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Bill D. Offline OP
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Originally Posted By: snrub
Second best. At least when said in front of Nattha. grin


LOL! Definitely! She knows Thai kick boxing.......


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Bill D. #449240 06/08/16 09:38 PM
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Originally Posted By: Bill D.
a 8 1/4 inch HBG (Thanks for the ID help Cecil). I really like the white fins and fin tips. This one was returned to the pond.






This guy is still in the pond...Maybe he is much blacker??

I have a black velvet SF with a bright blue chin patch that comes every night at feeding time. You can spot him anywhere in the pond. All the other SF are "normal color." Tried to get a pic tonight but he was a bit far from shore. I will post one soon as I get one.

Anybody else have a coal black sunfish?

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Bill D. #449809 06/15/16 08:46 PM
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Well I’m still trying to get a decent picture but the water visibility is not cooperating. Here are a couple of terrible shots of Blackie. I think it's an HBG. Comes every night and the color never changes; velvet black with aquamarine chin. It is not aggressive at all and lazily drifts up and takes pellets. Anybody got something similar? He is like the exact opposite of an albino but you can see, even in these terrible pics, his eyes almost glow.






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Bill D. #449813 06/15/16 09:53 PM
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I had a BG, probably about 4-5", that was black on the back half of its body. The front half looked normal like the other fish. But the back half had a pigment problem and was very dark like your fish.

I eventually quit seeing it. It either became normal or got eaten by a LMB.


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Bill D. Offline OP
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Originally Posted By: Bill Cody
You have quite a few predators (SMB,LMB,WE,CC, & YP) for placing only 250 papershells in your pond. I catch YP with adult papershell in them. Every small fish in your pond will eat crayfish less than 1" long. IMO Survival will be dependent on how much cover you have available and how many you stock. For an existing pond with those predators capable of reproducing, I would have stocked closer to 2500 not 250. I stocked 300 PSC in a 1/3 acre minnow only pond and had good reproduction and recruitment. If you are really interested in providing crayfish as a constant forage food try growing them in a small 0.1 ac pond or pool with minnows as polyculture. Then transfer the surplus.

For readers here is a link to the page with some of BillD's shoreline see: West Waterway 1.jpg
http://forums.pondboss.com/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=443300&page=6

Your rock lined shoreline with large concrete pieces may be enough cover for the crayfish to maintain broodstock, although with those crayfish loving predators (bass &CC) I would not expect numerous crayfish to always be present to serve as a good food source. With reproducing bass present it is very difficult to maintain minnows and small forage foods without a weedy pond. I think your predator types will eat crayfish more readily than small fish depending on abundance and encounter rate.


Update…

The papershells arrived in good condition a week or so ago and all were approximately 2 inches long. I stocked them into the rip-rap and concrete slabs around the pond shoreline. They made themselves right at home. I also stocked 1 into each of my aquariums as well. The first night every plant in all 3 aquariums got uprooted and was floating the next morning. Needless to say, I relocated the ones from the aquariums to the pond!




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Bill, I did my first stocking of crawfish last year and they denuded the western shoreline with the exception of Blue flag and Louisiana iris. Everything else was removed by the craws. They loved the pondweed lol

Tracy


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"The first night every plant in all 3 aquariums got uprooted and was floating the next morning. Needless to say, I relocated the ones from the aquariums to the pond!"
laugh

Years ago the wife, kids and I caught various creek critters to put in an aquarium. Wife went to lots of trouble to plant some different plants into the bottom. The craws did exactly what you said. They commenced to digging out and eating every plant and rearranging the aquarium to suit their wants instead of my wife's wants. Needless to say she was not happy about it.

In another situation, again years ago, wife had a few fancy tail goldfish in a small aquarium. Kids and I caught a few craws and put them in there. Wife noticed the fancy tail goldfish tails were getting shorter and ragged. One day we saw one of the small craws holding on to the tail of a goldfish with one pincer and eating the tail with the small pincers while the goldfish swam frantically around. Wife dispatched the craws. grin Boys and I just thought it was funny. She was not amused.

Last edited by snrub; 06/23/16 01:41 PM.

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Dont crawldads bore holes in a ponds dam and cause leaks?

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Bill D. Offline OP
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Originally Posted By: snrub
"The first night every plant in all 3 aquariums got uprooted and was floating the next morning. Needless to say, I relocated the ones from the aquariums to the pond!"
laugh

Years ago the wife, kids and I caught various creek critters to put in an aquarium. Wife went to lots of trouble to plant some different plants into the bottom. The craws did exactly what you said. They commenced to digging out and eating every plant and rearranging the aquarium to suit their wants instead of my wife's wants. Needless to say she was not happy about it.

In another situation, again years ago, wife had a few fancy tail goldfish in a small aquarium. Kids and I caught a few craws and put them in there. Wife noticed the fancy tail goldfish tails were getting shorter and ragged. One day we saw one of the small craws holding on to the tail of a goldfish with one pincer and eating the tail with the small pincers while the goldfish swam frantically around. Wife dispatched the craws. grin Boys and I just thought it was funny. She was not amused.


Snrub,

LOL!
Yeah, I had one in an aquarium when I was in college (plastic plants! smile ). The guy would climb up to the top of the plants and jump out trying to catch fish. He ate a lot of my fish. He didn't grab them with a pincher. He wrapped both pinchers around them kind of like a cage.

TGW1,

Vegetation control is one of the goals. I am hoping they at least help control my FA if I can get a good population established.

Last edited by Bill D.; 06/23/16 04:34 PM.

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Originally Posted By: RRWJ
Dont crawldads bore holes in a ponds dam and cause leaks?


RRWJ,

It depends on the species. Some species burrow and can undercut the shore and damage dams. The papershell crawfish (PSC) I stocked are known for no/minimal borrowing and are considered one of the best species to stock as forage in ponds for that reason.

Last edited by Bill D.; 06/23/16 04:39 PM.

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Bill D. #452133 07/17/16 09:06 PM
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Just an update...

Part of the charter of Mutt Pond is just a decent place to fish. Somewhere you can go and catch nice sized fish for an occasional fish dinner. No more standing shoulder to shoulder with other guys at the local BOWs catching 6 inch BG(if yer lucky and get the "big" ones) to have a fish fry.

My bride headed to the pond tonight, with a bag containing a couple of chicken livers, mumbling something about catfish for dinner tomorrow night. She came back 20 minutes later with 2 CC pushing 4 pounds.

Gotta love it when the plan works! smile

Last edited by Bill D.; 07/17/16 09:08 PM.

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Bill D. #453359 08/03/16 08:30 AM
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Another Update.....

Our CC have gotten a little bigger than we like, pushing 4 pounds, so we have been spending a little time harvesting them. Removed 8 this week. We tried night crawlers and chicken liver but had little success. Switched to using 4 to 5 inch shiners and nailed them. I guess my take away from this is that "it depends" on a lot of things as to what bait is going to work for you on any given day when it comes to catching CC. 3 weeks ago, it was chicken liver.

Also tossed a couple minnow traps in last night just to see what I could catch. I was very happy with what I found. Both traps contained lots of 1.5 to 2 inch SF. They were a mixture of BG, HBG and PS. There might have been some pumpkingill (PSXBG) as well as there were what appeared to be a few PS but no orange on the flap. This is the first I have seen of the PS since stocking them at 2 to 3 inches in fall 2014. I have never actively fished for them with a small hook so I may have to give that a try.


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Bill D. #453384 08/03/16 11:13 AM
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I might have to give the shiners a try. Grandson and buddies caught twenty some CC one night early summer (I think they were using liver of some sort) but later have not had much luck catching them. I have lots of GSH in my forage pond that are easily trapped so will have to try that.

Those PS sure are pretty fish. Not native to our area or I would like to try some.;


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Bill D. #453400 08/03/16 08:59 PM
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Snrub,

GSH is what we used for the CC. Fished them a couple feet under a cork near bait fish cover like lily pads, brush piles, etc. It was a lot of fun. My bride had them break her line twice. She is still struggling to get the hang of my old Sabre reels (at least 45 years old). The drag is disabled when you are reeling in.

Good Luck!


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Bill D. #453404 08/03/16 09:10 PM
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Maybe it is time you break down and buy your bride a new reel before she runs off with some guy with a big fancy Pflueger grin

Last edited by snrub; 08/03/16 09:11 PM.

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Sounds like a great idea for an anniversary present next year! grin


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Bill D. #453410 08/03/16 10:09 PM
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Don't wait till your anniversery and surprise her early, but try to not look guilty like you bought her a gift because you did something wrong.

Unsolicited gifts can either bring unexpected benefits or problems, depending on your ability to act like you have done nothing wrong. And we all know that is probably not the case. laugh laugh

Last edited by snrub; 08/03/16 10:10 PM.

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Bill, she must love you a lot, I am surprised she is not using your reels. Snrub is right but I think a better deal is to take her to a local BPShop and let her pick out what she wants. Think of the rewards you might get smile Spend a little, get a little or so I have herd.

Tracy


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Tracy
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Seems like I've always spent a lot and gotten very little. On the other hand, I've got plenty of nothin and nothins plenty for me.


Do nature a favor, spay/neuter your pets and any weird friends or relatives.
Bill D. #453468 08/04/16 08:46 PM
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Guys I am feeling the pressure! smile

When we went fishing in Thailand our gear was an old plastic bottle with a line wrapped around it, a rusty hook (salt water) and a chunk of squid.

Seriously though, she only likes spin cast reels (closed face). Those old Sabre reels have performed flawlessly for 45+ years. All metal parts except for the button and a small piece in the line pickup mechanism. No part has ever failed. I tried to source a QUALITY new reel for her a few years back and came up empty. I bought a couple but they crapped out after a couple years. The only thing she doesn't like on the old reels is the "direct drive" clutch that disables the drag when you're reeling. IIRC the feature was put in to allow you to horse a fish if he heads for structure where he could get hung up. You need to use a pump and retrieve motion with these reels if you have a decent fish on. If any of you guys know of a high quality spin cast, no direct drive clutch, that can routinely handle a 15+ pound CC, I would really appreciate you letting me know.

Perfect example of the loss of workmanship and quality over the years....


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Bill D. #453478 08/05/16 06:49 AM
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Bill, that reminds me of the old Zebco 33 vs the newer ones.


It's not about the fish. It's about the pond. Take care of the pond and the fish will be fine. PB subscriber since before it was in color.

Without a sense of urgency, Nothing ever gets done.

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Bill D. #453533 08/06/16 06:53 AM
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Bill, I agree the new closed face spinning reels are made cheaply and do not last as long as the older models. My wife also fishes with these types and prefers the one with the trigger system that is mounted below the reel casing. There is a few made that should handle the line u want but remember the drag system allows for using low poundage line. Now I am just thinking u can get her a new reel every year for your anniversary smile I will usually get a new one most every year for my lady, it helps to keep me in good graces and I need all the help I can get smile and they are usually less than 30 or 40 bucks. that cheaper than a mink coat

Tracy

Last edited by TGW1; 08/06/16 06:58 AM.

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Tracy
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Tracy, I've found a correlation between expense, number of ball bearings, and quality in such reels. Pflueger makes the best in my experience.

So long as you're patient and there aren't too many obstructions, they can handle bigger fish than you'd expect. I've caught four bass exceeding 9 lbs with 4 lb test on such an ultralight reel.


7ac 2015 CNBG RES FHM 2016 TP FLMB 2017 NLMB GSH L 2018 TP & 70 HSB PK 2019 TP RBT 2020 TFS TP 25 HSB 250 F1,L,RBT -206 2021 TFS TP GSH L,-312 2022 GSH TP CR TFS RBT -234, 2023 BG TP TFS NLMB, -160




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Originally Posted By: Dave Davidson1
Bill, that reminds me of the old Zebco 33 vs the newer ones.


Yep!


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anthropic #453564 08/07/16 07:30 AM
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Originally Posted By: anthropic
Tracy, I've found a correlation between expense, number of ball bearings, and quality in such reels. Pflueger makes the best in my experience.

So long as you're patient and there aren't too many obstructions, they can handle bigger fish than you'd expect. I've caught four bass exceeding 9 lbs with 4 lb test on such an ultralight reel.


Our pond is small and has a couple of brush piles. I think she needs a reel that can handle 8 to 10 lb test so the drag can be set heavier to limit the length run a fish can make. Any specific make/model recommendations?

Last edited by Bill D.; 08/07/16 07:33 AM.

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