Pond Boss Forums MANAGING AN EXISTING POND Evaluating and adjusting fish populations Clipping fins to control small BG & GS

Working on a "semi-trophy" bluegill pond and am working on eliminating as many small BG& GS as I can....but I just don't have the heart to pitch the little buggers on the bank. I had read somewhere in my reading on this great site about clipping the tail fin off of small fish and then throwing them back in, the idea being making them much easier for a bass to catch, killing two birds with one stone. Anyone have thoughts on the validity of this practice for at least an attempt at control? Anyone done it and then re-caught one at a later date? Any input appreciated, thanks for your help.

I haven't caught one again, but then again I normally have at least a few LMB following me around the pond and they'd get eaten with or without a tail. But, if you want the LMB to eat small BG, with you tossing them back in for the LMB to eat is no different than just letting them catch them on their own. If you were to remove them, then the LMB would need to look for another BG to eat, so you're removing 2 instead of just 1.

I have read where some people like the small BG and will cook them up whole real crispy.

They say they are like little hors d’oeuvres.

I have yet to try them out, but would be willing to if I ever come across someone that has prepared them before.

Esshup, I totally agree with your logic, just can't figure out what to do to "remove" them without "wasting" them. I wish I knew someone who loved to catfish and I'd cage the lil guys for bait.

Mrhello, I've never heard of anyone cooking any of the small ones whole but you might have something there. Worth the time to heat up the grease and see if I could get past all the bones. I'm doubtful but it's better than pitching them and may get me the 2 for 1 bluegill removal with esshup's logic.

Anyone else clip the fins?

Throwing them on the bank isn't really wasting them. The coons visit nightly. I have developed the stomach for eliminating them.

About 2 months ago, I caught some small bass. Instead of tossing them over my shoulder, I hauled them to the creek on the back of my place. Then the creek dried up.

This is what I do with the small LMB I catch from ponds where the owners want them removed. Just put them in my portable livewell and deposit them in the creek. Have yet to catch one from there, but it makes me feel better that at least I gave them a chance.

And luckily for us, our creek is far from dry. I feel for you guys down there.

I have done this (well I cut the tails off), but after about 10 fish I thought it was too much work, plus seems to be just as bad as putting them on the bank.

If I can get any meat off them I will try my best to clean them. With small BG it seems they have not had a chance to put on the mass so they do end up on the bank or moved to another pond.

GSF on the other hand, at least the ones I have are nice and thick, and I found this out a few weeks ago when taking my daughter fishing (she has to keep everything to eat, or does not like to go fishing, I am trying to break her of that, and explain fishing as a nice break from home and time with dad, not buying it yet), to my surprise the little 4-5 inch fish had a nice piece of meat on it and very tasty fried up.

Do not get me wrong I would not want to clean 100 of these fish, but since we had a few nice ones and 5 CC to go with it, I said I would give it a shot. If there was not enough meat to mess with than to the compost it would go.

I have cut the fins & tail off small BG & LMB for a few yrs now.My thinking is a little different than esshup's.A wounded fish doesn't require a bigger LMB to expend anywhere near the energy toeat it,thus its a bonus meal.And yes,I have caught them up to a week later in my pond.It's rare,though.My pond was shocked a few weeks ago,but no fin cut fish were present.I cut bass up to 8" & BG up to 6".Hopefully, I have bass big enough to eat them; if not my channel cats might.

That is an excellent point Bernie. I'm not sure which view is more accurate, but for now I think I will continue to clip under the hopes that they will indeed be an easy feed for my LMB. I will be very interested to find out if I catch any with clipped fins.

Although I'm on a much smaller scale than you guys (600 gallon tub), I clip the fins and tail on small BGs and cichlids which makes it easier for my two peacock bass to catch.

I've been trapping some small BG in a minnow trap then dropping them in a small bucket of ice water to thermally shock them. Once they start to loose their equilibrium I toss them in a area the bass like to hang out. This way if they don't get eaten and recover from the temperature shock they don't have any permanent effects. As tame as my bass are I doubt many BG recover and live as the bass will follow me around the pond waiting for these handouts.

The last 2 BG that I caught were LMB food. It was interesting to watch the LMB get in position. The BG were relatively large, and I had pinned a small (#10) hook thru their tail. The LMB would circle around the BG until they were facing each other before it grabbed it. I think it's because the BG was large enough that the LMB couldn't turn it around in it's mouth to swallow it whole. The BG would stay side on to the LMB, but after a while it got tired of getting drug backwards by the hook. The LMB grabbed it, I pulled the hook out, and it dashed off into deeper water. BG was 5"-6", LMB was around 18"-20".

I have cut the fins & tail off small BG & LMB for a few yrs now.My thinking is a little different than esshup's.A wounded fish doesn't require a bigger LMB to expend anywhere near the energy toeat it,thus its a bonus meal.And yes,I have caught them up to a week later in my pond.It's rare,though.My pond was shocked a few weeks ago,but no fin cut fish were present.I cut bass up to 8" & BG up to 6".Hopefully, I have bass big enough to eat them; if not my channel cats might.

I am no expert, But JC 3 said he was trying to have a TROPHY BG pond, All the research I have done says you should have a heavy stunted bass population and bass over 14 inches should be taken out, So esshup's advice to remove the BG and force the bass to feed and use energy (reduce size) to feed on other BG would probably be the correct advise. Now if your goals were trophy bass, then by all means it makes sense to feed them as much as possible and let them burn as few calories as possible doing it..So when it comes down to it, IMHO your goals will probably dictate how you should handle the situation.

L.W.J Making a trophy BG pond does not mean you can't or should not have trophy bass ,too.I've seen ponds thru the years that had both.Not uncommon at all. I believe there are various ways he can achieve his goal. Essup's advice might be better for JC3,but the more opinions he has to mull over,the better it is. Two weeks ago,I caught the biggest bass in a few yrs out of my pond.She was only 21" but weighed 6lb 2oz. on my bogagrip.Well over 110% of WR.Ten+ inch BG are caught,although not frequently.According to your research,I should take out all the 18",19',20",21", LMB,I catch? I( would never advise anyone to do that. I guess we'll just have to agree to disagree! That's what makes this forum so neat!

Hello Bernie, congrats on the bass, I totally agree with you about this forum, a wealth of info, great banter, and the disagreements make for fun reading..But, to answer your question about wether or not you should remove those large bass..ABSOLUTELY!! IF you want a TROPHY BLUEGILL pond. the bass you speak of dont target small BG they target Intermediate as large bluegill. Case in point the 6lb bass you speak of. He didnt get to 110% Wr feeding on 1/2" BG. Now YOUR goals are probably a trophy bass, or BALANCED pond,Right? JC3 stated his goal was a trophy BG pond and he was trying to remove as many small BG as he could..he will never remove as many small BG as a pond full of SMALL bass, the 18",19',20",21",bass will eat those small bass and the bigger BG..So the fact YOU would never advise anyone to remove those larger bass tells me YOUR advise would have to fit YOUR particular goal. The reason i chimed in, was i have a 2ac pond that im managing for trophy BG, and I have done tons of research.And JC3 wasnt sure whose advise to follow, yours or esshup.and appeared to like your idea better.. NOW, if JC3 wants to change his goals than he can leave those large bass in like you, and help feed his bass like you do, and catch large Bass and a FEW large BG like you do.
She was only 21" but weighed 6lb 2oz. on my bogagrip.Well over 110% of WR.Ten+ inch BG are caught,although not frequently.
And have a BALANCED pond goal,like you do.
or he can take those small BG out, make his bass work for their dinner, let them over populate, take out any bass that can eat them 14-16+" and have a pond full of 10+ inch TROHY BG.. So as i said in my last post, it all depends on your goals. CATMANDOO had a goal for a trophy BG pond and he achieved it..Here is a link to his thread. And all the research I've done on managing for TROPHY BG have reflected his experience. SO, in closing we will agree to disagree, but only because we have different goals.

http://forums.pondboss.com/ubbthreads.ph...true#Post260607

If you really want to make use of your small bluegill you can them. Gut, dehead, and scale small bluegill. Cram them into sterilized, wide mouth pint jars and pressure can them for 100 minutes at 11 psi. Eat them on crackers just like sardines for the rest of the year.

Sounds like something Ken (catmandoo) would do.

Hey! I resemble that remark!

That is a great way to preserve fish for long periods of time. It works especially well with bony fish, such as pike, suckers, etc. The amount of time in the pressure cooker essentially disintegrates the bones -- like commercially canned salmon.

Good eatn'
Ken