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#456558 09/26/16 08:24 PM
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Bill D. Offline OP
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I got a free sample of Optimal BG JR from Hoosier Pond Pros when I ordered some Optima BG chow. I suspect other folks have too.

I have a school of small BG that rush to the shore when I go down to feed in the evenings. In the past I would toss them a handful of 3 mm Skretting pellets and then throw Fisherman's choice to the CC further out. Well I ran out of the Skretting so I broke out the Optimal Jr sample.....I now have easily 3 times the BG coming close to shore at feeding time! I have seen 1.5 to 2 inch BG grabbing the biggest pellets and then watched them run with it before finally getting it positioned so they can swallow it. Problem as I see it...OPTIMAL JR IS NOT FOR SALE YET!

Anybody else tried their sample yet?

Last edited by Bill D.; 09/26/16 08:27 PM.

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Did you notice any differences in shape or color vs the Optimal Bluegill chow ?


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I threw out some food close to the shore yesterday afternoon and the little two inch cnbg will attack with a vengeance and do summersaults and tail walk in the air. The little ones are aggressive to say the least and are fun to watch. smile

Tracy


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Bill D. Offline OP
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Originally Posted By: Snakebite
Did you notice any differences in shape or color vs the Optimal Bluegill chow ?


I haven't opened the regular BG chow yet. Still throwing the last of my Fishermans Choice and trying to get out a few more CC before I start throwing the BG chow. I can say the Jr is very light in color and floats great.

Last edited by Bill D.; 09/27/16 03:28 PM.

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A bit off topic, no hi jack intended! I am encouraged to see the variety of Optimal feeds. Regular bg, lm, and now bg jr. Are there any others yet, and what is still in the works?


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Maybe it will be for sale by next spring. That way I won't have to order AM Grower 400 in February for April delivery at $60 per bag.

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Bill D. Offline OP
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I am hoping I can buy smaller bags of the Jr like 10 or 20 pounds. My puddle is small and it would take me a long time to use 40 or 50 pounds of the Jr. Keystone, the fish farm I use, repackages their small Skretting chow in 10 pound bags to accommodate the little pond owners. If Optima doesn't come out with smaller bags, I hope somebody like Hoosier Pond Pros does some repackaging. I wouldn't mind paying a little more a pound.


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Originally Posted By: Bill D.
I am hoping I can buy smaller bags of the Jr like 10 or 20 pounds. My puddle is small and it would take me a long time to use 40 or 50 pounds of the Jr. Keystone, the fish farm I use, repackages their small Skretting chow in 10 pound bags to accommodate the little pond owners. If Optima doesn't come out with smaller bags, I hope somebody like Hoosier Pond Pros does some repackaging. I wouldn't mind paying a little more a pound.


You can also try to find someone close to you that would share the feed and the cost.


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We would like to celebrate the official launch of our Optimal Junior Bluegill line with a coupon code to the incredible Pond Boss community.

Good for today only, use coupon code "bossfive" at checkout to receive $5 off any purchase of a single bag!

We have a lot in the works so stay tuned for more announcements (including new product lines and smaller bag options;-)

Big thanks to Pond Boss and its community for your knowledge, passion, and support.

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This is great news.

And again, I can't say enough how wonderful the customer service has been when I have worked with Optimal. These guys have been great. And most importantly, the fish are responding unbelievably.


On that note, I'm interested to hear the direction and line of products they plan to come out with. It may alter my pond management plan for the pond that I plan to kill off and start over.

Last edited by NEDOC; 09/30/16 07:34 AM.

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My feeding is only supplemental by hand, but my bg just love the Optimal. Thanks for the great product guys!


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Maybe I missed it, but can someone post a side by side picture of the current Optimal run (mixed sizes) and the Optimal BG Jr? Optimal was developed and designed to excel for bluegill/sunfish. So how is BG Jr different? Same formula, just smaller size? Is it all one size or mixed sizes?

Glad to hear that we can soon buy smaller quantities!

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I think it is higher protein and smaller size.


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Without going out to my shop to look, I believe the BG Jr. was darker in color.


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Originally Posted By: optimalfishfood
We would like to celebrate the official launch of our Optimal Junior Bluegill line with a coupon code to the incredible Pond Boss community.

Good for today only, use coupon code "bossfive" at checkout to receive $5 off any purchase of a single bag!

We have a lot in the works so stay tuned for more announcements (including new product lines and smaller bag options;-)

Big thanks to Pond Boss and its community for your knowledge, passion, and support.



Details regarding new BG food would be helpful.


Many men go fishing all of their lives without knowing that it is not fish they are after. ~ Henry David Thoreau

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We got a lot of feedback from people requesting a smaller pellet. We put together a little info-graphic to help illustrate the size difference between the Standard Bluegill and the Junior.

I'm going to try to add an image to this post...so hopefully it works!

This feed is not only a different size, but also a different formulation better suited for smaller bluegill. Although it is still a similar 40/10 diet, key growth promoting amino acids are fortified in these formulations to target the smaller fish.

As for the new lines and size options...we've got a little work ahead of us before we make any big announcements. Stay tuned!

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TJ, I've been meaning to run some BG Jr and Optimal Bass up to you but just didn't take the time to do it. And now I'm all but out of the BG Jr. It seemed to me, that my young RES feed trained MUCH easier when I had the BG Jr. mixed in with my Optimal. Right now I'm feeding a mix of 6 parts Optimal BG : 2 parts BG Jr : 2 parts Optimal Bass. It seems to be working very well.


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Thanks good Intel


Many men go fishing all of their lives without knowing that it is not fish they are after. ~ Henry David Thoreau

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I know I will be trying some in the spring.



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I ordered and got the discount.

However, the price for a 40 lb bag was $55, $5 higher than regular BG food. So with the $5 discount, it came to $50, the same as regular BG food.

Still, my experience with Optimal has been good, so if they say it is specially formulated to enhance small RES/BG growth, I believe them.

Last edited by anthropic; 09/30/16 06:46 PM.

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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i sure hope the new sizes include larger bass and bg pellets.
the bass pellets are just the right size for my larger bg, but too small for my bass. the bg eat them as soon as the hit the water and the bass never get an opportunity. since my goal is large bg, i'd love for the bg pellets to be too large for the smaller bg.


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Originally Posted By: scott69
i sure hope the new sizes include larger bass and bg pellets.
the bass pellets are just the right size for my larger bg, but too small for my bass. the bg eat them as soon as the hit the water and the bass never get an opportunity. since my goal is large bg, i'd love for the bg pellets to be too large for the smaller bg.


I agree with this. My LMB love the bass food but my big BG are eating most of it before the bass get it. If the bass food could be big enough that the BG couldn't get it in their mouths my target fish would benefit more. Of course I know nothing about all of this,maybe a big pellet would be hard for the fish to digest. Oh by the way my BG also love the BG food as well.

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I believe they made the Optimal Bass as large as they could and still have it run through a Texas Hunter feeder. So any size larger than that will have to be fed by hand. I'm guessing that would all depend on what they believe the market would be for such.


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Originally Posted By: NEDOC
I believe they made the Optimal Bass as large as they could and still have it run through a Texas Hunter feeder. So any size larger than that will have to be fed by hand. I'm guessing that would all depend on what they believe the market would be for such.


That makes sense.

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My bag of BG Jr feed arrived today. It's about half the size of Optimal BG food. The small BG were very responsive to it. They had been eating AM Grower 400, but I ran out Saturday. The Optimal is easier to get. I fed broken up catfish pellets to them for a couple of days.

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