I Think the Hatchery Man Screwed Me.... - 05/22/05 12:07 AM
Two years ago when I acquired my 3/4 acre fish-less pond, I stocked fatheads purchased off a truck from Arkansas in the summer and then bluegills from a local hatchery in the fall. I told the local guy I wanted purebred bluegills based on all the advice given here. He tried to talk me into Hybrid bluegills but I insisted on purebreds. Most of the 375 fish he sold me were tiny but he did throw in a few that went maybe 3-4 inches. I confirmed they were bluegills. He told me he added a few redears to the mix too.
Fast forward to this year and some of the bluegills are of catchable size. That's the good news. The bad news is there seems to be plenty of green sunfish! I have LMB stocked also and the management plan has always been to have a few 4-5 lb LMB in the pond with several in the 12-15 inch range. I really don't want anything competing with the bass.
My pond is in a very private area on a hilltop far, in elevation, from the nearest stream or other ponds. It's never been fished so if the green sunfish didn't come from the original stocking then they came via the proverbial 'stocking bird'.
I'm sure the hatchery guy will deny giving me fish I didn't want. I don't want to start over because the bass are doing well and I really can't afford to start over. Looks like I will never buy from that guy again and will be tossing a lot of fish on the bank!
Fast forward to this year and some of the bluegills are of catchable size. That's the good news. The bad news is there seems to be plenty of green sunfish! I have LMB stocked also and the management plan has always been to have a few 4-5 lb LMB in the pond with several in the 12-15 inch range. I really don't want anything competing with the bass.
My pond is in a very private area on a hilltop far, in elevation, from the nearest stream or other ponds. It's never been fished so if the green sunfish didn't come from the original stocking then they came via the proverbial 'stocking bird'.
I'm sure the hatchery guy will deny giving me fish I didn't want. I don't want to start over because the bass are doing well and I really can't afford to start over. Looks like I will never buy from that guy again and will be tossing a lot of fish on the bank!