Esshup and I seined my biggest pond with a 200 foot seine today (I got it for only $50.00!). I needed at least 100 large yellow perch for Bass Pro Shops in Springfield, MO.

Anyway, thanks to the help of Esshup in lake effect rain and ice pellets, 109 of them will be on their way Friday morning. I'm not looking forward to the 10 hour drive, but at least I'm getting paid, not only for the fish, but to deliver them.

We also seined up some toad bluegills of which most went back. One I saved for a taxidermy customer was 1 lb. 4 1/2 oz., but only 10 1/4 inches. Definitely showing those dispan shape Condello strain genes! We made sure we took some Condello style photos to show the fish in all their glory!

I'll be back Saturday evening to post the pics. Stay tuned!

I won't let out any secrets, or previews to ruin the story, but today was a long day. I think I finally got to Cecils at 10:40 a.m. and didn't get home 'till 9:00 p.m. I'm not complaining tho. It was interesting. I was sweating it after the first pass with the seine, and I think Cecil was even more worried.

I know that of the 10's of thousands of FHM that were in his pond last year, there are maybe 1 left. (that's all that was in the seine).

I've never seen larger YP, and they could have been mistaken for small Walleye 'cept for the color.

Cecil gave me a few female BG's that weren't supposed to be in that pond to take home, and one Male BG that had a boogered up dorsal fin. That one was 10" and 15 oz. Thanks Cecil!

His SMB growth was super as well.

That was one BIG seine.

Have a safe trip Cecil!

I wish that I would have used my camera. That way I know that ALL the pics would have made it here. I think Cecil might edit out a few.....

Looking forward to the pics, Cecil!

I'm assuming you got the net used for that price? Any more available?

Rookie mistake.

Pics! Now! ;-)

Pics or it didn't happen!!!!

Have patience grasshoppers!!!

sounds like fun.... now we're all waiting for the fish porn!

Got back this evening. Too tired after the 11 hour solo drive there and back. I promise I'll post pictures tomorrow!

You should have stopped by....you were less than 2 miles from me!

Wow Rex I didn't know you were THAT close. I'll try and do it next year as this will be an annual thing especially when I start supplying them with 2 to 3 pound smallies.

I was just happy to get there and pick up a couple of things for Esshup, at their retail store, get something to eat and hit the sack. Wanted to get back home ASAP the next morning. I hope Esshup can share the driving next year. I know you do it all the time and more, but 11 hours of solo driving is a killer for this old man!

Glad you made it home safe Cecil... Looking forward to the pics tomorrow.

Its tomorrow, wake up old man.

BTW Cecil, the Bass Pro Store in East Peoria (one mile from me) is opening up in Oct 2011. I have the list of fish they are looking for to start out that tank! I met with Martin Mcdonald the conservation director this week about a few things and am super excited about this new store!! We are going to need some of your fish too!

It's tomorrow now - Sunday morning! Gotta wait for the wife to get up and show me how to load the pics on HER computer to load on Photobucket as it's been four weeks and still my computer is not back! I will be terminating my monthly service fee contract with the computer service company when I get it back. No excuse to take at least 4 weeks to remove a few viruses!




Good for you! I can handle supplying some fish if I've got them and you/they need them, although with your lake and outstanding fish I can't imagine I'd have anything you'd need.

What I'M excited about is getting a pole barn built next year with several RAS tanks. Not only will harvest to transport be much easier, but growth will be faster (controlled temp) with growth in winter vs. none in the ponds, and the fish will be more adapted to life in a tank. I.e. my shooter yellow perch right now that are 7 inches and 7 months old should be 12 inches by age 1 if I keep them inside over the winter.

Uuf! A 200' seine. That sounds like a heart attack precursor. I figured only a trawler could pull one that big.

And, I'll bite -- what is a toad bluegill? Am I just old and out of touch?

200 foot seine, 1/16th inch mesh. 900 feet of mudline had to be attached with zip ties as the mudline was shipped separately. Took some time!

Ken, pulling a 200 foot seine was a little difficult with driving rain and ice pellets, 40 degree air temps and 45 degree water temps. Add to that there was a lot of resistant due to only 1/16th inch mesh including through weeds, but Scot and I are studs. BTW my dad who usually helps with the seining left for Florida just in time. I'm pretty sure he was relieved he was not part of this effort.



Running the seine across 130 feet of pond off the pier. The pier crosses the center of the pond all the way across.



Another view. So far pics have been earlier in the day before the wind and driving lake effect rain and ice pellets hit.



A view from the other side of the pond. Notice the wind is just starting to pick up and it's getting cloudier.



First pull on the west side of the pier only produced 5 perch and several bluegills with some smallies mixed in. I was worried!



Seining the east side of the pier. The thing sticking up is a fence post and the geothermal hose that is normally under water. It seemed like a good idea at the time but no so much when we were seining. I drained down the pond a couple of feet for seining.

First pull on the east side of the pier. Net was loaded with about 100 yellow perch, 30 to 40 big bluegill, a hand full of smaller female bluegills, and lot of 8 to 12 inch smallies not pictured.



A 10 1/4 inch 1 lb. 4 1/2 ounce gill. The picture doesn't do it justice. Obviously has those Condello genes of massive width!




I think this is a 15 oz. gill I gave Esshup (Scot) for his pond. It had a goofed up spiny dorsal fin or something. Scot took some females off my hands too.

One of 109 yellow perch now at the Bass Pro Shops quarantine facility in Springfield, MO. Yeah I know it's a Condello type photo shot but hey if he can do it...



Monkey walk across the last 30 feet of pier without planks to get the net to the other side. I had to do this twice! Scot thought I'd leave this out. O.k. here come the wise cracks! I've had other priorities than added the planks! Hopefully by the next seining!

Great photo's and some nice fish Cecil, I can see what a bear hauling that net around must have been.
I guess the water was too warm for you to go swimming.

Well if I had gone in Scot was ready with the camera! Weren't you Scot?

You betcha!

Yes, that's the BG that is swimming around in the pond here. Thanks Cecil.

Great pics Cecil! Looks like you guys had "fun"... HAHA

Sorry bbjr didn't mean to ignore you. I forgot about your post.


Yes the net and mudline used was $50.00. I gave the seller more for shipping as it came from Minnesota. It's had about 300 pulls and had a few holes here and there to be repaired, but compared to over 2 grand for a new one of this length I was more than happy to buy it. I think if I take care of it I should be able to get a few more years out of it believe it or not.

I got the net by asking on an aquaculture list serve NCRAC if anyone had a used net for sale. John of Minnesota emailed me and said yes and I snapped it up. I didn't get any other responses.

That is a lot of net !!! You now have a blocking net if you need it ! Some nice fish too. What were the small fish in the seine (1 inch type) ?

BG. They seemed to be from 2 spawns. 1" and about 3/8" long

Very cool photos. Cecil that BG is massive!

I'm helping him again on Wed. More pictures to come. Different pond will be seined this time.

Nice!

Hopefully you will have some good weather this week.

They took the rain out of the forcast this week. First day of rain is supposed to be Saturday. Temps in the high 60's, maybe 70. Not typical November weather.

I fed my fish in the ponds today hydrated feed. A lot of small ones were high up in the water column.

Great photos Cecil. How long will the fish be in quarantine and what are they quarantined for?

Thanks, Cecil, I figured that was the only one. I don't even need one, but I figured at that price I would find a use for it .

IIRC VHS testing and 45 days.

You know more than I do. The VHS testing was done and negative but I wasn't aware there was a 45 day waiting period. Is this something BPS does?

Cecil, did they give you a tour behind the scenes?

They were going to give me a retail store tour but I had my mind made up I was heading home that morning.

Interestingly I found out many of these perch eventually get eaten by musky and pike in their northern stores even though they try and "target train" their large predators. Target training is where they train their large predators to take feed from the end of a tool used to grasp snakes which give the smaller fish in the tank a break.

Cecil I am not sure who told me that and it could be wrong.

You may be right, I just don't know.

I've got a $620.00 bill for testing a 60 fish lot of yellow perch and a 60 fish lot of bluegills. It would be at least another $400.00 if there was a vet in our state interested in learning to take the samples. At this point since there isn't, there is no fee for taking the samples as a state vet does it.

It's just amazing how the government expects a business to make money with all the mandates they come up with. I love to take them to court if I had the money and time, as this VHS scare lacks any merit scientifically when it comes to fish farms. A total sham. A lot of scientists don't even buy into it.

I hear you !