Pond Boss Forums MANAGING AN EXISTING POND Feeding Forage for LMB

Thanks Bob - I think I will try the die this winter , & try the shad again this spring after obtaining a bloom like you suggested- Harvey

Bob - iv'e added a little aqua shade ' this has helped.the algie is turning loose of the bottom and floating to the surface then seems to go away. also helping is my new water well.it has raised the pond level 4" and is still pumping at this posting.will try the t-shad again this spring.----. have had trouble getting a bloom. i can test the ph ok and i have a Cole Palmer alkalinity test kit but don't know if i'm getting a true reading . the directions say i should get a bright red water color when testing ppm but im just getting a pink water color. any suggestions , or address to send water sample for testing.also would fathead minnows help or just be an expensive lunch . not to much cover due to grass carp.pond is appx. 2.5 acres-8'max depth.Thanks Harvey

I am giving some thought to adding threadfin to my 2.5 acre lake. My primary goal is to have some nice bass in a couple years. I currently have a good BG base established in the pond. Bass were stock the following spring of 2001.I stocked 275 bass. I now realize that was to many and have taken out about 100. 2500 BG were stocked initially also. After being turned on to Pondboss and this great sight I am now managing the lake properly. Is the BG forage sufficient or would adding the TF be a good idea. I was told it would cost about $1500 to stock the lake with TF. Does this sound correct. Finale question. I live by several large impoudments and catch TF for fishing for stripes and hybrids in a cast net. I have a large insulated round shad tank. Why couldnt I catch several hundred from the impoundment and place in my lake. They ar TF not gizzard.Any help on this issue would really be appreciated. Oh yea I live in GA so the treadfin should survive the winters here. Thanks to all.

Jake

TF are delicate little things. But yes, you can catch them and transport them in your round tank.
I have been doing it for years. Here is what I have learned.
Use a longggg seine are they will swim around the ends.
Don't lift the seine out of the water, use a small mesh net to take them out.
If you can't go immediately in to your tank then a 5gal bucket half full of lake water can be used.
A tranquilizer solution can be used for long hauls to help with survival.
It takes me about 20 minutes to get them to my pond and I get 95% survival w/o tranquilizer.
If you have any further questions. I will be glad to try and help you. I live in Central Texas and so far, my TF have survived. Sooner or later we will have a hard winter and I will loose them but the last 5 years have been ok. They are cool to have in a pond. I love it when they start running the banks in April. The bass will tear a white buzz bait up.

David,

What is the lowest temps that you have seen them survive through. I'm between SA and Victoria and had just stocked some last year but have had several people say they will die. My water temps that I have seen at the lowest has been 56.

Thanks

I'm up close to Dallas and I have never seen any die since I started putting them in my pond about 7 years ago. Now I know it will happen some day but it's no problem to re-stock. In answer to your question...I don't take a temp. reading until about the end of Feb. each year. and at that time it is usually anywhere from 52-57. The reason I start taking them then is because I have learned that from 57-59 the bass bite pretty darn good. My opinion is that down South where you are, you will probably never loose your original stocking of TF. I stocked the first three years, then I had a shock survey conducted and I was overwhemed with how many TF were in my pond. EVERYWHERE. The year that I started stocking them, I also started fertilizing and increased my harvest under 16". In two years my average size bass jumped from 3/4lb to 2.12 lbs. I use to catch an occassional 5lb.+ bass and for the last four year I don't remember ever fishing and not cathing a 5lb+ bass. Two years ago, I introduced gizzard shad....I can't wait to see what's out there this year. My 4 1/2 yr. old son caught an 8 1/2lb. bass in December off the pier. There is a picture of him with the fish on this website under pictures(3). He landed him all by himself.
Also there is a picture of my son and daughter with a 3lb crappie. The crappie do good too on the TF. Anyway, I'm a big fan of TF Shad and a big fan of POND BOSS. Let me know if you have anymore questions.

David, Thanks for your response on the TF. I think I will give it a try, cant really justify $1500 to have them stocked when I have access to them. How big is your pond and do you think that they will do ok in my 2.5 acre pond?
Thanks, Jake

I have a friend with a 3 acre pond and they do good in his pond. Like all forage fish they need cover to hide in. And keep in mind that TF feed on plankton. So be sure that your water is good and fertile. If you could get a plankton bloom about the time that you stock them...that would even be a plus.
The first time that I meet the guy with the 3acre pond, he was catching TF with a long handle small mesh net and putting them in an ice chest with lake water. He would work hard to catch 30-40 TF.
But that's all it took, eventually he established them in his pond.
One other point...I catch the TF when they are running the banks of a local lake. They seem to have babies real quick after I put them in my pond....millions of babies.

Thanks for the reply and the good news. I'll try to get a jump on the fertilizing to give them a boost. I have a lot of good cover for them.

Big Jake I send you an email. Make sure to not get gizzard in the net unless you want them. Kinda hard to tell a small gizzard from a small threadfin, know your stuff. I suggest catching them in the spring usually two species are separate then. Like mentioned fertility is key. Also getting them near spawnining size and time.

I however think cover has little to do with shad "an open water fish" in their survivial. If established they will add lots of weight on your bass like David said, but don't get fooled bass harvest is still critical.

TEXAS , what kind of cover do you have and at what depth . I dont have very much cover due to grass carp . but will add what is needed to hopefully succede on my second attempt at T-Shad. my pond is appx. 2 to 2.5 acres 8' max depth . maybe to shallow ? also this cover would help protect the fatheads . Harvey

I have tree reefs made from lots of big cedars.
I also have a mix of shoreline vegetation.

Greg is 100% correct that the general nature of TF is schools in open water.
However, my experience has shown me that they will use cover to hide and survive.

My reefs are 3'-8' depth.

You really should keep trying to establish them.
They are worth all the effort.

David I have been wrong b/f , you might be right they use the cover but it does not seem to be limiting factor in establishment in most ponds. I have seen then in barren fertile ponds so thick you could walk across them and they have a high bass pop. However I do think you are correct in having the cover b/c it provides substrate for threadfin spawning.

Greg to sum this up, I will repeat what you and I have agreed on...

1. coordinate your stocking with plankton bloom.
2. stock TF that are ready to have babies.
3. cover can't hurt but not as important as above.

Should anyone have any further questions, please ask. For those of you located in the South, TF are a GREAT forage fish.

David one quick question:

Have you noticed any changes at all in your BG relative weights?

It would seem like since the pressure is somewhat off of them and since some BG/TF compete over plankton that their RW would go down somewhat. Just wondering how much.

Chris

Good question. I wish that I had a good answer.
As you know pond managing is a constant strive at balance. My BG numbers were very low when I introduced TF. Being an established fishery I need to bring in Adult BG. I was quoted a price of $12/lb for those rare jewels. So I have used the TF to take pressure off my BG, I started a regular feeding program and I started trapping adult BG from other ponds (slow/hard work).
Right now today, I can say that my BG population seems to be growing well and getting back more in balance. I had a shock survey scheduled this fall but had to cancel due to bad weather. As soon as I get the survey conducted then I will have a better idea of where I am, but from just visual observation, I know that I'm heading in the right direction but exactly where I stand remains to be seen.
My personal opinion to your question is that TF add more to a pond than they would ever take away. And as for BG...they can be enhanced tremendously with a good feed program.

David thanks for the recap, perfectly said. I think stocking good size intermediates is better than the large adult bluegill for the money. If you can find a source of 50-75lb/1,000 bluegill for around $.75 each it will really help the populaiton. THe adults are fine but too pricey for most of my clients. We get some great results stocking 200-250 4"-6" coppernose/acre in stunted bass pounds. Couple their stokcing with proper bass harvest and the bass will grow even without threadfin introduction. Add them and watch out you will start to get your line stretcehd by some fat healthy bass.

Greg, I'm just a country boy. What size is 50-75lbs/1,000 BG ?

I thought anything besides adult would just be an expensive snack.

sorry 50-75 lb/1,000 is a good 4-5.5 inch bluegill. I ask for weights when buying b/c one guys 4 inch bluegill is not another, so weight means more to me. I have sold 25-45 lb/1,000 size and agree with you they are expensive snacks. However with this larger size intermediate bluegill they will quickly spawn and really help the bass fishery.