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Joined: Aug 2009
Posts: 414
Lunker
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Lunker
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Again, thanks for the comments. At this point I think I'll just recommend keeping it a Rainbow only pond without supplemental feeding and let the chips fall as they may.
In terms of fish flavor I have an interesting anecdote. Although I have never eaten pellet fed trout, I have eaten quite a bit of trout. I have another family member who lives on a small lake (really it's a very slow moving river) just below the dam that drains Tuloch lake in Jamestown, CA. This is the beginning of the Stanislaus River and one of the most beautiful places I've ever been. Anyways, when I fish there in the summer, the water is not flowing over the dam the trout are very difficult to catch. When you cut them open they are filled with snails and other bottom dwelling invertebrates. Unfortunately they taste like dirt...literally. However, in the winter and spring when the water is flowing over the dam, the fish are much easier to catch, much livelier, bigger (most in the 3-5 lb. range, some bigger), and when you cut them open they are filled with shad. These fish taste excellent, almost like crab. This experience tells me that there is some effect on flavor based on foraging. I have the same experience, I'll ad a noticeable change in collor of the flesh do to the same reasons. To compensate for the mud/dirt/soil taste I throw the trout in a box in a creek and let them starv for 5-7 days, before eating them. The taste/flavor gets back to "normal" but it dosen't help on the collor. As for farmd trout and salomon, I think they can be to fat in the flesh(over fed), and every so often have a odd/different odoor.
PAUL 
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Joined: Jan 2010
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Lunker
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Lunker
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PF, I can see we're never gonna agree on the trout pellet issue, that's ok everyone's entitled to their own opinion.
I am stating a fact from my own experience and it doesn't really matter to me who believes it, BUT when I put hatchery trout in my pond and feed them the same feed they had at the hatchery they soon loose most of their interest in the pellets cause I have plenty of natural forage in the pond, and they grow fast on that with a minimum of pellets. Pellets only become a back-up depending on availability of natural forage.
THAT'S A FACT!!! You are a nice guy, like a brother to me, as with everyone else on the forum. If you say it is a fact I am sure it is. I believe you even if it does not matter. Have a great evening!!!
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Joined: Aug 2007
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Ambassador Lunker
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Ambassador Lunker
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Agreed, we all have valuable experiences to pass on, since I'm not trained in pond or fish culture I try to learn as much as I can from this valuable forum, and hope to contribute in some small way. PF I enjoy interacting with you and other pond bossers even though some of the moderators keep a close eye on me.  
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Joined: Mar 2005
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Moderator Hall of Fame 2014  Lunker
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Moderator Hall of Fame 2014 Lunker
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Thanks and you add plenty here AP. It takes all kinds just to keep things rolling. Just don't let Cecil get you in trouble.  --
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Joined: Jan 2009
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Moderator Ambassador Field Correspondent Lunker
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Moderator Ambassador Field Correspondent Lunker
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Speaking of Cecil, did he get spanked lately? He's been awfully quiet......
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Joined: Jan 2009
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Ambassador
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Enough spankings and you get conditioned...
Every spring I stock around 100 trout in the creek behind our hunting cabin in March. They never see a pellet again in their life... By June when I catch them and gut them, the items I find in their stomachs are incredibly diverse... Everything from pebbles and hemlock cones that look like pellets to bluntnose minnows, crayfish and a mix of many assorted aquatic insect nymphs. I even found a 6" white sucker in the stomach of a 18" brown trout last spring!
This spring I may think about putting a feeder on the bank of the creek and feeding pellets for the first time ever... My only reservation about this idea is all the trespassers who as of now have no clue we stock trout will get a strong hint by seeing a feeder and 50 trout hanging out around it!
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Joined: Jul 2009
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Lunker
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Lunker
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This spring I may think about putting a feeder on the bank of the creek and feeding pellets for the first time ever... My only reservation about this idea is all the trespassers who as of now have no clue we stock trout will get a strong hint by seeing a feeder and 50 trout hanging out around it!
Have you thought about putting it in a tree? Or you could build a tiny shed around it and have a hose sticking out of the side, to make it look like a pump or something. Maybe put a "WARNING: 10,000 VOLTS" signs on the outside to confuse any trespassers.
Last edited by txelen; 02/19/10 02:15 AM.
Ponds in TX, lake place in WI, me in CA
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If I decide to feed, I'll come up with something creative... Still not set on the idea of feeding.
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Joined: Aug 2007
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Last edited by adirondack pond; 02/19/10 08:36 AM.
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Joined: Jul 2009
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Lunker
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Lunker
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Ponds in TX, lake place in WI, me in CA
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Joined: Jul 2006
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Ambassador
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Speaking of Cecil, did he get spanked lately? He's been awfully quiet...... Lord give me strength. Not gonna do it. Not gonna go there. Fingers are twitching at the keyboard. Mind is reeling with the possible responses. Dark side is calling to me. Whew, that was a close call.
JHAP
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"My mind is a raging torrent, flooded with rivulets of thought cascading into a waterfall of creative alternatives."
...Hedley Lamarr (that's Hedley not Hedy)
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Joined: Jul 2006
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Speaking of Cecil, did he get spanked lately? He's been awfully quiet......
JHAP
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"My mind is a raging torrent, flooded with rivulets of thought cascading into a waterfall of creative alternatives."
...Hedley Lamarr (that's Hedley not Hedy)
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Joined: Jan 2009
Posts: 28,687 Likes: 892
Moderator Ambassador Field Correspondent Lunker
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Moderator Ambassador Field Correspondent Lunker
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I knew I could count on you guys!
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Joined: Feb 2009
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Lunker
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Joined: May 2009
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Lunker
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Lunker
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I think that this thread is interesting, but for a recreational pond, I think that philosophy rather than logic rules. I know that feeding and aeration will produce more bigger fish in my pond, but I like the idea that a "natural" food web develops. I enjoy seeing how the ecology develops. I also like to catch less domestic fish, although in reality, they are genetically hatchery fish. I throw everything back, but let my neighbor take as many BG as possible. From a logic standpoint, when insects and other invertibrates are present, it is more efficient to have your preferred species feed directly on them, because it is inefficient to have them pass through another species (great loss of calories). However, in my climate, perhaps forage fish provide a sink for calories during cold periods (or perhaps not). Non-commercial ponds are for entertainment, so manage them in a manner that entertains you. Not to say that information is a bad thing, but as others have said, it depends on what YOU want.
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Joined: May 2009
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Lunker
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Lunker
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Adironack - Where did you get this sign? I love it!
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Joined: Aug 2007
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Ambassador Lunker
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Thanks - Actually I was looking for signs to post on the property line, but we could always make some.
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