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I was thinking of getting some smb from TJ, but they would be nothing more than a quick snack if I dumped them into my pond with lmb. Has anyone tried raising them in cages? Over the winter?
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Very intriguing idea Bullhead. Growing them out first. Would have to be very large cages that reached down to great depths. Would be almost necessary for them to be feed trained as TJ's are, but how would you feed over winter? What were you thinking Bullhead?
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I frequently raise smallies in cages. I have two batches going currently in two separate cages: 2 yrs old (7"-9", 5 mo in cage) and 3 yrs old (10"-13", 16 mo in cage). Cecil Baird1 also occassionally raises smallies in cages. If you do it contact me for some feed training hints. It is best to get them eating pellets about 3-4 weeks before the water drops to the 50F range which will be soon.
I use methods described in my 3 part article of Caged Fish on The Small Scale - PBoss mag 2007: Mar-Apr, May-Jun, & Jul-Aug. Cages do not have to be deep and fish do not need to be fed during ice cover. Size of cage depends on how many fish you are wanting to cage raise. My cages are 25"-34" in diameter.
Last edited by Bill Cody; 10/05/10 09:28 PM.
aka Pond Doctor & Dr. Perca Read Pond Boss Magazine - America's Journal of Pond Management
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Guys
This is great news. I have a question about cages - don't mean to hijack Richard...
I need floating cages, but lack the time to build them myself. I see some online for 140 bucks - hate to spend the money, but I'm desperate. Anyone have a better source or any advice I'm missing? I need cages...
Many men go fishing all of their lives without knowing that it is not fish they are after. ~ Henry David Thoreau
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Cecil Baird may be helpful here. With all the materials gathered, I can build a cage in the time it takes to watch a football game. I think some fish cage kits require some assembly.
Last edited by Bill Cody; 10/05/10 09:36 PM.
aka Pond Doctor & Dr. Perca Read Pond Boss Magazine - America's Journal of Pond Management
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Thanks Bill!
Cecil...if you get a second, let me know.
Many men go fishing all of their lives without knowing that it is not fish they are after. ~ Henry David Thoreau
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Some assembly is required unless you want to pay astronomical shipping charges. TJ, I can get them built about 50% of the way and you do the rest. I can get all the parts together, make a kit and picture assembly instructions. I'll even number the pieces. As long as you can read numbers & follow directions you should be able to put them together. Let me know what sizes you need, both in physical dimensions and mesh size. I made 2 from one roll of netting - 4.5' long x 4' wide x 4' high. You will need to furnish the flotation bottles. I used 1.5 gallon bleach bottles so they all matched, unlike Cecil's trailer trash look. LMK It might make an interesting PB article - 2 pgs maybe? TJ, PM sent.
Last edited by esshup; 10/05/10 11:21 PM. Reason: PM
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He's got a neighbor to the east of him that likes to build stuff too.
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What type netting do you use? I need to protect some lilies from waterfowl, thought I might cage them. Float cage about 6 inches out of water? Greg
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Stoney Creek (and other places) sell a plastic netting that is used for fish cages. DIfferent mesh sizes are available. Mesh size is 4' x 50' rolls or it can be purchased by the lineal foot.
Ohama, if you want to build the cages, I can tell you how to do it - LOTS less shipping costs. (except for the net material)
LMK.
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Thanks Bill!
Cecil...if you get a second, let me know. I sent you a P.M. Like I said in the P.M. Bill's "trashcan" models go together quicker than my "dumpster" models and his don't require the three way connectors. Other than AES I think Memphis Net and Twine and Boat cycle sells them.
If pigs could fly bacon would be harder to come by and there would be a lot of damaged trees.
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I will cover the materials and shipping costs!
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I used 1.5 gallon bleach bottles so they all matched, unlike Cecil's trailer trash look. Thanks for the opportunity to tally up another post Scot.
If pigs could fly bacon would be harder to come by and there would be a lot of damaged trees.
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Cecil, there are several cage sellers on the web...Even Ken of GG fame sells them.
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FWIW, cage raising fish to grow them out sounds fairly easy, but it is far more complicated and requires a lot of attention, labor and care to get even moderate growth. It doesn't take much of a mistake or unseen problem to wipe out a lot of caged fish quickly. Not such a big deal for people that do it daily as part of the normal routine, but not so easy for others not accustomed to knowing what to do and look out for,
IIRC, HSB and SMB grow at about half the "free range" rate and lost growth is lost forever. Just be sure to figure that into the goals you are looking for.
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I used 1.5 gallon bleach bottles so they all matched, unlike Cecil's trailer trash look. Thanks for the opportunity to tally up another post Scot. If I remember, you posted it in the first place! FYI, all the fish made the trip just fine. The 2 that I thought weren't going to make it ended up being just one. The largest was about 5.5" tall and 9" long - Female. 30 were transferred. Thanks!! Give me a shout when you need a hand.
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Ohama, if you want to build the cages, I can tell you how to do it - LOTS less shipping costs. (except for the net material) Dangerously close to a major misspelling there Scott. Scott/Rex, if we could work out a way to get these to my farm I would gladly put them together for TJ and Richard.
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I don't need no cages, I got em. I need fishes.
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I don't need no cages, I got em. I need fishes. Sheesh! Order them then already!!!
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FWIW, cage raising fish to grow them out sounds fairly easy, but it is far more complicated and requires a lot of attention, labor and care to get even moderate growth. It doesn't take much of a mistake or unseen problem to wipe out a lot of caged fish quickly. Not such a big deal for people that do it daily as part of the normal routine, but not so easy for others not accustomed to knowing what to do and look out for,
IIRC, HSB and SMB grow at about half the "free range" rate and lost growth is lost forever. Just be sure to figure that into the goals you are looking for. I've had outstanding growth with lmb, smb, bg, and yp in cages as long as I keep the cage free of algae and put it over deep water. That said these were fingerlings up to 10 to 12 inches. After that it seems they get territorial and stress easier. One exception was last fall for some reason the smb's were a little stressed so I released them into the pond. It may be have been the time of year as I usually put fish in cages in the spring through summer. One of the easiest fish I raised in a cage were feed trained lmb believe it or not. .
If pigs could fly bacon would be harder to come by and there would be a lot of damaged trees.
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Hey Teejay,
Do you have a pier to attach the cage(s) to yet? A pier makes life so much easier with cages.
If pigs could fly bacon would be harder to come by and there would be a lot of damaged trees.
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No, I don't have a pier. I wanted floating cages not to grow out SMB, but to have a place to collect and store them allowing me to seine earlier than the day folks are coming for fish. I hate to keep people waiting as seining is not an exact science as we all know. Much easier to seine this weekend [no husker game] and separate and count them.
I want cages so I can collect BG from traps for a few weeks and get them ready for whomever wants them. Seining my lake with 2:1 slopes is going to be dicey - trapping is going to be the most effective and reliable method - but that takes weeks of daily trapping in order to get an appreciable qty going. Thinking floating cages needed for my BG.
My SMB have a pond all their own to grow grow grow - and I lack any predators who require any stocker fish to be grown out - so that's my reason for needing cages.
Cecil - NO, I don't have a pier or a dock yet. It's going to be a pain to get to the fish, but it is what it is.
Many men go fishing all of their lives without knowing that it is not fish they are after. ~ Henry David Thoreau
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[/quote] Dangerously close to a major misspelling there Scott. Scott/Rex, if we could work out a way to get these to my farm I would gladly put them together for TJ and Richard. [/quote] I'd NEVER do that to a friend! It looks like TJ wants them for this weekend. He'd better have the net material on order or have sourced it locally for pick up or the schedule will never be met. I'll take pictures of one of my cages and send them to you, Josh. I made mine from 1" PVC For a cage that is 48" square and 48 tall you'll need: 8 pc PVC 1" dia 90's 8 pc PVC 1" dia "T"'s 4 pc PVC 1" dia x 45" for the 48" wide ends 4 pc PVC 1" dia x 40" for the 48" long sides 8 pc PVC 1" dia x 2" for the 48" long sides 4 pc PVC 1" dia x 45" long for the uprights 4 pc PVC 1/2" dia 90's 4 pc PVC 1/2" dia x 47" for the top frame (to protect the contents from birds, etc. It may have been overkill, but I used the black zip ties every 6" to attach the netting to the PVC. I used the same zip ties but on 4" centers where there was a seam, or 2 pieces of material were joined together - I didn't want any opening for the fish to escape. Pictures to come tomorrow.
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No, I don't have a pier. I wanted floating cages not to grow out SMB, but to have a place to collect and store them allowing me to seine earlier than the day folks are coming for fish. I hate to keep people waiting as seining is not an exact science as we all know. Much easier to seine this weekend [no husker game] and separate and count them.
I want cages so I can collect BG from traps for a few weeks and get them ready for whomever wants them. Seining my lake with 2:1 slopes is going to be dicey - trapping is going to be the most effective and reliable method - but that takes weeks of daily trapping in order to get an appreciable qty going. Thinking floating cages needed for my BG.
My SMB have a pond all their own to grow grow grow - and I lack any predators who require any stocker fish to be grown out - so that's my reason for needing cages.
Cecil - NO, I don't have a pier or a dock yet. It's going to be a pain to get to the fish, but it is what it is. TJ, I figured you need them just to hold fish and knew you were talking of putting in a pier. Just wondered if you had one in yet. We're in the same boat. I hold fish in cages for sale too, and presently I'm holding fish until my second RAS tank gets cycled. So been there done that and still doing that until I get a pole barn set up with holding tanks. I feel for ya!
If pigs could fly bacon would be harder to come by and there would be a lot of damaged trees.
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Hey Scot was it you that made a cage out of the green plastic snow or garden fence? If the mesh size is right it can be bought locally at a Menards or something.
Oh now I remember it was Adirondack Pond!
Last edited by Cecil Baird1; 10/06/10 08:14 PM.
If pigs could fly bacon would be harder to come by and there would be a lot of damaged trees.
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