Pond Boss Forums STOCKING A NEW POND Raising Forage and Bait GOLDFISH ??

Has any one used or had any luck using goldfish as a forage fish. I understand they will not stay colored when breeding naturally but was wondering if any one had luck using natural colored ones as forage. It seems like they would be a great base of food. Multiple species could eat them at different sizes during their development.

Bobby:

I couldn't post a picture in the reply to your question in the image gallery, so here it is.

These were caught in that pond in an hour last year on a Stubby Steves pellet.
The pier boards are the engineered wood, and are 4" wide.

I can not see a picture?

I wonder why. It showed up on this computer. When I'm on a different provider (different computer too), sometimes the connection is slow enough that most pictures don't show up (i.e. load) for a while.

I have seen threads that talk about pictures but I dont see them. I wonder if my work computer blocks certain types of links...

and yes, I am Goofing off...LOL

saw it on my trusty Iphone, must be a work block of somesort...

Man, those do look like nice musky snacks....

thats what I was hoping for but I never saw any reproduction....

that brings me to another question I had about hybrid musky, Ill post a new thread.

Those would make some nice Flathead bait as well. I have thought about stocking some of these in a shallow pond we have that I do not think will allow anything else to survive. I stocked BG about 2 years ago and figured they would have just over populated but have not caught one since. Does anyone know when goldfish spawn and how large they have to be to spawn?

I was thinking about either stocking goldfish or bullhead just to see if either one will live, maybe even stock both. As either one make great catfish bait. I figure the pond is pretty much worthless now anyway so may as well have something the kids could catch easy and give use bait.

Just that Bullhead are a pain to remove from the hooks, would anyone know where to source some and recommend one over the other. I think it would be neat to have all types of bullhead but not sure where I could even get them to begin with.

I had also thought about stocking some tilapia in this pond just to see if they would clean any of the muck up, so if I have BH in there I am sure they would clean out the dead tilapia come fall or winter.

Goldfish spawn in the spring when water temps reach upper 60's. They'll spawn over FA or aquatic vegetation. Goldfish mature at about 4" around 1 year of age.

There are 3 major bullhead species, black, yellow and brown. Black are probably the most tolerant or poor conditions. Yellow are probably the least tolerant. Set a baited minnow trap over night at a local park pond. Almost all park ponds seem to have bullheads... If they are present you'll catch all the bullheads you need to start some in your mud puddle.

Look here:

http://forums.pondboss.com/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=271701#Post271701

You will find something about goldfish.

Scott, that's nuts! Great photo, also! Guess you'll let me use it, huh? I've never heard of people catching gold fish before! I'm learning so much....

Why are they usually in park ponds? Plus that may be a gamble with the trap as someone could easily take it.
I may try it anyway just to see what all my get in the trap.

Heck I could try this at my pond just to make sure I was not sold any BH, or had some in with my FHM.

What would be a normal spawn for goldfish and how many little critters could I expect if I were to stock them soon in a pond?


Do Koi reproduce at about the same number and could a few of each be put in to create a nice hybrid?

I had thought about Koi as they can be used as bait when small, and once larger could be sold as pets or for ponds.

Just to clarify the pond these would be going in is very turbid so not sure if this would make a difference as to what I should stock or not.

Thanks

KOI and Gold fish hybrids are steril and are always a drab natrural color. They do hybrid in small ornamental ponds not sure if they would in a larger more natural setting. My exsperiance is Koi can make the water more turid, I have not had that exsperiance with gold fish. I had gold fish in my pond and the water was always clear. They never had much or any recruitment as the GAMS I believe wiped them out. Cormorants took the rest, Koi have done much better, still no recruitment but water is much more turbid than with the gold fish.

I had hoped to have a pond loaded with Goldfish as a food source for some large predators , but they just did not maintain a population...

The problem with goldfish is their adult size. They can get far too massive to make good forage. Once they get to the size where they are no longer edible to MOST predator fish they reproduce like wildfire.

They also tend to muddy up your pond pretty quick too.

I would avoid them if you have other options.

In your neck of the woods you could use:
Fathead Minnows
Golden Shiners
Lake Chubsuckers
Grass Shrimp
Crayfish
threadfin shad
redear sunfish
coppernose bluegill

I think that would be a much better road to go. All of the species listed there remain bass forage for their entire lives with the exception of monstrous bluegills or redears.

Good luck.

Of course! That's one of the reasons why the package is in there.

I'll be back there on Tuesday to see how the pond fared over the winter. I was talking to the owner on the phone, as he pushed the "test" button on the TH feeder. I heard a splash and then "What the HE.. was THAT??" from him. I suspect it was one of the RBT or maybe the 4# feed trained LMB that I stocked last Fall.

IT seems a 5 pound LMB could easily fit a 10" soft bodied goldfish in its mouth, moderate sized pike or muskies as well. I tried to stock them for forage but they failed in my pond. I was just wondering of any one else had any luck doing it. I Once had nice big schools of large adult gold fish now have one or two left,with out predators other than a cormorant and an osprey.

Any updates on this Bobbyrice? If you were closer I'd give you buckets full of goldfish! I wonder if I can catch the ones in my pond if local pet owners who need to feed their pets or the local zoo would want them? (do pet snakes, birds, or large pet lizards eat goldfish about that size?) I imagine the bears or birds of prey at the zoo would love a protein snack!

Esshup, how did you catch all those goldfish earlier in this thread? My muddy pond problem is probably from the goldfish. Mine actively come in every time I'm there feeding so the stubby steve's might work but I'm afraid if they get hook shy because I do it wrong that I may miss my chance. Somehow it worked well for you.

I have about 50 this size in various drab and orange colors that I need to harvest pronto. So far fish traps aren't working.

I'm thinking since they come to the shore pretty reliably that a cast net may work but it would have to be big and I would have to be an expert on the first cast (those things are hard to throw correctly!!)

I don't have any experience with them, but have always wondered if a lift net would work well with feed trained fish. Get them used to eating feed over the submerged net without pulling it for a day or two. Then feed them over the net and pull it up around them.

I have not tried that, but would like to some day.

Kind of the idea of a cast net turned on its head. Lifting the net from under the fish instead of throwing it around them.

Used to be a guy here on PBF that advertised a fish harvester system based on the same principal.

great idea snrub,
This might work:

bird or fish net?

I'd have to figure out how to get all 4 corners pulled up rapidly (almost in the blink of an eye) from my vantage point on shore.

I was thinking of a 'trip wire' or something that would release a bunch of floats all at once on all 4 sides so the only way out would be for them to jump out of the water.

I have made these in the past. Most fish respond by jumping. So by making a net that has walls like a box works best. The walls heard the fish toward the center as they come up. when the bottom of the net spooks them jumping doesn't work. Maybe this will help.