Latest PB Mag: Are trout useless forage? - 11/08/20 05:23 AM
Dr Wesley Neal had an interesting article in the latest PB magazine about rainbow trout as bass forage. While he acknowledged that LMB love trout and seem to grow especially well on a trout diet, he argued that stocking winter trout for the purpose of feeding LMB is mostly futile. Too much expense for too little LMB gain. He makes a good case, and I've had to reconsider my plans to stock trout in a few weeks.
I have something like 50 lb of LMB per acre, or about 400 lb for the whole pond. If I put, say, 100 lb of rainbow trout, and all get eaten by LMB, that would amount to only 1/4 lb per bass. Considering that, at best, only 20 percent of trout converts to bass flesh (10 percent is usual figure but trout may be better), that means 1/20th of a pound extra per bass. Not noticeable, and certainly not worth paying $1,200 to $1,500. And that's best case!
But leaves out a very important point: I don't stock trout to feed all my bass. My interest is feeding the large LMB, preferably over 18 inches. Based on creel results & electrosurvey, that might be 10 to 15 percent of the bass. (I wish it were higher, but that's life.)
Okay, so if top ten percent are my target, that would mean ten times 1/20th, or half a pound extra on each of my biggest bass. Suddenly I'm very interested.
Since trout get sluggish before expiring of heat in spring, probably the vast majority get eaten without much energy expenditure by the LMB.
Problem: How do I keep the 90 percent of smaller LMB from eating trout? Answer: The trout have to be large, 12 inches & up. Due to their fusiform shape, trout are more easily eaten than other fish.
Problem: Won't some of the 12 inch trout quickly outgrow forage size even for trophy bass? Yes, some will. Hard to quantify exactly. We can catch & eat the bigguns, so it won't go to waste.
Problem: Won't hybrid stripers also eat some trout? Sure, but that will still go toward sport fish.
Problem: Won't cormorants get some? Yes, sadly. Not much I can do about that. But remember that they also eat some LMB, mostly the smaller ones.
Right now I'm thinking maybe 100 lb of 10-12 inch RBT in main BOW, 70 lb 4 to 6 inchers in my forage pond. Feed small guys up until they reach at least 1/2 pound, then release 300 lb into main BOW.
That's my current thinking. If taxes and energy prices are going up next year, though, I may have to pull back. We'll see.
Comments?
I have something like 50 lb of LMB per acre, or about 400 lb for the whole pond. If I put, say, 100 lb of rainbow trout, and all get eaten by LMB, that would amount to only 1/4 lb per bass. Considering that, at best, only 20 percent of trout converts to bass flesh (10 percent is usual figure but trout may be better), that means 1/20th of a pound extra per bass. Not noticeable, and certainly not worth paying $1,200 to $1,500. And that's best case!
But leaves out a very important point: I don't stock trout to feed all my bass. My interest is feeding the large LMB, preferably over 18 inches. Based on creel results & electrosurvey, that might be 10 to 15 percent of the bass. (I wish it were higher, but that's life.)
Okay, so if top ten percent are my target, that would mean ten times 1/20th, or half a pound extra on each of my biggest bass. Suddenly I'm very interested.
Since trout get sluggish before expiring of heat in spring, probably the vast majority get eaten without much energy expenditure by the LMB.
Problem: How do I keep the 90 percent of smaller LMB from eating trout? Answer: The trout have to be large, 12 inches & up. Due to their fusiform shape, trout are more easily eaten than other fish.
Problem: Won't some of the 12 inch trout quickly outgrow forage size even for trophy bass? Yes, some will. Hard to quantify exactly. We can catch & eat the bigguns, so it won't go to waste.
Problem: Won't hybrid stripers also eat some trout? Sure, but that will still go toward sport fish.
Problem: Won't cormorants get some? Yes, sadly. Not much I can do about that. But remember that they also eat some LMB, mostly the smaller ones.
Right now I'm thinking maybe 100 lb of 10-12 inch RBT in main BOW, 70 lb 4 to 6 inchers in my forage pond. Feed small guys up until they reach at least 1/2 pound, then release 300 lb into main BOW.
That's my current thinking. If taxes and energy prices are going up next year, though, I may have to pull back. We'll see.
Comments?