Originally posted by Ric Swaim:
ML,
Your approach to feeding your bass is what most pond owners would like to achieve. I commend you & hope to mimic it. A somewhat self sustaining ecosystem. Some people though enjoy seeing their fish come to feed.
Will it make a difference whether the bass are full from eating pellets or tilapia ?
;) [/QUOTE]
Ric,
I'm sorry I missed your question and its a very good one. I thank you for asking it. I was just too caught up in the discussion and somewhat stunned at the response that full fish hit lures better than not so full fish, all other things being equal.
For the most part, my LMB do not eat pellets, only on occasion and really not that often. They are, however, lined up at the feeders to eat BG, not pellets. They litterally feast on the clouds of small BG that are feeding on pellets. I see it at every feeding. I have fed small amounts by hand and seen it happen right in front of my eyes. I don't want lazy LMB that simply lay in wait for the BG to expose its tender underbelly when feeding. I want sort of hungry LMB that have to earn their keep and food by attacking healthy prey in a natural manner.
I'm kind of old fashioned, I guess. I want an aggressive LMB that does not have a sure thing every 7,12, and 7 o'clock. Tilapia really help.
I hope to achieve a balanced pond, without chemicals of any kind, and without any artificial feeding of any kind. I'm running an experiment this year in a pond I call "Walden" in which that is the rule of engagement. Tilapia are the key ingredient in making this dream a possibility. They eat algae and in turn feed the LMB with their numerous offspring. I call it feeding algae to LMB.
I didn't happen on this without thinking about it for a long time. It may not work, but every indication 6 months into the experiment is that it is working spectacularly. We will see in another year.
Again, thank you for the question and for considering my logic. Also, thank you for the kind words. If you have any other question, I would be most happy to try to answer if I can. I learn from questions and suspect that others do also and this Forum is about learning, for me. Thanks.
