Pond Boss Forums INTRO Common Pond Q&A (archives) Fish Tagging 101

Nature lessons we should have learned:

Don't stir a hornet's nest.

Don't pull a tiger's tail.

Don't wake a sleeping bear.

Don't tag RES.

You do of course realize Theo that now that he is "it" he is gonna have to "tag" you back.

Here are some tagging pics courtesy of Dave Willis.

MID TERM EXAM

17 days after releasing the 6 tagged PBR RES back into my pond, I observed two of them in shallow water spawning beds (see RES on VERY SHALLOW Nests ). One (female?) was "just visiting", but the largest (male) of the PBR Redears had staked himself a claim and remains on the bed to date.


Friday night I couldn't help myself, so I caught him on a circle-hooked worm and got his ID. It is indeed my good friend, Ole' Number Yellow 032, from the PBR in my basement.


The tag entry point looks a little inflamed, but considering he's been in spawning activity, which I think would aggravate the floy tag as much as it does fins, perhaps not too bad.


Yesterday he was back on the nest, but would move to the deep side of it every time I walked by. So I guess he's learned a little caution from being caught and released.

Fun - yes it is. Nice work. Both you and Mr. RES have an A at mid-term.

Theo == yes, those darn tags keep wiggling and moving, and it's hard to get healed. However, I would especially them to get to a healthy "green" color soon. I don't know if they occasionally catch them or snag them on something, but the sore spot is something that you're going to see from time to time. Healthy fish in a healthy environment can handle that stressor.

Good job, Theo! That's got to be rewarding to catch the fruits of your labor. Nice to see that the RES transitioned well from the basement to the pond. I wouldn't have fared as well after being locked in your basement.

I had a similar feeling about a week ago...I caught one of the LMB we fin-clipped. We clipped the tops of the caudal fin for LMB from one hatchery, and the bottoms of LMB from another hatchery, and no clippings on the LMB from a third hatchery. Very interesting to see the numbers and sizes for the different clippings. Keep us posted on the RES transition!

Theo I think if clipped a little farther back and not so far down in the meat it will heal even quicker. If you do not kill your first experment ya done goodmy friend. Cool how you can see the tag in the water, huh?

Update last week we shocked a bass #089. I forget about it b/c it had been since 2002 that we shocked his lake. he said yep never did catch that bass you tagged. I said well he might just be dead by now. When weighing the biggest one, Matt said looky there. It was covered in slime but cleand up to read #089. It was in 2002 16 inches and now 23 inches and shade under 8 lbs. Once again proof the tags will last longer thatn folks think. Funny thing is this lake gets alot of fishing pressure and they have not once caught this fish in a 5 acre pond. He was shocked in the same place we caught him back in 2002, amazing really.

Eureka! (No, this is not Elbonian for "I find your body odor highly offensive.")

While feeding at the pond last night I saw one of my feed trained, floy-tagged RES take 5 or 6 pellets. I doubt I would have noticed he wasn't a BG, were it not for the bright yellow tag. I am definitely going to tag the other feed trained RES in my PBR when they are released!

OK I have been told repeatedly that RES do not take fish food. I think your fed trained RES might be worth as much as some reject Condello BG. I will come shock some out on PB shock tour I will make in 2012.

RES can be feed trained just not as easy as BG. Theo has the studies I sent him which so prove and his doing it is further proof.

Think about this. Pellets are much closer in texture to what a RES normally eats than to what a BG eats. With pharyngeal crushers a RES will have no problem crunching pellets.

I think they would snag sinking pellets even more.

Sinkers first, then floaters.

Bruce and I need to write the article on them.

Greg, it's a deal. I expect to have some very large RES that I have been unable to catch by 2012.

Theo
I was thinking of getting tagging equipment and came across this thread. Can you give an update on these tagged RES. How are the tags holding up and are they still taking pellets?

blair:

Unfortunately, no results to add. I have not seen any of the tagged RES since 2007. Haven't caught any and did not see them feeding on pellets last year. I had three supercooling weather events in Feb and March of 2008 that took a toll on my RES, then had a Winterkill this last Winter that hit both bigger BG and RES, so they may be dead now.

I am crying tears for our fallen RES!

On those tags, can you write there current size and date?

If you're talking floy tags, no. They are only about 1/8" x 1/2" of plastic.