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?
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..
Maybe pre-soak the pellets first just so they're a tad squishy....
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?
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.
