The Tiger lol my attitude about getting old and refusing to do so!! LOL. Dang Father time keeps catching up with me though... ugh. Same with my quote I got no time for ruts and graves.... lol
I have RES/CNBG/LMB and HSB in my pond. Deciding factor for putting them in my pond. I really just wanted a bonus fish. I love my LMB but they can be picky biters at times so like this night HSB and BG were hitting LMB were not and we still had some fun.
Here are some pros and cons about HSB I think,
Pros
1. Will fight till they die I mean this fish is a bull even the 17 inch ones fight hard man!!
2. You don't catch them all the time but fun when you do.
3. They taste GREAT!!!! I couldn't believe it I mean they are right up there real close to the BG. Just get rid of the center red meat part when you clean them and you cant beat these fish for the table!
4. Easy to get at Keo's fish farm and have in my pond in a hour or so from pickup I believe the last ones I got were $1.30 each.
5. They don't reproduce so you can control them much better as to what you do or don't have and get more or keep more depending on your needs.
Cons,
1. They can become a little hook shy if you catch to many times and let them go (In colder water temps only)
2. They will die on you if you catch one once they reach 2.5 plus pounds in the summer hot water. Unless you have a very GOOD revive tank in place to revive them like Mr. George did.
3. And this can be a pro or a con I guess depending your situation. Once they get to be 5 to 6 pounds like my big ones are now they pretty much stop eating my AM600 and eat live fish. BG and minnows and shiners and such. I don't feed any LM Pellets maybe I should try.
Overall I am quite happy with them and they taste GREAT! And the kids love to get one on the hook. Then it's crazy time!! LOL Trust me with light tackle these 17 inchers will steer you wherever they want to go, you better have your drag set right....
RC
