Pond Boss Forums INTRO Questions & Observations Look at these North Carolina feed-trained bass

I've been itching to take a look at the bass at Richmond Mill Lake in North Carolina. I haven't been able to see them since late November. We decided to feed all winter, even in water temps below 50 degrees, F. I've seen lots of fish, but these today amazed me. Jim Morgan and I went out at 4:15 this afternoon. He threw a chartruese spinner bait and I tossed a jig with a plastic crawfish. We quit at 5:30, 75 bass later. I weighed and measured for at least 45 minutes. Jim would catch one, I would take it off the hook, weigh and measure and release it, about the time he brought in the next one. Of the 75 bass, 15 weighed two pounds or less, 50 were at least three pounds, three were 4 to 4.5 and the largest was 5.5 pounds. The amazing thing, to me, was the relative weights. One would think, this time of year, relative weights would be 100-115, coming out of the winter, with the girls heavily egg-laden. But, not these fish. There was one bass at 100, 30 at 110-125, 40 at 125-130 and two above 130%. They were aggressive, bold and heavy. A 16 inch bass typically weighed at least 3 pounds. Enjoy the photos.


Jim Morgan landed this bass on his first cast, while waiting for me to get in the boat. This bass weighed 3.5 pounds and was just less than 16 inches long.


Turn the bass a bit sideways to really get an idea of its size. It was almost unreal to see bass that look like this in the middle of February. This is testimony to a winter feeding program in southern waters.


This bass was "typical" today.


This was the biggest bass of the day, about 5 ounces short of five pounds. We were fishing in mid-February, two days after a frontal passage, 48 degrees outside, winds gusting to 20 mph. I HAD to look at the fish. What a rewarding day.

What were the water temps Bob ? A thermal water history would be interesting. We see our best RW and conditions now going into the spawn. Do you have an opinion on how much of the results are from feeding , how much from increased forage (all those BG and RES added), and any from other factors (harvest , water quality improvement etc.)

Where is Richmond Mill Lake?

I live in the NC mountains but have never heard of such lake.

Thanks

Good Grief! That first fish that weighs over 3 lbs at less than 16 inches is unreal. I would consider my pond "southern waters" here in north Louisiana. I think I'll feed year around after the looks of those fish. What type of feed were they fed?

Bob, are those, well, monsters eating Aquamax Largemouth?

Eric, we have kept water temperature profiles all winter. The water here has peaked at a low of 45 degrees F, and has hovered from 53 to 55 most of the winter. Interestingly, when the water is 55, the fish are pretty active around the feeders. But, at 53, it's like they have lockjaw. They don't feed and when they bite an angler's offering, it's like they suck it in and don't move. 54 or 55 is the magic number...at those temps they are active. Under that, no business.
Gambusia, Richmond Mill Lake is near Laurel Hill, NC, in the south central region of the state. They have been a client of mine since 2005. I am helping them develop a 125 acre lake into a world class bass fishery. Their mission is to establish a client/customer relationship business with a world class fishery as a major attraction.
The bass were raised on Silver Cup feed. We followed the same thinking, along with some Purina feed. We plan to convert totally to Purina Aquamax Largemouth, with Aquamax for forage fish.
While I'm sure these fish eat forage fish, I have no doubt their primary source of food comes from the feeders. In a "normal" situation, where bass depend exclusively on forage fish, this time of year their weight increases, but it's because of egg production. "Normally," fish metabolize fat for energy in the winter as the females develop eggs. Here, the fish have continued to feed most of the winter, preserving their stores of fat, not metabolizing flesh or fat to develop eggs. They have more than they need to develop their eggs. The bottom line of this circumstance is the fish gain weight over the winter in similar fashion as warmer months. If they can feed in cool weather without having to divert energy to metabolism, they are able to keep the weight they gain. In cool water, bass metabolism is much slower, therefore they need less energy. But, if they can feed to satiation, as these fish can, they are able to retain more. When they retain more, their food conversion is much better.

Wow!!! One of those days on the water that makes a guy green to read about.

Great looking fish, Bob!

That's especially interesting to me, because 53 is the temperature at which my indoor raised bluegill will come to the surface for pellets. Not a degree lower. That's also the approximate temperature at which my HSB will discontinue surface feeding in my outdoor ponds, but as George has noted, it seems to vary with the water temperature trend, i.e. temps raising=better feeding, and temps lowering=poorer feedings.

The detailed story of Richmond Mill Lake is kindly offered in Pond Boss Magazine.

This is a shining example of how much one misses if they are not a magazine subscriber.

(hint, hint)

I hate it when that happens. Had a similar experience with my wife in a Kayak. Once she caught 3 fish during the time it took me to decided on a lure and tie it.




Ewest recently posted something about RW varying through out the year. Pre-spawn, post spawn, summer, winter. How in the heck is a simple minded pond idiot like myself supposed to decifer the RW charts given all these variables???? This offends the bean counter in me, rules, there should be simple, well organized mathematical rules. Stupid, stupid fish.

Are those just native NC Bass or do they have some Florida genes in them?

Thanks

I would say native bass because Florida strain bass do not do well in North Carolina

He who hesitates is last.

We have a mixed gene pool including some F1's as well as Fx's and a few pure strain Florida bass. Most are Fx's with some known natives. I wasn't concerned about Florida bass here because of the high flow rates of water. The coldest I have recorded here as been 40 degrees.

We have done the same with our LMB genetics. Bob's is another data point on the I-40 Fla LMB general boundary. RML is , I am guessing ,about 75 miles south of I-40. Below I-40 as a general matter (subject to local conditions which control) Fla LMB will survive and do ok - north of there Fla LMB performance declines to 0 viability the farther north you go. F1s will do ok north of I-40 but I have seen no info on how much further north before their performance drops. Northern LMB do well until you get into peninsular Fla ( I-10 and south).

Parking some LMB winter feeding/growth threads here.

http://www.pondboss.com/forums/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=22664&fpart=1 Calif LMB - LMB growth at cold temps

http://www.pondboss.com/forums/ubbthread...d7475#Post87610 Bill Dance Fla LMB

http://www.pondboss.com/forums/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=101702&fpart=1 winter feeding