In case any of you wondered I never did get to feed train some bass fingerlings out of my pond. By the time I got the freeze drilled krill 2 weeks after I ordered it, the 2 inch bass had dispersed and were diffcult to capture in a large enough quantity. Additionally I'm getting some nice tanks next year, which I am trading my taxidermy services for -- so next year which will will work out better.
I've got a 1/10 acre pond I will be transferring in some brood stock bass soon (would prefer to plant them in the spring when I can easily sex the bass), but I don't have that option. I need to drain the 3/4 acre pond they are coming out of and let the pond bottom dry for the winter. It's 12 years old and the Chara, Small pond weed, Sago pondweed, and God know's what else has really gotten out of hand. I'll bet I have Chara on the bottom in places 3 to 4 feet thick! I also want an excavator to come in and dip the edges once the soil dries out enough. It can be done when their is water in the pond, but I've been there done that and it's a mess! The soil has to lay on top of the groud and allowed to drain and dry up before moving. Of course that kills the grass and after it's moved it needs to be reseeded. I don't want to do that.
I'm hoping if I plant broodfish from the same year class the significanly smaller ones are males and of course the significantly larger ones are females. 1 successful pair would be enough for my needs, but I will probably plant about up to a dozen fish to be sure I have both sexes.
Wish me luck and I will report back next year! Thanks for listening to my rambling, but I'm excited to start producing my own fish. I am also going to hatch my own trout in one to two years. Bluegill will be a cinch to produce and the perch will probably require another pond.
