Pond Boss Forums INTRO Questions & Observations good news and bad news

I finally got my shade structure built, thanks to the brilliant construction mind of Eddie Walker It was very easy, once i shifted the fulcrum point to the end posts. Hopefully, the fish will enjoy the shade, I know i will

good news!!


Now for the bad news..this critter has showed up in the pond.I don't know how they got in.There is a catfish pond about 150 yrds from mine. Maybe the herons brought them in on their feet. I know for awhile,they were hopping from mine to theirs frequently. Can anyone tell what kind of catfish this is? Its about 2 inches long.I guess the only solution is to try to catch them out when they get bigger.I'm open for suggestions..

bad news
http://i155.photobucket.com/albums/s301/sambonita1/pond1003-1.jpg" alt="" />

and

Looks like a bullhead. If you have plenty of bass, they should stay under pretty good control.

I currently only have SMB.I wonder if i need to go get some adult female LMB, just for this kind of problem?

howard, I have a few questions.

How did you catch that? It does look like a baby bullhead.

Did you have some flooding? Reason I ask is because having such a small baby bullhead, one has to wonder if the parents are in your pond or someone elses. From your dock photo, it looks like you've had some high water.

Are you feeding pellets? Reason for asking is that if your SMB are eating pellets in addition to whatever forage fish you have, you might want to stop feeding to encourage the SMB to put more pressure on forage fish and these small bullies. The small bullies are slow swimmers and easy targets.

Also, I wouldn't make any drastic moves until you see what is really going on.

sunil,
Yea, i have had some flooding.About 6 more inches the last few days I was able to catch that little catfish when i installed a finer mesh screen in front of my drain pipe.He was trying to get back in the pond, along with some of my baitfish! I did see a larger one,about 4 inches long, swimming by my dock the other day.

Near as i can tell my SMB are not eating pellets. I feed inside that wood square you see in the pic, so i get a pretty good look at everything that eats pellets.My pond has alot of baitfish in it, so i don't think the smallies are interested in the pellets yet. I'm trying to feed only what gets eaten in about 10 min., less when the algae gets going.Got to keep those Tilapia earning their keep I'm afraid some of those catfish are already too large for my smallies to eat, which is why i was wondering if a couple of large female LMB might work as a pre-emptive strike on those bullheads? I don't know. Like you said,Probably best just to wait a bit and see how it develops. I guess there are worst things than having bullies in your pond!

howard, what type of fish are taking feed in your pond?

CNBG and the Tilapia are both pretty aggressive pellet eaters..You know it just dawned on me..I bet those catfish got into my pond up through my drain pipe when it rains hard,it creates an intermittent stream between my pond's drainpipe and my neighbors overflow pipe. Wish i had that finer mesh in place earlier.Maybe it would of kept them out

I think you're on to something when considering flood conditions for unwanted stockings.

I would have doubted that you had adult bullheads already unless it had been for human stockings unbeknownst to you.

I don't know what anyone else's input would be, but I would still halt feeding for a few days just to get all fish in the thought process of "eat other fish or live creatures" in the hopes that any bullheads of edible size would get eaten.

Good idea, Sunil.

Back to the good news for a second...

That so-called "shade structure" is brilliant.

My vote = Bullhead. I see 'em in little black cloud swarms in my pond - that size, this time of year. For whats its worth, there are usually 3 or 4 good sized LMB following them around picking them off one by one.

Maybe my bullheads went up stream too. I can only hope.

Thanks , Bruce..I think "brilliant" might be a little strong, but "effective", for sure It sits on the east bank, so i get some really strong afternoon shade over the pond..

Will a 6 inch Smallie eat a 3 inch bullhead?

Howard,

Nice job!!! Before I was thinking that it would look odd with the roof at two different levels, but seeing the picture of it, I like it. You have more visual interest and character this way with both of them being flat.

Thanks for the update and kind words,
Eddie

Howard a 6in SMB will not eat a 3in BH , but a 12in LMB may well eat both of them. Gape size is a good indicator of what a fish will try to eat. A 6in SMB's mouth is not big enough for a 3in BH (spines). A wise move to watch what is occurring for a while and not put in LMB. You might try a trap to catch some of them.

Eric,I think i might look into the trap idea.What would be a good bait? Maybe some range cubes or hot dogs.Ideally it would be something a catfish is attacted to, but not everything else.

Thanks Eddie, Yea i kind of like the split-level also.I think it keeps it from looking like a tunnel. BTW, it sits on the west bank,not the east bank..I really shouldn't try to communicate that early in the morning

Howard- a trap is definitely a good idea. We've been slowly but surely trapping our bullheads when we're not getting them out with hook and line. We've tried all sorts of bait, including shrimp, squid, pellets in pantyhose, bloodbait/stinkbait in pantyhose, and liver. They all seem to work for bullheads, but we're trying to find the magical bait that catches ONLY bullheads, and not HSB, LMB, and BG. We caught HSB using the pellets (go figure), and we even caught a LMB on the shrimp! We just got a new wooden trap, and after letting it cure for a week underwater with a cinder block on top, it is ready to go! I'd say use about any bait you want...and if you have bullheads...they will come. Range cubes could work, I suppose, seeing as how they are similar to fish pellets, but I'd go with the actual pellets. I'm sure hot dogs would work as well.

We have so many bullheads and they are so active that hook and line works about as well as the traps for us. Just yesterday, we put 7 no. 10 hooks on a leader with squid, and the first cast produced seven bullheads in about 2 minutes. New record...every hook with a bullhead. Do that a few times and hook and line can be very productive. I've lost count, but I'd guess that we've removed 400 or so already. I'd get on them before they get ahead of you, unless you want them in your pond. Being that our goal for this pond is all sizes of BG with some big, catchable ones and as many 3-6 pound LMB as possible with the occassional trophy, bullheads are a no-go.

that's some great info,davatsa..what do you do with all those bullheads???

We've eaten some, and they're actually not bad. I honestly couldn't tell the difference between the bullhead fillets and the CC fillets. Most of the bullheads we're catching now are too small to eat, although a few are real dandies. The small ones are the ones we want to get out asap. They make great fertilizer. Hopefully between us and the growing LMB/HSB, we can keep the bullheads under control...

...until the next flood.

Dave, who would ever have thought that we would/could say "until the next rain".

No kidding, Dave #1. After last summer, I guess our current problem is a good problem. I just shudder at the thought of what ends up in our pond when the creek overflows...