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jpws #507868 06/20/19 10:38 PM
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Originally Posted By: jpws
Awesome -its fun to learn more and more.
Ok - last thing,,,,for now. how much to feed, how frequent, and how long does a #50 bag of food last. DO you have feed or have timer set for X seconds?

And do i need "BLuegille pond feed" or "junior pond feed" from Optimal?

i got this feeder.
https://www.amazon.com/Wildgame-Innovations-Profile-Directional-Feeder/dp/B001RDXSXA


I have read that you feed only between 60-90 degrees?


QA has more time with this than I do but I'm feeding Jr. and 3" fish are taking the smaller pieces without issue. I have noted YP to 12" along with YP down to 3", BG of all sizes and surprisingly, I have RES coming to feed. I have a feeling the Jr. is well utilized and is a few % higher in protein that straight BG.

jpws #507983 06/23/19 04:12 PM
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Well, we stocked the pond yesterday.
We ended up going with 300 HBG, 80 RES, 3 Grass carp, and 4lb of FHM.
my 9yo just couldn't stand it, and i couldn't say no.....and, by the time they'd swam across the pond he had a hook in the water. I thought surely he was wasting his time, but it was fun to see. He caught one worm in the flower bed and was determined to try it. He ended up catching 5 on the worm, and ran out of worm and was frustrated....and swiped the head off of a waist high strand of wheat that was all around the pond ( from dove season Last year) next to him and threw it in the water. Fish attacked it.....then his little brain went to work, and he pulled another and used the "husk" ( so to speak) and put it on the hook and caught 6! The Fish Food should arrive Monday or Tuesday.

I didn't call in my order soon enough to order HSB, but will put about 25-30 in as soon as i can get my hands on some.

ALso, with the flash floods today, the rain today raised the water level about a foot. smile


Last edited by jpws; 06/24/19 08:42 AM.

.20 acre pond-that leaks/4-5' deep. Stocked 6/22/19 with 300 BG(supposed to be HBG, removed 100+/- so far), 100 RES, 3carp. On 8/20 added 300 HBG, + 21 5"HSB. 8/21 added 5 8" SMB, one 10" LMB , one 14" CC
jpws #507986 06/23/19 04:42 PM
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I'm still chuckling 10 minutes after reading your post. That must be one very happy 9 yr old! 60 years ago I was his age; I fondly remember the fish I was catching way back then. Your pond will be a treasure for him.

jpws #508139 06/26/19 05:40 AM
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I can't think of a better reason for having a pond than a 9 year old.


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.

Boy, if I say "sic em", you'd better look for something to bite. Sam Shelley Rancher and Farmer Muleshoe Texas 1892-1985 RIP
jpws #509081 07/18/19 01:14 PM
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Update -

Feeding -
I've been feeding Optimal Jr for a few weeks now, and is going well. I feed by hand about 1/2 cup a day and there are a bunch of waiting mouths when i start to throw. When i step on the pier, i can see them racing to the end...kinda funny actually. They will hit anything....and i've limited by 9yo to catching only 4 per day - with a tiny barbless hook. So far there have been no fish hurt ( that we can tell) and kids is having a blast.

Grass/Moss - it is getting worse. i suppose it is the grass layer on the bottom that is dying and floating up. it is all submerged about 1' under the surface. I suppose i'll have to get in and rake it out.

ANyone suggest any chemical, dye, or other to knock it out? or, regardless would i have to get in and remove the dead moss anyway?

Water Level - we had tons or rain in mid June - the pond is down some 10" or so since then....and...i'd guess has lost 3" or so in the past few weeks. I don't have alot of depth so every inch is valuable.

Hybrid Striped Bass - i've not yet put them in but will do so soon.
given my HBG were 1-3" when i put them in, is there a size HSB that i should NOT exceed now in putting in? i was told by the fish farm that they have all sizes. i don't want them to eat ALL my freshly stocked HBG and RES, so what size HSB should i order? please advise.


Last edited by jpws; 07/18/19 01:18 PM.

.20 acre pond-that leaks/4-5' deep. Stocked 6/22/19 with 300 BG(supposed to be HBG, removed 100+/- so far), 100 RES, 3carp. On 8/20 added 300 HBG, + 21 5"HSB. 8/21 added 5 8" SMB, one 10" LMB , one 14" CC
jpws #509082 07/18/19 01:29 PM
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Originally Posted By: jpws
given my HBG were 1-3" when i put them in, is there a size HSB that i should NOT exceed now in putting in?


I would stay under 5 inches long and 4" or shorter would be better. IIRC correctly, a 5" long HSB will have a mouth gape of about 1/2". A 1" long panfish can't be much taller that 1/2".


Fish on!,
Noel
jpws #509225 07/22/19 02:46 PM
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Also FYI on a weekend project to improve water runoff.
we dug a "trench" so to speak on a down hill section that should catch 3-4 acres of runoff, and hopefully make it down the pond. I rented a laser level, and dropped it gradually for 300' or so. now it probably wont rain until February....but it's better late than never.







Last edited by jpws; 07/22/19 02:50 PM.

.20 acre pond-that leaks/4-5' deep. Stocked 6/22/19 with 300 BG(supposed to be HBG, removed 100+/- so far), 100 RES, 3carp. On 8/20 added 300 HBG, + 21 5"HSB. 8/21 added 5 8" SMB, one 10" LMB , one 14" CC
jpws #520142 04/29/20 01:16 PM
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10 month update after stocking small pond - All is well with regard to catching fish for fun, entertainment, and dog training. The goal all along was to have a trophy "bream" pond for my kids and me.

Catching Fish - The "go to" bait is a 1/16" Pink and green Roostertail for artificial or Gulp artificial worms (can catch tons on the same 3/4" piece.) Also i often use a dry fly ( it looks just like a hairy Optimal pellet smile and slay em'.

Water Level - Unfortunately I've determined that my water level will never be more than about 5' deep, as I have a leak obviously somewhere. After a huge rain it rises, then within a week it's back to where it stays most of the time. Given the low water level, the surface area is much smaller than i anticipated it'd be. I did get a dozer in the fall and create a 100 yard berm in the field that funnels massive amounts of runoff into the pond....which gives a nice temporary water rise after a big rain, only for it to go down again.

Stocking - as noted, on 6/22/19 I stocked 300 BG and 100 RES to start. The BG were supposed to have been HBG...but i got the switcharoo (actually a mistake by the driver, and i didn't know any better). Once i determine the error, on 8/22/19 i added in 300 HGB. IN Fall 2018 I added about 15 3-4" mutts taken from a neighbors farm pond. Since that time i've been catching, trapping, netting all the BG i can and have been removing them from the pond. ALso on 8/22/19 i added 21 4-6" HSB. Shortly after adding those HSB, we caught one about a week later on a worm....and, since that time have NOT seen one. I added a few SMB last fall - not sure if they made it or not, but added 2 more 2 weeks ago. Total luck and would never happen again, but literally the next day i went out and the first case to the left of the pier I caught a SMB...as as we ooh'd and ahh'd let it go and still grinnin' ear to ear threw the second cast to right of the pier and caught another SMB. I'm guessing both were what i'd tossed in the previous day given their size - and both were extremely poor/skinny looking. Also about a month ago i added one 14" channel cat and a 8" LMB in hopes of helping me control the excessive BG (and to hopefully get a bonus bite every now and then)



Feeding - i feed about a 10oz cup full by hand daily of Optimal. When riding up the pond in the Ranger, I can literally see wakes from all sides racing to the pier. A handful is literally gone in 2 seconds...if the entire cup was scattered out evenly it is all 100% gone in 1 minute.

Grass - i still have a total grass/weed cover on the bottom. As water level decreases and it gets hotter, i'd expect it to grow. I have 3 grass carp in there now, but no way they could control it.

Questions -
1. BG - Should i continued to catch and remove ALL the BG i can ? Occasionally we catch a 6" chunky BG and my 10yo has a hard time removing it due to the size smile. two decent sized BG are in attached pix.
2. HSB - as noted, since adding them in August, we've not seen or caught one since. I have only seen one dead, and that was the next day after stocking...and have never seen any fish eating birds handing around. I'd LOVE to know IF/WHERE they are. Any thoughts? I've thrown a cast net all around it multiple times and have never a HSB! (nor have i caught a RES for that matter)
3. Bullfrog Tadpoles - I have LOADS of them....i can put out a small 2' minnow trap, and the next day have 25-30 3" bullfrog tadpoles in it. is this good, bad, indifferent?? ALso to note, over the past 2 weeks there are thousands of tiny 1/2" black ( assume a new hatch of bullfrog tadpoles?) all the way around the edge of pond. Will the BG/HBG ( of HSB, or LMB ?) that are in there ( if they are still?) eat the tiny new 1/2" tadpoles?
4. Feeding - given that my fish devour the pellets when thrown in, it seems rather obvious that I'm not feeding enough...however, most of them are little fatties. Should i feed more, or make them "live" a little on their own and no be so dependant on pellets?
5. The largest fish in the pond now are from the mutts ( i suppose) that i put in Fall18, considering most of the have big "yellow bellies", unlike any of the BG or HBG that i stoked. ALso as seen in one of the pics attached, some have yellowish/orangish edges around their fins...these are very easy to spot in the water, and are alway present at feeding time - are the fattest and have big mouths. Any harm in leaving them in the pond of should they be removed? I'm pretty sure (?) 2 of the pix attached are those fish. The HBG stocked in Aug 19 I'd not think would be that big by now.
6. Grass i expect to grow - should i add baby crawfish to work on the grass, or more carp?

Attached are a few recent pix.

Attached Images
IMG_8537.jpg IMG_9691 (3).jpg IMG_9694 (3).jpg IMG_9040 (2).jpg IMG_9275.jpg
Last edited by jpws; 04/29/20 01:28 PM.

.20 acre pond-that leaks/4-5' deep. Stocked 6/22/19 with 300 BG(supposed to be HBG, removed 100+/- so far), 100 RES, 3carp. On 8/20 added 300 HBG, + 21 5"HSB. 8/21 added 5 8" SMB, one 10" LMB , one 14" CC
jpws #520214 04/30/20 01:36 PM
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Adding a feeding video from this morning....hand feeding, teasing and throwing a handful at a time.

https://vimeo.com/413688259


.20 acre pond-that leaks/4-5' deep. Stocked 6/22/19 with 300 BG(supposed to be HBG, removed 100+/- so far), 100 RES, 3carp. On 8/20 added 300 HBG, + 21 5"HSB. 8/21 added 5 8" SMB, one 10" LMB , one 14" CC
1 member likes this: RStringer
jpws #520216 04/30/20 02:22 PM
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Not positive but I think some of those fish are jumping to get the feed before it even hits the water.


The people who say I can't do it can just sit the @^#% down and watch me. Friends call me Rusto I also subscribe to pond boss mag. http://forums.pondboss.com/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=504716#Post504716
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