Hello everyone,

I have read and researched and can not find what I consider a definitive answer on how much and how frequently I should feed my BG. My goal is to increase the BG numbers significantly in order to increase the LMB sizes. I am currently harvesting all LMB 13" and under and am contemplating changing that to 14" and under because I am not catching enough 13" LMB to meet my goal poundage to remove. The pond is 5 acres and I had an evaluation done in October that recommended increasing the BG numbers significantly. I have been feeding Optimal food (42%) 3 times a day for 4 seconds each feeding (8am, 1pm, 6pm) since the end of Nov. 2020. I just added 600 4" to 5" BG on Friday to increase the reproduction rate.

At the current feeding schedule that I have implemented, the feed is consumed in around 50 seconds. It is a feeding frenzy and they start hitting the water as soon as the blower on the Texas Hunter starts humming.

The question that I have is, should I add another feeding slot into the day at the current 4 second rate or stay at the 3 feedings and increase the amount of feed each time? (6:30am, 11am, 3:30pm, 8pm)

Btw. I am planning on adding a second feeder to the pond possibly by the end of the summer. We will discuss this addition at a later date.

Thanks,

Dean

Dean, I learned something about TH feeders thanks to esshup.. the amount of feed thrown has a LOT to do with how feeder is set up, so your 4 sec rate might be half of my 4 sec rate. I would increase to 6-7 sec if they are cleaning it up in less than a minute.
I messed with my feed cup adjustment to allow a multi-pellet size use and found a small 1/16" change made it so I could unload about 5lbs of feed in a couple of seconds. I guess I'm suggesting you increase time first, you have plenty of room to go WAY up yet.

Snipe,

Should I measure the amount of feed that I am throwing @ 4 seconds? Would this information help me get a better determination on how long the feeder should run? I guess a better question to ask is, how much feed should I throw each time?

Thoughts?

Dean

It's very hard to capture the feed exiting the feeder without becoming a victim. I would use the fish and how long it takes them to clean up as your guide.

I’ve measured at another guys place quite a few years ago. We did it for a week and weighed several times at each setting. The amount changed but not significantly.

We used a big burlap bag with test throws. Results were logged and the feed returned to the hopper.

We used Purina pellets.

Also tested, using corn, on a couple of different deer feeders. We didn’t discover anything earth shaking.

Game cams showed that coons got an awful lot of corn. But, to measure that, we would have had to measure(weigh ) the corn every morning. That was a PITA that stopped us.

Dave, I thought you were gonna say you had to weigh the coons every day...lol...

That actually made me laugh out loud. Good thing I'm in an office by myself.

How to measure how much corn your coons are eating:

Step 1: Weigh your coons
Step 2: Let them eat corn
Step 3: Weigh your coons again
Step 4: Subtract the difference

So back to the original question, doI increase the time for the three feeding times, add an additional feeding time, or both? Again, I want to grow BG as quickly as possible so that I can increase my forage for the LMB.

I can measure the amount of feed per session. No big deal.

I'm not really sold on the "feed until they don't eat theory" as I feel that much of the food could be wasted and cause addition problems for the pond. I do think that more feed is warranted but where is the threshold?

Thoughts?

Dean

Here it is, but as you say, you're not sold on it.. Most believe "feed what fish will consume in 10 minutes".. I think that's ok.
One manufacturer that makes super high quality feed says no more than 1lb per acre per day.
My opinion is feed as much as they will consume. It's only wasted if they don't eat it, but ANYTIME you feed you are adding nutrients to the water.

BG have small stomachs so more often feeding is good. That assumes that a few BG hogs aren't getting all the food. There are several thoughts on how to feed depending on goals/location/budget/water quality.

Having multiple locations feeding at the same time is one method. Also adding thick cover around feeders so small fish will be there and protected from predation is another concept. Also feeding multiple times same location - short duration about 20 mins apart is another. You can do this using more than one feeder and different locations as well.

There's a YouTube video for that.

The damn coons are into everything. A week ago I put up a humming bird feeder and 2 pvc homemade seed feeders. Went back a couple of days later. A 6o mile drive each way, . The bird feeders were on the ground and empty. The humming bird feeder was on the ground destroyed.

I gotta figure out how to beat coons. If I do, it will be one time in a row.

Dave the dog proof foot traps have made a considerable difference in the number of coons around our property. The problem is that once you start thinning the population others continue to expand their range. It’s a year round battle.

https://www.acehardware.com/departm...cd114a98211a95ffd6eaac0&gclsrc=3p.ds

Heppy, , I tried those and they work. However, I had grandkids when I drove to the place to check them. This was a long time ago. Damn coon was fighting the trap and squalling. Kids were crying about the poor coon.

Note to self: Leave kids at home when checking traps. Now grown, they still laugh about mean old grandpa and the poor little coon.

My battle with the neighborhood coons never ends.

Buddy of mine runs a trap line along the creek through my woods and catches at least 20 of the dang things every year.

This spring, Mrs. Augie's bird feeders were being raided every night. I started setting a large HavaHart trap baited with
sunflower seeds. Caught six of them in a month. That stopped the raids for a couple weeks, but they are at it again.

I saw one of the filthy beasts sneaking along the edge of my sunflower field a couple evenings ago when I went back to
feed the bait pond, so it looks like it's time to set the trap again.

If they keep coming at the rate they have been I'm going to have to buy another freezer.

If they keep coming at the rate they have been I'm going to have to buy another freezer.

How long do they keep in the freezer?
What is your favorite way to prepare them?

I freeze them in water, in two-gallon zipper bags. Done that way they will keep for at least a year.

I like to put em in the slow cooker with a bunch of veggies and roast until the meat just starts to fall off the bones.
Sometimes I'll roast for not quite that long, then toss em into a hot BBQ, slather with a KC style sweet sauce.
Leave in until the sauce starts to carmelize, then pull and devour.

Let me get this straight..... you are talking about coons! Can’t give them away around here. Hmmm

Well, Texicans are known to think that brisket is good BBQ meat. Can't see why ya'll would turn down a perfectly good coon. lol

Lol Augie that is true enough, they don’t even coon hunt like they used to. I eat deer and pigs but not mad at coons except when they get in the garden

I see muddy coon prints on the feeders after rain. So far they haven't managed to get to the feed, but they are persistent.

Other than that, though, they may be a net plus at my place. Clean up culled bass when nobody wants them, plus I think they've kept the geese from successfully hatching little ones.

I gave up planting sweet corn in the garden. Dang coons always got in it just about the time it was ready to pick.
They do the same thing to my peach trees. I planted a couple hills of cantelope in the garden this spring.
They'll probably get those too.

I'd leave em be if they would just stay in the woods, but they won't, so I don't. Every time I get a few they pull back, reload,
and come at me again.

And we have pulled off a first-rate hijacking of this thread with all of our coon talk. lol