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None of us are really hunters. Frankly, I don't even clean fish. I prefer to catch fish that I can lip-hold.

OK, I'm a wuss.

Last edited by Theo Gallus; 03/24/09 07:26 PM. Reason: 2 esses

Excerpt from Robert Crais' "The Monkey's Raincoat:"
"She took another microscopic bite of her sandwich, then pushed it away. Maybe she absorbed nutrients from her surroundings."

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Be careful with those walleye then and definitely don't put any tiger musky, chain pickerel or northern pike in there!

If you ever visit me in VA I'll take you out on the Chesapeake Bay, lip a bluefish and tell me what happens... HAHA

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...time for a little update
We took a day off from labor at the pond project cuz my brother and his family were nearby and wanted to visit LNP. I knew he would bring the kids, so I dug out some old cheapie fishing kits I purchased 6 years ago when we had the river place. You know the kit: Zebco junk in a plastic adult-proof wrapper with a tiny parts box for a tackle box and an assortment of tiny fishing stuff....all for under $10. Yeah, that kit. I have 2 of them and I put the kids on it with worms. His son caught one of the original stocker SMB and his daughter caught a YP. The YP was a little smaller than the stock we caught last year so I am guessing that it might be F2...?
I was unprepared for these catches, so the pics are lousy and the measurement non-existant. In fact, the YP swallowed the dang hook (again), but I think Mr Needlenose and I might have gotten it out without too much damage cuz he swam away briskly. Who knows.
In my hand, he didn't feel scrawny or look scrawny, but this pic kinda makes it look a little stunted. ???

I measured the distance across my palm; it's 3.5".
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My brother got the only pic of the Smallie. You should'a seen my nephew's eyes (12 years old) while he was hauling it in. When it got close enough to shore to see how big it was, you would have thought he landed a whale the way his face lit up....and it wasn't all that big. He couldn't stop talking about how hard it was fighting. It was a riot watching him crank it in! When I get a copy of the pic, I'll post it.
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Finally, what fish is this? We are seeing scads of fry all the way around the pond...scads! I think they are either FH or GSH. Every once in awhile, I will see one of these cruising in their midst. It is about 2.5" long. It stands out because of the light yellow-ish band around the back end of the body, just in front of the tail. It moves forward like a tiny missile...when it wants to. What is it?



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That is a juvenile smallmouth.

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He's cool, but he's not having as good a time as the juvenile humans. \:\)


"Live like you'll die tomorrow, but manage your grass like you'll live forever."
-S. M. Stirling
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I am glad to finally got to sit back, relax and take in the beauty of all your hard work. Sounds like the kids really enjoyed themselves. What a special treat...

Juvenile SMB are so pretty with their crazy colored tails... Even spotted bass have a similar tail. I am sure he is loving all the baby FHM and GSH to eat!

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 Originally Posted By: Chris Steelman
That is a juvenile smallmouth.

I suspected and hoped that to be the case, but did no want to get my hopes up. I have seen quite a number of them all the way around the pond, near the shore. I can sense "attitude" as I watch them slowly work along the shoreline. I swear I could hear bottles clinking together...

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"Brettttt-ski! Come out and Play-ay!" \:D


"Live like you'll die tomorrow, but manage your grass like you'll live forever."
-S. M. Stirling
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oh yeah, and another thing...
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We were all sittin' on the covered dock to get out of the sun. This is where the kids started fishin'. They would just cast out and they did get a couple of nibbles. I was getting concerned that there would be no fish action when it dawned on me....
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I told them to follow me; we're going to Theo's Cluster. Huh? (I don't know why I didn't think of it earlier....how could anyone summarily forget Theo's Cluster?) Anyway, the action at T-C was ON! Man, you couldn't keep the worms on the hooks. I have it marked with a duck decoy, so you know when you're into Theo's Cluster. (sloop-flup). In fact, when my nephew hooked into the smallie, he landed his cast right next to the duck and the bobber didn't even level off before WHAMMO.
Bottom line: the tire pyramid and PVC tree cluster is a freakin' magnet


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Looks like things are coming along nicely at the LNP...

They YP isn't bulging fat, but looks like a healthy YP that isn't pellet fed. It may be a he, and boy YP don't get to be so chubby.

Any decision on stocking WE or HSB yet?

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The movie Warriors is required viewing for all juvie smallies. It's part of where their cynical attitude comes from especially regarding humans. The unfortunate next phase of training for them is collective bargaining. One word of advice...they never budge on getting Rosh Hashanah off as a paid holiday. Go figure...

I can't wait to see a pic of the smallie.

The perch does look a tad thin in the gut, but might it have been post spawn? I know that they should have spawned much earlier in the year.

It might be time to consider forage base especially now that you recruiting smallies. Great feeling, isn't it?


Excerpt from Robert Crais' "The Monkey's Raincoat:"
"She took another microscopic bite of her sandwich, then pushed it away. Maybe she absorbed nutrients from her surroundings."

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That was a lot of fun for you and the family --- YES ! You should be very proud and satisfied !!!

Every one of the things you designed and worked so hard on worked as planned. The fish , the dock , the structure and the water all in harmony. My question is how was the swimming ?
















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ok....been about a year without any type of update, and this post won't be much of one either. I just had to share it with ya's.
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We are up to ears in building our garage/apartment at the pond project and I just had a lousy day on the job. We are spending Sat-Sun and Saturday was one of those days when I could do nothing right. I was a little bummed.
Sunday morning, up with the sun (per usual), coffee, some TV junk and news, and I went out to follow Ewest's instruction: take some time to kick back, absorb, and reflect. So, I'm sitting on the dock, the sun has just come over the trees and the water is illuminated. It hasn't poured rain for a few days, so I have about 3 - 4 feet of clarity. With my cup of coffee in hand, I pull my folding chair up to the edge of the dock and peer down into the water. I can see the rocks and stuff pretty good; the water is about 30" deep where I sit. OK, there's a smaller RES; maybe 5 or 6". Whoa, either that's a YP or a smallie; looks to be about 10" long. Then it happened. A submarine cruised thru, about 12 - 18" deep. It was a SMB that was, conservatively 15" long...and pretty danged fat. I was blown away. When I say 15", that's leaning very conservative. Seriously, it might have been 17" or 18" long. Let's put it this way...I would chamber a round if I dragged it in on a line.
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I was blown away. It was a VERY nice gift and helped me forget all about my lousy Saturday.

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So, when are you going to start wetting a line?


www.hoosierpondpros.com


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3/4 to 1 1/4 ac pond LMB, SMB, PS, BG, RES, CC, YP, Bardello BG, (RBT & Blue Tilapia - seasonal).
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Very good growth for at least a few of your SMB. Now do you see the benefit of proper stocking of forage fish first? You should have had good YP and SMB spawns this spring. Any evidence of young'ens from 2010?


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Oddly, I have not seen one cray since we seeded 3 years or so ago. We do have gazillions of fry, whether they are YP or FH or GSH...I don't know for sure, but I believe it is FH. The entire shoreline is ripe with American pond weed and another similar vegetation. It runs out to about 3 feet deep and is loaded with these smaller fish.

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Proof that life is unfolding as it should and goes on even when things go bad. B'ski now you know one reason for the enjoy rule.
















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I just got done reading this whole thread and WOW what an amazing read it was! So much great information and documented very well! Just wanted to express my thanks to everyone that commented on this thread for teaching me so much as I dive into the world of pond management!

Brettski, how are things going at the LNP?

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Originally Posted By: MFFL

Brettski, how are things going at the LNP?

I have a handle (for the most part) on everything above the waterline. I have virtually no idea about what lies below. This has become an experiment in careful stocking with absolutely no management thereafter.

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I will help work on your cabin if you let me fish. grin

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SHOOTIN' FISH IN A BARREL
Update time...
Many of you know that we used some care when planning and stocking our new pond. Since that time, it has remained largely unattended and allowed to mature entirely on it's own with very, very little sampling and virtually no culling in any form. Why? Mostly because I just don't have the time. When we go to our LNP project, we are there to work.
This past weekend was a little different.
My niece and nephew were in with their Mom this past weekend from Idaho. The kids had one plan; fishing Uncle Brettski's pond. I have a couple of cheapie $15 combo rod/reels, some hooks and bobbers and sinkers. They were only able to visit for a few hours, so time was tight. A dozen nightcrawlers later and they had a freakin' blast.
I don't know what elements came into play, but Uncle Brettski was runnin' nonstop removing fish, hooking worms, re-tying new hooks, and measuring fish. It was unbelieveable...there was no rest. It wasn't unusual for the line to hit the water and 5 seconds later the bobber was submerged. I got to the point that I would nip off about 1" of nightcrawler and it would still drive 'em wild. Yeah, we were all gettin' a rush. The kids cuz they were pulling out fish like crazy and me cuz the product they were catching looked pretty damned good.
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There was alot of YP. Most were 11"; a few were 12".
A couple of RES were hooked, but they were small; maybe 5".
The coolest was a pretty good supply of SMB.
All of them were hammering a small piece of nightcrawler hanging 3' below a bobber on a #4 hook.
Quote:
NOTE: Per Bill Cody's recommendation, I moved to a #4 hook to minimize the YP from inhaling it. We crushed the barb. it really made a difference.










The Smallies were typically 10" - 12". It's nice to see recruitment as it matures. I don't have a scale, so measurements were all we got. I ain't no expert, but you guys have shown me enough pics to know when a fish is hurtin' for food. All these fish looked plump and healthy.
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Then my nephew got a hit that bent the rod so far that I thought his eyes would pop outta his head. It was very cool. When the fish broke the surface and jumped into the air, I thought he was gonna soil himself. I don't have a net either, so all I could do was stand at the shore and beach it. It quickly wiggled off the crushed barb and I had to try and grab it before it flopped down the bank and into the water. Yeah, I suppose Uncle Brettski's heart was pumpin' a bit more than normal. We took a couple of pics and tried to calm it down long enough to measure.



I think the dirt bath musta doubled his attitude, cuz when I got him to the water, he shot outta my hands like a missile.

(edit) I must also point out that all this action occurred at Theo's Cluster. When the pond was nothing more than a dirt hole and we were bustin' butt tryin' to lay in some sorts of habitat and structure, Theo told me to make sure and put something within casting distance of shore. Theo's Cluster was born, made of a truck tire pyramid surrounded by 3 PVC trees, all marked with a duck decoy about 25 feet from shore. The thing is a fish magnet

Last edited by Brettski; 06/27/11 05:21 AM. Reason: credit to my pal
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Man, that is sweet!!

I love it when the results exceed the expectations....


"Forget pounds and ounces, I'm figuring displacement!"

If we accept that: MBG(+)FGSF(=)HBG(F1)
And we surmise that: BG(>)HBG(F1) while GSF(<)HBG(F1)
Would it hold true that: HBG(F1)(+)AM500(x)q.d.(=)1.5lbGRWT?
PB answer: It depends.
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quick history of Smallies...


May '08 stocking, about 5" long



assuming the following, recent catch is one of the 50 original stockers shown above....
3 years, one month later; zero management...



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Great update. Lack of fishing pressure sure does make a tremendous difference in fish catchability. Thanks for the update. Correct stocking and good habitat does make a differernce.


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Look's like you'll have a great place to fish when the house work is finally done.



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