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Joined: Feb 2009
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Ambassador Lunker
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In Response to my infraction. Sounds like everything went well Coach. Releasing fish is always fun. You did however violate membership rule 4, section 2, paragraph (a) which clearly states "all members shall post photos of every fish stocking event." We'll let it slide this time. Here is a post of the pond with pictures! Here is the pond last fall as it started to fill followed by it flooding this spring as it thawed. Last week my daughter and I sunk these structures (and others) to get ready for the the new children. the home made bush is not done in this picture. It has lower branches. finally, this last weekend, Kerrigan, my future aquaculturist, and I released the new babies. One of the big breeders I get to catch later! The new kiddies from Finfarm Bill Cody's suggestion on double dipping before release It has turned cold so I don't really see them yet. I think that they are all sitting in the middle and shivering. Thanks to PB for all the help.
Brian Retired Coach Just another day in paradise!
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Ambassador Field Correspondent Hall of Fame Lunker
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Looks great, gonna be some fun times ahead for your family and you. Congrats! I really like the physical shape of your pond, some great structure...
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Joined: Oct 2005
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Ambassador Field Correspondent Lunker
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Ambassador Field Correspondent Lunker
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Where did you find the roomba floor cleaner for the kitchen? Do they really work?
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Joined: Feb 2009
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Ambassador Lunker
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It does look like a roomba under my green base. Actually, it is another coil of sprinkler hose for the bushes. My fishing buddy has a roomba and they live it.
Brian Retired Coach Just another day in paradise!
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Joined: May 2004
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Moderator Lunker
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Excellent.
ewest needs to copy that "bush" picture into the structure archive. I am always looking for good ways to use pre-owned 1" black plastic pipe. That one of the best looking DIY structures I've seen here - it looks pretty snag-free IMHO.
"Live like you'll die tomorrow, but manage your grass like you'll live forever." -S. M. Stirling
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Joined: Mar 2005
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I like the quality of those BG. Thanks for the pics. Theo, as instructed, I will copy the structure pics to the archive. You guys please feel free to add them also. Its ours - not mine.
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Joined: Jul 2006
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Ambassador Field Correspondent Lunker
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Ambassador Field Correspondent Lunker
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Sounds like everything went well Coach. Releasing fish is always fun. You did however violate membership rule 4, section 2, paragraph (a) which clearly states "all members shall post photos of every fish stocking event." We'll let it slide this time. In Response to my infraction. Well done. I wish more pond boss members were as compliant as you. I would make my job much easier. You have now been removed from the top secret double probation list.
JHAP ~~~~~~~~~~ "My mind is a raging torrent, flooded with rivulets of thought cascading into a waterfall of creative alternatives." ...Hedley Lamarr (that's Hedley not Hedy)
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Joined: Mar 2009
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Lunker
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Lunker
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Nice pond! What is this about "double dipping" before stocking? I have some RES fingerlings and Rosy Reds coming in a few weeks and will try to get some pics for you guys, in effort to comply with the rules!
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I am so glad to be off double secret probation! Too bad I still have 0.00 GPA after 7 years!
Strizzo, Bill Cody suggested that you get two 5 gallon buckets with pond water and dip your fish in one, then dip in the other to rinse the hatchery water off of the new fish. It was a great way to help keep unwanted things from getting into your pond. I do it all the time for my fish tanks, but didn't think of it for my pond.
I will post a finished picture of the bush when it is done with directions on how I made it.
Brian Retired Coach Just another day in paradise!
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Looking forward to seeing that bush completed and a really good looking shape to that pond and some quality structures too. What all did you stock?
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Here is the picture of the completed bush and a shot of it in the water. I created another thread on how to build it called "bush building". We stocked 15 pounds of FHM, 200 BG, 50 RES, 50 YP and 40 LMB. I will add some more FHM, 10 LMB and 10 HBS in the fall. I have been watching huge schools of minnows every day as they swim around in the shallows, but never saw an of the others. I know that it is still early, but it still seems strange that no one has come up to sun themselves. Finally, on Saturday, a saw a school of 50 BG rise up from the deep and stalk the shore for about 5 minutes before returning to the depths. it was quite a sight! I also found a dead BG. I guess it happens, but it was still a bummer.
Brian Retired Coach Just another day in paradise!
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That looks great Coach. Going to look for that thread now...
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An update on the new pond. I bought 1-3 inch BG and RES this spring and was planning for a fall spawn, but the little suckers got to work. Is this a spawning BG or RES? We have planted the berms and are waiting for stuff to fill in. here is a shot of the beach and dock and the BG eating The BG love the pellets even though they were not pellet trained when I got them. All of this leads to a question. Now that my BG are spawning before I intended them to, do I need to worry about my fish balance? I have 40 small bass (about 3 inches) and 50 YP (2-12 inches) in the half acre with the 250 BG and RES and FHM. I was planning on adding 10 HBS and 10 LMB this fall or next spring, but am wondering if I need to add earlier or wait?
Brian Retired Coach Just another day in paradise!
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If you can't see any red opercule tabs, they are BG. Nests & behavior are pretty similar.
BG self-pellet train about as well as any fish.
Since you already have a fair number of predators in there, I wouldn't worry about rushing extra LMB/HSB.
"Live like you'll die tomorrow, but manage your grass like you'll live forever." -S. M. Stirling
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Joined: Aug 2007
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Ambassador Lunker
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Ambassador Lunker
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Brian, the pond looks great, and the fish must be real happy with it. ENJOY
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It looks like I have both BG and RES spawning together. Do they do that? I looked for the red spot and saw it on some of them, but not others.
Brian Retired Coach Just another day in paradise!
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If their colonies were next to each other, or even intermingled, I don't think it would be a first.
"Live like you'll die tomorrow, but manage your grass like you'll live forever." -S. M. Stirling
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Joined: Jan 2009
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What a pretty pond! That water looks great... Wonderful pictures as well.
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Joined: Feb 2006
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Lunker
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Lunker
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Brian
Great pics and it looks like things are coming along just fine.
Been very busy around here myself and haven't checked in lately. I think you had mentioned maybe getting together a while back. That would be cool to compare notes. Send me a private message if you are interested.
Chuck
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I've read in multiple different places, including here, that bluegill tend to overpopulate even more easily up North than they do in the South (and they're pretty darn good at it down here) because LMB grow much more slowly in the land of short summers. With that in mind, it is very possible that by the time the 3" bass get big enough to exert a controlling influence on the bluegill, if it's the bluegill that got to work right away (can't tell from the photo whether they're bluegill or redear, would have to be a closer shot), that you could have more than they could control.
If your primary goal is bass, you should be fine, as the extra bluegill will give them more food. If big bluegill are your goal, you would be better safe than sorry to add some bigger (8-10" or 10-12") predators as soon as possible. Bass are often stocked a year before the bluegill in Northern climes, upon the recommendation of state DNR's, for this very reason, so they have time to get a head start and can be big enough to control the bluegill when they're stocked.
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Bass are often stocked a year before the bluegill in Northern climes, upon the recommendation of state DNR's, for this very reason, so they have time to get a head start and can be big enough to control the bluegill when they're stocked. I live in Nebraska and everything I've read has suggested the opposite. Stocking BG first, wait for at least one spawn, then stock your LMB. This way the BG get themselves producing and still provide a nice forage base for the LMB.
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Copied from a prior thread. Everyone should note that there are differences in stocking north to south. For example one successful method up north is to stock FH and LMB and then up to a year later stock BG. Another method is to stock 2 inch BG in summer followed by 2 year old LMB the next spring. These methods are not used in the south. In addition often the recommended stocking ratios are different as CJ noted. A review of the archive on State Agency manuals will help. http://www.pondboss.com/forums/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=113216#Post113216Here is a good example from the Penn. manual. When small bass and bluegills of the same age were stocked simultaneously in Alabama, balanced populations always resulted. When this stocking strategy was followed in the North, the result nearly always was a stunted bluegill population and a bass population unable to spawn successfully. Research at Cornell University showed that to achieve successful bass-bluegill populations in northern states, the initial stocking must consist of bass that are at least 1 year older than the bluegills. This can be achieved by stocking yearling bass 1 year ahead of yearling bluegills or combining 2-year-old bass (over 6 inches) with yearling bluegills less than 2 inches long. Researchers currently believe that the proper number of fingerling fish to stock is 100 bass and 200 to 500 bluegills per surface acre. This stocking strategy has been shown to be successful in Pennsylvania ponds.
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I think the biggest question comes for those areas that aren't quite deep south or far north, like Virginia where I live or say Nebraska. Any studies you've read Eric that indicate where the cut off line is for different stocking methods?
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Thanks, Eric. That's the study I was thinking of - probably read it initially thanks to you.
CoachB, is your primary goal for the pond trophy bluegill, trophy bass, or good-sized specimens of both species?
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CJ I have not seen any studies showing that line. You could look at the State Agency manuals and see which ones suggest which method .
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