Pond Boss Forums FISH & FISHING Show off your catch Some nice bluegill and perch out of the big pond

Seined my biggest pond yesterday albeit in high winds and was able to produce about 100 perch of which I culled out some 14 + inch perch and about a thirteen 10 inch or 10 inch plus bluegills. Biggest bluegill was 10 1/2 inches and heaviest bluegill was 23 1/2 oz.

The wind was so miserable I was only able to muster one pull on half of the pond.

Here they are O.D.'d on clove oil ready for weighing and measuring. (Fish are sold whole frozen to taxidermists.)

Them YP are just crazy monsters!! Wow! Nice fish C.

RC

Are all those bluegill males? Just going by the earflap.

Another great looking bunch of fish Cecil. Do you have any minnow type forage in your ponds for perch or are they strictly pellet fed?

Cecil, do the eyes on the BG act like the eyes on the YP?

Yes, yesterday would have been miserable to seine in with the wind.

Golly jeepers those are awesome, C! Well done!

Very nice indeed! Love seeing multiples of trophy class fish.

All males. Only male bluegill in the pond.

Nice fish Cecil
Next time use a fishing pole! LOL

No buggy eyes (exophathalmos) on the bluegills.



Yeah especially by myself!

Really nice premium fish with excellent shape of the BG. Good job again!

The big ones are getting more difficult to catch, and although I enjoy fishing I just don't have the time to fish for the needed number of fish. I used to have friends fish but they are losing interest as it's the same size and species of fish every time.

I planted five pounds of fatheads to reproduce last year, as the feed trained female only perch before the last draining did not deplete them like bass will. Unfortuntely I have some yellow perch reproduction due to one male flopping out of a cage, and possibly some I planted that were textbook females, judging by their urogenital openings, that were not. I think these non feed trained perch are doing a number on the fatheads.

Here is proof I screwed up:




I may seine the pond numerous times next spring, move the definite females and male bluegills to two holding ponds in the back, then drain down and salvage the rest, and rotenone any standing water. Then fill back with the well and move the fish back. I've done it before! Lots of work but doable!

The other alternative is to plant same sex bass and or walleye to control the yellow perch reproduction.

Those BG eyes don't bug out but they sure look like Zoombie eyes ta me. Spooky, or nuclear induced?

Cecil, I think seine and nuke would be most cost effective for you.

As in not drain?

Gosh with a minimum price of $40.00 per fish I hate to lose any.

I suppose I can still sell the smaller ones at a lower price.

No, drain and seine to get all the high dollar fish out, then nuke to remove all the small ones. Then start over with single sex fish that you are 110% sure of....

I'm thinking that introducing a predator in there will take away growing inches from the high dollar fish, either to reduced available biomass space or stress introduced by the predator fish.

Gottcha. We are thinking on along the same lines.

I was able to salvage all the fish I wanted to last time by sinking tanks to the bottom. Then when the pond was down to mere inches I was able to pick up flopping fish and throw them into the tank.

Sold whole frozen to taxidermists? Can you elaborate? $40 per fish?

It's illegal to sell gamefish out of public waters and in a few southern states they only can be sold live from a fish farm. Yours is one of those states including Mississippi and Louisiana. Anyway, taxidermists look for trophy size specimens that they can mount up for their showrooms, state, national, and world competitions. That's where I come in.

I post the size in length and weight on a taxidermy website with a corresponding ID number and ship frozen via UPS or USPS. Unfortunately my latest listing has only one person interested in a yellow perch and bluegill. I may have saturated the market over the years. Or it's the wrong time of year.

I have one guy that wants to buy a $40.00 fish in Illinois, but Illinois requires a $100.00 permit to sell him the fish. I told him I need at least $100.00 in sales to justify it. He doesn't get it.

Wow Cecil what excellent specimens ! Not just the size and shape but the condition is super. Keep up the good work.

Cecil tell the guy in Illinois that due to the restrictions you can only have Illinois residents pick up the fish from you.

It's just mind boggling how big and plump your fish are, Cecil!

Being a part of this forum has eliminated doubts for so many, that yes, it can be done!

Thanks for sharing!

Sure Scott. LOL

Cecil, I have run into the "Why does it cost so much to ship?" or the "Why does it cost so much to deliver?" before, and so far 10 times out of 10 when they are given the option to come here to pick it up, they opt to pay the shipping or delivery charge.

It is what it is, I have no control over fuel, shipping costs, vehicle prices or maintenance costs.