...a bit of an update We made another weekend day trip yesterday to (what else?)...work. This day, though, was a bit different than all the others. We got a fish show. As I always do, the first thing after pulling up is to go out on the dock, open the gate, and take a look. Our water visibility is pretty high. Definitely 4 feet, probably more. My eye was drawn down to the concrete boat launch by fairly large objects just below the surface. Hokey smokes; RES! Since stocking 15 months ago, the only water activity we have really seen has been minnows, tadpoles, and a few turtles. Not today. The sun was shining and the RES were just hanging, suspended in 2 - 3' of water over the concrete launch. The water temp over the launch is like a tepid bath; the concrete is a heat sink. There was probably 15 or so. This is the part that REALLY surprised me. They were pretty danged big....at least they were in my little fish-world. Most all were easily 5" - 6". A couple could have been pushing 7". When I would move on the dock, a few might spook a little and move about, but they wouldn't leave. A few hours later, we broke for lunch and they were still there. I threw out a number of "pinches" of feed, right on top of their angry little heads. Nothing. They might quickly dart about 5 feet to another area, but no interest. Later in the day, same thing. In fact, when I waded in to take my bath at the end of the day, I could see a couple of them watching me as I stood there. If I didn't move, they wouldn't move; maybe 5 feet away....watching. 2 questions: why aren't they spooked....and....what are they thinking? - Oh yeah, when we first saw them, and as I marveled at the growth (2" fingerling to 6" in 15 months), a school of 2 - 300 (or so...or more) fingerlings swam past and over the launch in a pretty tight pack. In the sun, the multiple vertical bars were easily identified. YP, me thinks. Cool.
