I know that with the new format we are supposed to post pictures on “Show off you catch” topic, but a good forum friend of old time PondBossers has asked me to continue the Fishin’ 2012 thread : “george is there a fishing 2012? I like looking at your fish growing” I like to see his fish growing as well! Any objections - if so moderators please delete. George
Sorry George, but no ice fishing pics this year at our ponds due to the awesomely warm weather. But last week we caught some amberjacks, tuna, and wahoo while fishing down in Venice:
NICE Natester!!!!! I love a challenge and you just proved that you also - I already knew that! Amberjack, tuna, and wahoo!!! WOW -SUPER GRAND salty SLAM!!
We ate tuna for lunch today and it far exceeded my expectations! We ate amberjack for dinner and it met my expectations cause I eat amberjack somewhat frequently, but it just wasnt fair to the amberjack after eating the tuna first! its amazing at how fast the wahoo swim compared to any other fish!!
James, Venice is my new favorite place to fish! Pretty much any saltwater species you could ever want to target!!
George, I think flyfishing the rigs would be the funnest form of flyfishing on the planet by far!! Its amazing at how many fish there are by those rigs from the top of the water column all the way down to the bottom! Someone needs to invent a freshwater oil rig fish attractor simulator pond version.
Nate, PM before next trip - You can land a big fish on a 12wt fly rod quicker than a boat rod. The fish is fighing the rod - not the fisherman. No bottom feeders on fly rods tho - just Wahoo - Kings - Dolphin....
I have found that the best cure for seasickness is line jlaving the reel.
jlaving: (Scandhoovian/North American: yall ving.), re: "ya'll leaving." Translation of Scandanahoovian decedents living in Texas and Oklahoma, meaning, "it is leaving." Equates to the word "ralph" in most of US and Canada.
I spent much of my 20's and early 30's sailing the seven seas, and spending many of my younger years on inland lakes, like Lake Superior. Sometimes that term lent itself to stomach contents. Sometimes it referred to line on a reel.
If you are prone to this malady, definitely don't have any alcohol the night before. Don't have coffee or fruit juice with breakfast. Make your breakfast bland and absorbing. Have some oatmeal with just a little sugar, but with no milk or cream. Have several soda crackers, or several pieces of semi-burnt toast. Make sure you take your Dramamine.
Don't go inside or below decks. Keep your eyes on the horizon, not the deck rail or a spot on the deck. Don't lie down. Catch a fish.
If you do feel you have the blue-water flu, use the rail, and not the deck or the "head."
I am so glad I don't get sea sick. From seeing many who have, it doesn't look like any kind of fun. My wife usually doesn't, but got it bad on a whale watching trip on our honey moon. 15+ foot seas and a boat that'll do 30+ mph through those seas was taking its toll on almost everyone on that boat though.
I've been sea sick before and it is miserable. I have it narrowed down to Inboard Diesel Engines and mid sized boats with cabins make me more susceptible to getting sick. also taking all the precautions Ken and Dave mentioned above!
Ventured out on likely the last ice of the year. While I was popping holes and my buddy was cleaning them up, I asked him to check the ice thickness which he stated was "around 3-4". Satisfied, I began setting up a few BG rods when I accidently dropped a waxie in the hole. I bent down to retrieve and thought I'd check the thickness for myself. My heart was in my throat when I measured no more than 1.75"! No where to go at that point, and it was clear first ice since our last thaw, so we stuck it out rather close to shore and sitting in our sleds. Suppose he knew there was no way I'd head out on the ice knowing how thin it was. Not smart, but glad we stayed as I stuck the two largest SMB to date. 16" and 15.25" Mamas - one on teardrop/waxie and the other on minnow rig meant for YP and HC.
Certainly not this year. Typically we'll see 6-9" for at least 3-4 weeks in NE, although the past 4-5 years we've seen up over 20" and ice around for 8-10 weeks. Been a very warm Winter, just like the rest of the country.
Beautiful Smallie TJ! You're dressed like it was cold out or something!
n8ly, yes diesel fumes get nasty, especially if the injectors have a lot of hours on them and it's running a bit rich. I got to learn to dislike boats that drifted stern first and got to know the fleet in San Diego well enough to know what boats to stay off of.
Also, if getting sick on the boat, try and remember what side is the downwind side. Bouncy seas, diesel fumes and fishing at night is about the worst combination that I can think of, especially when I haven't been out on a boat all year. I'd take an anti-seasickness pill or wear a patch for the first day or two and I'd be fine the rest of the year as long as I went out at least once a month.
The crew wasn't happy with a buddy from Oklahoma. He came out to visit and we went on a 2 day trip. He got seasick, and used the sink in the cabin for a depository. Not good!!
but glad we stayed as I stuck the two largest SMB to date. 16" and 15.25" Mamas - one on teardrop/waxie and the other on minnow rig meant for YP and HC.
Congratulations TJ - love those smallies - can't imagine ice fishing tho - supposed to hit 70 degrees tomorrow!
We ate tuna for lunch today and it far exceeded my expectations! We ate amberjack for dinner and it met my expectations cause I eat amberjack somewhat frequently, but it just wasnt fair to the amberjack after eating the tuna first! its amazing at how fast the wahoo swim compared to any other fish!!
James, Venice is my new favorite place to fish! Pretty much any saltwater species you could ever want to target!!
George, I think flyfishing the rigs would be the funnest form of flyfishing on the planet by far!! Its amazing at how many fish there are by those rigs from the top of the water column all the way down to the bottom! Someone needs to invent a freshwater oil rig fish attractor simulator pond version.
Wow this is amazing guys...some questions:
Where is Venice? Is this FL or LA, MS, AL? Sorry for my ignorance.
How much can one expect to lay out for a day or two?
I want to fly fish around these oil rigs - it's now on my BL list.
Never stuck one thru the ice, until this year, this is number 5 and 6. I think these girls have turned the corner on gape limitations and are utilizing some of my abundant 3-5" BG and larger GSH as forage. Makes a huge difference. I was very impressed with their body condition in mid winter.
A good captain out of Venice, Louisiana to fish the oil rigs will run you about $1800 for 6 guys for a day. Or if you wait about 5 years or so I will take you out on my boat. This baby right here is on my bucket list:
those are really pretty fish I wish we had had them in texas
James...let's get it done in your pond. I have feed trained SMB ready to be seined in March. Bruce has hauling tanks Banks custom designed for him. All you need are some cages to grow them out. They are the hardest fighting fish I've ever caught. They won't likely reproduce for you down there and won't compete much with your LMB, but you can supplementally stock every 3-4 years and maintain a population with a good pellet program. They love AM LM formula!
Harvested about a dozen female CNBG in 4-8 inch slot limit (one male gill hooked) this morning. Released many young males such as photo below. Sons Stan and Jeff cleaned about a dozen last evening plus three fat HSB.
Finally broke down and killed some of my babies but they will be scrumptious delicious tonight.
Wish I could get them to you Eric but have to cull the 4-8 inchers and release the obvious males - mother nature will do the job if I don't!! Fantastic genetics - true conformation!
Local lake. With the lack of ice, I'm thinking there's plenty left for the taking. They sure are fun to catch on light tackle. We ended up with almost 20. Kept 5.
I'm sorry for staying away so long. My father passed away in the fall of 2010 and I didn't do much fishing last year. However, the early spring and warm temps have thinks cooking at my place. We caught 270 crappie last Sunday.
Things are well. Timely rains last summer combined with high commodity prices made for a good year.
I'll try to work on the HSB this weekend. We're planning on restocking some this year. Jeff was supposed to do a little electrofishing tomorrow, but the weather isn't going to help us, so we may have to put it off until next week.
I was down at my dock earlier, and I saw something swimming on its side, in circles, near the top of the water. I grabbed a net and pulled this dude out!
Right at 12 inches.
Right at 2 lbs.
And over 2 inches thick!
He had rot of some kind on his tail and anal fins. He did have a yellow grub on his tail near where it was red and rotting. I haven't cleaned him yet. It will be interesting to see what he looks like inside.
Holy mackerel! Good job Ken...I can only pray for the days when I see these in my ponds! Any clue of the age? Tell us what you find in their stomachs, please.
Scott -- that's embarrassing. You are absolutely right. Plus she was full of eggs.
TJ - I couldn't identify what was in her stomach. It was dark grey mush. I have absolutely no idea how old she might have been. There were a few RES in the pond when we bought it seven years ago. I attempted to cage raise a 100 2-inch RES in the pond about 3-4 years ago, but they all escaped. I don't know if any of them survived the bass luncheon party that day.
Sunil -- the filets are vacuum packed and in the freezer. Each skinned filet was 6-7 oz. We would normally have served one up like this tonight, but there is a turkey and oyster all-you-can eat dinner at a church just down the road tonight.
Spinnerbait -- I think I was wrong about the grub. It may have been a seed or something that was stuck there. Most of us put RES in our ponds to control grubs, and I don't remember seeing grubs in other RES. The RES eat the snails that grow because of waterbirds pooping them out. The snail larva invades the skin of bass and bluegill, and I'm sure other fish. Some are "yellow grubs", some are "white grubs" and some show up like pepper in the flesh, and are known as "black spot." The white and yellow grubs are harmless to humans, but some people are squeamish about eating fish that have them. When fish have them, the grubs are small 1/4-inch worms that can be seen on the fins and in the flesh of filets.
The snails act as hosts during one stage of the parasite's life cycle. The snails themselves are not the parasites. I believe the eggs of the "black spot", or Uvulifer Ambloplitis, parasite are deposited in bird feces, while those of the "yellow grub", or Clinostomum Marginatum, are deposited from the bird's throat, while it feeds.
I shot a cormorant with a valid texas permit and it was full of nasty worms in its stomach all just wriggling around. I buried the bird according to state law. Thats where those nasty worms are coming from.
I shot a cormorant with a valid texas permit and it was full of nasty worms in its stomach all just wriggling around. I buried the bird according to state law. Thats where those nasty worms are coming from.
Ewww!
I sure hope those birds can't find their way to WV!
What a monster RES catmandoo! I didn't manage any large HSB this weekend, but we did catch 127 crappie. When we started our crappie harvest four years ago perhaps 50% were large enough to scale and cook whole. The rest were too small. This year approximately 7% of our fish weigh 2lbs or more. Last year that number was closer to 2% weighing 2lbs or more.
Here is an "it depends" story/situation for you guys.
I would generally agree that live bait works better if you pick the right one. I almost never fish with live bait. When I do its crickets or worms for BG/CNBG/RES. Up until a couple years ago I would have proclaimed that live bait fishing with crickets as described above is the hands down most effective method !! Then I tried Stubby Steve’s. I did a test on 3 different days (spring , summer and fall). Every time the SS beat the heck out of crickets. It would work even when the crickets and worms would not. These were both feeder fish and non-feeder fish.
So here is the question - is SS live/real bait or artificial ?
Here is an "it depends" story/situation for you guys.
I would generally agree that live bait works better if you pick the right one. I almost never fish with live bait. When I do its crickets or worms for BG/CNBG/RES. Up until a couple years ago I would have proclaimed that live bait fishing with crickets as described above is the hands down most effective method !! Then I tried Stubby Steve’s. I did a test on 3 different days (spring , summer and fall). Every time the SS beat the heck out of crickets. It would work even when the crickets and worms would not. These were both feeder fish and non-feeder fish.
So here is the question - is SS live/real bait or artificial ?
It is manufactured! Along with most other baits, be it in a display at Walmart, or getting a couple dozen GSH from a bait store.
If a human had anything to do with it, with exception, It is manufactured, be it live or not! It sure is real to the human senses, as real, as real can be!
Notice: This is just an ill attempt to answer Eric's question
When angling for LMB, SMB, BCP, and BG a highly skilled angler using artificials will consistently out catch (large numbers of large fish) a live bait angler.
What really matters is that you enjoy fishing no matter what technique you may use.
When angling for LMB, SMB, BCP, and BG a highly skilled angler using artificials will consistently out catch (large numbers of large fish) a live bait angler.What really matters is that you enjoy fishing no matter what technique you may use.
Yes Sir, and you can pick up a fly line and recast to a rising fish quicker then reeling in a line, and as a bonus leave a fly in the "strike zone" longer than with a lure or jig!!
When angling for LMB, SMB, BCP, and BG a highly skilled angler using artificials will consistently out catch (large numbers of large fish) a live bait angler.
What really matters is that you enjoy fishing no matter what technique you may use.
I'm not sure I'd be the farm on that one, Chochise.
When angling for LMB, SMB, BCP, and BG a highly skilled angler using artificials will consistently out catch (large numbers of large fish) a live bait angler.
What really matters is that you enjoy fishing no matter what technique you may use.
I'm not sure I'd be the farm on that one, Chochise.
When angling for LMB, SMB, BCP, and BG a highly skilled angler using artificials will consistently out catch (large numbers of large fish) a live bait angler.
What really matters is that you enjoy fishing no matter what technique you may use.
I'm not sure I'd be the farm on that one, Chochise.
Why would you want to be the farm?
If Sunil wants to be the farm let him be the farm.
When angling for LMB, SMB, BCP, and BG a highly skilled angler using artificials will consistently out catch (large numbers of large fish) a live bait angler.
What really matters is that you enjoy fishing no matter what technique you may use.
I wouldnt be the farm on that either muchacho. There are times when live bait will slow you down on aggressive congregated fish, but those times would not be classified as the majority or consistently.
Also Sunil used Dwight as a very valid point indeed to the benefits of being a well rounded and highly educated fisherman. Many more fishing opportunities in your life as opposed to not fishing while waiting for the right opportunity.
The only way to really settle this is: the stick and I in one boat pitted against two live bait anglers in their boat on a mutually agreed upon pond or lake (that hasn't been previously fished by any of the participants).
The stick and I would handily win this contest and yet the argument would continue with the usual live bait angler's excuses, "too sunny", "too windy", "too cloudy", "fish weren't hungry" .......
There are times I use live bait in open water, but I agree with Dwight in most circumstances. The fish are after food, so the most efficient way is to keep your offering near them, and entice them enough to go for it. I am at Lake of the Woods extreme northwest MN during the conference. Sounds like an interesting challenge though.
My 9 year old daughter caught one of the biggest LMB we've pulled out of our 1/2 acre pond just yesterday. She had been fishing a little artificial lure and I found a worm so we hooked it up. I helped her cast to two LMB I could see hovering just below the surface then gave her the rod. She did a great job of just twitching and slowly reeling when her line went taught and she started screaming! She set the hook and after a nice little fight, brought in a 15 inch, 1 lb. 7 oz. LMB. Due to poor planning on my part, I did not have a camera and had intentionally left my phone at home, so no pic, but that little girl's ear to ear smile is permanently etched into my memory!
Weather has been so awesome this March, its felt alot more like June than it has March. Anyhow, fish are biting like crazy (not like cheyenne crazy, but we are catching lots of fish)
Bluegill were schooled up near the surface over 14 feet deep water and we were catching them on crankbaits:
ewest, We actually had a fish fry yesterday. It made for quite a nice day. We caught most of them on a combination of live and artificial. Wax worms are the ticket to catching slabs with a jig Nate! I'm very impressed with those BG. We never see hogs like that at my place.
Weather has been so awesome this March, its felt alot more like June than it has March. Anyhow, fish are biting like crazy (not like cheyenne crazy, but we are catching lots of fish)
Bluegill were schooled up near the surface over 14 feet deep water and we were catching them on crankbaits:
so lets some this up, cheyenne is a live bait fisherman who just caught 250 big crappies on live bait. The only logical conclusion is that live bait is supreme until somebody posts a picture of more than 250 big crappie caught on artificials......
Cheyenne, Some day I am coming to your lake crappie and catfish fishing. On a totally unrelated subject, let me know when you and most of your family members are headed out on a family vacation.....
Cason, you and Nate don't count as challengers to bait vs. lure fishin' cause y'all ain't normal (fishermen) - besides that Nate is a "closet" fly fisherman - Brandon and I taught him to cast a fly rod at PB Conference II and he won a silent auction fly rod...
Cheyenne, Some day I am coming to your lake crappie and catfish fishing. On a totally unrelated subject, let me know when you and most of your family members are headed out on a family vacation.....
I've got plenty of room. I've even got a nice lodge with 9 beds to put everyone up in. Just say when.
Have some pics to add from this past weekend while fishing below Gavins Point Dam, Nebraska side.
Just a hair over 21" and 3.5 pounds. Caught a lot of small walleye, but the sauger we caught were really good sized fish. And a species I hadn't caught before.
A couple other species that were firsts for me...
Caught some drum and a bunch of white bass as well.
Crappie was a surprise.
Another solid sauger.
My buddy snagged this paddlefish on his 6'6" UL rod on 5 pound test line and landed it!
Always nice to lose track of how many fish you catch. Definitely a memorable experience.
It was an absolute blast to say the least. At first we never knew what we had on, but as we continued to catch fish we started to get better ideas of what we were pulling in based on the fight.
Pic 3 is a goldeye. First time catching one and I caught a ton of them. Great little fight on them and lots of teeth! Found out the hard way as I tried to lip my first catch. Yep, pic 4 is a silver carp. They're all over the place up there. You could almost walk across the river in places there were so many skimming the surface. You couldn't help but snag a few while jigging.
Haha, duly noted. In my defense, if you're referring to the sauger picture, my eyes were open, but just looking down at the fish. I haven't caught enough big fish to be great at the presentation yet. Hope I'm getting better though!
You're right on Scott, the bass are beginning to spawn. I noticed yesterday that there were a half dozen large RES hanging out in deeper water just off their spawning area also. If the water temps don't drop it won't be but just a few days and they'll be on too.
I love seeing a fishery so well managed that BC fill a niche and the lake remains productive. Success story here for sure. Thanks for sharing Cheyenne.
Cason, nice fish!!! Do you stock them or natural reproduction? What role do you think BC play in your pond management to create such a productive lake?
George, I know that some hybrid blue x channel catfish were stocked over ten years ago. I didn't think many had survived the draining of the pond in 2003. I didn't count rays in the fins but the top two looked like those hybrids to me. Jeff from SE Pond and I have talked often about these large fish and what possible role they may play. Our only guess is that they could be controlling the large gizzard shad. We never have electrofished a shad over 10-12". We've decided not to remove the large fish because I do think that they are playing a role in our pond. I'd much rather remove more smaller catfish that compete with HSB and LMB for the same size forage item.
Well I wish I would have had my camera, but I was able to pull a black crappie off the bank in my small pond. Think it was try to nest up in about 6 inches of water, and you could see the black stripe down its nose.
My father tried a few times to get it with a jig, but I had to show him up and toss a minnow out, it was neat to what it come up and hit the minnow.
Not sure why they had the black nose, as I did not think that is what I bought, but sometimes you may not know where your source came from. Still a nice 10 inch crappie which was stocked 2 years ago at 3-4 inches.
Cheyenne I like that theory regarding control of your GS, and the fact you aren't seeing any GS reach larger sizes common for them is definitely a clue that supports your theory. The HSB and LMB probably enjoy schooling GS and hammering them all Spring and Summer, too? I recently read an article in In Fisherman about trolling a shad on the surface for BC. Amazing they are very active predators, even chasing and taking bait from the surface. The more I learn about BC the more they amaze me.
George, I know that some hybrid blue x channel catfish were stocked over ten years ago. I didn't think many had survived the draining of the pond in 2003. I didn't count rays in the fins but the top two looked like those hybrids to me. Jeff from SE Pond and I have talked often about these large fish and what possible role they may play. Our only guess is that they could be controlling the large gizzard shad. We never have electrofished a shad over 10-12". We've decided not to remove the large fish because I do think that they are playing a role in our pond. I'd much rather remove more smaller catfish that compete with HSB and LMB for the same size forage item.
I just stocked several ponds with farm raised pellet trained blue cats and am excited to monitor them closely over the next few years. Very exciting stuff.
11" RES [pond record and NE Master Angler] 14" HC [pond record and I'm sure a MA for NE - new species for sure!] 14" YP [pond record and NE MA] 8 HSB up to 24" 20 SMB from 13 - 16" 9.5" BG [pond record] Dozens of GSH up to 8-10"
jig/crawler is considered live bait. TJ your post can be likened to the guy who starts running before securing the football or the gal who changes the babies diaper without a new one readily available, you simply need the pics in the same post for validity or all you got is just words...
All you others claiming to catch fish with no pics dont count either.
OK, I don't count because I NEVER carry a camera. It's just not me.
However, last Saturday morning I broke out a 3 wt fly rod and some bugs that George gave me 3 or 4 years ago. I need to practice with it for next years trout trip to Arkansas with my BIL. I went to the dam to practice since there are no trees. I never fish there. George showed me how to do this stuff and I had to stop and think about just how to cast that thing. No sweat; it worked but George probably wouldn't have appreciated my form. I started catching BG from 5 to 9 inches on every cast. The rod broke on the 2nd fish so I went back and got a 7wt and continued. After about 45 minutes I went back to the house and got my Wife. All of this continued, after a break for breakfast, until about 2:00 when we had to leave.
At one point I went back to the house for another rod and nightcrawlers. The only fish that we caught on live bait were 3 to 5 inch. I figure the fish are pretty well conditioned to the red and white bobber. I hauled about 15 fish back to my previously dried up forage pond.
Gotta buy a couple of 3wt fly flingers. Just why are those things about 3 times as expensive, with very little technology involved, as a good level wind casting rig?
MRHELLO, I seem to recall that the black stripe on the nose is a strain of crappie that came from the White River in Arkansas. I believe Lusk said that but I could be wrong.
Anybody out there catching fish on artificials??? sure havent seen any recent pics? George? Dwight? Anybody??
Nate, headed out this morning with 60% chance of thunderstorms - man's gotta do what he's gotta do!!!
Last couple of weeks all docs - CT scan clean - no rectal cancer detected - butt doc scope - no cancer - cardiologst told me to get out of his office, he had sick folks to see about - retina doc coming up - bladder cancer doc coming up ..... back in shape - goin' fishin', rain or no rain!!
OK, I don't count because I NEVER carry a camera. It's just not me.
However, last Saturday morning I broke out a 3 wt fly rod and some bugs that George gave me 3 or 4 years ago. I need to practice with it for next years trout trip to Arkansas with my BIL. I went to the dam to practice since there are no trees. I never fish there. George showed me how to do this stuff and I had to stop and think about just how to cast that thing. No sweat; it worked but George probably wouldn't have appreciated my form. I started catching BG from 5 to 9 inches on every cast. The rod broke on the 2nd fish so I went back and got a 7wt and continued. After about 45 minutes I went back to the house and got my Wife. All of this continued, after a break for breakfast, until about 2:00 when we had to leave.
At one point I went back to the house for another rod and nightcrawlers. The only fish that we caught on live bait were 3 to 5 inch. I figure the fish are pretty well conditioned to the red and white bobber. I hauled about 15 fish back to my previously dried up forage pond.
Gotta buy a couple of 3wt fly flingers. Just why are those things about 3 times as expensive, with very little technology involved, as a good level wind casting rig?
Leaving the Crappie in. I cage trapped an Age 1 HC - first reproduction evidence. I was happy to see it was certainly not in good shape at all - so I'm hoping the research on HC F2's is accurate....really hoping. I will post a photo, Condello has it on his camera.
Anybody out there catching fish on artificials??? sure havent seen any recent pics? George? Dwight? Anybody??
Nate, headed out this morning with 60% chance of thunderstorms - man's gotta do what he's gotta do!!! Yeah - you betch - I'll have pictures....
Clobbered CNBG this morning - biggest 11+ inches and 1.5lbs - photo tomorrow when I get home. Just heard - tornado warning - batten down the hatches....
George, the place made it thru the storms O.K.? I called my buddy down there last night, and he hadn't heard from his foreman on the ranch. He was in Plano at a seminar when the storms rolled thru Dallas.
Yeah Scott, lots of wind and rain but no damage. Good rains continue to flush bad nutrient laden water - I am a believer in syphon spillway syssems!
I believe the "media" sometimes tends to exagerate storm damage by mulitple helicopter shots of same area from different angles - not to lessen concern for tormado victims.
I caught a nice size sunfish (I believe a bluegill) in my pond (no picture). It was very fat and had a swollen bright orange area on the front underside. Much more pronounced, brighter orange, and swollen compared to other fish that I have caught. Is this a sign of spawning? Would this be a male or female?
I agree with Spinnerbait - nice LMB, but even nicer dead snake! I killed one this evening after cutting it when I apparently ran over it with my lawn tractor. I grabbed it and chucked it into the pond while it was still wiggling hoping to see a LMB eat it, but no such luck. Oh, well. At least it's a good snake now!
It is a rat snake. They are good snakes. However, the snake I shot on thursday was not a rat snake, but it is now a good snake. Sorry, no pictures, the impact of the bullet tossed both halves into the pond and after a little bit of wiggling, it sank.
This one is first fish of 2012 for me. Not measured or weighed, but was about 14 inches and 1.5 lbs. Caught out of my own pond on 3/25
Fished about 1.5 hours on Sunday, 4/8 and caught my new personal best LMB. 19.5 inches and 4.43 lbs on the digital scale. We're still a bit cool here at 52 that day. Caught out of a local lake.
[quote=george1]Fish really turned on this morning after storms yesterday. Mrs. G's CNBG below. Colors more vivid and colorful than photo.
Thanks Cason – CNBG lost his color before I could get camera ready. Photo below is example of pure Florida CNBG genetic confirmation that I select –copper nose, crème tip tail fins and fewer, broader vertical stripes.
Really have some good ones this year in spite of record drought and heat wave last couple of summers – released several pushing 2lbs – hope to hit the magic number this year. Ours get broader and thicker when they hit 10-11 inches – Can’t wait to see some of your monster HSB….
James, as you know, fish are not that predictable - they have to tell you what to do .... my current generation of HSB won't take pellets at all even tho grown out on fead pellets at the fish farm. Gonna have to feed them spin flies or white clousers - tied up some glo minnow flies but didn't get to try them this week.
As luck would have it George, we set a new pond record today. I wish my friends had better FPPT to show just how impressive this fish was. It could be my proudest moment as a pond owner.
As luck would have it George, we set a new pond record today. I wish my friends had better FPPT to show just how impressive this fish was. It could be my proudest moment as a pond owner.
This HSB broke the 10lb mark!
Cason, you just made my day - CONGRATULATIONS!
Originally Posted By: ewest
We have caught 8-9 lb HSB. I hope to get to 10 lbs this year. We need to make it this year as that crop of HSB are nearing their life expectancy.
Eric, I knew you could do it! You guys are setting the bar very high for us wannabes! CONGRATULATIONS!
Made another trip up to Gavins Point Dam yesterday, hoping to catch some fish just before those storms rolled in. The bite was "slow", so to speak, but we still caught fish and had a good time. We drove into the teeth of the storm on the way back.
Oh, one more thing if Bill or Travis, or someone else would like to lend their thoughts. At some point during the drive back home, the batteries died on my minnow bucket. Considering the conditions I was driving through, I didn't really care and didn't change them out. There was only one fish still breathing when I arrived home and it wasn't a FHM. Another angler added some minnows to my bucket as he was leaving the river so I'm now not sure if this fish came with the ones I bought or was one that he added. Anyway, am really curious what you think it is.
EDIT - He has since died and now his fins are flared up.
We got a lot of rain and tornado warnings, but none of the real ugly stuff that hit south of us. I took I-29 back down yesterday and hit just loads of rain just south of Sioux City. My buddy went a different route, on the Nebraska side, and drove through water covered streets.
Eric I think the life expectancy is greater than you think. What do you think the age limit is? The biggest problem we have with ours at this point is the tackle required to catch them has gone up in size and many of the fish now have hooks in their mouths from broken line.
Cason, Your fish rock, BTW how old are your hybrid striped bass and have you restocked any of them recently?
Ewest, up north here I would disagree with the typical lifespan of 5-6 years. We will see though, I stocked year old fish in 2007 and still have most of the originals with no signs of them nearing death.
I have electrofished many area fishing club lakes who have hybrid stripers well over 10 years old. Those fish typically grow alot slower than my pellet fed fish, but they are still nice 4-6 lb fish.
Sorry just saw the fish Josh, it's a 9 spine stickleback. Very common fish to get mixed in with bait FHM. Cool little aquarium fish. They would be fine as forage fish in a pond IMO as well.
They would be fine as forage fish in a pond IMO as well.
Really? I keep hearing that fish don't prefer them to eat. Not sure if it's the spines or a taste thing, but that's what people have told me when they've attempted to use them as bait.
Cason, Your fish rock, BTW how old are your hybrid striped bass and have you restocked any of them recently?
Ewest, up north here I would disagree with the typical lifespan of 5-6 years. We will see though, I stocked year old fish in 2007 and still have most of the originals with no signs of them nearing death.
I have electrofished many area fishing club lakes who have hybrid stripers well over 10 years old. Those fish typically grow alot slower than my pellet fed fish, but they are still nice 4-6 lb fish.
Nate, We restocked some HSB three years ago. I would guess that this fish was part of our 2006 initial stocking. It appears that few of those fish are left in the pond, so I would say that Eric's numbers are pretty close for southern ponds. All of the fish pictured were caught on live bait FWIW.
Its funny you say that eric because three years ago I would have said five pounds was a trophy now Im thinking over ten. I had a funny thing happen this weekend. I bought a shipment of shiners from andersons and had them add some black saltys to the order. I let them go in some thick grass along the shore line thinking the bass wouldn't come up into shallow water in cover to get them. boy was I wrong. At least the fishing was good in a foot of water for a while. I think that was the end of trying black saltys as a forage.
You guys are catching some magnificant fish already this year. My ice went out a month early up here in MN so I have got some fishing in. I'm just a bluegill and crappie guy so i can't show any big bass pics. Here's the pond record crappie so far at 2 pounds 2 ounces and a large HBG that isn't the record but is 1 pound 7 ounces. That tray on the scale is 10 inches long so the fish is over 10 inches.
James every study I have seen shows extremely high initial morts on small stocked fish ( <4 in.)into a water with adult predators (LMB and others). Habituation is critical.
First 5lb HSB I ever caught was a trophy for me - then a 7 pounder - an 8lb HSB is my trophy goal. I believe small ponds are at a disatvantage to you big pond/lake guys.
Took the wife fishing a couple days over the weekend. Conditions were tough and I guess the majority of people were having a hard time finding fish. We did quite well, however, netting at least 10 different species.
My reason for posting, however, is about this fish. I posted it over at Big Bluegill last night and the guys seemed to question this fish's genetics. My objective during these outings was to get my wife on some fish, not necessarily myself, so I didn't examine the fish as thoroughly as I might have otherwise. This is the only photo of this fish. He was very thick. This lake was flooded over the summer, then locked back up recently, and there is just a smorgasbord of species now. When I caught it, I assumed GSF. The guys at BBG are thinking either HBG or possibly GSF x PS. What say you guys?
I took Noah out fishing on Sunday after Church and we had a BLAST! This boy is only 4 yrs old and he fished hardcore with me for almost 4 hrs out in a boat!!!
Catching hogs like that will keep a 4 year old entertained! Teaching young kids to fish in well managed private bodies of water makes things so much easier! Awesome stuff!
"Dad...... fishing was dynamite" he kept saying. At one point he even offered to let his grandpa and uncle real in one of his fish cause he was "catching" them all.
"Dad...... fishing was dynamite" he kept saying. At one point he even offered to let his grandpa and uncle real in one of his fish cause he was "catching" them all.
Memories are forever - priceless! You are a good dad Nate!
At least those are your well managed waters. I started my daughter out on the river close to the house as I caught many fish there. Mainly drum and carp, but it was still fun to get out and have a nice fight.
Well back to the story she liked going there and caught her largest fish to date which was about a 5 pound carp, which we had to keep and try to clean without much success. But now if we actually go fishing somewhere her patience is pretty then. I hate it that she has turned out this way but I guess I should have taken her somewhere else to learn as then she would understand it is fishing and you are not always guaranteed fish.
But at the river you are more than likely going to catch something. May not be big enough or fit to eat but usually get some action. She always asks "where was it I caught the big fish daddy, huh, why can we go there, what was it called again" "When can we go back". At any rate I tell her it was a carp and we you caught it right there on the river. All I know is she enjoys going out and asks every weekend if I can take her fishing, I just wish she understood I can not go all the time AS MUCH AS I WOULD LIKE TO, daddy has things at the house we have to get done. But I try to take her as much as I can and just pray she stays interested in going. Such good memories and experiences are formed.
I took Noah out fishing on Sunday after Church and we had a BLAST! This boy is only 4 yrs old and he fished hardcore with me for almost 4 hrs out in a boat!!!
This just made my month. Wow...how cool on every level is that? You have a mini-Nate on your hands...bet he doesn't let you out of his sight very often. True blessings Nate!
At this stage in his fishing career, the little ones are just as important to him, if not more intriguing. "are we gonna take a picture of this one" was the question while reeling in every fish. He couldn't put the connection between what fish got pictures and what fish didnt. They were all special.
When my dad took me fishing it was basically I could come along and pretty much fend for myself and keep myself entertained for 4-8 hrs. When I take my kids fishing, the focus is 100% on them, conversation, answering questions, throwing rocks, searching for frogs, talking about fish, etc and usually even then I only keep these outings 15-45 minutes. This was Noah's first in the boat all day excursion and it did get long for him, but he was so proud of himself for the accomplishment as we prepared and planned for his big day out with the guys.
I have taken this same approach with all 3 of my kids and all of my nieces and nephews and 13 out of 13 are hooked on fishing and spending time with their uncles outdoors.
Eric can you help me find a chart to show what a 27 inch hybrid should weigh? We didnt get a girth but did get the length. One of my friends killed a huge 25 incher today by somehow cutting his gill. The thing had blood in the water everywhere.
Eric can you help me find a chart to show what a 27 inch hybrid should weigh? We didnt get a girth but did get the length. One of my friends killed a huge 25 incher today by somehow cutting his gill. The thing had blood in the water everywhere.
James, "Inspired by Nature" website has a good Length/Weigth calculator that I have found to be reliable. IBN chart for Hybrid Striper: 25 inches - 8.71 lbs 27 inches - 11.09
thanks george i went to the website and could not down load or find it. I didnt catch either of the two big fish if I had I would have made a mount for my cabin of the bigger one. The hybrids were really biting this weekend
James, here is the website but I can’t find the fish calculator download. IIRC Bill Cody is the one that recommended this site years ago – maybe he can help.
Hit up a buddy's place last night. Crappie were biting when I first showed up, then we went after the cats. Caught three nice ones. My buddy couldn't figure out how to get the glare off the pics taken from my iPhone, but I thought I'd share some of the "Whoops!" pictures...
Thanks George! I usually am so worried about the fish dying I often measure them without taking a picture but the one on the dock was already dead. I weighed it but it wasnt huge so I forgot what it weighed. I think around eight pounds. The other one my dad was holding he really wanted a picture. The one he is holding is 25 inches and we caught another one he has the picture of that was 27 inches. The 27 incher is the largest we have caught so far. The fish seem to have an increased mortality with the larger fish swallowing the hook. Thats what happened to the one on the dock. We have been using gizzard shad from the pond for bait which also increses the mortality. I think these fish are from the original stocking but I could be wrong.
Thanks George! I usually am so worried about the fish dying I often measure them without taking a picture but the one on the dock was already dead. I weighed it but it wasnt huge so I forgot what it weighed. I think around eight pounds. The other one my dad was holding he really wanted a picture. The one he is holding is 25 inches and we caught another one he has the picture of that was 27 inches. The 27 incher is the largest we have caught so far . The fish seem to have an increased mortality with the larger fish swallowing the hook. Thats what happened to the one on the dock. We have been using gizzard shad from the pond for bait which also increses the mortality. I think these fish are from the original stocking but I could be wrong.
James, my IBN calculator say a 27 inch HSB weighs 11.07 lbs!!! WOW and CONGRATULATIONS!!! Any one else dares a guess?
We caught some good fish of many species on Monday evening at the proving grounds.
Got some crazy stuff going on in this 30 acre lake. Nothing natural about it. It was the most sterile lake on the planet back in 2003 when we purchased it. Took me a few years and plenty of experiments gone wrong, but we are turning the corner and transforming it into one of the finest multi-species fisheries on the planet.
If you had to take a guess at it how old would you say those hsb are?
If I had to take a wild guess at the age of those stripers I would have to say 6 years, 11 months, 12 days.... Plus or minus about 2 weeks give or take. Their first 11 months were spent growing out in a hatchery. Then their first summer at my lake I grew them out in a big net before releasing them that fall.
CJ, it was a crazy big female bluegill that took a #3 mepps spinner, but it wasnt as big as the pic makes it look. My guess is between 30-34 oz. We have a bunch of bluegill in the 26-30 oz range, but this one was just a cut above the rest.
When we bought this lake in 2003 it had a bunch of green sunfish, a small number of skinny 2 lb largemouth bass, and every third or fourth fishing trip you could catch a big 8-9" bluegill. Very little aquatic vegetation, no cover, zero runoff as the lakes sits on top of a huge hill, and visibility down about 20'.
At first we started dumping in things like lime, fertilizer, windmill aerators, all kinds of fish, all kinds of aquatic vegetation, trees, catfish food, etc. (thats when I got started helping other people with their ponds and lakes cause I knew where to buy all that crap) Absolutely anything and everything that had to do with pond and lake management we were dumping in and trying. After a couple years of growing some monster catfish and some marginal success with some big smallmouth bass, along with lots of scams with the likes of the georgia giant people, arkansas free fish guy, "hybrid" crappie, broken windmills, feeders that didn't work, etc etc, I stumbled upon the Pond Boss website, spent a couple years stalking Bob Lusk and the rest is history.
Here is the kicker to this lake, swimming is actually the main activity of the lake so everything I do with fish these days has to maintain at least 10' of clean clear water or momma aint happy. Also growing trophy fish is not the focus either. Large numbers of multiple species is the focus. Most people that fish are very inexperienced anglers catching a fish for their first time, or catching a new species they would never encounter in their lifetime elsewhere.
Most of the good fish in the lake are stocked fish. It is still very hard to grow a fish from start to finish in here. We have lots of natural reproduction of many species, but those fish just dont have what it takes to grow into good adults in this environment (blessing and a cursing) To overcome that we have our own hatchery, cages, etc to grow em up to size and stock them large enough to get over the hump and turn into adult fish.
This info is just a drop in the bucket to what goes on in this lake, but its the proving grounds for observing and manipulating fish populations.
Being able to age and ID the origin and life history of every single fish in a 30 acre lake is a little over the top right? You wanna know what is even crazier is that its all in my stinkin head (yes I know I am not normal).. Every fish since 2003.. We are talking thousands and thousands and thousands of fish from over 12 different hatcheries in the US. Every species and subspecies that I can get my hands on has been experimented with.
Nate, That is truely impressive! Have a fish distributor that I work with here in MN (John C.), and he has commented to me on the projects you work on and there "cool factor". And I thought I was OCD on pond management.
Nate, that's simply crazy - you are crossing boundaries and achieving remarkable things. Trophy WE, HSB, SMB, BCP, BG...are you kidding me? Nutso, hat's off to you. Absolutely love it.
While Lusk was in Omaha with Bing and some other guys at the Warren Buffet thing I offered to spend the afternoon with Youngblood at the pond. We caught/collected a few dozen CSBG for my cages then started feeding the HSB. He tied into a nice 19"er
Last weekend the kids had the urge to do some fishing/swimming. About 3 weeks early on the swimming - but figured if they could handle the mid 60 temps, I'd let them go for it.
Sure look confident before hitting the water
My son jumped in, began crying because of the shock of the icy water temps, and I had to lift him out! My daughter learned and decided to adopt a more deliberate approach:
After a few minutes to acclimate, they were still pretty chilly! Can you hear the chattering teeth?
After they dried off and warmed up, they caught a few CSBG first
Then we moved onto the HSB:
Violet caught a 17" fish - little on the trim side:
August topped it with a fish just under 20", and full of either AM LMB pellets or hopefully BG!
I tried my hand at landing that elusive 25-26" female I keep seeing hammering the AM LM pellets - hooked two fish, but lost them. Gotta beef up the tackle!
I like tru-turn baitholder hooks for your pellet flies as the barbs on the shank hold the fly well, and I get solid hookups on nearly every fish with the tru turn design. However, even a #4 isn't strong enough for HSB. I am thinking of switching to a #4 octopus [WE] hook instead. I may miss some fish, but can't afford my hooks getting straightened and losing Moby again! Any other hook recommendations?
TJ, I like #6 Eagle Claw "baitholder" hooks for AQMX 600 pellets but Mustad baitholder hooks are good as well - barbs on hook shank keeps hook gape away from pellet fly. Sure like the color of your HSBs!
Hudson, I believe I was in your pond this time last year while it was 101 degrees outside.... It was like 60 degrees in Peoria and then Bang 100 degrees in Lincoln outta nowhere.
TJ, I like #6 Eagle Claw "baitholder" hooks for AQMX 600 pellets but Mustad baitholder hooks are good as well - barbs on hook shank keeps hook gape away from pellet fly. Sure like the color of your HSBs!
I'm going to buy some tonight online. I should have known better than to fish with heavy wire hooks. Still, pretty cool to see one of my babies straighten a hook!
Hudson, I believe I was in your pond this time last year while it was 101 degrees outside.... It was like 60 degrees in Peoria and then Bang 100 degrees in Lincoln outta nowhere.
Are you coming back soon? I want to put in diving platform and a zipline. Maybe you'll have some time to knock those out...probably take you all of 30 minutes with your bro and crew!
Enjoy all the photos people post , this is not my pond/lake ( I wish ) it is private though and those are pellet fed HSB, and nice BG.
hopefully the images work, I had posted awhile back for help catching pellet fed HSB, thanks for all the advice. I had 3 different scales but not sure any were working that well, any guess on the weight of these? I think the one's I posted are between 23-26in
Sunil...thats my brother's boat. I love that little mini-bass boat. It's exactly like a big boat, except it's like 8 feet long. Some local Texas company made them back in the 80's-90's. I wish they still made them! I told him to leave it to me in his will...lol. We tried it out for the first time on the new pond yesterday.
New Pond record! A friend caught this 22" 6+lb LMB in our 4 year old lake. Caught at high noon on a bright sunny day on a Watermelon Senko in about 10 feet of water.
Yes, we put him back in after the pictures. He was cleanly hooked in the mouth. Later that day I caught a 4 lb fish making it the best big bass day for that pond. The 4lb fish had swallowed the hook and I cut the line. I hope that it survived, because it was also a beautiful and fat fish. I have read that gill hooked fish rarely survive but that swallowed hook fish can make it. is that so? Here is another angle.
Zep, yes- that's my buddy that caught the fish. He vacations in Lake City each summer. He leaves next week for a month in Colorado.
wow...small world a month in the Rockies...lucky dog that's my dream one day June/July/August = In Colorado escaping Texas heat Rest of the year @ Pond in East Tx and/or College Football
The 4lb fish had swallowed the hook and I cut the line. I hope that it survived, because it was also a beautiful and fat fish. I have read that gill hooked fish rarely survive but that swallowed hook fish can make it. is that so?
Captain, I don't know if they all survive swallowing hooks, but this one of mine passed the hook.
Bobby, most of my hybrids that I have are bluegill mixed with green sunfish or bluegill mixed with redear sunfish (not pictured).
CJ, I have raised and stocked bluegills from pretty much every major hatchery in the United States. I also get bluegills from many of my other ponds.
I have the lake so full of every kind of predator, that bluegill would eventually become extinct if it werent for raising and supplementally stocking them.
I caught 8 small bluegill for my 6ft back yard pond and cut the line and left in the hooks they swallowed. They lived two years and grew to full size.
I've also used lures as decoration in my aquarium, seen the hooks rust up in a matter of days and also read that the acid in the fish dissolves them even faster (seems possible).
Got to fish my pond for a spell today while catching BG to transport to my neighborhood retention pond. This LMB was just over 4lbs. and caught on a shiner:
Randy, I don't know for sure, but I think female. It had a pretty angular bulge in it's gut, so it seemed pretty healthy.
I feel this LMB was stocked in my pond in '05. At the time of stocking, it was at least a year old at 12-14". It was during that 2005 Bass Master Classic, and a lot of those LMB that I got had injuries in the center of their lower jaws. This bass had that sign on his jaw.
So this LMB could be 8-9 years old. He/She's survived a lot of scumbag poachers, and perhaps I've caught it a time or two in the past.
Got to fish my pond for a spell today while catching BG to transport to my neighborhood retention pond. This LMB was just over 4lbs. and caught on a shiner:
Got to fish my pond for a spell today while catching BG to transport to my neighborhood retention pond. This LMB was just over 4lbs. and caught on a shiner:
Hey! Where were those things when we visited a few weeks ago? All we got were your cast-off bullheads!
Actually, the bullheads, which were the biggest I'd ever caught or seen, were delicious and greatly enjoyed. About 40 people enjoyed half of them at our Memorial Day party at Gary's place. The other half will be cooked at our place for a Father's Day celebration that will include 40-50 people.
Anyway, beautiful bass.
Sunil's pond is one of the most incredible fisheries anywhere. He has grown a lot of fish that are typically only seen hanging on sport shop walls. I'd have to say that I've never caught bigger yellow perch or bullheads anywhere. His smallmouth are morbidly obese. The LMB that patrol the shoreline are scary big, and look like clown-sized baseball bats pushing through the water.
Anyway, beautiful fish. You sure do have a great fishery.
I was trying to get some weights on these hybrids. It seems that once they get to a certain length each inch really adds a lot of weight. the first fish weighed over a pound more than the second one even though its only a couple of inches longer. the second one weighed less than seven and the first one weighed more than eight. the first one was about twenty five inches and the second one about twenty three. Sorry for the poor pictures but here is my photography helper. He makes it harder than easier
Hey! Where were those things when we visited a few weeks ago? All we got were your cast-off bullheads!
Actually, the bullheads, which were the biggest I'd ever caught or seen, were delicious and greatly enjoyed. About 40 people enjoyed half of them at our Memorial Day party at Gary's place. The other half will be cooked at our place for a Father's Day celebration that will include 40-50 people.
Anyway, beautiful bass.
Sunil's pond is one of the most incredible fisheries anywhere. He has grown a lot of fish that are typically only seen hanging on sport shop walls. I'd have to say that I've never caught bigger yellow perch or bullheads anywhere. His smallmouth are morbidly obese. The LMB that patrol the shoreline are scary big, and look like clown-sized baseball bats pushing through the water.
Anyway, beautiful fish. You sure do have a great fishery.
I have to second Ken's comments - Sunil's pond is just amazing. Back in 2010 when we did our first regional gathering there, we were nailing LMB that were absolute hogs. That is one diverse, productive, and healthy fishery for sure, and this great looking fish is just one example of it.
Got to fish my pond for a spell today while catching BG to transport to my neighborhood retention pond. This LMB was just over 4lbs. and caught on a shiner:
As you've likely noticed, along with some of my fish my personal WR is well over 100%. I'm going to quit snacking on AM LM and am adopting a strict diet of zooplankton - started yesterday. Will keep you posted on the results.
So your RES are eating pellets..? That's awesome mine would never come around all the action the feeder gets.. This years the first I've seen 2 in 2 yrs..
My most reliable methods for RES angling are light jighead [1/32 or lighter] with crawler nub fished just off bottom or thill [float] and barbless #8 bait holder/crawler nub drifted just off bottom. I am rewarded with the occasional YP this way, too. Both species seem to be more benthic in their foraging patterns.
[Yeah, I DID just employ the term benthic, and I'm all shades of impressed with myself. Benthic, incidentally, also describes the location tendecies of JHAP when he takes off his water wings in the pool.]
Awesome fish! Do I see some BG genetics in there? The bronze belly sure makes it look like a RBG hybrid - but the mouth still looks very RES. Any expert opinions?
Here's a nice LMB I caught while on a "cull trip" last week. I usually stick to spinning rods, 4 lb line, and 4" Jackall Flick Shakes to entice the smaller LMB, but this one was obviously hungry.
She looks far healthier to me than what we were catching for the last few years. I'm guessing she was around 6-7 pounds. It seems like the more small LMB I pull from the lake, the healthier the bigger fish get. Who would have thought that?
Tested some weedless LMB deer hair flies this morning, designed to cast into heavy cover without hang-ups – they worked well in old flooded goat weed stalks, covered in places by water primrose.
Thanks James - I was testing these flies for a buddy that we swap stuff - he's better with deer hair than I .... I have some "Gutless Frogs" coming from an Aussie friend that work in heavy cover. They run "hook point up" burying the hook point somewhat like a plastic worm - fun stuff!
TJ, I'm pretty sure it is but it's from the main pond and could be a F1 - it's the right age and has the lateral line markings but not prominate. The only ones I am sure of are in the brood pond.
good job george i love seeing you catch fish on your own flies it must really feel good to know a lure you made works
James, you need start tyin' flies - you have a passion for the fishin' stuff. I have a good friend that shares your professsion and he's a really good tyer - and fisherman! He even ties little bitsy trout flies - uses the kind of surgical magnifying glasses you guys use. They have fly tying instruction sometimes at BassPro and Cabelas ... Try it - wish I was closer...
I see james holt and TJ both caught some of those "upside-down" HSB. Those are nice fish, but I think they would put on weight faster if you guys could teach them to swim "right-side-up".
I was looking at a 29 inch Hybrid striped bass that weighed 19pounds. They seem to get much more round after about 24 inches. I am still wondering what is going to be the limit in a pond or small lake?
WOW! Amazing success story...should do a feature on this fishery for the magazine.
How large were your GSF for bait? Wondering the gape capability of a HSB that size. Thinking 4-5" GSF can be managed?
I've had them eat 6"+ GSF with no problem. If the article statement was aimed at me, there has already been one. It ran in the November/December '10 issue.
I didn't get to measure it James, or weigh it. I guessed it to be in the 10-12 pound range. It was easily our heaviest and longest HSB to date, and we've caught two over 10 pounds this year. My best guess on age is that it was from our original stocking in 2004, though it's possible that it was stocked in 2009. Given the size of the majority of our HSB now, my money is on the 2004 class. Very few of those fish remain, but they are hogs. This fish was the thickest HSB I've seen in my pond.
my original stocking was in 05. there are only a few of them left. Mostly due to fisherman mortality. Are you feeding them? Do you have gizzard shad? Im wondering if the limiting factor is going to be how long they can keep fishermen from killing them.
If you didn't have enough reasons to attend the Pond Boss Conference at Table Rock Lake this fall, here is one more, courtesy my brother Thomas.
This post-spawn 6# LMB hammered a spinnerbait this morning at around 6:30 am. Thomas was fishing from the bank using a 5' fast action rod and 4# test...it was quite a ride. Nothing like landing a fish that weighs more than the breaking strength of a line.
Zep, when you can't find something, always remember to take a peek in the archives (Common Pond Q&A) It's the 4th thread down.
Bless you esshup. I often feel like I'm in a foreign country and very lost...lol. This translation page (I seemed to have lost along the way) will help. Thanks again.
Zep, when you can't find something, always remember to take a peek in the archives (Common Pond Q&A) It's the 4th thread down.
Bless you esshup. I often feel like I'm in a foreign country and very lost...lol. This translation page (I seemed to have lost along the way) will help. Thanks again.
Don't worry, Zep. JHAP has felt like that for years and has given up the search for a cure....
Don't worry, Zep. JHAP has felt like that for years and has given up the search for a cure....
Sunil...it makes me feel better I'm not alone!
I wonder if in the background program we could have all abreviations translated and actually appear as the full words to us rookies and slow learners? Or hyper-link all abbreviations so when you mouse over them the full words appear?
Are they going to have an abbreviation tutor class at the PBC? (PBC translated = Pond Boss Conference)
my original stocking was in 05. there are only a few of them left. Mostly due to fisherman mortality. Are you feeding them? Do you have gizzard shad? Im wondering if the limiting factor is going to be how long they can keep fishermen from killing them.
Yes, we feed aqua max LMB during the summer when our well is running. We also have a nice population of gizzard shad. We try to avoid catching them when the water temps get up.
Dave....I am no computer guru but I would think all the abbreviations could be made into a database that when a mouse rolls over them they would display the full word. But like you say I am going to try and learn them....it's my fault...I always waited til the night before a test to cram study...maybe thats why I failed Trig in high school...however I do wonder how many newbies that are more casual viewers are as lost as I am sometimes.
I still have to look up some of them. However, there are about 25 or so most common that are used all the time. You'll catch onto those pretty quickly.
I was working on the rope swing on the far side of the lake and on the way back across was trolling just a generic deep diving crankbait right down the middle of the lake. Was going very fast...
Cason, were you fishing in Venice? I am headed there July 1-4th for some Tuna Fishing!! I can see you guys were doing a little chunking..fun fun stuff! Blue water fishing is what I enjoy most!!
We didnt weigh the striper but we did eat her for dinner. She was full of eggs. The muskie tasted fabulous too. Im telling you if you havent eaten muskie you need to give it a try!!
Ryan, your pond and farm just looks fun! Gflo, your wife does indeed look lovely and just fun, great pic. Congrats on the catch. (your wife, not the fish).
For those of you that haven't spent time in East TX, we tend to have fun wherever we find it.
So, here's the details of the best Father's Day I've ever had.
1) We spent all morning cleaning up a peninsula to get it ready for fly fishing. George, have we got a surprise for you!
2) Taught my son to worm fish. He'd always been a chunk and wind guy, so this was a big day for him. We loaded the boat with small fish and then he caught this one on a Fluke (guessing 8-9 lbs). The boss said I had to PS her out since she looked fat on her Yak.
3) We drug out the steel plates, and shot Zombie guns in the pasture all afternoon and had a large time. At dusk, we decided that Tannerite was required, so anything that wasn't tied down got "blowed up".
4) After eating dinner, we saw beavers and decided they needed to be removed. They were.
It was just nice to spend time with the family and no one lost a limb.
Nate, We were indeed in Venice. I'm impressed by your powers of observation. We were on the tuna for a while before we decided to chum, but when we did things picked up. We were out past mars, 75 miles out. Blue water fishing is definitely amazing. Who are you fishing with down there?
Fished in the gulf this past weekend about 40 miles out of Galveston. We ended up cutting the trip short due to windy conditions and high seas but while we were there the bite was good for Red Snapper, Kings, Wahoo, and a few Sharks.
Nothing like the monsters above, but I think that pond is a lot bigger and saltier than mine.
Got this critter on about a 6-inch dead chub this morning.
This was one fat catfish. I haven't cleaned it yet, but from the way my fish pellets have been disappearing lately, I'm assuming that is what it is full of.
Twenty-seven inches and 9-1/2 lbs.
Time to go clean this critter.
I still need to take 2 or 3 of the remaining siblings out of the pond. I can't remember for sure, but I believe these were put in three years ago as 6-8 inchers. It is possible it was four years ago.
We were dragging Rapala D-10 cranks in 8ish to 10ish feet of water, bumping the bottom hard. The fish would just obliterate the crank when they hit it! The fights were amazing. The technique was harder than it looked however, as the boat operator need an exquisite knowledge of the bottom contour, and the associated snags and hangups.
I too, am a devotee of using flies with spinning gear. I love the slow fall, (sink rate) of a wet fly presentation made with a fly rod, but don't usually have room for a backcast.
I've been experimenting with popular wet fly patterns emulated on 1/80oz or 1/100oz jigheads with foam bodies. The weight allows for a decent cast without the need for a casting float, while the foam bodies slow the sink rate through the water column. Still looking for that killer combo for big BG's, but I am seeing very promising results.
From what I can see, still not enough room for some of the places I fish. And, when you're straddling a multiflora rose bush, or a brush pile, I think several coils of line at my feet would not help my blood pressure any....
I've got my casting distance up to around 30' with this setup, and the fly/jigs I'm making still sink slow enough to entice a fish or two.....
Nice SMB! Now, how long is the handle on the fishing rod?
The handle is 11-1/2", the other SMB I caught earlier was right at 10".
Back in late October of last year I put twenty SMB in the pond, all of them were 5-6" with one 8-9" fish in the batch. It looks like they are growing well on fathead minnows.
I figured Omaha would comment on the Drum he seems to be one of the few that care about these fish. As they are much fun to catch and with the size in the pic are pretty tasty.
Omaha, what would you consider as prepared correctly?
I figured Omaha would comment on the Drum he seems to be one of the few that care about these fish. As they are much fun to catch and with the size in the pic are pretty tasty.
Omaha, what would you consider as prepared correctly?
The fish/fillets need to be iced right away and the red meat removed. That's basically it. Put that next to walleye and you won't know the difference.
Ain't the drum full of bones or something? I thought you couldn't just fillet them because of the bones? All I remember is my dad telling me when i was a kid was " that's a damn drum, full of bones and trash, throw it back" never even thought of keeping one since then lol
Ain't the drum full of bones or something? I thought you couldn't just fillet them because of the bones? All I remember is my dad telling me when i was a kid was " that's a damn drum, full of bones and trash, throw it back" never even thought of keeping one since then lol
No bones. Solid fillets. This is why I consider them to be the most underrated freshwater fish that swims.
The wife caught another nice fish last night. I'm pretty proud of her fishing ability, but it also embarrasses and puts me to shame (I will not be including any of my fish from the night...).
Bruce: My wife is intensely jealous of your catfish. Impressive to take a cat like that on a lure. Very nice fish! Jeremy Wade is also her hero. First thing she said was, "That is a river monster fish..."
eric that is a beautiful fish! I really like the coloration and just look at the body condition! It doesn't have the grey color of a feed trained bass?
TS are doing fine. Several sizes including schools of yoy. Good growth on that fish at 4 yrs. Time will tell. Hope to have more info by fall based on some genetic testing.
Lake Fork ain't dead yet! Look at the belly on that beast (The one in the front). One of about 20 caught today. All looked like they were ready to spawn. The shad, yellow bass and white bass as forage have created some toads at Fork, and the next few years should again be as spectacular as the old days.
Caught several 4 pounders that had 2 pound frames.
fishinglth, they were all 20-25 deep on C-rigs. I was fishing with Mark Pack who owns Lake Fork Tackle. I usually get with him 3 or 4 times a year, and it's always a hoot.
He seems to always fish with his back to the bank, and believe me, if he find's one, he finds dozens.
I am with you there ewest, would be nice to haul some of these off to stock. Would make a great addition to any pond that needs BG (CNBG) to meet the goals.
I hope to eventually be able to source some larger CNBG and RES either from natural waters or a fish farm, with ever is available for me at the time. http://www.hartleyfishfarmsinc.com/services.html I think has larger RES so I just have to find a place to get CNBG that is not too far for me to drive.
George, So did you keep most of them to eat or where they critter snacks?
Also which pond are these in and what size is it, I am sure you have mentioned before so I apologize, also what other species are in the pond with the CNBG?
George, So did you keep most of them to eat or where they critter snacks?
Also which pond are these in and what size is it, I am sure you have mentioned before so I apologize, also what other species are in the pond with the CNBG?
I feed them to the critters except for big ripe females and they go to my CNBG "intergrade" 1/4 acre pond - have some really nice fish there... My best pure Florida CNBG are in main 2 acre pond with LMB and HSB. Love big CNBG...
nice looking LMB were you needing to take some out?
It was a local pond that we do not own but get the luxury to fish as long as we give the owner some fish and invite him to a fish fry we have once or twice a year.
In reality there are that probably need to come out but overall it has all size ranges in it.
somebody once told me they didn't think catfish spawned very well in a pond. WEll THEY DID IN MINE!My goal is to remove 5000 lbs this year there are so many of all sizes I'm not sure its even making dent. The rule is every catfish that is caught must be removed which has been hard for my father in law to watch when after cleaning 100 lbs of fish the rest get tossed on the bank!
I think this year was the highest recruitment of catfish I have seen in my pond there are literally thousands of the ones in the second photo. At least I am guessing that fish is from this years spawn?
The last time Bob electrofished we only caught two catfish. We caught lots of crappie and lots and lots of shad. I may be getting out the trot lines. I haven't used trot lines yet because we also catch hybrids and feed trained bass which I don't want to kill. Im still mostly full water wise and so the draught hasn't really come into play yet. Those catfish are full of pellets and also bluegill and shad.
I wish I had better pictures showing the sheer numbers we are removing. The buzzards have been feasting which has made me a proponent of protecting the vultures that clean up each week the carnage that is left. without the vultures I would have another mess to clean up
James, do you have cavities in the pond somewhere where they can spawn?
I know they aren't cheap, but you might want to invest in a Fyke Net. I've caught whiskerfish in them (along with other fish, but LMB seem to stay out of them).
No bait. I really like the modified fyke net, it's rectangular rather than round. I have no proof, but I think it works better than a traditional fyke net.
The one that I use is 3'x5', the "hoop" part where the fish are trapped is 16' long, and the lead is 4' tall x 50' long. Dry weight is 50#. The one that I use is difficult for one person to use, but it's doable. If I were to buy another one, it'd be like the one that Chris used, 2' x 3'.
I've had so many fish and snapping turtles in it at once that I couldn't lift it out of the water. I had to drag it to shore and carefully remove the contents. I had 100# in snapping turtles alone in the net.
I know that with the new format we are supposed to post pictures on “Show off you catch” topic, but a good forum friend of old time PondBossers has asked me to continue the Fishin’ 2012 thread :
Well, after some four months of being housebound from record heat wave and drought, followed by health problems, we finally got to go fishing – and what a fishing trip! We caught tons of fish, culling female 5-8 inch female CNBG from main pond to transfer to little pond.
Copper Nose Blue Gill:
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Culled CNBG females: (I put those two males back in the pond... )
Very nice George. You picked the right week. Get ready for a weather change. Sunday the high is predicted to be 72 degrees, the high on Monday is predicted to be 45 degrees with a low in the 20's!
Go Mrs. G. -- Looks like she whooooooped you again George. Glad to see you two out stretching a line. I still have a lot of big CNBG at the feeder eating away. Latest I have ever had the feeders still on.
Very nice day at the pond yesterday. 70 degrees up until mid-afternoon when a front blew in and the temps started falling very quickly. Was riding the ATV and surprised a wild hog in the woods. We eyed each other a few seconds (he was 25 yards away) and then he took off. While on foot exploring the bottoms on the backside of the property I was surprised to find a mini "bamboo-forest" along a creek. At first sight I thought someone was growing weed on our property. This bamboo was tall...I'd say 8-10 feet tall. All in all a great day in the county.
(nice little fiesty bass caught on final cast of day on a small Bagley B crank bait)
(snapping turtle that appeared lost, but once my buddy put him back in the water he was a happy feller again)
Thanks Sunil. I had never seen it before. We just purchased the property about 9-10 months ago and I had never been in this little area. It's in some bottomland at the back of the property on the bank of a steep sided creek. I would guess-estimate it's about 1/8 acre of bamboo. Sounds like we may need to throw a panda bear back there to keep it under control.
Mark have you seen what some of the classics go for on eBay? Shows there's always a market for quality stuff.
If memory serves me correctly, one of the Rapala kids bought in and recreated the brand. Saw some new one's at the last Bass Masters Classic Expo, and it brought back great memories. Time will tell if they're as good as the one's like you have. I still have mine in some plano box somewhere.
Time is running out on this thread, lets see how many more fish we can get posted from now till end of year.....just 14 days left....
Today I took nephew Tyden down for some trout and striper fishin from the docks...He caught 6 rainbows 12-14", a 5 lb rainbow, a 7 lb rainbow, and 4 stripers from 2.5-4 lbs! All in less than an hour.....
Time is running out on this thread, lets see how many more fish we can get posted from now till end of year.....just 14 days left....
Today I took nephew Tyden down for some trout and striper fishin from the docks...He caught 6 rainbows 12-14", a 5 lb rainbow, a 7 lb rainbow, and 4 stripers from 2.5-4 lbs! All in less than an hour.....
Wow Nate - you're my main man .....! Great day - great fish .....I'm gonna fish tomorrow if I can - temp supposed to hit 70 degrees!
The lake is a waterfowl Mecca this time of year....summertime not so much, but wintertime is for the birds....placing corn and open water might have something to do with that too??
no beard for me....Justin will have a little beard though....just found out we will be filming from March 26 to May 26th....bout 10 hrs a day for 9 straight weeks....actually Animal Planet and Destination America came through with a better offer than HGTV and we are making a full series for this upcoming fall season!!! Its gonna be alot of fun and there will be quite a few pond boss properties in each episode!!
no beard for me....Justin will have a little beard though....just found out we will be filming from March 26 to May 26th....bout 10 hrs a day for 9 straight weeks....actually Animal Planet and Destination America came through with a better offer than HGTV and we are making a full series for this upcoming fall season!!! Its gonna be alot of fun and there will be quite a few pond boss properties in each episode!!
Omaha, you talkin about yourself, cause we are very much hoping to get to Lincoln in April!! I have to submit the itinerary for approval mid January and if they approve Lincoln we will be doing the fun ziplines and crazy ideas of Bruce and TJ and then having a big party/cookout with everyone at Bruce's to finish off Lincoln....Pretty much every episode is gonna end with a bunch of people eating a feast out near the water....Chef Todd is one of the characters in the show...
Just 11 more days...anyone else gonna go fishing??? Its freezin cold up here, but I still got out....probably for the last time though until ice up....
I took Chris Brackett fishing this afternoon. He is the host of the hunting shows Fear No Evil and Arrow Affliction on the outdoor channel. Here is a little clip, he invented aerial bowfishing a few years back...
So we caught some good big fish, but mostly talked about stuff...
Just 11 more days...anyone else gonna go fishing??? Its freezin cold up here, but I still got out....probably for the last time though until ice up.... ..........................................................
So we caught some good big fish, but mostly talked about stuff...
Nate, talk is cheap - fish like those are proof - great fish! You just made my day!
Here's a BBC post about a LMB caught west of Fort Worth in a guesstimated 1 to 2 acre pond on 01-21-12. The guy was from Tennessee, and didn't weigh the fish. It was returned to the pond.
Dave, I may need to turn west on I30 instead of east from now on.
There goes the theory that big fish can’t be caught in small ponds..
Bill Cody, can you take a fingernail measurement and extrapolate for length and breadth for a weight guestament? Al is going to try to contact the taxidermist that made the replica of the 19 lb Texas state record LMB.