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Great thread NEDOC. Hope to see some huge HSB come out of your big pond in the future.


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With weather getting cold, it was time to say goodbye to my pet HSB. It was exactly 4 months to the day since I got them from Keo. Once again, I can't say enough good things about my experience with Keo and how great HSB were to work with. Such an easy fish to feed train and raise. We started with 1200 fish, and I'm guessing we finished with a very similar number. All raised in a 1100 sq ft, 6 ft deep pond. The fish ranged in size from 4" up to 6.5". I'd guess 80% of them were well over 5" with only a few 'runts'. This was our second pull with the 50' x 6' seine. I'm guessing we got 60% with the first pull, losing some when the net lifted over debris at the bottom. We went much slower with the second pull and seemed to have gotten almost all of them. All in all this was a great project that I'm guessing cost me about $700. I plan to grow out up to 2000 next year and will update this thread then.

PS Sorry about the video quality. 8 year olds aren't great at running the phone yet.



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Really neat project


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.

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Just a little update for anyone that may try this. I received these fish from Keo Fish Farms (great place!!) last June 21. I'm guessing they were 1.5" at most when I received them. You can see the process of raising them above. Last fall I stocked 30 of them in my yard pond, which is 2/3 of an acre and has a dense FHM population. I stocked around a thousand in my other lake. They were fairly quiet all summer, but lately have come to the feeder in a significant way. Last night I finally caught one in my yard pond. And it was an amazing 13.5". That's 12" of growth in 15 months.



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HSB are hooked directly to the accelerator pedal with turbo boost, as well, with regards to growth right out of the gate.

My HSB went it the pond during May of 2018 at 4-6" long, and in 3-1/2 months had doubled in length and weighed near a pound. I place the key in an abundance of FHM's. Now that my FHM's have all but vanished, the HSB have started showing themselves at feeding time which was extremely rare for the last year, but I can't catch one to save my life. The last one I caught was earlier this summer and it was 1.95 pounds and over 16" long...that's about a pound of growth per year. They are truly amazing growers, wish I could check this summer's growth...what'd you catch it on?


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HSB are one of the few pond predator fish that can use (metabolize) carbs. They can become morbidly obese on a higher carb diet. With some fish forage (FH or small BG etc) and pellets they can have very high growth rates. Depending on location you can grow HSB to 10 lbs in 5-6 years (near normal life expectancy) with the right diet.
















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I caught mine a 1/32 jig head and a small piece of fish filet. I’ve been throwing out small pieces of fish filet in an effort to convert them to eating the abundance of trout entrails I have access to. I hadn’t seen any hit the small filet pieces but when I threw this out they hit it immediately. Once my FHM are decimated I assume I’ll get them converted quickly. I have access to thousands of pounds of trout guts per year, so HSB growth on unlimited trout guts should be fun to observe.


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Originally Posted By: ewest
HSB are one of the few pond predator fish that can use (metabolize) carbs. They can become morbidly obese on a higher carb diet. With some fish forage (FH or small BG etc) and pellets they can have very high growth rates. Depending on location you can grow HSB to 10 lbs in 5-6 years (near normal life expectancy) with the right diet.


That’s my goal!


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Love to catch HSB. Had to stop fishing for them last couple of months due to high water temps, but in another 4 to 6 weeks I'll resume. Feisty!


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




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Originally Posted By: NEDOC
HSB growth on unlimited trout guts should be fun to observe.


More than fun... That'll be a dream. It should be record breaking!


Fish on!,
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I may restock some HSB. I’m convinced that I had zero survivors from my stocking 25 of them back in Oct of 2015. No response to thrown feed. None ever caught, or sighted.
They sure look like they’d be a blast to catch.


9 yr old pond, 1 ac, 15' deep.
RES, YP, GS, FHM (no longer), HBG (going away), SMB, and HSB (only one seen in 5 yrs) Restocked HSB (2020) Have seen one of these.
I think that's about all I should put in my little pond.
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Originally Posted By: Quarter Acre
Originally Posted By: NEDOC
HSB growth on unlimited trout guts should be fun to observe.


More than fun... That'll be a dream. It should be record breaking!


Sorry, this was meant as a reply to SetterGuy......

I've read your posts on your HSB and kept assuming they would show up. Sorry to hear but I'm guessing they would've shown up by now if they survived. I think I'd stock several more than you think you need, if they survive you can always thin the herd.

One question, do you recall what range the water temp may have been in when you stocked them? Or what time of year? Bruce has told me if they are handled when water temps are in the 50s they are susceptible to acquiring fungus. And I experienced that with the several hundred I handled this spring.

Last edited by NEDOC; 09/18/19 10:28 AM.

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Originally Posted By: SetterGuy
I may restock some HSB. I’m convinced that I had zero survivors from my stocking 25 of them back in Oct of 2015. No response to thrown feed. None ever caught, or sighted.
They sure look like they’d be a blast to catch.


What do you think happened? What size were the HSB and were there existing adult predators?
















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Originally Posted By: Quarter Acre
HSB are hooked directly to the accelerator pedal with turbo boost, as well, with regards to growth right out of the gate.

My HSB went it the pond during May of 2018 at 4-6" long, and in 3-1/2 months had doubled in length and weighed near a pound. I place the key in an abundance of FHM's. Now that my FHM's have all but vanished, the HSB have started showing themselves at feeding time which was extremely rare for the last year, but I can't catch one to save my life. The last one I caught was earlier this summer and it was 1.95 pounds and over 16" long...that's about a pound of growth per year. They are truly amazing growers, wish I could check this summer's growth...what'd you catch it on?



I stocked 100 HSB around 1st of april this year, they were the same 4-6" (new 2 acre pond) Last spring I stocked 15lb FHM 15lb GSH 100 BG
and 50 RES. I had massive FHM spawns. I started feeding MVP as soon as I stocked HSB and they were hitting it for a about a week, then it was like they were gone only BG and GSH were showing up. I was feeding 1/2 coffee can mvp at sunset almost every day. Some time in july they showed up and started hammering the feed. I started feeding 3/4 can still at sunset once a day. Around the middle of july we started trying to catch 1 They wouldn't hit anything, so we went and got some earthworms went to the pond a little before feeding time and bam got hammered within minutes. Every time we threw in got hammered. I had to shut it down I didn't want to hurt a bunch of them. Took the worms down there a couple weeks ago and same deal, they just smoked em. Weighed a couple they are just over 1 1/2lbs and the longest was 13 3/4. kept a couple to eat. I'm hoping sometime in october to relocate several to the freezer, if the worms continue to work.

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Originally Posted By: mikepjr

... I started feeding MVP as soon as I stocked HSB and they were hitting it for a about a week, then it was like they were gone only BG and GSH were showing up. ..... Some time in july they showed up and started hammering the feed. .... They wouldn't hit anything, so we went and got some earthworms went to the pond a little before feeding time and bam got hammered within minutes. Every time we threw in got hammered. I had to shut it down I didn't want to hurt a bunch of them. Took the worms down there a couple weeks ago and same deal, they just smoked em. ...


It seems the HSB's feeding habits change on a dime. I'm sure some of it is temp related.

So, I picked up some worms and am heading to the pond shortly, wish me luck. I have used worms at the pond before but not during the HSB feeding time. I'm sure the HBG will keep me busy, but all I need is one HSB to keep me sane.


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Originally Posted By: mikepjr



I stocked 100 HSB around 1st of april this year, they were the same 4-6" (new 2 acre pond) Last spring I stocked 15lb FHM 15lb GSH 100 BG
and 50 RES. I had massive FHM spawns. I started feeding MVP as soon as I stocked HSB and they were hitting it for a about a week, then it was like they were gone only BG and GSH were showing up. I was feeding 1/2 coffee can mvp at sunset almost every day. Some time in july they showed up and started hammering the feed. I started feeding 3/4 can still at sunset once a day. Around the middle of july we started trying to catch 1 They wouldn't hit anything, so we went and got some earthworms went to the pond a little before feeding time and bam got hammered within minutes. Every time we threw in got hammered. I had to shut it down I didn't want to hurt a bunch of them. Took the worms down there a couple weeks ago and same deal, they just smoked em. Weighed a couple they are just over 1 1/2lbs and the longest was 13 3/4. kept a couple to eat. I'm hoping sometime in october to relocate several to the freezer, if the worms continue to work.


That's stellar growth Mike. My Dad and I once caught a mess of them fishing for walleye at Skiatook lake drifting a worm rig. Lots of fight in them. Your stocking plan very much intrigues me. Particularly the 100 BG (50/Acre). If they were fingerling, they will produce prodigious crops of YOY next year, if adults, you already have seen those prodigious crops of small BG. I think I favor the fingerling approach as the minnows were more than sufficient this year. Next year the minnow like fish will small BG and GSH and I suspect the growth of the HSB will again be excellent next year. Hope you start a thread on your BOW, it would be fun and interesting to follow it.

Last edited by jpsdad; 09/18/19 06:24 PM.

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Originally Posted By: NEDOC
Just a little update for anyone that may try this. I received these fish from Keo Fish Farms (great place!!) last June 21. I'm guessing they were 1.5" at most when I received them. You can see the process of raising them above. Last fall I stocked 30 of them in my yard pond, which is 2/3 of an acre and has a dense FHM population. I stocked around a thousand in my other lake. They were fairly quiet all summer, but lately have come to the feeder in a significant way. Last night I finally caught one in my yard pond. And it was an amazing 13.5". That's 12" of growth in 15 months.





Dandy fish. 12" of growth but what amazes me is that the weight gain was in the neighborhood of 72900%. You know I bet you could do that annually without restocking minnows if you could get all the HSB out each fall. Minnows might even be self sustaining in a situation where the HSB persist year round but in that situation they might need protection like a portion of the pond that the HSB can't get into. Makes one wonder about the possibilities ...


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Bruce Kania, IIRC, hinted that he had some method of protecting FHM from total annihilation. Don't know if it involved floating artificial islands, or maybe some sort of cage that would keep out predators, or what. Might be good to ask.

I had FHM stocked but they were gone within a year.


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




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Originally Posted By: NEDOC
reply to SetterGuy......

I've read your posts on your HSB and kept assuming they would show up. Sorry to hear but I'm guessing they would've shown up by now if they survived. I think I'd stock several more than you think you need, if they survive you can always thin the herd.

One question, do you recall what range the water temp may have been in when you stocked them? Or what time of year? Bruce has told me if they are handled when water temps are in the 50s they are susceptible to acquiring fungus. And I experienced that with the several hundred I handled this spring.


They were stocked in October of 2015. I don’t think the water was particularly cold at that time. Minimal handling, but they were delivered by the seller. (So I’m not sure what happened before they arrived. There were no other predators in the pond. The HSB were stocked at the same time as my SMB. I believe I had good survival of my SMB. Which were about the same size as the HSB.


9 yr old pond, 1 ac, 15' deep.
RES, YP, GS, FHM (no longer), HBG (going away), SMB, and HSB (only one seen in 5 yrs) Restocked HSB (2020) Have seen one of these.
I think that's about all I should put in my little pond.
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Originally Posted By: ewest
Originally Posted By: SetterGuy
I may restock some HSB. I’m convinced that I had zero survivors from my stocking 25 of them back in Oct of 2015. No response to thrown feed. None ever caught, or sighted.
They sure look like they’d be a blast to catch.


What do you think happened? What size were the HSB and were there existing adult predators?


The HSB were 4-6”. I have no idea what happened. I have thought for the last few years it was mostly my poor fishing skills. I have caught 20 of my SMB in the same time period though. Right now I have a lot of HBG in the 3-5” range. They can be found just about anywhere in the pond. I am thinking my SMB can’t control them. My YP numbers seem to be dropping from year to year also. Not sure if adding HSB to help with HBG will further decimate my YP.


9 yr old pond, 1 ac, 15' deep.
RES, YP, GS, FHM (no longer), HBG (going away), SMB, and HSB (only one seen in 5 yrs) Restocked HSB (2020) Have seen one of these.
I think that's about all I should put in my little pond.
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SMB should be able to control HBG offspring. Hard to believe that all the HSB died if there was no predation at stocking.
















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I have had HSB survival issues when stocking them in water 60-65F especially in spring. Cooler than 65F I think survival rate is less. Many fish farms hold their HSB in high salinity water. Be sure to slowly temper them when adding them into your low salty water pond.


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I’m betting a fungus developed due to water temp issues. The only reason I realized it happened to some of mine was the fact that I caged them for several weeks. Issues started showing up over a week later. Same happened to the ones I hauled to Bruce. My bet is you didn’t lose all of them, but nearly all of them to fungus.


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Originally Posted By: NEDOC
I’m betting a fungus developed due to water temp issues. The only reason I realized it happened to some of mine was the fact that I caged them for several weeks. Issues started showing up over a week later. Same happened to the ones I hauled to Bruce. My bet is you didn’t lose all of them, but nearly all of them to fungus.


This must be why, as Bill mentioned, that vendors keep then in salted water. The same practice is employed when overwintering tilapia in marginal climates. The salt inhibits many freshwater pathogens including fungi (the same is true with the vice versa e.g. saltwater parasites dying when salmon run freshwater). Salt in limited nonlethal quantity is good for the general delousing of just about any freshwater fish.

Last edited by jpsdad; 09/21/19 06:17 AM.

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Originally Posted By: SetterGuy
Right now I have a lot of HBG in the 3-5" range. They can be found just about anywhere in the pond. I am thinking my SMB can't control them. My YP numbers seem to be dropping from year to year also. Not sure if adding HSB to help with HBG will further decimate my YP.


What approach might best serve to improve SetterGuy's situation?

Last edited by jpsdad; 09/21/19 06:36 AM.

It isn't what we don't know that gives us trouble, it's what we know that ain't so - Will Rogers


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