Quote:
Originally posted by NE Mason:
Cecil, couple of things.

First, is there a link or reference to pellets-in-pantyhose presentation that the browns hit on? That sounds intriguing. I saw some good references elsewhere in PB to pellet flies, which I'm also going to try.

Well here's what I do. (Sorry pic is not that clear for some reason). I stretch a piece of pantyhose over three pellets and tie that off with monofilament fishing line, then trim off the excess. I usually tie a bunch of these up ahead and store them in a plastic fishing tray container. I then put a very small split shot about 18 inches above that to make it sink (It will float if you want it to) and then a small icefishing float as a strike indicator. I prefer the pellet to sink slowly as it seems to take less effort for them to inhale it and for some reason they really go after a sinking pellet without abandon when they will sometimes inspect a floater.



If you need any of these floats I'd be glad to send you a couple as I don't know what's available in your area.

Next, with regard to carrying capacity. My pond is a bit bigger than those you referenced - 130 x 60 ft - and fed by underground springs and above ground seepage - plus a 1/2 hp submersible pump of river water (not O2-saturated). Plus the two diffusers - one on each end of pond. Do you think this setup somewhat matches carrying capacity of the O2-saturated 41 gpms? (I'll have to measure the flow of the pump, but I bet it matches or exceeds 41 gpms)

It's hard to say unless you measure your D.O. saturation with a D.O. meter. Most likely it will vary depending on time of year due to water temps. I wouldn't think the river water would be to far off of saturation though.

You should be able to get a chart from the manufactuer on your pump regarding gpms related to feet of head if it's difficult to measure it.

Last, wrt newly introduced trout I've read that trout will eat anything up to half their size... But properly fed I'm guessing I could put in some more 6-8 inchers in the next couple of weeks with little loss. Do you stock annually each pond, or do you grow out and clean out before stocking again?

I usually stock every two years and completely harvest as I sell my trout to other taxidermists. I drain the pond, let it dry, and refill.

Lastly last, from your earlier comments, I should guess that the slower-growing and more timid brookies I first put in are in high stress and likely just not doing well in the face of more aggressive rainbows, and even the browns introduced later. Do you ever mix trout species in a single pond? (I think brookies are gorgeous...)

Absolutely! I used to have brooks, browns, and bows in the smae pond, but anymore I am religious about them being close to the same size when I plant them. I do think feeding them regularly can help with the aggressiveness. I don't plant rainbows anymore because due to my limited capacity I prefer to specialize in harder to find species to sell to my customers. I do miss the rainbows though. I hope to produce some tigers in the future.

Huge thanks for your comments. This stuff is excellent.


If pigs could fly bacon would be harder to come by and there would be a lot of damaged trees.