might be ideal for trophy SMB). With no electric nearby for winter aeration, a low DO event could change everything (hoping the snow covered ice melts soon). I should have a barn with electric close enough to the BG/LMB pond by spring, so I can get a system for keeping a hole in the ice open on that pond. I also need to see how the LMB are doing after the partial fish kill a few years back. The BG seem fat and growing well.
You CAN have multiple trophy species, but this isn't what you stated as your original goal [trophy SMB], so we've been advising you on how to grow trophy SMB. I grow trophy fish in all species in my largest BOW - but it involves a major commitment to feeding high quality food, supplementally stocking forage, culling underperforming fish, maintaining water quality, etc. I spend 20-30 hours weekly from March - November to achieve these goals - it won't just happen, wish it did.
If you want trophy YP and SMB you need pellet trained fish and a commitment to feeding high quality feed to help relieve pressure off your GSH forage base. Smaller populations of SMB and YP will enable them to grow to trophy size. Your RES will do their own thing and grow to trophy sizes on their own as their forage niche is largely uncontested and the SMB/YP are managing the RES offspring through predation.
Spending required time, effort, and capital to achieve a trophy fishery isn't for everyone - you're reverse engineering mother nature - pushing a piano uphill, in a blizzard, barefoot. Per my previous posts, you can likely do nothing and continue growing nice SMB with your fishery as is.
You are, of course, spot on! I work full time+, have two kids in their early 20s to visit with, am restoring a 1951 M37 Dodge, am having a MX-5 2.5L engine swap, (SC, exhaust, clutch, radiator) upgrade done, also published 10 scientific papers last year and already have 5 more in the works for 2018 (2 done and 2 ready to submit), and in my spare time work with my wife and kids on restoring over 100 acres of wildlife habitat (which included operating an old dozer to dig my 3rd pond last summer (1/2 acre)). So as many folks here. pond management is a hobby for me. I am good with having a trophy SMB pond because my goals often morph based on what is possible with the resources invested. If I also end up with a few large YP and maybe a couple trophy RES then that is a bonus. Projects for this year include getting storm-downed trees out of paths and harvesting the logs for my son to work with my friend and mill into lumber to help with his new home purchase which he is gutting, moving spoil dirt from last year's pond project into a backstop for a firing range and also to add some topography to another wildlife area, and depending on time, building another pond/wetland complex with the dozer. I have about 300 years of planned projects ahead! Sometimes that means compromise:)
I hear you RAH. The most important thing is that each of us enjoy the journey. Each person has his/her own method to take life's journey - everyone should do it their way. Helping people on their journey by providing information and experiences is what we all are about at PB. I am convinced that there is no single "right way" but instead common concepts to be tried in search of "a way". Hopefully we can help provide the tools (information) to help people find their path. Another thing I have found along the path is that often goals change. That too is a part of life as it should be. You are right that there are always at least 100 projects to prioritize. My advice to all is - if possible do the ones that make you happy.
There was some research done a while back looking at doing things to make yourself happy vs. doing things to serve a greater purpose. They looked at physiological measures of stress. You can guess which activities actually produced lower stress. In modern times, there has been a tendency for folks to advocate for striving for personal happiness without any greater purpose. I am glad that it makes me happy to do things that I believe will leave the world, and the land that in my charge, better than I found them. I know many of the folks here feel the same way.
Winston Churchill
What is the use of living, if it be not to strive for noble causes and to make this muddled world a better place for those who will live in it after we are gone?
We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give.
Men occasionally stumble over the truth, but most of them pick themselves up and hurry off as if nothing ever happened.
I prefer Ben Franklin
"Beer is proof that god loves us and wants us to be happy"
A false quote of course, but still...
Update on YP/SMB pond: With the recent rains, my wife rescued a dozen 3-5" GSH below the drain pipe. So I now know the SMB have plenty of GSH as well as YP to eat (Both have spawned). It will be fun to wet a line when things warm up and see how another year has treated the 20 SMB in the pond (assuming no spawn yet). Not sure how the RES are doing either, or the LCS (if they survived). I think the curly-leaf pondweed and other plants are allowing the forage species to grow up a bit before being eaten. Not sure how the papershell crayfish have fared. Been focusing on the new pond more, as I need to get it planted. It only has FHM so far and I still about 4' below full pool.
Just bringing to the top to confirm lake chubsucker ID
Yes those a lake chubsuckers. They likely spawned in 2017 in the pond they were in. How many of the spawn that survived is still unknown. FYI - LCS like and are attracted to moving water which is why they were in the overflow water.
RAH, GSH will get just as big too, caught this evening.
Bill - Thank you. I hope that the LCS spawned in the SMB pond and that I will have a sustaining population. If I rescue more, should I add them to other ponds like the BG/LMB pond and future blue cat pond (which currently has only FHM)? I really like these LCS but maybe only because I started with just 12 babies.
Shorty - The pond is full of GSH of all sizes. I caught one like you picture last Summer on a hard bait.
Looks like these and the YP should keep the 20 SMB well fed!
RAH, or anyone else, please send pictures of your LCS. I have a few adults (maybe as many as 25 stocked) but I only caught one adult in a trap and never have seen young LCS. SHould I restock? How do I get them to successfully spawn? Maybe the GSH are stealing the eggs?
Posted pictures yesterday. Never saw any since 2015 until yesterday in the outflow from the pond pipe.
""..should I add them (LCS) to other ponds like the BG/LMB pond and future blue cat pond (which currently has only FHM)?"" LCS may not be real prolific but are soft rayed and would serve as good prey for predators.
Sounds like they are not likely a problem in most ponds. Thank you once again!
LCS update: Found another 21 5-6" LCS below the overflow pipe. One was dead and another 3 will likely not survive. The remaining 17 swam away in the new 1/2 acre pond that only has FHM in it so far. The top predator will eventually be blue catfish in that pond, and black crappie may be their main food source, but that is undecided right now. The FHM and LCS need to get going first, as well as some plant cover. Bill Cody called the LCS situation in the YP/SMB pond right on the button like usual. The only way to have 25-35 LCS of this size from a founding population of 12 is a successful spawn (as Bill suggested before I found the 21 additional fish today) followed by really fast growth. Those 20 SMB stockers must be really fat!
