Pond Boss
Posted By: anthropic Grass carp feeder question - 09/28/20 07:48 PM
I have permission to stock 24 GC in my 8 acre pond to help control southern naiad (bushy pondweed). For those of you experienced with them, do they become feeder hogs?
Posted By: rjackson Re: Grass carp feeder question - 09/28/20 08:57 PM
In my experience, some do and some don't. I stocked too many, so the ones that became feeder hogs were easily disposed of with a 22. I still have too many and wish more would start coming to the feeder as that's the easiest way to get them out.
Posted By: hendog Re: Grass carp feeder question - 09/28/20 11:25 PM
Plenty of GC history the last 4 years. 54 acre, HOA lake. 425 were stocked between 2011-2013 to control American Pondweed. We have 6 Sweeney feeders, they lock in on the feeding program and consume way too much Triton 4512. We are thinning the herd via hook, bullet, arrow but in an HOA environment it is not always easy. GC adapt to predation very well, they know how to survive another day. I would start out at 2 per acre and ladder stock a year later if necessary.
Posted By: Steve_ Re: Grass carp feeder question - 09/28/20 11:39 PM
Originally Posted by hendog
Plenty of GC history the last 4 years. 54 acre, HOA lake. 425 were stocked between 2011-2013 to control American Pondweed. We have 6 Sweeney feeders, they lock in on the feeding program and consume way too much Triton 4512. We are thinning the herd via hook, bullet, arrow but in an HOA environment it is not always easy. GC adapt to predation very well, they know how to survive another day. I would start out at 2 per acre and ladder stock a year later if necessary.

Wow, 425 Grass Carp in a 54 acre lake is insane. That's nearly 8 per acre, quadruple the average stocking rate. No wonder they eat all your pellets, there's probably no weeds left to consume lol. Is that the case do you think? Are there no weeds left?
Posted By: anthropic Re: Grass carp feeder question - 09/29/20 12:37 AM
Originally Posted by rjackson
In my experience, some do and some don't. I stocked too many, so the ones that became feeder hogs were easily disposed of with a 22. I still have too many and wish more would start coming to the feeder as that's the easiest way to get them out.


How many did you stock, rj? What is the size of your pond, if you don't mind me asking.
Posted By: anthropic Re: Grass carp feeder question - 09/29/20 12:38 AM
Good advice, thanks. Three per acre doesn't seem like a lot, but I'll start with two and see how it goes. Some bushy pondweed is a plus, just want to keep it from going crazy. Easier to add grass carp than subtract!
Posted By: 4CornersPuddle Re: Grass carp feeder question - 09/29/20 03:57 AM
My experience with GC has tended to be a bit different than the norm. We bought the property in 2009 complete with nearly 30 year old pond. Among the LMB and YP there were 2 big carp, both over 25" long. There were no macrophytes nor algae visible in the pond.

After 2 years of our ownership, the pond developed a monster elodea problem. The weed covered 60% of the pond bottom. We added five 10" GC. This was before I found the PondBoss forum. I imagine we would have added many fewer in our 1/4th acre BOW had I known the recommended stocking rate.

The 6 remaining GC are all over 30" now; one is pushing 40". In 1/4th acre! If I didn't mechanically remove elodea, 100% of the pond bottom would have rooted and growing there. My observation is that the GC are cropping the plants on approximately 50% of the bottom. I rake some of the rest.

Initially our introduced GC came to hand thrown pellets each evening. For the last couple of years they seem to only cruise by once a week at feeding time.

I'm torn between removing some of the GC to reduce the biological demand and perhaps free up some carrying capacity for harvestable fish, and retaining all those big, old, non efficient weed eaters. They certainly seem to be doing some good. As my pond is small and has plenty of shoreline for carp stalking, I could shoot as many as I needed to in only a few weeks time.
Posted By: Pond Star Re: Grass carp feeder question - 09/29/20 05:34 AM
1/2 acre pond - spent summers raking weeds out constantly or buying Aquathol Super K. Stocked 5 GC and the Osprey got 3 of them - so stocked 5 more and the Osprey got two of those - so have five total now, Within two years they completely denuded the pond of any weeds - so guessing 5 is too many for this size pond. They are all now 25" long (in 5 years) and if in the area when I am feeding the LMB and BG, they will help themselves to all they can get.

Would recommend starting slow and adding if you need to. Think about stocking during a time of the year when the Osprey are not so active if you have them in your area. We do not have many Eagles here, but they might be an issue also if you have them. The young 12" GC like to bask in the upper part of the water column during hot days and make for easy pickings.
Posted By: hendog Re: Grass carp feeder question - 09/29/20 01:19 PM
Lack of preferred vegetation is definitely part of the reason they choose the feeder. They are also getting old, fat, lazy, and easy is now their default. Most are in the 30", 20-25 pound class, they can be disruptive. We have stocked 9000 CNBG, 4-6" in the last 24 months so GC eating premium feed is not acceptable...Lake management is expensive, no simple answers.
Posted By: rjackson Re: Grass carp feeder question - 09/29/20 02:43 PM
Since you asked...

Purchased a 2.2 acre pond in 2001 and it was overrun with bladderwort. 10-15 per acre were recommended so I stocked 30. They did NOT eliminate the bladderwort, but made it semi-tolerable. By 2012, the bladderwort was taking over again. I stocked 50 more, yes 50 more. By 2017, I still had so much bladderwort that it was a hinderance to fishing. I brought out the chemicals and treated the entire pond in sections. That plus the remaining carp completely eliminated ALL vegetation in the pond. Since that time, I've made it a priority to sink 40-60 Christmas trees per year to provide the necessary habitat for the YOY bluegill.
Posted By: 4CornersPuddle Re: Grass carp feeder question - 09/29/20 02:56 PM
rjackson, that's plenty of carp!
How many are left alive these days? What are they eating? Have you tried eating any?
Thanks.
Posted By: esshup Re: Grass carp feeder question - 09/29/20 05:31 PM
A buddy caught an 11# one in his pond and cooked it. Said it was the best fish he's had in a long time.
Posted By: RStringer Re: Grass carp feeder question - 09/29/20 07:31 PM
Just curious if it had been awhile since he ate fish.
Posted By: rjackson Re: Grass carp feeder question - 09/29/20 08:13 PM
I really have no idea how many are still in there or what they are eating. I will occasionally see a few sunning. I will occasionally spook a few when I go up into the shallows. I've never seen one floating dead.

In the back of my mind, or maybe just in my gut, I believe they're having a negative impact on my fishery.

I did fillet one once and put it on the grill with just salt and pepper to get a true taste. This would have been one of the ones that was coming to the feeder. The fillet was a light brown color, but I tried it anyway. It was by far the nastiest bite of fish I've every tried to eat.
Posted By: TGW1 Re: Grass carp feeder question - 10/04/20 10:59 AM
When it comes to knowing how many are in the pond, I'm in the same boat with not knowing how many are there. My pond was taken over with Bushy Pondweed this past July and i had a fish kill. Mostly HSB but there were others as well, just not the numbers I saw with the HSB. Another thing is I have a Bald Eagle that shows up along with an Osprey as well. I never saw a Grass carp dead and floating but I have not seen one since my fish kill either. I stocked 10 14" ones a year ago and another 5 last spring. At that time I might have had lmb large enough to choke down a 14" Grass carp. Some of my lmb were in the 21 and a half inch range.
Posted By: anthropic Re: Grass carp feeder question - 10/06/20 05:06 AM
Tracy, I don't think I have any fish large enough to eat a 14" Grass Carp, but maybe either the heron or X#Q#% cormorants could. Bigger gives better odds of survival, for sure.
Posted By: TGW1 Re: Grass carp feeder question - 10/07/20 11:24 AM
Frank, I can't say that my largest lmb could choke down a 14" Grass carp but their mouth could defiantly be large enough to put alot of the grass carp in there when they open their mouth wide open. I lean more toward the Eagle getting the carp. they are extra large birds that set in the trees and watch over things. I have watched one attack and fly off with some pretty big salmon in their claws when I made my Alaska vacations.
Posted By: Kris B Re: Grass carp feeder question - 10/07/20 09:19 PM
@rjackson, you have 150 Christmas trees (and counting?) in a 2.2 acre pond?? Wow!!
Posted By: Steve_ Re: Grass carp feeder question - 10/07/20 09:27 PM
Originally Posted by Kris B
@rjackson, you have 150 Christmas trees (and counting?) in a 2.2 acre pond?? Wow!!

He secretly still has them all decorated with underwater lighting too! His fish really love Christmas wink
Posted By: rjackson Re: Grass carp feeder question - 10/08/20 12:51 PM
Yes sir I do. I don't remember exact years, but the ones I put in 4-5 years ago have basically just the trunk left. My thinking is that adding 30+ each year will keep the right amount of dense cover in the pond. And I do find the occasional Christmas ornament here and there around the pond smile.

One of my local Home Depot stores piles all the unsold trees in the parking lot right after Christmas. They're also a recycling point for the town. I normally stop in twice and get as many as I can put in the pickup. You'd be surprised how many you can get if you pack them in.
Posted By: Kris B Re: Grass carp feeder question - 10/08/20 02:18 PM
@rjackson, wow, so yours degrade faster than some of the images I've seen on here. (I wonder if those photos are of trees in deeper water with low oxygen content, and your experience is a more typical one?) That's a great tip, thanks! Most of my cover right now is artificial and I'm going to be working on improving that starting at Christmas.

Sorry to hijack the thread! I'm done!

Good advice, though, on GC stocking rates. Thanks!
Posted By: anthropic Re: Grass carp feeder question - 10/10/20 03:30 AM
Originally Posted by TGW1
Frank, I can't say that my largest lmb could choke down a 14" Grass carp but their mouth could defiantly be large enough to put alot of the grass carp in there when they open their mouth wide open. I lean more toward the Eagle getting the carp. they are extra large birds that set in the trees and watch over things. I have watched one attack and fly off with some pretty big salmon in their claws when I made my Alaska vacations.

Speak of the devil, guess what I saw at the pond today. Yep, a bald eagle. A pair generally visits our place in winter, leaving in spring. Love the bird, but wish it ate otters and cormorants rather than fish.
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