I've decided to go ahead and pull the RBT weekend after next. I don't think we'll get the increase in size we were looking for, but we also weren't expecting multiple days at near 80 degrees in February. Having little experience with RBT, I decided to pull them early, instead of waiting for them to get stressed by the gradually rising water temps. Much better a week or two early, than one day too late.
With the poundage of RBT I have, and the larger size of my main pond, I just don't see any significant weight gains for the LMB here this year. Obviously the smaller size is an issue, but so is having to stock them all within just a few days. My original goal was to grow the smaller RBT to a size that would specifically benefit my larger LMB, but the weather changed that. All these trout will obviously get eaten, but the population of LMB that will be eating them is much larger than I would have hoped.
Now where I do see a huge benefit for me personally is in the recreational aspects of these RBT. Do to almost weekly culling and electroshocking removal of LMB, our LMB catch rates have dropped dramatically here in the last several years, and my boss isn't real happy about that. She understands why we do what we do, but when she fishes, she wants to catch fish. I think a 12" golden RBT on an octopus circle hook free swimming in the big pond will potentially give her all she can handle. If she's happy, I'm happy. I'll cage a few and keep them for her, and leave one or two in the cage to see at what water temp the RBT start getting stressed at. We have no aeration here, so my WAG is that the critical temp will be lower than water that is oxygenated. I'd be curious what those of you with RBT, and longer growing seasons have experienced.
