"Gizzard shad are the heartier and more pervasive of the two; they can handle all but the most frigid waters, whereas threadfins will die in water below 40 degrees"
Gizzard Shad appear to be harder to purchase in Texas than the Threadfin.... I wish I could get some of the hardy Gizzards....i think or would the hardy Gizzards overpopulate in a 4 acre pond?
CGF, my understanding is that gizzard shad are suitable when you have a good number of big LMB that you want to make into trophies. Gshad get so large that they can overpopulate without predators capable of eating them.
Bob Lusk has cautioned about Gshad, but he's also said that they are necessary for a true trophy LMB lake. My impression is that he's talking 8 pounds and up, so Florida or F1 bass lake would be generally more suitable than northern bass.
Personally, I don't want them. Too risky. But your goals may be different than mine!
i fell into the tilapia trap of logic where at first you think it's a bad thing the tilapia die every year when in reality...it's a good thing the tilapia die every year or your pond would be over-run by tilapia
On March the 6th Overtons's did an eshock survey of my pond and we discovered the pond is loaded with TFS. The TFS were everywhere. They survived the winter and will most likely spawn several times this summer. I stocked some spawning size tfs the first fall of the pond and we had cold weather that winter with surface temps @ 42F. Suspect I lost the tfs that winter and so I restocked that first spring and then added another batch the following spring. I would suggest stocking tfs in the spring when they are available. you might need to place an order now because they may be hard to get later on.
Do not judge me by the politicians in my City, State or Federal Government.
If memory serves me, and it's not all that great anymore, I think I had them stocked in June but a couple of yrs ago I think it was July because of winter die off due to colder winter. We had snow in March that year. I also know of one here that because he did not order ahead, he was not able to get them last summer.
Last edited by TGW1; 04/11/1709:05 AM.
Do not judge me by the politicians in my City, State or Federal Government.
I agree. If you have TFS you do not need GShad with your goal. They do compete with each other if plankton is limited. FWIW there are studies that show TFS can supress Gshad in some situations. In unfertile ponds both also compete with young BG. IMO you will get more for your $ feeding BG in your situation. If you could use the other pond to grow and source BG that would be great. Water needs to be fertile for either Gshad or TFS.
Zep, Overton's will deliver some Tp with some larger sized HSB coming the 15th. ha!ha! Also have some fhm's coming for the first lmb spawn. My small cnbg count was down during the survey, so I brushed the shoreline to increase cnbg fry survival (I have no veggies) and adding the fhm's for the new lmb spawn. Plans to add some crawfish this week also. My crawfish farmer says Easter week is the best pricing.
Last edited by TGW1; 04/11/1703:04 PM.
Do not judge me by the politicians in my City, State or Federal Government.
Zep, Overton's will deliver some Tp with some larger sized HSB coming the 15th. ha!ha! Also have some fhm's coming for the first lmb spawn. My small cnbg count was down during the survey, so I brushed the shoreline to increase cnbg fry survival (I have no veggies) and adding the fhm's for the new lmb spawn. Plans to add some crawfish this week also. My crawfish farmer says Easter week is the best pricing.
Tracy, could you PM me about crawfish farmer prices & availability? I'd like to get 150 to 200 pounds for my pond.
I'm surprised that FHM will be stocked for the little LMB, as I've always understood fatheads would be gobbled up by larger fish. Maybe that's wrong, though.
Doing the same as you re adding brush, as I have no veggies. Sounds like you are much further along, however.
Frank ck your pm and the fatheads were suggested to me due to low count of small cnbg. It may relieve some of the pressure off the cnb fry. I have some fhms raised in my sediment pond and when we get rains some always go downstream to big pond.
Last edited by TGW1; 04/12/1707:16 AM.
Do not judge me by the politicians in my City, State or Federal Government.
Caddo crawfish farms, Smokey James 318-834-3361 he has an private lmb pond he feeds crawfish and has caught lmb to 9 lbs. Says he sells a lot of crawfish to pond owners. Hope this helps
Do not judge me by the politicians in my City, State or Federal Government.
I have gizzard shad in my pond and at one time had threadfin shad as well. I have stocked a lot of hsb in my pond and normally have fish feeders running but in an effort to thin out the shad and to clear the water I haven't fed the fish since October. The hsb seem to keep the gizzard shad in check and I love to watch them attack the gizzard shad like a pack of wolves. I think it is working because I dont see any schools of shad right now and the water has become crystal clear. The water may have become too clear and so I will start the feeders going again next week. I just thought I would add this information as a way to control shad if you get too many of them. AS you can see hsb and lmb both like to eat shad
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ha!ha! Also have some fhm's coming for the first lmb spawn. My small cnbg count was down during the survey, so I brushed the shoreline to increase cnbg fry survival (I have no veggies) and adding the fhm's for the new lmb spawn. Plans to add some crawfish this week also. My crawfish farmer says Easter week is the best pricing. 
