Hey Theo, glad to see you are keeping tabs on me. Sorry to disappoint you but I'm fishless. I'll explain.
After the initial construction last year, I exchanged a couple of e-mails with Bill C and decided to try a male only BG pond. Bill sent me info on gender identification but I was not entirely confident of my sexing capabilities. I contacted a local fish farmer about getting male BG, which he said would not be a problem, but never delivered.
With the winter season just over the horizon, I decided to try Bill C's ID notes and fish a small pond that a neighboring farmer owns. ALL the fish I caught were covered with black spots. Coverage ranged from 10% to over 75%!! Needless to say, I was not stocking anything from that pond. Knowing that I wanted to expand the pond this year, I decided to delay the stocking.
Now with all the pictures posted on the board, over the last few months, showing the difference in male/female BG AND using Bill's guide, I'm much more confident that I can sex the fish I want. Once the pond refills, I plan to make another attempt at stocking. We have had a few thunderstorms lately but nothing significant. Right now, water level is a couple of feet.
I will post my progress.
Russ
