Pond Boss Magazine
https://www.pondboss.com/images/userfiles/image/20130301193901_6_150by50orangewhyshouldsubscribejpeg.jpg
Advertisment
Newest Members
Shotgun01, Dan H, Stipker, LunkerHunt23, Jeanjules
18,451 Registered Users
Forum Statistics
Forums36
Topics40,901
Posts557,100
Members18,452
Most Online3,612
Jan 10th, 2023
Top Posters
esshup 28,417
ewest 21,475
Cecil Baird1 20,043
Bill Cody 15,110
Who's Online Now
12 members (FishinRod, esshup, PRCS, Boondoggle, Layne, Dylanfrely, nvcdl, H20fwler, Bing, Fishingadventure, Angler8689, Sunil), 702 guests, and 194 robots.
Key: Admin, Global Mod, Mod
Previous Thread
Next Thread
Print Thread
Joined: Aug 2006
Posts: 5,712
Likes: 3
Moderator
Ambassador
Field Correspondent
Lunker
OP Offline
Moderator
Ambassador
Field Correspondent
Lunker
Joined: Aug 2006
Posts: 5,712
Likes: 3
I sure wanted trout in my pond this winter.

A few weeks back I bought a 120-quart Coleman 5-day cooler. With good advice from people here, and some off-line messages from other members, I figured I was all set to get trout home -- with my box of Kosher salt, a 750 GPH 12-Volt aerator designed for boat live wells, and a bunch of "blue ice."

Since mid-September, I thought I had 10 to 12-inch trout lined up. I thought I even had RES lined up -- I haven't caught any in my pond for over two years.

I've just been waiting for my pond to cool -- which it finally did.

I called my local fish dealer on Monday. All looked good, but she told me to call back on Wednesday. I called back on Wednesday. It looked less promising. I called back yesterday morning, and she said they were closing for the season. She had some 7-inch rainbows for $2.75 each, and maybe she could still get some RES. She told me to call before I left home this morning. Instead she called me. No RES, and the owner decided to put the trout back into ponds for the winter.

I called another trout dealer a little further away. She thought I was crazy. She told me I was out of season, and besides, all she had was 7-inch rainbows -- but they would be 12 inches by mid-April -- which is when I should be putting them in my pond! I told her I had a warm water pond and I just wanted them for the winter. She thought I was even crazier. She did eventually think that maybe I wasn't so crazy -- but she still didn't have any reasonable sized trout.

I left my 4th message since early September with the closest and largest trout dealer in the area. I also sent him two e-mails over the past several weeks. Nothing has been answered.

All the other sources that I know of are more than two hours away.

I've got a 12x12 meat processing "cold room" in my barn, and a good water well just outside the barn. I think that next year I'm going to buy a cattle tank and some fingerlings early in the season.

Troutless Ken


Subscribe to Pond Boss Magazine

Peculiar Friends are Better than No Friends at All!
Joined: Aug 2006
Posts: 5,712
Likes: 3
Moderator
Ambassador
Field Correspondent
Lunker
OP Offline
Moderator
Ambassador
Field Correspondent
Lunker
Joined: Aug 2006
Posts: 5,712
Likes: 3
Sometimes things just have a way of working out for the better.

I got a call this morning from a guy a few mountains over. He had his own 50 gallon container with aerator, which he lent to me. We filled it up with forty 11-13 inch rainbows and he threw in 5 huge goldens for free. I'd guess the goldens were about 16-18 inches. $75 total.

The fish are happily swimming in my pond.


Subscribe to Pond Boss Magazine

Peculiar Friends are Better than No Friends at All!
Joined: Sep 2007
Posts: 165
B
Lunker
Offline
Lunker
B
Joined: Sep 2007
Posts: 165
A few mountains over!!!!

It must be nice.

Glad you got your trout. That guy sounds like someone you should stick with.

Last edited by Bill Webb; 10/20/07 04:08 PM.

I wish I had the tenacity of GSF!
Joined: Aug 2002
Posts: 20,043
Likes: 1
Hall of Fame
Lunker
Offline
Hall of Fame
Lunker
Joined: Aug 2002
Posts: 20,043
Likes: 1
Catmandoo,

Glad to hear it worked out. Was it Castaline trout farms that came through for you by some chance? I got trout from him when my state didn't make it impossible, and he was a treat to deal with. A really nice guy. Great brook trout!

As far as being disappointed by fish dealers been there done that. Fortuanately I have a couple that are good eggs that I regularly get fish from.

There was and is one dealer in northwest Ohio that really pulled a nasty on Bill Cody and I. Ridgeview Fin Farms of Ridgeville Corners, OH. If anyone is considering getting fish from him don't bother. He's got a screw loose. (And no I'm not afraid of being sued for libel or slander because what I am saying is true.) Libel and Slander have to be untrue and I have a witness. And since then I have heard from another fish dealer that was set to buy fish from him, depending on him, and was turned down at the last minute.

Anyway, I was set up to buy $650.00 worth of bluegills from the guy. Drove 2 1/2 hours to get them. Even got stopped in traffic for 30 minutes because of a semi accident. Got there and the owner was nowhere to be found. I waited. And waited. And waited. Finally he came out to and said, "I'm all out of bluegills." Then he said, "No let me correct that I'm all out of bluegills for you." I was flabbergasted as I had done business with this guy before with no problems. Hell I was going to put $650.00 dollars in his pocket. His wife's jaw dropped and she didn't know what the heck was going on either. I asked him what going on and he refused to tell me. Told Bill and I to leave as he had customers coming and didn't want us there. I asked him again, What is going on Bob because I don't have a clue." He again said he didn't want to talk about it and for us to leave.

The scary thing is this guy is also a law enforcement officer. (DNR). I'd hate to run into this guy with a gun out in the field.

Crazy thing is not only did he not make a sale with me and never would even if he apologized, but I have told numerous people about this that were considering getting fish there.

Last edited by Cecil Baird1; 10/20/07 05:13 PM.

If pigs could fly bacon would be harder to come by and there would be a lot of damaged trees.






Joined: Aug 2006
Posts: 5,712
Likes: 3
Moderator
Ambassador
Field Correspondent
Lunker
OP Offline
Moderator
Ambassador
Field Correspondent
Lunker
Joined: Aug 2006
Posts: 5,712
Likes: 3
Bill and Cecil,

I was indeed fortunate to find this guy. I've driven past his place dozens of times, and never knew it was a trout farm. He's got a massive spring that feeds about eight large concrete raceways.

Cecil -- it is Steve Haines / Flowing Springs Farm in Rio, WV. He's also got a pond fed from the raceways that is full of smallmouth. Great guy, and very knowledgeable.

Fish dealers are amongst the strangest group of business people I've ever dealt with. A few are really great, but as Cecil describes, there are some really weird dealers. I really don't understand how most of them make any money. And, at least in this area, I believe there is far more demand for larger fish than dealers could possibly provide -- even if they decided they wanted to.

It is real hard to find mature warm water fish to adjust populations. Most of the fish sold locally, except for trout, are just snacks for existing stocks. I'm in the process of finishing about a 25' x 50' growout pond that should be easy to drain and seine. Like Cecil said in another recent post, I don't think I want to be in the live fish business, but there are times . . .

Today was an absolutely beautiful day to move fish in the mountains of WV. The bright red maples and bright yellow hickories, against a bright blue sky, and temperatures in the 60s -- what could be better?

Ken


Subscribe to Pond Boss Magazine

Peculiar Friends are Better than No Friends at All!
Joined: May 2004
Posts: 13,939
Likes: 268
Moderator
Lunker
Offline
Moderator
Lunker
Joined: May 2004
Posts: 13,939
Likes: 268
 Originally Posted By: catmandoo
I don't think I want to be in the live fish business, but there are times . . .

Fish dealers are amongst the strangest group of business people I've ever dealt with. A few are really great, but as Cecil describes, there are some really weird dealers. I really don't understand how most of them make any money.


Cat, yer makin' me think about turnin' pro.


"Live like you'll die tomorrow, but manage your grass like you'll live forever."
-S. M. Stirling
[Linked Image from i.pinimg.com]
Joined: Sep 2007
Posts: 165
B
Lunker
Offline
Lunker
B
Joined: Sep 2007
Posts: 165
Cecil and Ken:

I haven't had bad experiences like you two have had but I have had my head bitten off by a guy at a hatchery that is suppose to have a good reputation when I wanted to stock LMB in a one acre pond. Not only that but he didn't seem interested in selling me any fish at all. He was so rude I kind of felt violated, why what did I do to you. I guess I wasn't big enough for him. I finally found a place that would at least talk to me and they had a truck that stopped at a place twenty miles from me. They recomended I think 250 HBG, and 450 BG 2 or 3 inches I think I know they were tiny, 250 CC, which I found out had a lot of blue catfish with them 6" to 8"'s and 75 bass 6"'s. Well between the blues, my ex-wifes ducks, and herons, I think all the little bass got gobbled. I have never seen a bass in it since the first spring when I stocked them and they liked laying around the pond edges in shallow water sunning. But man I got huge blue cats the next and the third year. I think I have gotten all those out. I was also told that I needed to stock some CC every year since they needed running water to spawn. Nothing mentioned about nesting boxes.

So I went about three years trying to catch a bass, hoping at least a few survived and would spawn. About the time I decided to get some adult bass the drough hit for three years. Last year I finally started looking around on the internet for fisheries and found Todd Overton, he talked to me long time and answered a lot of questions. We got some pretty good fall rains about this time (late Oct.) and my pond filled up but I didn't know what the summer would bring. So I decided to see how much rain I would get in the spring and summer. Not bad getting back to normal, but here we still didn't get the flash floods and real heavy rain like places around us. But good enough to get some bass!

Anyway, as of two weeks today I have LMB's in my pond. And it is so nice to see the swirls they make.

It was blessing to find Todd Overton. One of the best things in comming across him was not just him being such a nice person, but he has a link to this forum and that is how I found it and joined.

And after finding this forum, I'm not only happy I got some bass, now I want to manage where I can get some decent BG. And luckly I found out LMB was the key.

So Ken I'm happy you got your trout, and Cecil I know that feeling, "what did I do." I was lucky I didnt have to make a long drive before getting the brush off. When you find someone that doesn't treat you like a pest or a mark you found something!

Bill


I wish I had the tenacity of GSF!
Joined: Mar 2005
Posts: 21,475
Likes: 264
E
Moderator
Hall of Fame 2014
Lunker
Offline
Moderator
Hall of Fame 2014
Lunker
E
Joined: Mar 2005
Posts: 21,475
Likes: 264
The last 2 times I tried to get fish from a source with great fish and who I have been buying fish from for 10 years the service has been horrible. They had on both occasions 4 mths prior notice and said they would have the fish so I placed the order. I never heard a word and when I called back 3 mths later they said they would be ready in 2 mths. When I heard nothing and called back 3 mths later they said sorry we are out of fish. This happened twice even though I explained when I placed the order that I was running a time critical stocking. I was assured there would be no problem.
















Joined: Aug 2002
Posts: 20,043
Likes: 1
Hall of Fame
Lunker
Offline
Hall of Fame
Lunker
Joined: Aug 2002
Posts: 20,043
Likes: 1
Well guys this proves all the more that the magazine and website Pond Boss is sorely needed! Maybe we can weed out the bad suppliers by word of mouth, and of course learn as much as we can from all the experts here and the members that have learned from the school of hard knocks.

I get calls and visits all the time from pond owners with questions that I answer and guess where I refer them to? (Indiana also has a good pond management manaul) And guess who has given away all his Pond Bass magazines hoping they will subscribe? I even gave away a bunch Bob Lusk sent me just for that purpose. The local High School Conservation class has a pile of mine too! The instructor was impressed with the magazine.

There is so much bad informaton going around out there from Joe Blow down the street that couldn't keep a gold fish alive in a fish bowl, and so many people that need good information desperately its almost a crime. Thank God for Pond Boss!

I say we need to move the convention to another part of the country sometime in the future to bring in more pondmeisters. Upper midwest? Eastern U.S?

BTW Todd Overton is indeed a great guy and the real McCoy. I met him at the convention and he's a great listener and as honest as they come.

Last edited by Cecil Baird1; 10/24/07 05:27 AM.

If pigs could fly bacon would be harder to come by and there would be a lot of damaged trees.






Joined: Sep 2003
Posts: 13,689
Likes: 281
Moderator
Ambassador
Field Correspondent
Hall of Fame 2014
Lunker
Online Content
Moderator
Ambassador
Field Correspondent
Hall of Fame 2014
Lunker
Joined: Sep 2003
Posts: 13,689
Likes: 281
catmandoo, can you PM me the phone number for Steve Haines?

I'm all over those smallmouth.


Excerpt from Robert Crais' "The Monkey's Raincoat:"
"She took another microscopic bite of her sandwich, then pushed it away. Maybe she absorbed nutrients from her surroundings."

Joined: Oct 2006
Posts: 89
B
Lunker
Offline
Lunker
B
Joined: Oct 2006
Posts: 89
Catmandoo, I live in Ohio about 12 miles from Wheeling. We have relatives in Petersburg, W.Va. Man, I love to visit down there because I'm fishin the south branch of the Potomac every chance I get. What absolutely beautiful country. I fish around the smokehole area for trout or move down near Moorefield for smallies. I will confess my trout fishing abilities are a little weak but I am learning. West Virginia is one beautiful state!!

Joined: Apr 2004
Posts: 705
R
Lunker
Offline
Lunker
R
Joined: Apr 2004
Posts: 705
 Originally Posted By: BuckeyeWilly
We have relatives in Petersburg, W.Va. Man, I love to visit down there because I'm fishin the south branch of the Potomac every chance I get. What absolutely beautiful country. I fish around the smokehole area for trout or move down near Moorefield for smallies.


Ahhhh, Petersburg. I used to fish there for smallmouth 3 or 4 times a year. Petersburg down to Fishers Bridge. After several fish kills and poor fishing I've been going to other rivers. Has the fishing gotten better?

Joined: Aug 2006
Posts: 5,712
Likes: 3
Moderator
Ambassador
Field Correspondent
Lunker
OP Offline
Moderator
Ambassador
Field Correspondent
Lunker
Joined: Aug 2006
Posts: 5,712
Likes: 3
 Originally Posted By: Sunil
catmandoo, can you PM me the phone number for Steve Haines?


Done! If you don't get it for some reason, let me know.

BW & RA,

I'm not sure how the smallmouth fishing is above Petersburg, but it has been seriously affected from Moorefield on down. I've ranted elsewhere here on PB about the male smallmouth with ovaries, the massive fish kills, and the fish with sores in the South Branch, the Upper Potomac, and the Shenandoah. I haven't even put my canoe in the rivers in the last couple of years in fear of bringing something bad home with me. The Cacapon, which my land drains into seems OK, but it worries me too, since the Cacapon drains from and into the same watershed as the South Branch. (I'm near the top of a ridge, so I don't get much dangerous runoff -- but, about a quarter million chickens live halfway between my pond outlet and the Cacapon River, which is less than two miles away.)

A few years ago it was pretty common to boat at least 50 smallies over a couple of miles of floating, especially between Moorefield and Romney, and over on the Virginia side in the South Fork Shenandoah between Luray and Front Royal. For now, those days seem to be gone. In several years of studying the problem, nothing seems conclusive. They suspect a number of things, especially the mega turkey and chicken farms and processing plants. But, they also suspect a connection to sewage treatment that doesn't remove hormones such as from birth control pills and menopause treatments.

But, with that said, especially this time of year, there are few places on earth that are more beautiful. There are few places on earth with people as big-hearted and wonderful as those in this area.

Except for these rivers, the brook and lake fishing is fantastic. Hunting is unequaled. Lots of places around here still have native brookies too. BW, I've got an old friend on the outskirts of Petersburg (Dorcas) who has some incredible wild "pet" brookies that he protects like a he's a junkyard dog guarding the family jewels.

Good Fishn'
Ken


Subscribe to Pond Boss Magazine

Peculiar Friends are Better than No Friends at All!
Joined: Oct 2006
Posts: 89
B
Lunker
Offline
Lunker
B
Joined: Oct 2006
Posts: 89
Cat, Dorcas is where my in-laws live. My brother-in-law, who is a native of the area took me to a little steam which is loaded with trout. The family stands on a bridge and feeds them cat food. I have a beautiful picture of these trout I will try and locate and post. We stayed at harmon's cabins last fall which is just above smoke hole caverns and had a ball with the smallies. Nothing big but did catch lots of them on small inline spinners.

Joined: Apr 2004
Posts: 705
R
Lunker
Offline
Lunker
R
Joined: Apr 2004
Posts: 705
 Originally Posted By: catmandoo
A few years ago it was pretty common to boat at least 50 smallies over a couple of miles of floating, especially between Moorefield and Romney, and over on the Virginia side in the South Fork Shenandoah between Luray and Front Royal. For now, those days seem to be gone.


I used to drive 4-5 hours for a day of fishing in the catch and release section below Petersburg. 50-100 fish days were common as you said. That was in the mid to late 1990's. Then the fish kills.... Has to be caused by farming - or at least made worse by it. After that I started going to the South Fork of the Shenandoah near Luray, VA. Great river. The same thing happened there. Then I started going more to the Susquehanna River near Harrisburg, PA. Now they are having their problems. For the past 2 years I've gone to the Upper Potomac near Harpers Ferry, WV. So far, so good. I was starting to think I was causing the fish kills. \:o

Joined: Aug 2006
Posts: 5,712
Likes: 3
Moderator
Ambassador
Field Correspondent
Lunker
OP Offline
Moderator
Ambassador
Field Correspondent
Lunker
Joined: Aug 2006
Posts: 5,712
Likes: 3
 Originally Posted By: BuckeyeWilly
Cat, Dorcas is where my in-laws live. My brother-in-law, who is a native of the area took me to a little steam which is loaded with trout.

BW: Your in-laws probably know my old friend Leon A., from Dorcas. He is a very friendly sort. Kind of like one of Santa's elves -- white hair, white goatee, an ever-present smile, and a twinkle in his eye. Those may have been his pets that you were feeding.



 Originally Posted By: RobA
I was starting to think I was causing the fish kills.


Oh Oh!!!

I think we need to get the moderators to completely expunge that statement and get you into protective custody immediately.

I know lots of people who are ready for serious revenge if they ever find the cause of the fish kills in the Shenandoah, the South Branch, and the Susquehanna.

All kidding aside, it sure is a serious problem in the area. It put several friends and acquaintances out of business, and it sure affected a lot more. About a year ago I read an article about how many millions it cost the Front Royal area, and the Virginia Game and Inland Fisheries. It was astronomical.

I'm just glad I've got a pond.

Good fishn'
Ken


Subscribe to Pond Boss Magazine

Peculiar Friends are Better than No Friends at All!
Joined: Oct 2006
Posts: 89
B
Lunker
Offline
Lunker
B
Joined: Oct 2006
Posts: 89
Cat, here is the pic of the trout. I will ask my brother-in-law about Leon.


Joined: Aug 2006
Posts: 5,712
Likes: 3
Moderator
Ambassador
Field Correspondent
Lunker
OP Offline
Moderator
Ambassador
Field Correspondent
Lunker
Joined: Aug 2006
Posts: 5,712
Likes: 3
Wow! Great photo BW!

I tried to get some photos of the critters we put in the pond on Saturday, but my camera just didn't cooperate. And, with each net full, it seemed that at least one jumped out so I couldn't get a picture as my wife and grand daughter got them from the truck to the pond.

But, here is how we got them home. Only the goldens show up in the second picture. There are another 40 rainbows in the box with them.





Trout sure are pretty!

(Leon "de Dorcas" is a volunteer's volunteer. He and I served several simultaneous terms together as district and national representatives in the Ruritan organization.)

Ken G.


Subscribe to Pond Boss Magazine

Peculiar Friends are Better than No Friends at All!
Joined: Oct 2006
Posts: 89
B
Lunker
Offline
Lunker
B
Joined: Oct 2006
Posts: 89
Cat, beautiful pond and trout!! My brother-in-law knows Leon and his wife. She works at the hospital where they both had worked till this past year. When my pond gets a little older I may have to give that winter trout thing a try. :-)

Joined: Aug 2002
Posts: 20,043
Likes: 1
Hall of Fame
Lunker
Offline
Hall of Fame
Lunker
Joined: Aug 2002
Posts: 20,043
Likes: 1
Cat,

Glad to see you got your trout! Look like nice size too! You'll have a blast feeding them and catching them. You'll be amazed at how much they will grow by spring.


If pigs could fly bacon would be harder to come by and there would be a lot of damaged trees.






Joined: Aug 2006
Posts: 5,712
Likes: 3
Moderator
Ambassador
Field Correspondent
Lunker
OP Offline
Moderator
Ambassador
Field Correspondent
Lunker
Joined: Aug 2006
Posts: 5,712
Likes: 3
 Originally Posted By: Cecil Baird1

Glad to see you got your trout! Look like nice size too! You'll have a blast feeding them and catching them. You'll be amazed at how much they will grow by spring.


Cecil,

I want to thank you for your suggestions, especially on size. Had it not been for you, I would have ended up with 7-inch trout at $2.75 each.

It's been raining like crazy here for the the last three evenings, so we haven't been down to feed. But, they were feeding pretty good after their second day in the pond. My wife said she saw one floater, which she assumed was one of the trout.

My wife and I hope to enjoy the first of them for New Years Eve dinner -- although my grandson already thinks he has plans for this weekend! NOT!!

BW -- If you see Leon, say Hi. Our paths don't cross much anymore. But, he's a great person with a heart of gold, who devotes nearly every spare minute to helping the community.


Subscribe to Pond Boss Magazine

Peculiar Friends are Better than No Friends at All!
Joined: Aug 2002
Posts: 20,043
Likes: 1
Hall of Fame
Lunker
Offline
Hall of Fame
Lunker
Joined: Aug 2002
Posts: 20,043
Likes: 1
Cat,

Glad I could help. Feeding that early is a very good sign. I've had trout that were so stressed they didn't feed for at least a week although that is not the norm if I haul them.


If pigs could fly bacon would be harder to come by and there would be a lot of damaged trees.







Link Copied to Clipboard
Today's Birthdays
Bob Lusk, GaryK, GrizzFan, PhotographerDave
Recent Posts
Relative weight charts in Excel ? Calculations?
by Boondoggle - 03/28/24 06:45 PM
Working on a .5acre disaster, I mean pond.
by PRCS - 03/28/24 06:39 PM
Fungus infection on fish
by nvcdl - 03/28/24 06:07 PM
Can anyone ID these minnows?
by Dylanfrely - 03/28/24 05:43 PM
1 year after stocking question
by esshup - 03/28/24 04:48 PM
Yellow Perch Spawn 2024
by H20fwler - 03/28/24 04:29 PM
New 2 acre pond stocking plan
by LANGSTER - 03/28/24 03:49 PM
Happy Birthday Bob Lusk!!
by ewest - 03/28/24 03:37 PM
Paper-shell crayfish and Japanese snails
by esshup - 03/28/24 10:39 AM
Brooder Shiners and Fry, What to do??
by Freg - 03/28/24 09:42 AM
Dewatering bags seeded to form berms?
by Justin W - 03/28/24 08:19 AM
Newly Uploaded Images
Eagles Over The Pond Yesterday
Eagles Over The Pond Yesterday
by Tbar, December 10
Deer at Theo's 2023
Deer at Theo's 2023
by Theo Gallus, November 13
Minnow identification
Minnow identification
by Mike Troyer, October 6
Sharing the Food
Sharing the Food
by FishinRod, September 9
Nice BGxRES
Nice BGxRES
by Theo Gallus, July 28
Snake Identification
Snake Identification
by Rangersedge, July 12

� 2014 POND BOSS INC. all rights reserved USA and Worldwide

Powered by UBB.threads™ PHP Forum Software 7.7.5