Pond Boss Forums MANAGING AN EXISTING POND Evaluating and adjusting fish populations size of stockers

hi all !!!i stocked 4-5 inch walleyes last fall does anyone know about what size they will be this year
stocked 2-3 inch hybrid gills that are 12 inches long and over 1 lb
sampled those last month what a fight, the thing was taking out drag!!what a hoot!!!

5-6 acre pond in iowa

What kinds & amounts of smaller forage did the 'Eyes have to eat?

Also, what was your stocking rate on the walleyes? Number/acre?

5"-11"

i for one refuse to believe you until i see a pic of those hogs.....then i will apologize and tell you what beautiful fish you have

stocked 200 , with initial stocking of bluegill crappie small mouth bass large mouth bass and channel cats
added another 200 eye last month again 4-5 inchers expect some will become expensive fish food , hoping 40-50 will survive
want several year class of eyes for future fun and good eats
http://s273.photobucket.com/albums/jj231/GARTON13/?action=view¤t=DSC_0480-1.jpg
here's the baby eyes that went in last month

i wish i was smart enough to post pics , can someone help teach an old fart a new trick
i can however email pics so i suppose i could learn how to post here on the pond boss forum
i take alot of pics of my pond 5-6 acres 32 feet deep out in front of the dam, built in a steep old crick bed
i left alot of timber in the middle for structure
and it also had an existing pond that was overtaken by the new one

have stocked 80lbs of fh minnows over 2 summers
added 300 crawdads, and have many many tadpols=frogs
crappies are 6-8 inches
channels are 3 lbs
am considering hybrid striped bass to control the baby crappies and bluegills probably 30-40 for 5-6 acre pond, they wont spawn, and they get really big!!

so are you saying they will be 11 inches now?

here is a pic of the big gill caught a month ago this fish is a little over a year old

http://s273.photobucket.com/albums/jj231/GARTON13/?action=view¤t=DSC_0374.jpg

http://s273.photobucket.com/albums/jj231/GARTON13/?action=view¤t=p3.jpg

the other pic is before full pool see some of the structure

dave look below i have enclosed pic of big gill apology accepted!!

Wow Chris, I'm more impressed by the 12" deck planks, 1/0 hook and 30lb line for bluegill fishing That doesn't appear to be a typical HBG. Usually there is yellow tipping on the dorsal and anal fins. Do you know what cross it is? Nice health looking fish none the less.

The walleye would be 5"-11" depending on how well they're doing. I think 2" per year is typical for walleye and I think your correct on the expected survival rate of 25%-50% on stockers but those little guys you posted look like they be an easy snack for a 14" LMB.

I do think that is a BG cross based on the fins , gill plate , ear tab , color on ear flap , coloring/pattern on the head area. What % and what cross is a guess but I would say mostly BG and maybe some small % GSF.

Honestly, based on the gill speckling and a slight red margin to the opercuyle, I'm thinking BG/RES.

stole my thunder theo.....

before i give apologies iowa, lets see her next to a tape

nice fishy anyways

The red ear tab seems like a sure sign that it's not a GSF cross. If the growth he claims is true, it would be nice to know for sure what the cross is. The supplier should know.

Outside of the coloring, the mouth seems pretty small for a GSF cross too.

Chris, is it possible this is a fish from your original pond and not a 2 year old HBG? You're growth is about twice as fast as the fastest growth I've seen. My 3 year old HBG were 9" were fairly fat due to feeding 46% protein pellets and a buffet of fatheads. It's a GSF BG hybrid. This fish was stocked in March of 2004 at 3", the picture is from April of 2006.

I too do not think that HBG is one yr old, unless maybe it was stocked as a 8" fish. I is very probably a carry over from the old pond or someone else stocked it unknown to the owner.
AS verification what are the sizes of the other "bgill" that you are catching from this pond? Are they all this big, if not then it is probably not one of the recently stocked fish.
Never the less it is a dandy fish.

I suspect there is very little if any GSF in the hybrid based on my experiences with sunfish and due to the coloration and markings. Note the quite pointed pectoral fin. If GSF genes were present the fin would likely be more rounded. Crossing a RES and BG would result in a definate pointed pectoral fin since both parents have pointed pectorals.

I suggest Wisc Fish for an excellent source of info. Now what do you think. That does not look like a RES cross to me. GSF can have a tint on the ear flap.

PSXBG



BGXGSF



PSXGSF



PSXBG



PSXBG




HBG can have pec fins that look like the one in the first post - see the variation in these HBG. I can't say pec fin length is a definite dominate genetic trait of either BG or GSF or RES.











http://www.pondboss.com/forums/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Main=1341&Number=14459#Post14459

Neat info, Eric.

That PS x GSF is a beautiful fish!

i suppose this could be a gill from the origianal pond if its not a hybrid
if this is a hybrid the chances are i put it in the pond
any questions about the percent of what gsf/res can be directed to beemer hatchery in bedford iowa call randy @ 712. 542-7139
he told me these fish grow 6 inches in 6 months and get to 2 lbs
i dont think he would s__t me!!!!!
anyhoot thanks for the info
i'll have more pics in 2 weeks

thanks fo rthe kind dock comments, have a boatload tied up in this
almost 7500 bucks , mfg by a company in nebraska real happy with it

not sure whay size hook but its only 8 lb test smarty pants!!!!!

Beemers website http://www.beemerfisheries.com/

"Hybrid Bluegill are a cross between two different types of bluegill. This hybrid is the answer to your pond and like stocking problems. Beemer Fisheries specialize in Hybrid Bluegill and have done selective breeding for several years and feel we have the fastest growing Hybrid Bluegill in the U.S. Fast growing, 2" fish gain 3/4 lb. between spring and fall. The Hybrid grows larger than common bluegill, reaching a weight of 2 1/2 to 3 lbs. Stock your pond this spring and catch fish this fall. They eat commercial feed."



"Randy Beemer displaying
two hybrid bluegill fingerlings.
The small one will become the size of the large one in six months."


Something smells a little fishy. The claims seem a bit extraordinary. Is Bruce Condello listening?

The large BG on the left doesn't look particularly hybrid IMHO.

Seems like we have heard this message before.

imho i still think the fish pictured is a hybrid
i know randy and have been to his hatchery
he will ship 50 or 100 to ya, does somebody have a pond with no fish in it we could do a study!!!!!