My goal was to have a lake with good/fun fishing. I love to catch panfish and so do the kids, as the action with the intended panfish population should be fast. I wanted a lake with lots of big panfish, LB to control the small population and catfish as an added bonus. I am starting to aerate again and will be firing up the bug lights and feeder within the next 2 weeks. I will monitor the bug lights and feeder to see if there is any active feeding. Last year there was no action under the bug lights nor at the feeder. The only thing visisbly feeding at the feeder where the FH's nibbling on the pellets. Thus far this year, I have observed no indication of spawning activity around any of the edges.
In response to some of the other posts, although only 15 lbs, the FH were put in 6 months in advance of the GG stocking and over a year in advance of the LB stocking. I know the FH's reproduced heavily as there were schools of them all over the lake. To the post who mentioned having purchased 5,000 GG and having good success, were yours delivered in plastic bags (if so, how many bags) or were they shipped and stocked by truck?
Any suggestions on the best way to determine how many GG are actually in my lake (seining, shocking, etc.)? Did I not receive near the amount I thought? Did they somehow die although they appeared active and healthy when I stocked them? Is there somehow so much food for them they are not aggresive? Do I need to have the water tested? Should I contact my IDNR fisheries biologist for advice? Thanks for the advice everyone.
Finally, what is RES?
