Pond Boss Forums INTRO Questions & Observations Its August, still no BG spawn

In April I stocked 150 BG, from 3 inches to about 7 inches for the biggest. I assume they were all from last years hatch at the fish farm.

From all the talk around here I assumed the BG would be able to spawn this year, maybe twice. I have been hand feeding them and they seem very healthy, mostly from 5-7 inches if I had to guess from watching them. For a while in mid July the BG had one end of the pond cloudy from all their activity, and I was hoping they were spawning but no dice so far. I have had at least three spawns from the small species of shiners I bought in the spring, and they are taking over the pond. They are everywhere.

It is looking like I will not get a spawn this year. Maybe the BG are simply not mature yet. The only worry I have is that the shiners could be eating all the BG eggs before they can hatch. Has anyone ever seen this happen? The fish farm called them "silver shiners" and they seem to have a max length of about 3 inches.

Thanks for your thoughts

What means have you used to confirm or deny a successful BG spawn?

Can someone fill me in on this silver shiner? I was under the impression shiners only spawn once, or is that only for Golden Shiners? Also does anyone have any experience with them as forage in a bass pond?

Rexcramer, I could be wrong but im pretty sure BG are sexually mature at or around four inches...

Good luck but I would be your BG have spawned. As Theo said give a lil more info and the pros will help soon.

Sound like Emerald shiners to me.

The shiners are just like the ones sold in most bait shops around here, porbably because they spawn a lot.

I am only using observation as a tool for determining whether or not my BG have spawned. I check the pond daily and scoop up any fry I find with a net and have found only shiner fry. Also when I feed the fish daily I never see any small BG. I never see a FH either, coincidentally, and I added 10# of FH, and only 5# of shiners.

A neighbor with a much more mature pond than mine has had two BG spawns so far, so I know its not the weather anymore.

The emerald shiner is a very common minnow sold in Michigan bait stores. It's a skinny very silvery minnow unlike the fathead minnow.

Emerald shiner will not spawn in ponds, at least no one in the areas on the south shore of Lake Erie have been able to get them to spawn. Many including those at OSU Sea Grant have tried all sorts of methods. If someone could get emerald shiners to spawn in a pond they could be rich by selling the information how-to-do-it and the shiners to bait dealers on Lake Erie.

Your shiners are likely golden shiners since that is the only shiner sold by bait raisers and fish hatcheries. Small 2"-3" golden shiners look very much like many of the other common shiners.

I strongly think you had a BG hatch this summer. It is very likely the BG are staying further off shore and not collecting in large groups compared to the small shiners and or fatheads.

Perhaps throw a cast net out after you feed and do a survey..Articles from Texas A&M note that gsh might rob the nests of bluegill..they recommend not stocking them until you have an established bg population...or have predators established..

Rex,

Not sure if you followed it but I planted my bluegill brood fish late this year. I too thought they just didn't seem to be doing their thing. And I too netted up some bait minnows (in this case fatheads) but no gills. No signs of bedding, nothing along the edges. I even lined previous depressions with stone to entice them.

Then I thought I saw at least one bed in the deepest water of the pond. I go to the Pond Boss convention and when I come back I've got thousands along the edges of the shore line all the way around the pond.

Trust me they breed like cockroaches! Some will show up!

Throw a few Viagra pills into the pond?





Sorry I could not resist.(Hold my head down)

Always a joker in the crowd!

What if the females aren't interested? What good does it do to rev up the males if the female isn't receptive? Isn't it the female that says yes or no?

Uh oh. Now you did it Tim. This thread is headed down a slippery slope.

They should market something like this for fish and call it Niagra.



Sorry. (even sorrier than Tim)

whats good for the goose aint good for the gander.....no wait how does that go??....whats good for the gills aint good for the gams??

Thanks for the replies. The shiners are about 3 inches max right now, I guess if they get bigger I will know they are GSH.

Do BG fry respond to a light like perch fry do? Will a flashlight work?

Not sure if they are actually phototactic but they will congregate under a light as I've seen them do it before. If anything they are after the zooplankton that concentrates under the light.