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Joined: Sep 2014
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OP
Joined: Sep 2014
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My new 2 acre pond already has showed 2 pretty good sized bull frogs swimming in it. About 10-12 inch long stretched out. Are they "good" for the pond? Can you get too many? I know they eat insects but what else do they consume? Should I be worried about them or just let nature take its course?
Dear Alcohol, We had a deal where you would make me funnier, smarter, and a better dancer... I saw the video... We need to talk.
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Joined: Oct 2014
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Joined: Oct 2014
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IMO they are great to have as forage and will do very little damage if they take a few small fish. They will also eat each other. I have lots of frogs and chase GBH away when they come hunting them.
Be Brave Enough to Suck at Something New!
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Joined: Jul 2009
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Ambassador Lunker
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Yeah my pond has had them for a long time i'm talking big ones! I had one come after my zoom super fluke and I hooked em. He was 17 inches spread all the way out! Hugh BF!! My kids like to take a coffee can around the pond once they have babies and put them in the can and use them for bait! The BG love em!! And if there the right size so will your bass!!
RC
The only difference between a rut and a Grave is the depth. So get up get out of that rut and get moving!! Time to work!!
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Joined: Sep 2014
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Joined: Sep 2014
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Flame, I wish I could get a few big bulls in my pond. I want to go bull frog hunting someday on the pond and harvest legs every so often. I saw my first frog swimming and poking his head above the water yesterday but he was maybe 3" long and prob. not a bull frog. I am guessing.
Tracy
Do not judge me by the politicians in my City, State or Federal Government.
Tracy
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Joined: Aug 2014
Posts: 3,952 Likes: 184
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Joined: Aug 2014
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Tracy When my bull frog tadpoles show up you are welcome to come get some to stock your pond. Heard one yesterday back in the flooded timber .... Love that sound
If the frog was solid green it probably is
Pat
Last edited by Pat Williamson; 04/17/15 07:49 AM.
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Joined: Aug 2014
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Joined: Aug 2014
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I had several, "just show up". They seem to be curious by nature...from a safe distance...
...when in doubt...set the hook...
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Joined: Sep 2014
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Joined: Sep 2014
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Thanks Pat, I may just take u up on that someday Tracy
Do not judge me by the politicians in my City, State or Federal Government.
Tracy
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Joined: Jan 2012
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Joined: Jan 2012
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I've got a glut of them in my ponds....and I'm on the same page as Bill D. above - they're a good addition to any pond if the end goal is a wide forage base. You're hard pressed to scoop up a bucket of water around my pond edges and not get a bullfrog tadpole in it. Just another protein source for my fish is how I look at it.
Dale "When tempted to fight fire with fire, remember that the Fire Department usually uses water." - anonymous
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Joined: Sep 2014
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OP
Joined: Sep 2014
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Thanks everyone,I will now officially start raising bullfrogs.If they start luring in GBH is that considered hunting over a baited area? I'm just sayin!
Dear Alcohol, We had a deal where you would make me funnier, smarter, and a better dancer... I saw the video... We need to talk.
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Joined: Jul 2009
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Here is one of mine from 2 years ago. The pic does not do it justice this thing was hugh and guarding it's babies over there somewhere cause she was not moving one inch even though I was like 3 feet away. RC
The only difference between a rut and a Grave is the depth. So get up get out of that rut and get moving!! Time to work!!
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Joined: May 2012
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Hall of Fame
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Hall of Fame
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I have 6 nice ones now. Got tadpoles off eBay. Apparently they are very invasive in California. Just don't pour the water in your pond.
If you ain't gonna fart, why eat the beans? . RES,HBG,YP,HSB,SMB,CC,and FHM. .seasonal trout.
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Joined: Jun 2013
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Joined: Jun 2013
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RC that frog is a beast. Would be some great frog legs
Forced to work born to Fish
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Joined: Feb 2013
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Joined: Feb 2013
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I wish I had more bull frogs. We used to have a lot until the egrets moved in they eat every frog, lizard they can. They do however eat a lot of grasshoppers. Every pasture has a flock every day. I have seen them eat shad over surfacing stripers too.
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Lunker
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Lunker
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I wish I had more bull frogs. We used to have a lot until the egrets moved in they eat every frog, lizard they can. They do however eat a lot of grasshoppers. Every pasture has a flock every day. I have seen them eat shad over surfacing stripers too. Feel free to come get some of mine. I have one about every 10 feet of shoreline. My wife is sending me frog hunting tonight with my little boy because they keep her up at night.
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Hall of Fame 2014
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Hall of Fame 2014
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Flame..about 3 months ago I bought some adult size bullfrogs at a local Asian market. They were pretty large...so I would think some of them must have survived. I have yet to spend the night at the property but I hope to hear them when I do spend my first night out there later this summer. Adult size bullfrogs are relatively hard to source and can be pricey online, but the Asian market in Plano, Texas carries some really nice large live bullfrogs...I can't remember the exact price but they weren't much.
ps: Of course worse case scenario the frogs being they are from an Asian store who knows if they are local...they could be from Thailand and be super invasive and take over my entire property and even eat the donkeys and everything else in sight! (lol)
Fishing has never been about the fish....
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Ambassador Lunker
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Ambassador Lunker
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We're experiencing what, on the surface anyways, appears to be an excellent bullfrog year. There are thousands of large, legged BF tadpoles, and the adults are here in numbers that I haven't seen in years. I expect the herons to arrive in force, any day.
"Forget pounds and ounces, I'm figuring displacement!"
If we accept that: MBG(+)FGSF(=)HBG(F1) And we surmise that: BG(>)HBG(F1) while GSF(<)HBG(F1) Would it hold true that: HBG(F1)(+)AM500(x)q.d.(=)1.5lbGRWT? PB answer: It depends.
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Joined: May 2009
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Lunker
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Lunker
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Chairman, Pond Boss Legacy award; Moderator; field correspondent Lunker
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Chairman, Pond Boss Legacy award; Moderator; field correspondent Lunker
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I can run a net in my ponds and collect 50-100 American Bullfrog tadpoles every run, without fail. I estimate I have 10-20,000 in my main pond, if not exponentially more. Per Bob Lusk [and my own personal experience], fish do not utilize bullfrog tadpoles as forage due to a enzyme secreted on it's skin which is their only defense mechanism. They are far too vulnerable for them to survive active predation to have ever made it through evolution is my personal reasoning, so I see the logic on what Lusk states regarding the subject. Further, if tadpoles were utilized as forage, my SMB and HSB would all have WRs approaching 200 with the endless availability! I have never witnessed a HSB, YP, WE or SMB eat a tadpole, and I have tossed them into the AM LMB feeding frenzy by SMB/HSB from time to time to test the theory. If a fish does take one, they are immediately spit them out.
LMB and CC may utilize them as forage - I don't have any experience there. Also, some on the forum have stated they've seen their fish target tadpoles and I am not doubting them - but I do wonder why our experiences are so vastly different. If tadpoles were the only option for my fish maybe they'd be eaten - but I have never witnessed this, and the dense population of tadpoles in my fishery indicate they are not utilized as forage.
Now, adult frogs seem to be fair game, and preferred forage items in fact - I have VERY few adult leopard frogs in my pond and I attribute this to high predator density and their preferred forage status. The bullfrogs however seem too large for my limited gape fish, but I'll bet they'd love a shot at them if they could manage them.
Next time you're looking in BPS or Cabelas catalog, check out how many tadpole shaped artificials are on the market. Last time I checked, there were few to zero. Seems more evidence to support Lusk's experience.
In terms of pros and cons, I don't see any downside, and I think adult frogs can help diversify a forage base as noted by others.
Many men go fishing all of their lives without knowing that it is not fish they are after. ~ Henry David Thoreau
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Joined: Jan 2006
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Moderator Lunker
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Moderator Lunker
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I talked to a South Texas fish farm guy not long ago. They are selling 2nd year bullfrog tadpoles for $5 each. I would love to have some but not at they price.
It's not about the fish. It's about the pond. Take care of the pond and the fish will be fine. PB subscriber since before it was in color.
Without a sense of urgency, Nothing ever gets done.
Boy, if I say "sic em", you'd better look for something to bite. Sam Shelley Rancher and Farmer Muleshoe Texas 1892-1985 RIP
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Ambassador Lunker
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Five bucks apiece....wow!
"Forget pounds and ounces, I'm figuring displacement!"
If we accept that: MBG(+)FGSF(=)HBG(F1) And we surmise that: BG(>)HBG(F1) while GSF(<)HBG(F1) Would it hold true that: HBG(F1)(+)AM500(x)q.d.(=)1.5lbGRWT? PB answer: It depends.
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Joined: Jul 2009
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Ambassador Lunker
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Ambassador Lunker
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5 bucks a piece dang I have a fortune on my pond and didn't even know it! Heck I'll sell my tadpoles for 2 bucks a piece I'm like TJ I got tons of them! I have also put them on a hook by the tail thinking I'm gonna get a big ole LMB to hit this thing and I won't even get a nibble! I always wondered why they wouldn't eat them and just figured it had to be something on their skin. Thanks for the confirmation on that TJ! I wonder what changes as they become frogs? Why doesn't their skin continue to produce this defense for them? Their bodies / skin must change as they change?? All I know is the adults I have can leap buildings in a single bound!! Dang it man! RC
Last edited by RC51; 07/02/15 07:28 AM.
The only difference between a rut and a Grave is the depth. So get up get out of that rut and get moving!! Time to work!!
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Joined: May 2009
Posts: 5,722 Likes: 282
Lunker
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Lunker
Joined: May 2009
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Wonder if the price reflects certifying them as disease free. I know there is a lot of concern about a pathogenic fungus. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chytridiomycosis
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Joined: Jun 2008
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Ambassador Lunker
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Ambassador Lunker
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You implying somethin' bout' my tadpoles, RAH?
"Forget pounds and ounces, I'm figuring displacement!"
If we accept that: MBG(+)FGSF(=)HBG(F1) And we surmise that: BG(>)HBG(F1) while GSF(<)HBG(F1) Would it hold true that: HBG(F1)(+)AM500(x)q.d.(=)1.5lbGRWT? PB answer: It depends.
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Joined: Jan 2008
Posts: 8,798 Likes: 68
Chairman, Pond Boss Legacy award; Moderator; field correspondent Lunker
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Chairman, Pond Boss Legacy award; Moderator; field correspondent Lunker
Joined: Jan 2008
Posts: 8,798 Likes: 68 |
I talked to a South Texas fish farm guy not long ago. They are selling 2nd year bullfrog tadpoles for $5 each. I would love to have some but not at they price. Dave drive up here with a 100 G tank, I will load you up with thousands for the price of a handshake.
Many men go fishing all of their lives without knowing that it is not fish they are after. ~ Henry David Thoreau
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Joined: May 2009
Posts: 5,722 Likes: 282
Lunker
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Lunker
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You implying somethin' bout' my tadpoles, RAH? If the fungi fits....
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