I'm not sure how this thread got to where it is. It should be a very positive thread, yet it was starting to go negative -- which is just wrong. As a moderator, I apologize. But, we all have a lot to learn from Treefarmer's questions.
Treefarmer -- I'm just a little northwest of you, about 15 miles west of Winchester on US 50, and my eastern property boundary is the WV/VA line. I'm at about 1300 feet of elevation on what is known as Timber Ridge, which rides the WV and VA line. I have never even considered CNBG because I don't believe they would prosper in our climate and elevation.
Over the last 35 years, I've dealt with a lot of fish dealers, and not all are as honest as others in society. It is truly a "caveat emptor" marketplace. Most will tell you they "sell a lot of those fish." What they don't tell you is what happens to those fish. Recently I posted about
Teaching Our Neighbors. There seems to be an epidemic, particularly this year, for bad fish stocking advice. Since that post, several other ardent pond keepers and I have witnessed even more "buyer beware" episodes as we've been buying fish for ourselves, or helping friends and relatives get their ponds ready for the new season.
Before you stock your pond, and if you want to come and have coffee with a few of us crazies some morning in Winchester, let me know by PM.
As for bluegill -- I grow some pretty nice bluegill. For a few years now, I feel that I've have harbored the state record bluegill in my pond -- and it isn't just one fish. I regularly cull 7-9 inch bluegill for the table. We have a lot of neighborhood bluegill feasts at our place. We regularly have 25 to 50 people here -- and the fish come from our 0.7 acre pond, sometimes supplemented with fish from the pond of friends a few miles away in Virginia -- but who use the same basic Pond Boss management techniques as we use. (My ramps are just almost ready for pickin' also.)
I have a lot of 10-11 inch breeders. Unless severely hooked, or otherwise threatened, they go right back in. Recently I posted about a red-eared sunfish I took out of the pond that was over 12-inches, and right at 2 lbs.
My bluegill are northern strain bluegill, my red ears are, well, red eared sunfish.
Bruce Condello and Cecil Baird have been good friends of mine for many years. Bruce has devoted a big part of his life to
scientifically developing a superior strain of bluegill. Dr. Bruce Condello is an extremely well educated researcher -- who just happens to use his dentistry practice to supplement his fish research fervor.
Do Bruce's and Cecil's fish grow any bigger than mine? Maybe. But, do they grow faster with far less food -- probably four times as fast, with far less food, to get to those gigantic sizes, that are ready for harvest far sooner than mine. Will we see them for sale soon in VA and WV? Probably not.
In the mean time, I'd go with pure strain bluegill. Feed them a good quality feed. Keep lots of small bass in the ponds. Don't harvest the largest fish, male or female. Use this site to learn the difference between male and female bluegill. Don't be afraid to add lots of red eared sunfish. Don't be afraid to experiment. Be careful with channel catfish, but don't eliminate them. Be careful with winter trout, just know their limitations.
Regards,
Ken
P.S. Time to go out, get some bluegill and a few ramps!
