Originally posted by Joey:
I did catch a Hybrid in the dead of summer and that guy died almost instantly. Supposedly the catching one in high heat is fatal most times. Is this true also?
Joey,
As you know, their aren't any absolutes in ponds...what happpens in your pond doesn't necessarily happen the same in my pond. I have found that the mortality rate for HSB caught over three pounds in my ponds in dead of summer is 100%.
I'm not at all sure, but I also suspect some non-angling HSB mortality happened this summer in my ponds simply due to the combination of extreme heat, drought( no fresh water inflow), and artificial feeding. I have found some fish heads recently of very large HSB which indicates to me that I've lost some of my largest fish....by the way, the pond I speak of is fully aerated, has 20 foot depths, and is about 4 acres.
The Texas private water(ponds) record for HSB is only a little over 5 pounds. There may very well be a reason for that and in my case, I may have experienced it. Perhaps your water quality conditions won't deterioriate such as ours did this summer, but if they do, you may find that the larger HSB are very vulnerable, more so than any other fish I have.
