Pond Boss Forums INTRO Questions & Observations Where did all my FHM go?

On March 13th I stocked my new 1 acre pond with 1000 CNBG and 15 lbs of FHM. Up until two weeks ago you could almost walk across the surface on them. It was easy to spot several different sized fry so I know they had spawned multiple times already. Also, at feeding time, you could spot multiple schools of adults milling around as well. Fast forward to today and not a one can be found! I have looked along the banks, under the feeding dock where they used to be so plentiful, and out in the open, but again, not a one to be found. Any ideas? I'm worried because I'm scheduled to add F1 Tiger Bass from American Sportfish on Wednesday and now I don't know if I have enough forage anymore. (although the BG have also spawned twice already so I do have that)

FYI, today will be the 25th consecutive day of temps over 90 degrees so maybe they just went deep?

Thanks in advance for any insight!!

How large are the Tiger bass?

He said they will be about 2 inches long. Will be adding 120.

JK, I am surprised that you can not find even the smallest of your FHM's. My larger ones stay deep and you rarely see them, the mediums ones stay fairly shallow and away from the bank, but the smallest ones (1/4 inchers) stay very close to the shore and in 4 inches of water.

You are ahead of us in Missouri as far as warming weather, so I am going to bet that your forage has seeked cooler waters. Recently, I used a small minnow trap baited with a small handful of dog food and in a few hours caught a few dozen of my biggest FHM. I tied the trap off the dock deep enough that I could not see the trap. The trap was within a foot of the bottom probably about 3 foot from the surface. You could do some trap sampling which may ease your mind if you catch some. Move the trap around if you don't see some results within a hour or two and try different depths.

Great idea, thanks!

I find if you get a cold snap the fat heads and shiners will go deep. I am not sure why but have felt the same as you.

Well, I just got back from Academy with two minnow traps so, hopefully, I'll have more info soon.

Be sure to check the trap about every 20 to 30 minutes. They can get out pretty quickly.

JKS, what size were the CNBG you stocked, and are they aggressively feeding? The reason I ask, is that I have a very similar situation in my quarter acre hatchery pond. I stocked 30#'s of FHM with 1,000 CNBG, and the FHM were the dominant feeders for 2-3 weeks. The CNBG suspended under the FHM, and ate what food sank. Once the CNBG got a little bigger than the FHM, they came to the surface, and were the primary feeders.

There are no predators in the pond, and the CNBG's gape isn't big enough to eat fully grown FHM yet, so they still have to be in there somewhere.

my FHM's would go to deeper water during the hot summer days.

Well, when I checked the minnow traps, they were full of adult FHM's with plenty of smaller ones swimming on top of, and all around, the trap. Before setting the traps, I looked everywhere and there was not a one to be found so obviously they are there, just staying suspended and out of sight in this heat, I guess. I feel much better now. Fire, my CNBG were on the larger side (3-4") when I added them since they were hold overs from a late spawn last year. They really hit the ground running and have grown dramatically since March. Up until a couple of weeks ago, whenever the feeder would go off, the BG and FHM both would feed together. About this same time, the BG seemed to become much more aggressive feeders and started really tearing up the water at meal time. I figured maybe the FHM were not so fond of that new behavior and decided to suspend for that reason as well. So it looks like all is well after all and now I can look forward to my Tiger Bass delivery tomorrow! Thanks for all the input everyone!!!!

Great to see a plan work ! This thread shows that it can be hard to visually evaluate pond fish populations or events. Using other tools like creel surveys , seine surveys (including traps) and electroshock surveys along with visual info is much better.

I agree, it was an interesting situation with a happy conclusion! I definitely appreciate everyone's advice. I added 120 Tiger bass fingerlings to the mix yesterday so now the minnow population has a legitimate reason to worry!