Pond Boss Forums INTRO Questions & Observations Feeding & Fishing...

No, this isn't about wolfing down chips while throwing a buzzbait! I'm talking about the relationship between feeding FISH and catching them.

We know feeding increases the size of fish & their numbers. But does it reduce catchability, at least for non-pellet imitator lures, because fish aren't as hungry?

Also, I noticed that when I threw in some pellets near a feeder that had run out of feed, the fish went absolutely nuts. So if, say, a fishing trip is scheduled for the weekend, would it make sense to turn off the feeders a day or two ahead? Not enough to really affect their conditioned response to feed nor to seriously affect their growth, but enough to sharpen their appetites?

I find just after feeding I catch more fish than before or during. Seems to trigger the feeding response-I think..
Repeatability is what they learn by. They eat because the hunger response is triggered and I think it changes their patterns if the feeder doesn't go off, maybe not in a good way for fishing/catching?
Only my observation.

I haven't tried it but believe it would work. Or maybe not. The fish obviously gather at feeder times. I can toss pellets other times of the day and there aren't as many fish around the feeder area. I can also toss a small lure for BG just before feeding time but don't do much good. They're pellet hogs. I can catch a lot of BG on Stubby Steves just about anytime. I doubt that they would work as well in a public lake.

Walter Bossano, a PB employee, wrote an article about catching catfish in a BIG pond. They baited an area for a couple of weeks and then stopped. After a couple of days they fished the area and caught the cats that they couldn't catch before.

I have planned to try it this Fall but can't now. My water temps are too hot right now to fish.

I turn off my feeders 3 days before fishing.
I do this for two reasons.
1. Hungry fish bite better
2. Pellet mush in the guts STINKS horribly.

Catch rates at my HBG pond are practically nonexistent outside of the evening feeding time. It helps tremendously if feed is presented to get them all excited. Once the feed is gone, the bites drop off. I have found that the best bait for catching the fish is regular ole' white bread pinched onto a single hook and left to sink slowly. Part of this is surely due to the fact that the bread falls off regularly and the fish get the treat which encourages futures bites.

I have not done much fishing outside of feeding time or experimented much with stopping the feed cycle to improve catch rates, but what I have done has been SLOOOOOW.