Pond Boss Forums FISH & FISHING Show off your catch One last cast...

August had last Wednesday off school, temps were around 50, so we decided hit the pond one last time with hopes the bite might still be going.

We slip fished fatheads on tru-turns and more towards evening things heated up.

We caught around 20 HBC and kept a dozen for dinner. Averaged 10-12", perfect fillet size:



Only managed 2 YP, but they were solid 12"ers:



Stocked 100 6" WE October 2011. At 11" this is not the growth I was hoping for, but soon their gape will allow them to target more forage sources and they just may turn the corner on growth. Still was a cool surprise:



Big fish of the day! Plenty of drag pulling and several breaches of the water - she's a thick 16":



20 HBC, 2 BG, 3 SMB [all solid fish], 2 YP, and 1 WE over 2.5 hours. Not a bad way to end the open water season and he sure had a blast outfishing his Dad!

nice fish!

Pretty cool TJ!

That WE looks like it was starved to practically death!

Nice pics TJ, and a great colored SMB!

Well done! Sounds pretty awesome to me!

Yeah, WE remain pretty fusiform in my experience until they reach that 13-14" range. I'm thinking his forage choices are pretty slim, but I'm happy with almost 100% growth in length over the past 12 months. If it adds another 6" next year should be perfect fillet sized when I nail it on a jigging spoon next Winter thru the ice!

I know my SMB grew slowly to around 12", then ballooned from there. I think it's due to the fact their gape enabled them to begin foraging on items previously out of their reach...and that's when the explosion occurs. I'm not sure of the magic size for WE when growth starts exponentially, but I'm hopeful the WE will respond in kind eventually - it's nothing but a long cigar right now!

Love the color on that SMB!

I've seen thousands of smallmouth in my life and that's probably the prettiest one I've ever seen.

That's what it's all about. Bet he hopes the teacher asked him what he did over holiday break!

Very fun pics man!! I cant wait to go fishing again!!!

For a walleye in a loaded pond that is just above better than average for what it should be.

I agree with Bruce, that smallie definitely is a supermodel.....plus size to boot....

I'm curious... Do you pellet feed or dump FHM"s during the year? I put 10 lbs of FHM in the spring and another 10 lbs+ in early Oct. Plus I feed pellets 3-4 times a week.

I didn't do tilapia this year (for a reason) and have a lot of younger BG and LMB due to the weed build up. My predator fish are going to be a lot bigger next fall after the tilapia return (hopefully).

I'm hoping the "tilapia every-other year" approach puts more food in their bellies. Next year, there will be a lot less cover and more available food for my predators. Non tilapia years, fish (predators) will be harvested more.

But who knows, It might work and might not. Just an idea I thought I'd give a chance.

Yo Hang...

I do not mess around with stocking FHM in an established fishery - in my experience it's not a good forage investment - they wouldn't last a week regardless of the qty. I stocked. I let my Shrimp, Crays, GSH, BG and Aqua Max do all the feeding.

I do "raise" FHM along with my BRES in a reproduction cell so I always have bait handy if I'm fishing with the kids [accidental stocking ended up being a good forage pond]. Fishing with minnows result in fish every time without fail and I like keeping the action going so the kids don't ditch me on the dock and head to the trampoline. In the reproduction pond the FHM don't mess around with the BG, RES or BRES YOY and I simply use the cast net for a few dozen anytime I need them for the minnow keeper. Pretty convenient.

teehjaeh57, I was right in the middle of editing when all of my dogs wanted to go out. Coyotes are yipping in the back field right now and my male dogs want to fight them. 3 acre fenced in back yard. I'm leaving them out there for a while.

I use the FHM for kids and also have some elderly relatives (in their 80's) to make fishing fun for them to. It might not be a good forage investment but it keeps my fish fat. One more thing, Its a beautiful sight to see that smile on a kids face or a senior citizen. Its all worth it to me.

If you have the pockets for supplemental FHM stocking man more power to ya! I know Banks stocks a lot of GSH into trophy LMB lakes in MO...they are probably all hammered within the year, but they continue to line up and pay thousands for annual stockings. If you can afford it, nothing like feeding your fish that way. Guys like me have to learn to be more creative/frugal and use self sustaining forage sources. So far, so good, though. I owe a lot of the success to Purina, too.

I agree...nothing beats slip floating a minnow or shiner...I was surprised we even caught BG, they could hardly fit the minnow down. I guess a FHM is such a rare sight they go crazy when they see them.

Pretty cool TJ!

I have seen 8-9" BG take 4" Red tailed shiners under a bobber, I was a little shocked they could eat something that large.

Great report!

That is one perfect SMB!!!

Are you going to catch that same smallie again next spring for breeding stock?

Beautiful fish!! Looks like a great day

Yes, or 10 that look just like that, or better. I try for the fish exhibiting the absolute best characteristics I can. Spring is an easy time to catch SMB, too, so I can cull plenty until I find the special chosen few.