Pond Boss Forums INTRO Questions & Observations Fishing 2013

Awesome! We fished Czechland today....meh.

It's a state program that awards a certificate for a fish, in Nebraska's opinion, which attains trophy status. I am not into certificates or awards, but many of us still use this system as a standard to exceed. NE requirements are below - and after reviewing, apparently I've busted the HSB mark several times [I thought it was 28"], the YP mark a few times [thought it was 14"], and am pretty close to the SMB, RES and BG in my pond. Cool!

Bass - Largemouth 20 in. 5 lbs.
Bass - Smallmouth 18 in. 3 lbs.
Bass - Spotted 18 in. 3 lbs.
Bass - Rock 11 in. 1 lb.
Bass - Striped 32 in. 10 lbs.
Bass - Striper hybrid 24 in. 8 lbs.
Bass - White 17 in. 2.5 lbs.
Bluegill 10 in. 1 lb.
Bullhead 15 in. 2 lbs.
Catfish - Blue 40 in. 30 lbs.
Catfish - Channel 30 in. 12 lbs.
Catfish - Flathead 32 in. 15 lbs.
Crappie 15 in. 2 lbs.
Muskie/Tiger Muskie 40 in. 15 lbs.
Perch - Yellow 13 in. 1.25 lbs.
Perch - White 12 in. 1 lb.
Northern Pike 36 in. 10 lbs.
Sauger 21 in. 3 lbs.
Saugeye 23 in. 5 lbs.
Sunfish 10 in. 1 lb.
Trout - Brook 14 in. 1 lb.
Trout - Brown 22 in. 4 lbs.
Trout - Rainbow 23 in. 5 lbs.
Walleye 28 in. 8 lbs

Go to Wanahoo...buddy fished it Friday and Saturday and iced plenty of BG and CP

That was Plan B. Not my decision.

Thanks Fire...get your butt up here, few more weeks of ice left, if the long range forecast is correct.

Cool program.. Where did you find out about this and does anyone know if Illinois has anything like this..

I'm not really into certificates either, basically because I can't win/achieve any lol but these seem like something I can achieve right up my alley..

After a little research I found the Illinois info sounds pretty cool I'm gonna give it a shot thanks for that little bit of info TJ

BGK, does Illinois make any exceptions for fish on an artificial feeding program? In Indiana, fed fish are not eligible for record status, but I THINK they are still accepted for the Fish of The Year program.

It says has to be caught on Illinois waters.. But nothing about private or fed.. I know quite a few illinois records are held by privately owned farm ponds..

TJ, you are really doing some great things at your pond! Congratulations!!

Im gonna lose my ice by Tuesday, so I spent the past few days taking lots and lots of folks ice fishing. Pretty much packed 2 weeks worth of guided ice fishing into a few days:

some more pics:

Very nice Nate. Everybody looked like they were having a large time.

Looking Good and COLD!!!

Smiles all around are a good sign that everyone is having a blast!!

Well done Nate - nothing beats a multi-species day of trophy fish and happy friends...except for HOT GOURMET FOOD ON THE ICE! My buddies get a granola bar flattened in the bottom of my bucket, and all the waxies they can manage to keep down.

I gotta know...what was on the menu in that one pic? Looks like something in a pot - was it a fish chowder made fresh on the ice? I did brats and burgers once...not sure I've ever eaten anything that tasted better on that 10 degree day.

Man alive, n8ly!!!

Was that all from your lake?

TJ,
First off your fish at your pond rock! we need to be talking about steps to take right now to make sure it stays rockin well into the future.... i have some thoughts for you to consider, for another thread another day.....

Second, you are exactly right on the stew in the pot.....Its fish chowder and the main ingredients are super fresh 1 walleye, 1 bass, 1 crappie, and 2 bluegill....also we had marinated venison loin, venison burgers, polish sausage and sauer kraut! Feasting is every bit as important as fishing!!

Sunil,
That was indeed all from my lake and those pics dont even scratch the surface....check nates fishing blog later this week cause I am gonna post all the pics that people promised to email me from their cameras.... I barely got any pics, everyone pretty much had camera's with em....

Sauerkraut is great...provided one isn't fishing in tents a little later on

n8ly:

What sized BOW did those Walleye come from?

TH, Do I see some black spots on one of those SMB?

Hey Scott

Yes, it was weird - I noticed a few black spots on the bottom of the SMB we caught this weekend. No clue what that is, otherwise they appeared very healthy. Anyone have a clue? I don't think it's black spot - from other photos I see they are much larger and much darker spots.

TJ:

The black spot that I see on some local fish are about 1/32" in dia, and there could be a few or many on the fish.

I see those little black spots on many of my smallies. I don't think it's anything serious.

It's an angler that has risen above the status of Master Baiter.

Wow Nate awesome fisheries!

Teehjaeh57 you've got some nice fish there!

I can't tell from the pictures very well but the black spot doesn't look like the trematode "black spot." Too big for those.

I think it's been discussed here and no one out there really knows what it is but it doesn't appear to be harmful to the fish. Could be anything from a virus to scar tissue to genetic. There was conjecture it's more common in bass that are subjected to lots of catch and release as in bass tournaments, but it's only conjecture.

I know I introduced a thread on it here but I suck at doing searches here so good luck finding it.

As far as the bulging eyes that could be several things including parasitic issues. If it's only a few fish and they seem to be healthy it might not be anything to worry about.

I've noticed my fish with high relative weights tend to have bulging eyes. It could be excessive carbs in their diets making them functional diabetics (according to Dr. Brown of Purdue he says too many carbs not only produce this but also excessive viseral fat. He says they are able to function fairly normally in contrast to mammals though.)

I've got pics somewhere around here of some large bass in a Bass Pro tank that have seriously bulging eyes that are otherwise healthy.