Pond Boss Forums INTRO Questions & Observations Isn't this odd?

I'm seeing bluegill fry in the shallows in my ponds that contain bluegill as species. Temps are about the same as they have been the last few weeks but all of a sudden up come the fry around the edges.



Ideas?

Maybe increased photoperiod in conjunction with the mild temps even though it's not any warmer than it was 3 weeks ago?

Could they be attracted to the combination of warmth and higher oxygen that would be present near shore/surface? This time of year there typically isn't as much rooted aquatic vegetation for oxygenation, so maybe the surface is where the good stuff is at.

Depending on where "around the edges" I think the aggregations of small bgill near shore are due to water temps. Take some temperature readings in this zone and I am pretty sure these temps could be as high a 5 to 10 F warmer than the open waters. The bottom especially darker bottom areas with dead weed growth etc in real shallow calm water collects heat and the water in 1"-4" deep shore areas can get quite warmer than open water on a sunny day. The real small fish collect, hang out and feed in these areas. The small fish feed on lots of littoral zooplankton types, ostracods, and attached organisms that live on whatever is covering the bottom.

I dunno Bill... The day I saw them sustantially which was yesterday, the air temps were only in the upper 30's and there is no vegetation in this pond (the small bluegill pond) except for a little filimentous algae) definitely no darker bottom. I did add 6 yellow perch. Maybe the perch are running them shallower?

CB1 - Did you take any water temps in the shallow areas where you saw the fish? Was the sun shining. It was shining Friday 70mi east of you. Dark bottom is not a requirement for warmer water in shallowest areas but it helps increase temps even more.

You are also probably correct in the larger perch are herding the small bgill into shallows. The steep sides of the pond and lack of weeds and lack of shallow water leave little area for the small bgill to go for refuge. You need a few more female perch in that pond; predation on sm bgill is probably working. I had some perch feeding on some soft pellets in open water Friday.

Yes I plan on it! How many should I add? Did you say a couple dozen in a previous post? One of them I added was about 14 inches.

I don't think 24 female would be too many. Do you seem to have enough small bluegill to feed them? In my YP articles Jason and I calculated it would take about 16 to 32 oz of minnows each year to feed a smallish sized adult perch (6"-9"). Two pounds of minnows would put about 4 oz of weight on a perch (used 8:1 conversion ratio).

Now I figure that your 12" perch are often growing 2" per year. Standard Weight gain for YP from 12" (14.4 oz) to 14" (25.12 oz) is 10.7oz. this equates to 85.6 oz of small fish (@8:1). How big are your small bgill? So we can calculate how many it would take to make 85.6 oz. of fish biomass for each perch.

Bill,

The ones I noticed couldn't have been more than an inch and a quarter. I remember a slightly larger group going into fall but I didn't see them. However I did not look that hard. The larger group (probably earlier spawn) were about 2 inches.

A 1.5" bgill weighs about 1 gram. 28.3 grams per ounce = close to 28 fish per ounce. 28 BG x 10.7oz = 300 bg per 12" YP. 24 YP x 300 = 7200 smallest bgill. You get the idea; take it from here. All this assumes the YP do not eat the pellets thrown to the bgill. Tell the YP or put up a sign, that they are not allowed to eat the pellets.

Interesting to see how much the YP grow by fall of 2006. Are you keeping records of sizes of YP added to BG pond?

Yes it will be interesting. No not taking records. I'm a slob when it comes to organization. I would make a lousy scientist.

I didn't have the measuring board when I moved them and I don't like to handle fish much anyway. But I do know most were 11 to 12 inches with the one possibly 14.

Hey you ready for the Arctic blast next weekend? I will have a brand new two man pop up clam. I'd be glad to have to come to icefish!

There is a strong possibility you could have an icefishing guest. Will you get mad if I catch more fish than you?

I don't think I'd enjoy anything better than fishing with you Bill. As far as you catching more fish?

IN YOUR DREAMS! :p :p :p

We could probably get some great pics for the website of the fish I caught!