"i said earlier that i had stocked the pond with "wild" fish that i had caught at other locations, mostly fish in the 2 pound range."
Hey Jig,
Question about above quote. I have been told and read time and time again that this is a big no,no. Is this part of your thinking out of the management box? I actually was going to do this myself as I belive most of my bass are stunted from several years of non management but was told and read not to do this as it can lead to bad results? But it looks like you did fine with it? Your thoughts?
rc, i'll say this. i'm gonna try to be careful here, yet at the same time completely answer your question. hopefully i'll do at least one of those things anyway. anytime i have someone tell me something, i consider who's doing the telling and why they're telling what they're telling.
there are sometimes agendas at work.
all i know is wild fish have worked just fine for me. better than fine really. i have been able to personally select each fish that goes in the pond based on my own pre-determined criteria and rating system. a fish that appears young and healthy with above average weight for its apparent age (comparing its body mass to the size of its head fins and tail) MIGHT go in the pond if i have room or if it's an especially impressive specimen. any fish that is in at least average shape and is easily identifiable by a distinctive mark will PROBABLY go in the pond, because recognizing them is so much easier. any fish that meets
both of those criteria will DEFINITELY go in the pond, even if i have to cull one or more others to make room.
how many hatcheries or farms would let you come in and hand pick the bass you wanted from all of their entire stock at a bargain basement price? if you know of one, hop on that deal. yet that's exactly what i am able to do with the wild fish i get. and mine are FREE (well they do cost a fishing license, gas, tackle, etc. i guess)
i think one of the reasons folks are warned about putting wild fish in their ponds is because the temptation is to go out and catch an 8 pounder and chunk it in your pond, thinking how it'll be so much easier to turn that one into a giant because it's pretty big already. i learned back a LONG time ago that this was usually a huge mistake. the "big fish stocked in a small pond" thing hardly ever seemed to work out for me. usually both the fish and the pond suffered. i think big bass tend to be much more "set in their ways" than a younger fish. once they are uprooted from a spot they've lived in since birth, it is hard for them to make the necessary adjustments to thrive in another environment. and to make matters worse, they have only a limited time to make those adjustments as they are older already. in simple terms, that 8 pounder could turn into a skinny 6.5 in short order before it's ever able to adjust to its new environment. and by then it might be too late. at best, you might be able to get that fish slightly above the 8 pound mark again before you're out of time. not only that, but people fail to fully realize the massive food requirements for a large bass. stocking even one very large bass in your pond could completely wreck your food chain if you are not careful. i'm not saying that taking big fish out of the wild and successfully making them grow even bigger in small ponds is impossible. i'm just saying i think it's difficult and could prove costly to both the bass and your pond if you don't have a very specific plan in place for specifically meeting the needs of that one fish. i've played around with it a lot, and i prefer the 2 pounders. i can grow those big soon enough. o.k. that was a little off course, but that's probably one of the reasons you have heard not to stock wild fish.
the benefit of stocking the same year class of fish from a hatchery or farm is that at least initially you know exactly how old each fish is and that each fish is starting on a level playing field. it is quite easy with those fish after only a year to see who the stars of the bunch are probably gonna be. probably don't even need a journal because you can look at them and plainly tell. there is no guesswork involved. but even then, after a few spawns its not usually so clear anymore. and if you are not careful, even with farm fish, it can become convoluted in a hurry.
i'll just say this. i know of 3 ponds around here that were stocked with wild fish and taken care of properly. know what they all have in common? big fish. i think it has more to do with the management than the type of fish. you can take a super expensive "pedigreed" fla. strain or one of those newfangled "tiger bass" with all the bells and whistles and if she lives in a poor environment and is poorly fed, you've wasted your money. on the other hand, you can take a regular old "mutt bass" and put it in an optimum environment with good food intake, and one day that fish is gonna drop some jaws.
hope that helps bud.
