Pond Boss Forums INTRO Questions & Observations Bird its whats for dinner

Has anyone caught a fish from their pond that threw up a bird like this LMB? I believe the bird was a yellow finch. Maybe we should start talking about raising birds instead of FH minnows. Does anybody know the conversion ratio for yellow finches? Anybody else seen anything like this?
http://i465.photobucket.com/albums/rr17/mnfish2008/DSC01917.jpg

Maybe that was a baby bird of a larger species (raptor?) rather than a small adult.

Regardless, it still tasted like chicken, according to the bass.

Wow, I do know they will eat anything that they can get in their mouth. I was reaching over to get a piece of trash out of a pond one day and a 3 pounder latch on to my finger just before I put it in the water...they are like mini-Jaws. I'm glad they dont get to 200lbs

Don't tell my wife, but when I've found baby starlings in the woodduck houses, I've used them as bass food.

Yep seen LMB eat hatchling ducks , snakes , fish , baby turtles , acorns , pop can tabs , insects and all types of lures.

recycling

I Caught a LMB with a birds foot sticking out of its throat last year. They realy will eat anything that fits in their mouth.

LMB has a rather limited diet when compared to the Musky and Northern Pike. There are gent's about these parts that live trap mice for bait, even baby muskrat. Ducks and birds are a very common seasonal food for Musky and Northern Pike in the spring.

In my post I was being sarcastic about converion rate of yellow finches. But what about upland animals such as mice as an alternative food source? Has anybody thought about or tried this? Sure, the logistics of feeding 2lbs of live mice daily would have to be overcome. I wonder how much protein is contained within a mouse. Am I nuts?

"Am I nuts?"

Well, yes, but thats neither here nor there.

This is EXACTLY what I have been saying for two years.

Flop Eared Rabbit people. Think in terms of Flop Eared Rabbits. They don't swim well so they are easy for the LMB to catch. And they breed, well, they breed like rabbits so you'd have plenty of them.

Outside the box, that's all I'm saying, sometimes ya gotta think outside the box.

Jeez, why is it that no one ever listens to me.

If the numbers were correct,specifically the nutrietion numbers, why not? Mice, for example, will convert wild seeds and grain into protein. I use a live trap in my hunting shack and catch numerous mice. Now if I were to put that same trap out in the wild the food supply would be endless. Or better yet, traps around my ponds. I am already trying to envision an automatic feeder from the traps set around my ponds(enter sketch here)

OK...I am nuts. Too much Mt.Dew this morning.

It's like he's writing in a foreign language.

Whoa, now. FLop eared rabbits occasionally, maybe. But if my bass ate too many mice, that may mess up my catfishing with cheese, or not. Would the bass take up the affinity for cheese?

Just thinking outside the box.

EVERYONE BACK IN THE BOX!

I doubt any other critter can produce protein as efficiently as BG... maybe large flop eared BG.

As a youngster we had a purple martin house on a pole and at the base of the pole was a sparrow trap. The house sparrows always were invading the martin house and the trap helped thin their numbers. Typically I would trim the feathers from one wing of the sparrow and chuck it to the dogs. However the fish in the pond were hand fed lots of insects/worms so they were quick to sample anything I would throw them. I started throwing them the sparrows and much to the dogs disgust the sparrows almost never made it to shore. The larger bass would hammer them. I bet over a few summers in my youth some of the bass probably lived on a all sparrow diet. (Dwight if you are reading this you might want to try it to get a edge in your bet with Cecil.) The trap now sits in storage at Moms and since I don't have a pond at my house this practice is on hiatus. When I do have a pond again I will definitely be using sparrows as a forage boost to the adult bass.

Is that anything like a Turducken? Can we call it a Bassinch?

I actually have 4 top water bird lures that are aimed at big bass so far I landed a 4lber off of it

I have been doing some thinking and coming up with some possible design concepts for my "Mouse Launcher". I believe this device could have some entertainment value along with the benefit of free food for my fish. Imagine a serene pond setting early in the summer morning with a cup of coffee or if your Theo a Mt.Dew when phuuuump. A mouse from across the pond is launched 10 feet into the air and lands on the glass like water. The ripples from the splash eminate outward. To the bass below, breakfast is served.
I have come up with some initial design requirements
1. The mouse must land in the water alive with no structural damage. Although I'm feeding them to my fish, I believe the device should be humane.
2. There should be a minimal chance of injuring a kid. I say minimal because I believe every kid should have a chance to hurt themselves doing something stupid (jk)
3. The mouse must land in the water at least 25 feet from shore
4. The device should be able to reset itself after each discharge
5. The device should be weather proof
6. The device must be stored away during the winter. When there is 12" of ice, the bass will have a very tough time reaching the mouse

What other features or requirements would I need to incorporate?

Seriously, before I start launching mice, can any of the fish experts tell me if feeding mice to my bass could have any negative biologic impact?

It's good to see that you've got the mouse's best interest in mind.

Sunil- I can't stop laughing. What do you really think about the concept? It's impossible to hurt my design feelings.

"Build a better mouse trap, and the world will beat a path to your door."

Build the automatic mouse-launcher, and several of our PMs will leave foot prints in your grass.

Well, I think that if we want the mouse to hit the water alive, then we can't use any type of compression or explosion for the launch mechanism.

I think that only leaves us with a sling-type method or some kind of water jet. The water jet would disturb the surface of the water which would lessen the carnage and sheer horror.

I don't know how to make the sling reset itself.