I have a well stocked bass/bluegill pond, about 3 acres and 70 years old. I am terrible about culling and am thinking about getting some Tiger Muskies to do it for me. Does anybody know where I can buy some 10-14" Tigers?
Where are you located? I've got a resource around my area (IL) that has some. You might want to do some hefty reading/consideration before you add these. Based on what I've read and been told it appears they can really annihilate a small BOW, especially if there isn't a lot of cover.
Initially I wouldn't stock any more than one per acre. Keep good catch records before and after stocking. Pay attention to numbers & sizes of bass caught per hour of angling. Note the lure used. Lure choice for catching bass is important. After 4-6 years you should see a shift of the numbers and sizes of bass caught. If no changes, then IMO you can add another 2-3 muskies (total). IMO muskies will not significantly affect the bluegill population unless bass numbers are scare. Keep us updated as to your progress on this project. Don't forget the angler catch records because this will tell you the impact on paper of the muskies.
Unfortunately you can't tell the fish which ones you want them to eat.
Also, depending on the size of the LMB in your pond, the size Tigers that are available for stocking might become dinner themselves.
Remember that with the members of the pike family, they tend to eat from the top down in size, and a 40" tiger will have no problem chewing on decent size bass.
Where are you located?
Redfishman, I'm a member of a private fishing club in Ohio that stocked tiger musky about 20 years ago. Don't know how many, it was in a 20 plus acre lake with lots of weeds, loads of small to medium size bass, and some big BG.
The TM grew rapidly, topping out around 38 to 40 inches. Exciting to see them cruising near the dock! Not very easy to catch, though someone did manage to bring in a 39 incher.
I was redworm fishing for BG when something took my bait like a freight train, never slowing down until my line broke. That wasn't a bass! So I got the idea of using heavy tackle and a LMB as bait. Put on an 11 inch LMB and waited for several hours, then the big bobber disappeared and ran off FAST. Set the hook and ... nada. Missed it. Doggone!!!
Moral of the story: If you have good habitat and too many small LMB, then a few tigers could be beneficial. But be very careful how many you stock, a big one can eat just about anything!
The only sure way to get these bad boys is with a bleach bottle for a bobber and down rigger cable at night. Just start chasing the bottle around the lake to ware them out.
Wont say where but seen this done and chased the bottle in the morning to deeper water on a very large lake and the bottle was never seen again. Should have had two bottles on her.
A couple of tiger musky should benefit your fishery.
But I would not stock a lot of them in a 3 acre pond.
