Pond Boss Forums INTRO Questions & Observations Just sharing

Just thought Id share what a friend of mine is doing.Moderators,if this is inappropriate,please delete it.Im not triing to sell anything,just thought ya'll would enjoy the pics. CamelotBell.com

Them there some HAWG'S!

$35K for one 14 lb. fish?! If so, I am gonna go buy some more feed and start heating my 2.5 acre pond!

Yeah what a joke! but i guess if some idiot buys one then more power to them. You could buy that fish and it has a 50% chance of dying before it ever gets to your pond. and you better live 5 miles away to.

Right?

Do they have financing available? I probably could have got a subprime loan on this last year. I think that even Tony Stewart would consider them out of his league.

Imagine this...

"Hey Honey, can I buy a 14 lbs. bass? It's a bargain at $35K."

It seems crazy but it would take a lot of money to produce a bass that size all expenses considered. Many have spent far more trying to catch one that size.

How about a couple of hypothetical law questions:

What would the penalty be for someone who stole the 14lb fish listed assuming they were caught but the fish either died or was not recovered?

What if someone (say a disgruntled employee) poisoned the fish in the tank and were also caught?

I don't thin it is a joke, it is the real way folks end up with lots of trophies these days. My father in law is a taxidermist and I have seen him mount plenty of elk that never bugled in the Rockies, trust me. The same of the fish, although I have never seen anyone buy trophy sized fish otehr than already mounted.

Thing is, if the guy is making a business out of it and doing it legally, why gaff him for it?? He probably sells them to Cabela's and Bass Pro for in store aquariums.

Anyone know where I can catch some punkinseeds????

Why would somebody pay $50 for a 1 lb. fish when you can buy them at a fish farm for $15.

More money than brains I guess.

First off i have nothing against this guy and he is just making a living just like any of us, but I agree with Chris. I think that is way to expensive exspecially for the small fish. For those big fish hey if you got the money and want big fish with all the genetic to help grow bigger fish do it. I would make sure that your pond is ready for it and in good condition. I wouldnt want a $20,000 dollar fish to die that day or the next. Thats one thing with bigger fish they are older and stress easier, with that being said I dont think I would take that chance. Plus with that same $20,000-$35,000 I could pay to have a large pond small lake built and stock it and buy feed. Feed these fish and in 6 years have a double digit fish. Thats just my thinking and I not against anybody. Thats just what I would do. I believe i could learn more and have more fun doing it this way.

For $20,000 you could hire n8ly to hand feed the bass Rainbow trout.

Hey this is giving me ideas. I think my prices are too low.

You know there are people out there that have so much money they don't know what to do with it. I've had a few for taxidermy customers. They are nice to have. If they want something they will pay whatever it takes.

On a side note when I contacted fish and game departments in all 50 states, to determine the legality of selling frozen gamefish to taxidermists, Maine's representative was hoping I had some way to mark the big brook trout. He was concerned if I sold one to a taxidermist in Maine that was big enough to break the state record that that person could be unscrupulous enough to enter it as a state record.

Genetics of course! Of course the genetics are only as good as they say they are. I would think it would be easy to misrepresent this if they were so inclined (not saying they would).

I could possibly see getting top dollar for the rare double digit fish in the teens and up, but the prices for bass under that seem ridiculous to me. I did sell a frozen 8 lb. bass I got at another fish farm for $200. The guy was making a replica blank out of it, so was going to get more money for it in the long run.

Are you hinting at something Joe!

Tom were the fish taken from public waters? If so he may be breaking the law. In Illinois no fish, or parts thereof, taken by sport fishing license may be bought, sold or bartered. Is it different in TX?

Just up the road from me is a wonderful fellow who provides a similar service. He has several hundred acres, he raises trophy deer and trophy trout.

My wife's boss, his business partner, and their teenage boys hunt at this guy's place each year. They too, are wonderful people -- and quite generous to the community.

They get to stay in a log cabin in the woods, much like where my wife and I live. They get their meals. They get to fish for trout, and they get trout and eggs for breakfast -- much like we have in late November and in the early spring.

After a trigger is pulled, a trophy deer is carted off for processing.

My wife and I get some pretty darn good quality venison that they wouldn't think of bringing home to their families. They just bring pictures and stories of the great hunt. That helps my neighbor get more business. Our community group has a great venison chili dinner.

Everybody's happy.

I think it says on the link provided they come from a private 40 acre lake.

You're absolutely right. But there are people out there with more money than brains.

I guess I must have about a million dollars worth of LMB in my pond then. I never knew my "stocks" were worth so much!

are the fish you buy at farm for $15 2-5 lbs in size and certified and traceable to be pure Florida strain?

There are some hatcheries that say they provide pure Florida strain. I don't know what kind of documentation they provide though.

BTW, welcome aboard, TheJman.

btw, you guys that are saying you could replicate are barely scratching the surface of what it takes for success of that magnitude

If you have a genetically superior product that you could safely capture, maintain and market, you could have similar success in the industry.

thanks for the welcome Sunil

The fish farm I was refering to is Overton Fisheries in Buffalo. If you go to the link and click on DNA Testing Results in the left margin it shows you that there are pure Florida strain.

http://overtonfisheries.com/StockerFish/SportFish/LargemouthBass/tabid/66/Default.aspx

TheJman -

Welcome to the PB forum!

My LMB are northern strain, and they have had no selective or special breeding.

This year I've caught a couple 8 pounders, three 7's, hordes of 5's and 6's, and I honestly believe there may be a few double digit fellas in there.

I have a self-sustaining golden shiner population in the pond, and I believe that is what is keeping my bass well fed.

To answer a couple of questions
They are from a private lake he started from scratch
He has been working on this for many years
Its all above board and approved throught Texas regs
I talked to the owner at the feedstore one day and over a couple brewski's it came up and he told me what Mike spent on fishfood last year...you dont wanna know
He does sell some of them strctly for mounting purposes
Oh,and Ive got an open invatation to go fishing there any time our schedlus coincide.I dont remember what the size limit was,but ANYTHING I catch under a certian wieght limit and I have to take it with me,anything over goes back in the lake.I sure wish I could find the time when he's free to get down there and show him how big the fish really are in his lake.
I see him on occasion as he is one of my customers so if anyone wants me to ask anything in particular Id be happy to.And dont be jealous,hes got a lot of time and money invested!