Pond Boss Forums STOCKING A NEW POND Raising Forage and Bait New Pond First Fish

This is the first fish I caught from my new pond. It was stocked 1 month ago. This is a CNBG, right? Male or Female, or is it too young to tell?

young male CNBG.

Thanks for the reply...I have searched all over and could'nt be sure..how did you know? I have'nt got the search function on here figured out yet. The fish just did'nt have enough coloration for me to be sure.

Yeah for me. I thought male also, so thanks ewest for confirming. I've just about got the adult identification down, but still have to be careful on smaller fish.

I look for the forehead shape, and the location of the black spot on the gills to help identify sex of fish. I'm not sure that's the most accurate way, but it works for me.

This may help.
CNBG

The very best way for me to ID your fish is to tell me where you bought it?

I bought my fish from Todd Overton.

My friend, you have some of the best pure Florida CNBG in this part of the country!
I don't worry about determining the sex until they hit 6 to 8 inches when I cull ALL females...
Good luck with your program...
George

When you buy fish from Overton's you are not buying from a "middle man". The Tilapia I bought from Overtons last spring looked ten times better/healthier than the ones I bought from a Farmers Coop.

Thanks guys, Im just getting a little antsy. So when they reach 8 inches or so I should begin to cull? Should'nt I wait till they spawn atleast once?

By the time they hit 8" they will have already spawned...probably multiple times.

Ralph, thats a tough wait . Enjoy pellet feeding and you'll be surprised how fast they grow!

You don't want your tilapia on pellets unless stricly for forage or catch for table fare

I would like to have some of these CNBG as well. But not sure it would work well here when ponds are down and water gets cold.

Sorry george,,, I should have specified CNBG instead of tilapia. But info from Rainman states that the tilapia will eat the pellets till they are gone and then resume munching on the FA(remember tilapia are not the only ones eating pellets).

Sorry, my lame brain jumped from CNBG to tilapia – shame on me…

If you are interested in my experience with tilapia, lets start another topic and I will share some 10 years successful experience with tilapia - “Rainman states that the tilapia will eat the pellets till they are gone and then resume munching on the FA”
With all due respect, this statement is incorrect.

Now back to CNBG –
George

My experience also George. Mine ate a few pellets but no many.

Sane gere on the Tilapia. A few ate some pellets that I could see, but the majority of them never did that I could see.

I caught a few more CNBG today and they look great. About 6 1/2 inches with some color to them. Its been in the high 70s here. Could they possibly be spawning?

I have seen them spawn in November -
"It all depends"