This is not a thread about the thicker lower section of a tree that happens to be in a pond, however, I suppose, it could be, but it is not intended to be, just yet.
I just wanted to start a thread of some observations that I make while tending the pond. I wish I would have started this "diary" of non-specific topics the day that I began the process of refurbishing the ole'water hole. At any rate, please share as I go if you care to, otherwise enjoy my rambling.
First log entry of the year...The HSB fillets from last October were well recieved by my guests even with the red meat intact...However, I just fried the last of it up a few weeks ago and it was a bit fishy tasting. I guess it does not age well in the freezer with regards to the red meat flavor. I can assure you that fillet chunks were mixed and randomly bagged so it was not a case of "one bad fish". Lesson learned...eat it all soon after harvest.
Next, and more recently, I caught the first HBG out of the pond by accident. I was checking the Lily and APW hanging baskets and had caught this guy hanging out in one of the buckets...
Nice and fat, but more importantly...no parasites. The HBG have always had the little yellow grubs attached to their fins and such. It's nice to see the complete absence of the buggars. Hopefully this is a sign of times to come.
I have added water lilies to the hanging baskets...Attraction, Colorado, Perrys’ Baby Red, and a Liou. The smallest of the 4 (Perry's and Liou) are struggling to get established and grow. The fact that these two were barely a morsel to begin with, the aoccational crawdad that finds the bucket, and the HBG that are apparently liking the solitude of the buckets...it's a wonder they are still hanging on.
Anyhow, I hope to do a little fishing in the pond this weekend, checking DO levels (get back in the habit), trapping some craws, and I may throw the net out and see how many tadpoles I can catch in one throw. They have been biblical this spring...leftovers form last year, I suspect. I am betting 50 to 100 in one throw! I guess I will throw them back unless someone needs some bullfrog tads...come and get'em. I am on the fence wether they are good or bad because there are sooooo many of them.
Yikes, the summer is getting away and my log entries have been few. I have been frequenting the pond most daily, but doing little besides enjoying a 15 minute break while I tend to the craw trap and observe the feeding. I DO HAVE A RECORD HSB TO REPORT...
20" long and 3.5 pounds...
Compared to last Septembers record of - 18" long and 2.6 pounds at 83% RW.
Fantastic weight gain of almost a pound, but only 80% relative weight. I know the exact length makes a big difference, but I am afraid that it was a bit longer than 20 inches actually. So I rounded the weight up and the length down to be consistent with the traditional "fish story"...
My original goal was to grow larger HBG and use the HSB as population control. It would seem that the HSB are looking very nice to my eye even though they are lower than 100% RW. That indicates to me that they ARE hungry and likely doing there job, but not starving.
The new record HSB was caught on a pinky sized hook (no weight what-so-ever) and one of those Gulp baits (two-tone reddish brown). It was cast fairly close to the dock and just left to slowly sink and BAM!
I have done very little fishing at the pond this year, but plan to change that as summer fades as the fish seem to take a hook better this time of the year. I did catch a HBG too. It was not a record, but very fat and happy...more to come...
I was hoping to have a photo of a big fish for the thread today, but it broke the line (8lb test). I fished the pond Saturday evening for about an hour before almost giving up. The hook still had the first 1 inch piece of night crawler on it. It was a slow hour of watching them feed sporadically while the bobber was never in the right spot. I got a phone call and decided to stay on the dock for a bit longer and rather than waste the now-1-inch-shorter worm...I put the remaining 7 inches on and cast it out in the middle. 20 minutes later the phone call ended and the bobber disappeared while I was picking up the pole to reel it in and call it "another good time at the pond". The fight lasted about 3 seconds, maybe...the drag went the whole time (I keep the drag set pretty loose) and then the bobber resurfaced as my bare line was reeled in. I left the pond after contemplating a swim to retrieve the bobber, but decided to let it float. Oddly enough, the bobber was waiting form me at the dock the next day, teasing me.
I did spend a fair amount of time on the truck and will post a couple pics instead for those that are interested.
Bob asked it I did the work myself and I have done everything except the motor machine work, transmission rebuild, driveshaft builds, and the front and rear glass install. This truck was pretty close to the grave when I started on it...it was a rust bucket and a mixed match set of parts. It's still a mixed bag of parts ranging from 1968 to 76.