Pond Boss Forums GENERAL QUESTIONS Help Fishing limits

TJ, I agree with you there. If the state needs $$, and has the option to provide fish (i.e. sell) those fish at a profit, and can put needed $$ into it's coffers, why not? I don't see that as being any different than private businesses competing with one another. That is providing that the state complies with all the same rules, regulations and paperwork trail that applies to business owners.

Here, in Indiana, it seems that the regulations that apply to state hatcheries are much more lenient than they are for private businesses. i.e. they can import fish without having some or all of the required testing done, whereas we business people would get hung out to dry if we did that.

If MS or NE or other states that raise triploid BCP started making them commercially available I think it would be a huge opportunity. I'd pay $5/ea for 4-6" fish happily - maybe more. These things grow huge...big angler return and shot at state record fish I think if you can keep them around for 8-10 yrs.

Scott, States routinely violate the federal Lacey act, and USF&W just looks the other way. If a state were to compete with a private hatchery, I wonder how fast the private competition would be regulated out of existence.....?

Note...Rhetorical questions...NOT a political comment or debate posting.

If there is a profit to be made, you would think private hatcheries would already be on it. I am sure more than one hatchery owner monitors this forum... Why aren't they seeing these ideas and running with them? Honestly, the average pond owner is clueless when it comes to fish and/or doesn't really care... Those of us who are regulars and active on this forum are a rare breed. What we desire as educated pond owners and fish owners isn't necessarily what will make a fish farm owner money. I could be wrong about all of this. I sure hope so! It would be nice if a few hatcheries out there started offering saugeye and multiple species that were confirmed triploids. Imagine the management abilities if one could stock non reproducing LMB into their pond?

Travis, my thoughts exactly. Triploid Crappie, LMB, and BG would be very interesting. I'd wager there are at least 100 pond boss forum members who would purchase at least 100 triploid crappie each at $5/ea and would probably reorder annually to keep the ladder going - ala WE or HSB stocking ladder. Toss in Lusk, Nate, Grimes and Banks customers and you're probably doubling that number.

Once photos of our 17-18" crappie started circulating, I'll bet the phone would be ringing off the hook....

Put me down for the triploid crappie. And since we're shooting for the moon, some sort of procedure that results in YP eggs hatching all female would hold my interest also.

Texas doesn't provide or sell hatchery fish to private pond owners. That said, I am aware of some politico's that didn't have too buy their own.

But Dave, you know it was "in the interest of research and I'm giving the use of my pond for the study" or something like that. There seems to justifiable "reasons" for everything the political elitists do. When I was a kid in south Alabama, there was actually a lady running for county commissioner with the campaign pledge that "if I win, the first thing I'll do is pave my dirt road. If there's any money left, I'll pave yours." She won handily.

But, about the state of Texas not selling to pond owners, I see that as a good thing...the state can't use that as a diving board to get deeper in your $&!+.

If the state DONATES fish to a landowner there may be some strings attached - meaning their involvement in the future management of those fish. Frankly I don't want the state involved in my private affairs or management of my land - don't suppose many of us do. I agree with you there, Mobilus.

However, I support the state SELLING fish to private hatcheries for their distribution to private land owners. Not only would the state not be involved with the sale process, they likely wouldn't have any knowledge to whom the fish were sold.

I advocate the state providing unique/rare fish to hatcheries not only to generate revenue to support their game management programs, but also so we private pond owners can benefit from access to these fish we may want. That's where I'm coming from. Mute point though, I don't see this ever happening soon.

Can you give examples of where states routinely violate the Lacey act and the USF & W just looks the other way?

Examples? I'm aware of Indiana making exceptions on in state testing but not importation.

I thought they had to have salmonoid eggs tested too.....

I remember hearing something like that from a guy that I know. He wanted to get eggs from the same source that the state did but was told that he couldn't because they weren't tested or something like that.

How's things going down there Cecil?

I think you're referring to the nixing of trout or eggs from west of the continental divide by the INDNR. However they got eggs from Trout Lodge which on the surface seemed to be a do as I say and not what I do thing. IBut they are now allowing eggs from a Utah supplier.

The conference went great. Good conference and we have a new president, vice president, and couple of board members. I'm free!

Edit: I hope my responses to Esshup and Rainman's post were not too terse. I didn't mean them to be that was. Was just asking for examples.

Have you been thought hacked, teehjaeh57? Think about the slippery-slope brother!! I am worried about your infatuation with the fish of your dreams.

Thought hacked!

I wish you wouldn't have said that. I was in my recliner reading on my Nexus, sipping my coffee. I had to change my shirt and clean my Nexus.

States, and any government entity are encouraged to spend every dime and some extra so the "budget" is increased annually...you scare me thinking any agency would make a "profit"...lol

I'm with Dwight, you have been thought hacked and need major therapy...lol

This thread is really all over the place. However, regarding triploid crappie ...

Our local and Arkansas fish trucks have been selling triploid crappie for the last several years. From my knowledge of them, I'm waiting for more people to try them, before I will put them in my ponds. The evidence just doesn't seem to be there that they won't cause problems.

They may present the same issues as HBG, which I love.

I may dig another pond this year that is in a different drain area from my other ponds. If I do, I may start it with triploid crappie, HBG, and a few SMB and CC as predators.

I doubt anyone is creating and selling triploid crappie due to cost and difficulty.

Here look at this from Bob on the subject.

Bob Lusk
Lunker


Registered: April 10, 2002
Posts: 1824
Loc: Whitesboro, Texas
(70.185.97.194) I called three of the largest sportfish hatcheries in America and talked at length about triploid crappie. They aren't interested. The most vocal was Mark Stephens, of Hopper-Stephens Hatcheries in Lonoke, Arkansas. His quote, "We won't raise triploid crappie in my lifetime."
Here's his rationale. First, triploidy isn't 100%. That means fish must be tested, if they intend to market them as triploids. To test, hatchery personnel must draw blood, from the brachial artery, to run through the Coulter Counter. Any crappie sedated, handled, punctured, then released, will likely die. Crappie are extremely delicate fish to handle. Because of heavy labor requirements, delicate nature of the fish, less than 100% triploidy, and unpredictability of spawns, individual triploid crappie would have to be sold somewhere from $4.00-8.00 each. Toss in the fact that crappie are low density fish in a hatchery pond, and every motive a hatchery owner has is corrupted. Why raise these fish, when they can raise tens of thousands of bluegill, catfish, etc., in a pond where they might raise a few hundred triploid crappie? It doesn't make sense to them.
Until some research somewhere shows triploid crappie can be raised similar to triploid grass carp, or catfish, or bluegill, or fathead minnows, or....don't expect many people to give it whirl to supply any kind of market beyond regional.
On another interesting note, Stephens is absolutely convinced there is one glaring wives tale about triploidy. The common thinking is triplod fish grow much faster and convert their feed much better because no energy goes to gonad development. "Hogwash" says Stephens. He says diploid grass carp far outgrow their triploid brothers. When his crews bring in a batch of 'triploid' grass carp and place them in a vat, he can walk by and pretty much tell which ones won't test out as triploids. Diploids are the biggest fish in the batch. He has seen it over and over.
I asked him if he had seen or read the latest info about triploid crappie work in Mississippi, and he said, "Yes, I keep up with things like that all the time." But, he isn't swayed, at least not yet in this lifetime.

Eric,

Thanks for catching that. My error. They are touting them as "hybrid" crappies that are not supposed to reproduce.

Ken

Scott, I agree with your statements above.

Cecil, you terser !

As far as crappies go, EAT'UM!

I'm reading about different regulations and many of them seem rather weird to me. In my opinion a private pond is a private property and I can do almost anything with at and creatures in it, including any fish. At least so it happens in my country. I do not need any fishing licence, I don't care about any sizes or counts of fish. Also spawning time prohibitions are for public lakes/rivers only.
I can drain my pond any time if I don't make any damage to other people properties.

That's the way it is in Texas. It and the fish are mine to do with as I please.

Same in Indiana.