Pond Boss Forums MANAGING AN EXISTING POND Feeding Crappies at the feed trough??

Lately I'm gone so much, I only get to feed on Fridays and Saturdays. When I fed last night, I got what seemed to be a lot of really gigantic bluegill coming up.

I usually don't fish where I feed, but I was curious about how big these fish really were. I got a rod with a #2 hook and piece of night crawler. Almost immediately I pulled out a 12-inch and a 14-inch crappie. I also got a 10-inch bass.

I don't know if the crappie were actually feeding, or if it was just coincidence that they were in the area when I threw in my line.

I usually catch less than a dozen crappie per year out of the pond, and none ever go back in. I don't think I've ever caught crappie off the end of my dock before. The few I catch are always in heavy structure.

Anybody else ever see crappie feeding on pellets?

Ken

Hey Ken

I think Cecil and maybe Weissguy once stated either they had or read about guys that had pellet trained Crappie - but it was in pretty controlled conditions and they intimated it wasn't easy IIRC. I'm facing a similar question at my place - I can't determine whether or not my SMB are hitting pellets or just swiping at my GSH and FHM that are at the surface nibbling on pellets. It's cool either way, watching them abush...but it would be a blessing if they were taking pellets to supplement their diet.

Crappies most certainly can be feed trained if it's done correctly. I may try it in a year or two.

Just remember there was a time when the texts said feed training bass was almost impossible.

I've feed trained crappies I have kept in an aquarium. But that was just a handful of fish. It wasn't on pellets though. It was freeze dried foods like krill. Doing that took a couple months. It was much easier and convenient to feed them mostly freeze dried food than constantly having to feed them live minnows. I suspect if worked on, continuing the process from freeze dried food to pellets could be done. I could see them switching over to pellets in a pond albeit not as likely as other species. Perhaps a learned behavior from other species of fish in your pond?

And another thing to keep in mind about feed trained fish: Each new generation is easier to feed train. For those of you that haven't already figured it out, it's due to natural selection ( or in this case unnatural selection.) The ones that refuse to accept the pellets die or are removed. Therefore if there is a genetic link to not accepting pellets, it's removed from the gene pool.

I think if would be fun to come up with feed trained crappies. The only problem would be what to do with them until you can select the sexes for a monosex pond where you could possibly grow them out to huge size.

Thanks all, for your comments.

Well, I certainly didn't do the crappie feed training "correctly". If anything, it has been by complete accident.

I got home just after sunset this evening, after 4-days gone. To relax after another crazy week, I went down to feed the fish. It was a true feeding frenzy as soon as the first pellets hit the water.

Again, I saw what appeared to be a couple of schools of really huge "sunfish." I went back to the shed and got my 16-foot fiberglass jigging rod. I put a piece of night crawler on a #2 long shank hook. I dangled the piece of night crawler right at the water surface, in the middle of the feeding frenzy. As soon as something grabbed it, I yanked out the "perch" at the bottom of the photo -- an 11-inch crappie. As soon as I could get my line back in the water, I yanked out the "perch" that is shown in the top of the photo. That was what was feeding tonight.

I didn't want to spook them too much during feeding, so I didn't put my line back in the water after I caught Mr. Trout.

It now seems obvious that my crappie really are coming up for pellets.

I don't know if this is good or bad. All I now know is that crappies, trained or not, will take pellets. I know I've got BG, LMB, CC, and grass carp also taking pellets. I sure have a pond full of lazy moochers. That is OK though. I love seeing them all.

Interestingly, the trout and the crappie both had milt in them. The crappies, trout, and bluegill I caught last weekend all had milt or eggs in them. I've seen minimal evidence of bass or bluegill spawning in my home pond. All seems really late this year. My pond remains several inches above full pool. Tonight's water was at 63 degrees 3-foot down at the end of the dock. I don't think it has gone below full pool for more than a couple of weeks in the last two years. (. . . and the driveway is again washed out from real heavy rains -- more tractor seat time this weekend.)

Anyway, just an observation . . .

Ken

Ken

Playing devils advocate - could Crappie be chasing forage fish that are feeding on pellets and hammering them instead of the pellets? You know, just hanging below the school of FHM or GSH and picking them off as they feast on pellets? Just a thought...not that I dont want you to have pellet trained crappie - I notice my crappie in experimental pond 3 do that very thing when my GSH and FHM feed on pellets.

I wouldn't rule out anything. It is very difficult to tell a bluegill from a crappie in the pond. But, it sure looks like the crappie are slurping pellets -- and I unfortunately didn't open up the bellies to see what was in them.

Bad bad Ken! You bad boy Ken!

You mission Ken, if you to choose accept it (Mission Impossible theme playing in the background) is to catch another crappie in the feeding frenzie and open up the stomach.

Ken I think its great if your crappies are eating pellets. That means you can perhaps grow some big 'uns! As you know pellet fed fish are usually a about 3 years ahead in growth of their natural feed counterparts.

You made me feel so guilty that I went to my gut bucket and pulled out the crappie carcass from last night.

Its stomach was full of pellets! I'd post a picture, but I'm afraid Sunil might lose his breakfast if he saw it.

Then post it at lunch time, Ken! Sheesh!

So anyone that says crappies won't eat pellets is not entirely correct. I suspected that.

I've seen fish learn to eat pellets by watching other fish even though they were not trained on them also. If they're hungry enough it will happen, however I wouldn't depend on it. Still feed training them when they are small is your best bet.

Interesting finding Ken... If you have a few crappies eating pellets, you could really grow some hogs!

That's what I think!

You guys really are going to make me feel guilty. The crappie in my pond are minimally tolerated guests. So far they have behaved themselves pretty well. I think I can attribute it to my serious over population of small hungry bass, my ever hungry catfish, and the voracious winter trout -- and no crappie ever gets returned to the pond.

So, now you've got me wondering . . . do I treat them like friends or like poison ivy? Do I feed them and let them eat, or do I yank out as many as possible when they are mooching?

They've got a few days to think it over. I'm out of town again.

What about fin clipping a few that are eating pellets & return them to grow into hogs, and keep yanking out the rest?

Pumping their stomachs with a turkey baster would be a way to check their stomach contents without killing them. I know there have been local studies to determine what fish are eating that way.

I was thinking that he'd catch some when he was pellet feeding, clip their fins and release them. Then if he caught some away from the feeder he'd have an easy way to identify them.

Isn't that what the college kids do - except they use a funnel and beer to check stomach contents?

I actually learned the turkey baster method years ago from trout fisherman who would do it to determine what kind of fly to use. And the basic technique was demonstrated at PB III using a small water pump.

Clipping may also be an option.

I just really have to come to grips with letting crappie have free run in the pond - or not.

Yee-haw! This is PB history in the making...great discovery Ken!

That's what happens when you feed crappy food------- Instead of the good stuff.

Hey, go ahead and post some crappie stomach contents. If I ended up hurling, it'd be more exciting then what I'm doing hanging around my hotel here in Argentina.

Seeing that you "puke a little in your mouth", I would bet that a regular, predictable, hurl, is imminent. Crappie stomach contents don't figure!

Take care down there!

Hanging out at your Hotel, in Argentina, on a Saturday night? Sunil...you must be mellowing with age! Were I with you we'd already have posted bail tonight....twice!

If I was in my twenties or even early thirties, I'd be out. But these days, I tend to just get some beers and hang out in my room after eating dinner out. Now if any of you were down here, or any of my other friends, it'd be fairly raucus.