Forums36
Topics40,961
Posts557,952
Members18,500
|
Most Online3,612 Jan 10th, 2023
|
|
11 members (LeighAnn, Bobbss, Jambi, catscratch, jludwig, John Folchetti, shores41, Theo Gallus, Shorthose, phinfan, Zep),
1,132
guests, and
312
robots. |
Key:
Admin,
Global Mod,
Mod
|
|
|
Joined: Feb 2017
Posts: 177 Likes: 5
|
OP
Joined: Feb 2017
Posts: 177 Likes: 5 |
Newest catches. The bluegill were stocked in spring 2018. I measured my hand afterwards and this fish is approx. 8 inches long. The bass fingerlings were stocked in Oct 2018 as 2-3 inch fingerlings. Finally catching a few on artificial baits! See images above for stocking size references.
Last edited by ColdSpringsFarm; 05/21/19 12:39 PM.
-Jason
|
|
|
|
Joined: Jun 2016
Posts: 2,344 Likes: 101
|
Joined: Jun 2016
Posts: 2,344 Likes: 101 |
Looks like some successful growth in a year...congrats!
Fish on!, Noel
|
|
|
|
Joined: Sep 2014
Posts: 1,596 Likes: 28
|
Joined: Sep 2014
Posts: 1,596 Likes: 28 |
They both look very healthy. Great job!!
Dear Alcohol, We had a deal where you would make me funnier, smarter, and a better dancer... I saw the video... We need to talk.
|
|
|
|
Joined: Feb 2017
Posts: 177 Likes: 5
|
OP
Joined: Feb 2017
Posts: 177 Likes: 5 |
Thanks! I have been impressed the persistence of the fathead and gambusia minnows after 1 year. There are still clouds of baitfish everywhere. I think their success is due to getting the water/soil correct early on and, probably more important was the light stocking density of BG. Something else that I discovered is that bermudagrass actively grows 2 or 3 feet out into the water and becomes great breeding areas for both minnow breeds. The horses and goats keep all other shoreline plants mowed down, so the bermudagrass cover is all they have.
Even though the forage is fine now, I am confident my BG population is too high already. The bass should start to make a dent in BG fry but I am afraid last years young are already too large. Hoping to siene some of the pond in a few weeks but would like to find someone local that needs them.
-Jason
|
|
|
|
Joined: Mar 2005
Posts: 21,497 Likes: 266
Moderator Hall of Fame 2014 Lunker
|
Moderator Hall of Fame 2014 Lunker
Joined: Mar 2005
Posts: 21,497 Likes: 266 |
Tell us about your BG and RES.
Not sure if those are crosses or local adaptation.
They should not be crosses born in your pond due to age and size. Some hatcheries put BG and RES in same pond in % to grow out and sell.
Last edited by ewest; 05/22/19 03:35 PM.
|
|
|
|
Joined: Feb 2017
Posts: 177 Likes: 5
|
OP
Joined: Feb 2017
Posts: 177 Likes: 5 |
The fishery I purchased from sells a "70/30" mix of bluegill and redear. I asked the guy why and he said they are in the same pond. So I think that would be the most likely source. I did stock about 30 bream from a local pond back in fall 2017. After some research I realized what I had were probably hybrid bluegill offspring. The green sunfish traits were strong. So I drained the pond and attempted a kill with hydrated lime. I saw evidence of success but cannot be completely sure the kill was 100%. As such, there is a small chance this fish came from the original stocking of questionable origin.
-Jason
|
|
|
|
Joined: Oct 2018
Posts: 2,247 Likes: 548
|
Joined: Oct 2018
Posts: 2,247 Likes: 548 |
Jason, I'm no expert on CNBG by ANY means but the bodies of those fish indicate a strong trophy potential to me.. More than just "healthy". I can only hope my BG/RES Crosses and RES look half as good as yours..
|
|
|
|
Joined: Feb 2017
Posts: 177 Likes: 5
|
OP
Joined: Feb 2017
Posts: 177 Likes: 5 |
Thanks Snipe! My goal is a 2 pounder but I have a tendency to be overly ambitious with my new hobbies. I feel like they have had ideal conditions for the first year of their lives, but I think this summer could be a turning point if I am not careful.
-Jason
|
|
|
|
Joined: Feb 2017
Posts: 177 Likes: 5
|
OP
Joined: Feb 2017
Posts: 177 Likes: 5 |
Caught one of the bass this morning. I envisioned them being stunted and hard up for food by now but the pond is still overrun with baitfish. I need to seine and get a sense of how many of the 30 stocked bass survived the winter.
Last edited by ColdSpringsFarm; 06/19/19 11:41 AM.
-Jason
|
|
|
|
Joined: Mar 2005
Posts: 21,497 Likes: 266
Moderator Hall of Fame 2014 Lunker
|
Moderator Hall of Fame 2014 Lunker
Joined: Mar 2005
Posts: 21,497 Likes: 266 |
The fishery I purchased from sells a "70/30" mix of bluegill and redear. I asked the guy why and he said they are in the same pond. I think he means by % not by cross. Pond contains 70% BG and 30% RES not RES X BG crosses. This is a typical hatchery method to avoid sorting and iding fish.
|
|
|
|
Joined: Feb 2017
Posts: 177 Likes: 5
|
OP
Joined: Feb 2017
Posts: 177 Likes: 5 |
That is correct. They were sold a pure strains of each species. I am not sure the odds/likelihood of hybridizing in an environment like that.
-Jason
|
|
|
|
Joined: Mar 2005
Posts: 21,497 Likes: 266
Moderator Hall of Fame 2014 Lunker
|
Moderator Hall of Fame 2014 Lunker
Joined: Mar 2005
Posts: 21,497 Likes: 266 |
In a hatchery pond with 70/30 BG/RES and limited duration the chances of crossing is small. Different hatchery's do things differently. Most I am aware of don't keep the parent fish in the pond for many generations. Some hatch there fish and move the babies to the growout pond. Others take a clean pond and add adult BG and RES in numbers to attempt to get the wanted %. I am sure there are other methods used as well.
Last edited by ewest; 06/20/19 10:01 AM.
|
|
|
|
Joined: Feb 2017
Posts: 177 Likes: 5
|
OP
Joined: Feb 2017
Posts: 177 Likes: 5 |
Hey guys, sorry for the lack of updates but I have been busy with a brand new baby girl as well as a new lawn project. I went down to the pond to take an inventory with the castnet lastnight. I am concerned that my LMB might have gotten picked off by Blue Heron as they have been a real problem the last few months. I welcome them eating young BG but several times a week I see them up on shore struggling with larger fish. I manage to catch the occasional bass but they always look healthier than I want them to be at this point. I said all that to say the young BG are getting out of hand. Every castnet throw yields 5 or more young BG. Overall the pond health seems good....still tons of minnows...but the balance has to shift at some point right? On a bright note, I happened on a Bruiser CNBG while castnetting. He is about 9" long but I didn't get a weight. Also including a pic of the most recent LMB I caught.
-Jason
|
|
|
|
Joined: Feb 2017
Posts: 177 Likes: 5
|
OP
Joined: Feb 2017
Posts: 177 Likes: 5 |
Just realized I already posted that bass pic. Hope you enjoy it a second time. 😂
-Jason
|
|
|
|
Joined: Feb 2017
Posts: 177 Likes: 5
|
OP
Joined: Feb 2017
Posts: 177 Likes: 5 |
-Jason
|
|
|
|
Joined: May 2014
Posts: 3,864 Likes: 298
|
Joined: May 2014
Posts: 3,864 Likes: 298 |
Beautiful fish! Most of us would love to have your "problem" of fat bass with too much forage!
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
|
|
|
|
Joined: Feb 2017
Posts: 177 Likes: 5
|
OP
Joined: Feb 2017
Posts: 177 Likes: 5 |
Beautiful fish! Most of us would love to have your "problem" of fat bass with too much forage! Make your goal to grow a 2 lb bluegill.....thats my secret to bass success. haha Speaking of bass and the Heron problem. Check out what I just discovered. I was perplexed at the cause of death until I spotted the hole in its head. grrrrrr
-Jason
|
|
|
Moderated by Bill Cody, Bruce Condello, catmandoo, Chris Steelman, Dave Davidson1, esshup, ewest, FireIsHot, Omaha, Sunil, teehjaeh57
|
|