So I recently installed one of those lights that swats bugs into the water. I checked and it's not one of the PB sponsers, so I won't name names, but from my research the concept is pretty similar, brand to brand. I always wanted to try one and the wife and kids gave me one as an early father's day present. It's been running ~ 2 weeks now. Has a photocell on top, so comes on after dark, off in morning. First night, the BG found it and were happy to suck up all the bugs hitting the water. Also saw a few of our jumbo sized GSH (golden shiner, in case I'm using the wrong acronym). I would walk down and observe every few nights, but I can also use some bino's and see the water under the light from the house. Pretty good crowd of fish each night. I decided to walk down a couple nights ago, since the crowd seemed a bit bigger. To my surprise, the group was almost fully BCP! 6-10" fish. Slurping down bugs like hogs at the trough. I guess I shouldn't be surprised, since BCP routinely eat bugs. I just didn't expect to see them in such numbers. And I had always wondered if they would use at fish/bug light like this. So that answer is yes! Might me another way to help those PB members trying to raise BCP. Lots of forum discussions on BCP not training to pellets. Maybe this could be a way to supply a little extra to your BCP growth?
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"Politics": derived from 'poly' meaning many, and 'tics' meaning 'blood sucking parasites'.
Maybe you're on to something.. I have to wonder if a few pellets tossed upwind to make a calculated drift back through the light, if you could get them to continue eating pellets???
Maybe you're on to something.. I have to wonder if a few pellets tossed upwind to make a calculated drift back through the light, if you could get them to continue eating pellets???
Maybe you're on to something.. I have to wonder if a few pellets tossed upwind to make a calculated drift back through the light, if you could get them to continue eating pellets???
I'm game. I'll try it tonight..
"Politics": derived from 'poly' meaning many, and 'tics' meaning 'blood sucking parasites'.
Maybe you're on to something.. I have to wonder if a few pellets tossed upwind to make a calculated drift back through the light, if you could get them to continue eating pellets???
I'm game. I'll try it tonight..
Maybe pre-soak the pellets first just so they're a tad squishy....
Excerpt from Robert Crais' "The Monkey's Raincoat:" "She took another microscopic bite of her sandwich, then pushed it away. Maybe she absorbed nutrients from her surroundings."
If you were trying to cull any Black Crappie, I think you could have a net under that feeder and lift the net when there's a bunch of BCP feeding.
Excerpt from Robert Crais' "The Monkey's Raincoat:" "She took another microscopic bite of her sandwich, then pushed it away. Maybe she absorbed nutrients from her surroundings."
So I went down to observe the light in action again last night, and to attempt to throw a few pellets. There was a much more diverse group of fish 'at the trough'. A fair number of BG cruising by and hitting bugs (they don't just suck them off the top like BCP, but smack the top like when feeding on pellets). I few large GSH cruising through (they look very shark like, with black, pointed fin tips, and very angular looking in low light conditions). GSH also feed on the constant move. A few fingerling LMB (cruise missiles with black tips on their tails). And then a group of BCP would rise up and suspend just below the light, heads up and just suck down bugs from the surface. Pretty close together (kind of 'shoulder to shoulder'). I had tapped a handful of pellets from my hanging TH feeder and began tossing a few right over the BCP group. Totally ignored them for the most part. I did see an occasional pellet get sucked up, probably by accident. I tossed on a few pellets at a time, and did this through 4 handfuls over ~ 20 minutes. I think I'll try Sunil's suggestion and try and hydrate some pellets for tonight, which might help get them to try them and hopefully acquire the taste. If I can see any signs of pellet takers after a few nights of hand feeding, I might swap the TH hanging feeder to that side of the dock and set it for a 1 sec late night throw. Lots of night sounds on a pond. Very different vibe, if you've never walked down to your dock or pond edge at night (like after 10 p.m.) Highly recommended.
"Politics": derived from 'poly' meaning many, and 'tics' meaning 'blood sucking parasites'.
If you were trying to cull any Black Crappie, I think you could have a net under that feeder and lift the net when there's a bunch of BCP feeding.
I had the same thought. It's on 'the list' to try. Although my guess is they would vanish pretty quickly when the net lifted. I might even just see if they'd take a small jig or maybe a floating 'popper' jig like I use all the time. I might be able to efficiently catch up quite a few.
Beats working... ;-)
"Politics": derived from 'poly' meaning many, and 'tics' meaning 'blood sucking parasites'.
Excerpt from Robert Crais' "The Monkey's Raincoat:" "She took another microscopic bite of her sandwich, then pushed it away. Maybe she absorbed nutrients from her surroundings."
So is this bug light just one of those solar powered bug zappers? I'm really curious about what this thing is. I have a couple of lights on my dock and they always end up covered in spider webs.
That looks like it might work great! I am curious if there might be a solar one that I could use, I don't have a power source within half a mile from my pond. I will have to look into it.
All the really good ideas I've ever had came to me while I was milking a cow.
That looks like it might work great! I am curious if there might be a solar one that I could use, I don't have a power source within half a mile from my pond. I will have to look into it.
I have the same problem here but would probably love to have a solar one if it’s made
I've looked into this for a solar version and haven't found one. I think a guy could run one off of an inverter with a 24v solar system with a couple of good deep cycle batts. Probably wouldn't run all night but if even for a couple of hours it would feed a lot of fish.
I looked at solar chicken coop fans this morning. I think a guy could rig something up and have less than $75 into the whole thing. My question is; are the bugs really smart enough to stay out of the water without a fan hitting them in, or would a light close enough to the water get a lot of incidentals anyway?
I looked at solar chicken coop fans this morning. I think a guy could rig something up and have less than $75 into the whole thing. My question is; are the bugs really smart enough to stay out of the water without a fan hitting them in, or would a light close enough to the water get a lot of incidentals anyway?
That's a good thought, they seem to swarm any light source.
All the really good ideas I've ever had came to me while I was milking a cow.
So I have made a half dozen night sorties to the fish light. I've been hand tossing Optimal BG and BG Jr mixed into the water in the area that is lit up. Any BG in the area are happy to eat some. However, the BCP ignore it completely. Even when they are feeding well on the various insects floating on the water, the pellets are ignored. I'd hoped they would even accidentally sample a pellet or two and maybe acquire the taste. So far, no luck. I have't done the pre-soak experiment yet (sorry Sunil) but it's on the list. I also tried sneaking a floating fly (fishing lure) across the lit area, to see if it would be 'easy' to catch the BCP that were already feeding on insects in the same spot. Again, no takers. I did catch a few BG and had hits from GSH. But evidently fooling those big ol' crappie eyes is difficult. My only other observation is that I think the light would be even more effective at getting bugs into the water if it was closer to the water. I mounted mine about 30 inches off the water, and that works. But I do see some bugs get flung but avoid hitting the water. Especially the bigger ones. Essentially anything with big propellers or a small jet pack seem to escape impact with the water.
"Politics": derived from 'poly' meaning many, and 'tics' meaning 'blood sucking parasites'.