Pond Boss Forums INTRO Questions & Observations CNBG size to age?

Anyone know where I can get a CNBG chart or list of size (length) to age for comps?

I have the size to WR and have never though about doing a size to age comp.. I am thnking of pulling some before to see how they are doing. I stocked some 2" to 3" on Sept 13th (measured out 5 floaters and the avg. legnth was right at 2.25").

I would think it could depend on alot of things? Including environment and feed/forage provided..

I may have some length at age info but it will be for BG in general. Let me check. BGK is right that there will be wide variation.

As I understand the question, the main problem with doing this for multiple age groups or classes is not all fish at the same age grow at the same rate. It is fairly easy and accurate if one is dealing with one age group that is the only one present. So, a slow growing 3 year old fish could be the same length as the fast growing fish at 1 yr old.

BGK it does, I am just looking for a baseline to see how far I am ahead of the curve. Dear old dad brought me a dead one that was already about 6" long and would have probably weighted over .25# . It was victim to a predator that was removed while killing the CNBG. I know I am seeing good size feeding.

Thanks Ewest.
Bill it is just for the new stock that are pretty much the same age. I am pretty much looking for something to compare against if possible on legnth to age. I thought about it after seeing an old post of yours that referenced a publication that said something about size to age.

Can you take a scale and age it?

Esshup I did not keep that fish because it came with a bird of prey and could possibly been expelled due to being shot. That is why I am going to take a couple in the next few weeks to see what I have. I will be taking measurements and scales to get as accurate as possible information. Since I lost information in the past in a fire I am gathering new data. I will discuss the results after I get them.

It will be interesting and informative to see the amount of size variation of the fish that you collect. More should do and post the info here what you are going to do.

I believe that length is a poor indicator of condition of CNBG.
Ours will be ~9-10 inches and ~ 1 lb at 12 months, with juvinile characteristics.
They will begin to "broaden" and grow to 10-11 inches at 18 months age and sometiomes to 1.25+ lbs.
They seem to top out at about 10 inches and then get broader than a dinner plate.

Seems to me IIRC, Theo came up with a width to lenth ratio for determining condition of BG?
George

Length is not an indicator of condition in the classic fisheries sense. RW are as is RC data. It is interesting to check length at age and even more so if you have corresponding weights. Lengths in one year class will vary a lot as can size. All 3 together will be a very good indicator of condition as well as growth rates.

George first I would like to say I seen those pics you posted many years ago of the ARK strain CNBG and those are some really nice fish. Is that Months time line you are quoating from a known fish age, estimated age, or from the delivery date? (BTW pretty impressive growth there and that is sign that you are doing good things w/ management). I am using this information to see how the fish I have are stacking up compared to others. Thanks for sharing your time and information with me.

Tums, as near as I can tell all of our ARK strain CNBG have been removed from our ponds either by culling or fish kill.
At this time. I believe all are Overton Texas Strain CNBG originating from some of my original pure Florida CNBG genetics and Overton’s pure Florida CNBG from a separate source.

As you know, CNBG will spawn spring through late fall and impossible for me to age date by month.…

Overton selects CNBG brood stock each year from the best of the best of each years crop, choosing color characteristics, fast growth, and large size.
I try to follow his criteria by culling all BG that do not meet these standards.

Photos below are from original OTS CNBG brood stock, except the first which could be one of 30 Overton current YOY, and about about 8 months old at time of photo.

The next I believe to be about 18 months since still showing juvenile characteristics.
The last photo is likely two years old?

I love CNBG - post your photos for comparison?
George

Here is one of George's grandbabies at 10 mths - 1 year. Beautiful fish.

Wise words.

George's results for growing bluegill (coppernose) is very good testimony for 'killing off' a marginal fishery in a smaller pond and starting over with quality fish. Many pondowners hesitate to 'kill off' or renovate a pond for fear of loosing all the current good fish. Truth be known, most all if not all of the currrent sunfish in a marginal fishery are not as large as any of the just 1 yr old bluegill shown here by George. If one does it correctly when starting over, it does not take very long (1-2 yrs) to produce a really high quality fishery. Doing it correctly is the key here. Good job and excellent fish management by George using fish from Overton's.

Thanks George for some good information. Those are some really nice fish. Looks like you hit the good gene pool and got the food management going well.
Is there a post anywhere detailing the habitat that these fish came from?

Tums, to the best of my knowledge, in our area the only two providers of "pure" Florida CNBG are Bob Waldrop of Tyler Fish Farm and Todd Oveverton of Overton Fisheries.
I was told by Waldrop that he personaly caught and transported his CNBG from Florida and Overton obtained his brood stock from a like source.

If I lived in Alabama I would look for a Florida CNBG supplier.
G/

Bill I could not agree more as I completely drain my ponds and start over. I do some things in a way that would blow most peoples mind. I have debated as to should I even post and share about some off my out of the box methods for fear of people wanting to critic them.
I can tell you from my past experience that I felt Bob was pretty near dead on when he rated his important aspects of growing.
1. Habitat
2. Food
3. Genetics
4. Harvest as a management strategy

Bob's #4 is what I always considered to be an important part of the number #2 process and cosidered it as a way to help keep #1 balanced.

Great post Tums. Any new info would be welcomed here. I don't think anyone would criticize your methods. Most here believe that it’s your pond and you are free to do what you want. If it turns out bad it is a learning experience (we all have those). If it turns out good then we share so that we can all move the learning curve ahead. Not all methods work everywhere and any that work well should be studied for use by others.

Outside the box thinking is a plus !

I did stock the Florida strain CNBG from a hatchery 1 county away. The Hatchery was under new management so I do not have anything to base on if I got the real deal or not. The main focus this time is for a smsll 3 acre Black crappie pond. I did start everything off with the CNBG just like I do when I raise large HBG. I wanted the CNBG to do as best they could considering what I am doing with the pond. The only thing I have a beef about right now is I had to lower my water temps for the BCP that was supposed to be delivered earlier this month. Now I am just sitting around wasting precious growing time for my CNBG while waiting on the BCP.

Waiting on hatcheries is a common situation. Been there too many times to count.

Thanks, I will proabaly make a new topic post here and there and just see how it goes. I have a problem in that all my proof in what I have done in the past was lost in a house fire. So I do not have pics and 100% precise information from past works and there results.

There are only about 2 or 3 people here who have all their info. I sure don't.

Great post Tums about Bobs guidelines for growing high quality fish:
1. Habitat
2. Food
3. Genetics
4. Harvest as a management strategy
""Bob's #4 is what I always considered to be an important part of the number #2 process and cosidered it as a way to help keep #1 balanced.""
Your are correct IMO - PROPER Harvest is very important because it allows more food to be available for the remaining fish.
Good habitat produces the necessary food.

Even in a pellet fed enviornment harvest is important because it reduces competition and stress on remaining fish which is probably more important than we realize.

Ewest I lost alot of info., this fire was one of those where when I asked a person on site how bad it was the reply was "do you have any clothes with you?". You do not realize how much stuff you have around that you do not think about until you have to go get everything you need to get ready for the next day every day for a while.

Bill thanks. I know many pond owners in my area do not understand how to harvest fish. I had one neighbor that would let people fish and always told them not to keep any bass the last few years. I wanted to laugh when he called this year and asked if I had any friends that would want to come go bass fishing and not keep any bream.