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#23574 10/05/06 11:28 AM
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I am a reletively new lake manager at a guest ranch. I have run into a lot of stunted fish and was wondering about electro shocking. I have been searching for a company but have been unable to locate one here in California. Does anyone Know of any or where to start? Any help would be appreciated.

Tom

#23575 10/05/06 12:35 PM
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Tom welcome to the PB forum. We have a number of Calif. members who should pick up on your request. There is an unbelievable amount of info here and a lot of very talented pond managers. Here is a link to some info on Calif. providers. I don't know if they are good choices but it has some info . But first a link to :

FARM FISH POND MANAGEMENT IN CALIFORNIA

http://www.dfg.ca.gov/fishing/assets/documents/InfoLeaflets/No_23.pdf

UC-Davis

http://aqua.ucdavis.edu/links/links01nf.html

Here is a link to the Western Region Aquanic chapter.

http://www.fish.washington.edu/wrac/

Call the PB office and get a copy of Basic Pond Management to get started.
















#23576 10/05/06 02:18 PM
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Tom, you haven't listed your experience and qualifications so don't take offense if I say some things you already know.

If you are thinking about shocking to help you eliminate fish, I think you will be disappointed. It is more of a sampling tool. As an analysis tool, it is OK if the boat is run by a seasoned pro who can extrapolate and do a complete and thorough analysis.

It is my personal belief that you can pretty well analyze from creel surveys.

#23577 10/05/06 05:02 PM
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Dave, No offense taken, these are the replies I need so I can start formulating a fish managment strategy. I didn't major in this field so what little I know is self tought with a lot of help from Pond Boss. I also welcome those thoughts that seem to be the most basic in nature.

Thanks,
Tom

#23578 10/05/06 05:36 PM
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Tom, give us a hand. What is the population mix, how big is the body of water, what are the depths, where are you in California, climate and temps, what is stunted and what is not, etc.?

What are the goals and what resources are available? What kind of timing are you looking at/for? What are your constraints?

Draw a big picture and you will get a lot of help.


It's not about the fish. It's about the pond. Take care of the pond and the fish will be fine. PB subscriber since before it was in color.

Without a sense of urgency, Nothing ever gets done.

Boy, if I say "sic em", you'd better look for something to bite. Sam Shelley Rancher and Farmer Muleshoe Texas 1892-1985 RIP
#23579 10/06/06 03:18 PM
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Dave, The body of water is a cresant shape 100 acres it gets as deep as 56 ft at its deepest point. The depth varies with a lot of shelves and flats. We are Located in Santa Barbara county, the California Central Coast (Santa Ynez Valley). Summer time temps will swing between 95 day & 60 nights. Winter temps swing 65 to 30.
Lake is stocked with northern LM Bass, bluegill, redear, brown bullhead cats & crawfish. Seeing a lot of stunted bass.
I have started a maintenance Program since taking on this job, that consists of aeration in my shallower end a bio blend to help with the breakdown of the sludge in this end. Weed and algae control is a blend of mechanical & chemical. Main structure, tulies along edges and some rocks and weeds during hot months. we do get some drawdown do to irregation of 4 very large pastures and stock water.
Lake is used for recreation. Guests are used to catch 20 to 60 fish depending on how long they are out for that day.
I believe we are headed in the right direction with maintenance, but now it is time to really start focusing on the fish population (size & health). I'm not really as concerned with the time frame as I am with doing this right.

DO levels mid 6 to low 8
ph levels mid 7 to low 8
TDS 0.43
Specific conductivity .72

By the way we are a 10,000 acre guest ranch and resort. I hope this info helps. www.alisal.com if you would like to see a glimps of the lake.
Tom

#23580 10/06/06 03:56 PM
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Tom :

That is a great looking place. The central coast is a favorite from years back and a great place to enjoy Calif. away from the rat race. From Solvang to Cambria -- what a great area to visit. Went shopping in Solvang a couple of times.

With that type of operation you should call Bob Lusk after you send him a PM with your website.
















#23581 10/06/06 03:57 PM
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Tom, that place is beautiful. Under no circumstances am I qualified to talk about 100 acres of water. I would call Bob Lusk, the Pond Boss owner. He has a lot of experience with lakes.

A couple of thoughts. For the most part, skinny bass mean out of whack predator/prey ratios. In other words, not enough bluegill to feed the bass. There is a rule of thumb that bass convert prey at a 1 to 10 basis or have to eat 10 pounds of forage fish (BG) to gain one pound. However, that doesn't keep bass from spawning. The picture I see with the bass boat seems to indicate a reasonably fertile water. I would expect it has visibility in the proper 18 to 24 inch range. The Bluegill and other forage need that fertility to feed the bottom of the food chain.

The bottom line is that you have too many hogs feeding at the trough and the hogs are starving. In a situation like yours, I don't see much way to fish your way out of trouble. Guests seldom want to toss bass on the bank. So, you have to increase the forage base first and start keeping or culling predators. The catch rate per guest would indicate some mighty hungry bass. If it were me, and it's not, I would stock big bluegills for their spawning power and shad or some other forage with high fecundity.

Lusk might disagree with my ideas. Send him a Private Message through the website.

#23582 10/06/06 04:15 PM
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Dave with the right methods you can greatly reduce the # of LMB without having to ask the guests to toss them. Some pond mgt. companies will shock some out with the intent on keeping them to sell to others who need bigger LMB. There are also other methods like seining for larger fish. But on this operation you need professional advice and eyes on analysis. Like a consultant (who is not selling fish) to help you develop a plan based on goals and then monitor the stocking and harvest.

You have the potential for a world class fishery with those temps and conditions.
















#23583 10/06/06 04:20 PM
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Thank you Gentleman for the tips. This may be a stupid question, but, how do you send a private message to Mr. Lusk.

#23584 10/06/06 04:45 PM
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Tom, see the little figures with with the envelopes on the line above your post. The one with the date and time. One of those are what I would use to either E-Mail or Private Message you. One of them is for you to eidt your posts.

Now, Go to the top of the forum, above questions and observations. See the Thread regarding Lusks blogs. Click on one and you will be on his post. Look at the line above the area where you communicate and put the cursor on the first envelope from the right. The date and time line. Click on it and follow the instructions. It's painless.

#23585 10/06/06 07:49 PM
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Or email him at pondboss@texoma.net

















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