I caught a mess of fish. I stopped at 41. I should have one nice fish fry.
I was catching 4 and 5" fish as fast as I could chunk. I was using a #8 hook. I got tired of catching dinks, so I switched to a #2 Aberdeen Crappie hook with June Bugs and just tore them up. The largest was this fellow at 9" and I had a boat load that size. I could have kept catching, but I got tired. I was only down there about an hour.
The last one I had on my line felt like a monster, but it went into some brush and snapped my line.
I now have no doubt in my mind what happened to all the BG, RES, and FHM. They made them GSF a nice snack.
Wow! Those are some nice fish man! I see nothing wrong with a pond full of those. Your CC are probably ok but I think you may be right that all but your biggest CNBG stockers and most/all of the FHM are probably history.
Wow! Those are some nice fish man! I see nothing wrong with a pond full of those. Your CC are probably ok but I think you may be right that all but your biggest CNBG stockers and most/all of the FHM are probably history.
Bill,
I had a lot of fun! I thought I might have thinned the herd, but when I fed tonight, I couldn't tell a difference. I still have a pond full.
I would probably start looking for some 6+ inch LMB stockers. Maybe a few of Overton's Legacy Bass? GSF do not reproduce like CNBG so a few LMB will thin the herd. IMO now would be a good time to stock some 6+ inch CNBG as well.
I would probably start looking for some 6+ inch LMB stockers. Maybe a few of Overton's Legacy Bass? GSF do not reproduce like CNBG so a few LMB will thin the herd. IMO now would be a good time to stock some 6+ inch CNBG as well.
I would advise caution about bass in anything less than about 1.5 acres in Texas. Those suckers spawn and over spawn. They're also pretty good about getting hook shy. The "average" Texas pond that I see is bass heavy and bluegill light. I much prefer cats and Hybrid Stripers.
It's not about the fish. It's about the pond. Take care of the pond and the fish will be fine. PB subscriber since before it was in color.
Without a sense of urgency, Nothing ever gets done.
Boy, if I say "sic em", you'd better look for something to bite. Sam Shelley Rancher and Farmer Muleshoe Texas 1892-1985 RIP
I would advise caution about bass in anything less than about 1.5 acres in Texas. Those suckers spawn and over spawn. They're also pretty good about getting hook shy. The "average" Texas pond that I see is bass heavy and bluegill light. ....
I wonder why that is? Could part of it be a pond owner expecting too much from a smaller body of water? It seems everybody that stocks LMB wants to grow big LMB. Could it be that a big LMB for a 1/2 acre is maybe 3 pounds but the owner chases the dream of 6 or 7 pounds and doesn't harvest appropriately? Or maybe the owner of that small body of water sets goals for high catch rates of big bass way beyond the capacity of the pond so again doesn't harvest appropriately?
[quote=Dave Davidson1]I would advise caution about bass in anything less than about 1.5 acres in Texas. Those suckers spawn and over spawn. They're also pretty good about getting hook shy. The "average" Texas pond that I see is bass heavy and bluegill light. ....
I wonder why that is? Could part of it be a pond owner expecting too much from a smaller body of water? It seems everybody that stocks LMB wants to grow big LMB. Could it be that a big LMB for a 1/2 acre is maybe 3 pounds but the owner chases the dream of 6 or 7 pounds and doesn't harvest appropriately? Or maybe the owner of that small body of water sets goals for high catch rates of big bass way beyond the capacity of the pond so again doesn't harvest appropriately?
At the moment, you couldn't ask for more exciting fishing. I don't know how long it will hold out though. I've never targeted trophy fish. The bigest Bass I ever caught was around 5 pounds and was caught out of a stock tank. There's a story behind it and one of these days, I'll share. The absolute biggest fish was a halibut, but I had to travel to Alaska to catch them.
I've almost always fished for Crappie and Sunfish. When possible, I do love to chase Rainbow Trout. I've never caught a striper in my life. If I catch a 3 lb fish, I'm happy as a goat at a picnic.
DD1, I have fished many, many ponds in Texas over the years. Most of them less than an acre, bucket stocked with zero management. Yes, they usually have tons of small bass but I have also caught many 4, 5 and 6 pounders from these same ponds. They may not be ideal for growing trophy bass but good size bass are possible. I have also caught large BG from these ponds usually by accident while bass fishing. I think nature has its own way of self managing through things like floods, fish kills, birds, self predation, etc. Not disagreeing with you since I am not educated enough in the management process to do that. Just sharing my experiences.
I think it is sometimes when we take matters into our own hands and prevent nature from being nature by aerating, feeding, scaring off birds, preventing flooding concerns, etc where problems can occur.
Here's some of my observations and experience from quite a few years. And, as we say, all ponds are different. I'm also not a pro but a pretty dumb pond junkie. My curiosity has killed a lot of fish and my biggest mistake probably hasn't happened yet.
Even East Texas and West Texas are 100% different. Attribute this to rain and soil. Fertilizing, in my area, can just about guarantee a fish kill with the bigger fish going first. Pine tree country generally means that the water needs carefully applied fertilizer. Been there, done that, a long time ago and had to start over. I am also not qualified to give advice regarding ponds in areas where people look forward to fishing in hard water or any place where people can walk on their ponds.
Fish in smaller ponds get hook shy and bigger fish are generally those that have learned that my footsteps on the bank could be a problem.
By the end of summer, a 1/2 acre pond can become 1/4 acre and all of the pond dynamics change. Praying for rain and rain dances are futile.
Bass and BG are spawning machines. Only bass can keep up with BG spawning rates. And only BG can spawn enough to feed bass. And yet, the bass, even with plentiful groceries, can wipe out the BG base in 3 or 4 years in anything less than 3 or 4 acres. That's why it's important to remove all the small bass. Good luck on that.
Aeration works and fountains don't.
Lieing to the Wife about pond expenses can get you into trouble.
Ponds are like corvettes, boats, horses, and women. They are expensive, can cause trouble, and are sometimes hard to understand.
Being a nice guy and letting others fish your ponds or hunt your deer and hogs is generally not advisable.
If Lusk or Cody say it; you can bet that they are right.
There's a lot more and I expect you guys can add to this.
Last edited by Dave Davidson1; 04/03/1705:52 AM.
It's not about the fish. It's about the pond. Take care of the pond and the fish will be fine. PB subscriber since before it was in color.
Without a sense of urgency, Nothing ever gets done.
Boy, if I say "sic em", you'd better look for something to bite. Sam Shelley Rancher and Farmer Muleshoe Texas 1892-1985 RIP
My Catfish are now very actively feeding. Mom gets them and the Green Sunfish feeding and I'm over around the corner feeding the smaller fish. There doesn't seem to be many and I can't tell for sure what they are. I sure hope it's cnbg.
Some of you Texans chime in and let me know if
1. You plan on Tilapia and 2. When are you stocking?
It was windy and a tway bit chilly today, so I'm thinking it's still too early. I don't want to stock them and then get a cold snap. I would just be crushed. Patience is not my strong point, but I know it's needed.
I try to stock Tp anytime after April 1st. My surface water temps are usually in the high 60's to low 70's at that time. And it would take a pretty hard winter weather event to drop water temps to the low 50's.
Do not judge me by the politicians in my City, State or Federal Government.
Overtons now stocking TP, so obviously they think it is pretty safe. There are no absolute guarantees, but the weather odds are strongly in your favor.
Yeah, we're going tomorrow cause I'm just about out of feed. I'll take a look at the TP and chat with Todd if he's in. I generally give him a heads up when we plan on stopping by, but I plain forgot to text him till late this evening. I sure hope he has plenty of feed cause I waited till I was at the bottom of the barrel
Thought I would update my thread. The Tilapia have been in about a month and a half. I have seen improvement in the FA, at least it's not all over the surface of the pond like it was. It's not completely gone though, so next year I will most likely double my order.
The Catfish are eating like pigs! It is so much fun feeding them. Mom and I hand feed twice daily same time each day within a few minutes. Some days the fish show up in droves and some days we just have a few. We haven't quite figured out why that is. We notice they seem more active during the evening feeding.
I figure along about September, we will start fishing and see what we can catch. We haven't fished it since removing a bunch of the GSF. I don't know about the Bluegill and Res, but I can tell the Catfish are thriving. When they come to feed, you could literally walk across them!
The Catfish are eating like pigs! It is so much fun feeding them. Mom and I hand feed twice daily same time each day within a few minutes. Some days the fish show up in droves and some days we just have a few. We haven't quite figured out why that is. We notice they seem more active during the evening feeding.
Sometimes our CC are erratic about feeding. We caught a two year old CC this evening that weighed in at exactly five pounds and 22-1/2 inches. You will be amazed at their growth if you feed as much as they want. Last year I fed them a mix of Optimal BG and regular CC pellets. I think the Optimal gave them a boost as I caught a 3 lb 14 oz CC late last fall. I haven't taken enough CC out as they got bigger, and narrowly avoided a kill a few days ago. If I had it to do over, I would have taken more last fall and started earlier this year.
Sometimes our CC are erratic about feeding. We caught a two year old CC this evening that weighed in at exactly five pounds and 22-1/2 inches. .
Wow! I'm hoping mine do that well. Since I put mine in back in Feb, I wonder when I could start my harvest? Do you suppose late this fall I could have some 2 pounders?