Pond Boss Forums STOCKING A NEW POND Types of fish to choose Determining the sex of LMB

I m curious to find out the traits to tell LMB males and females apart and the accuracy that it can be done. I m thinking of maybe 15-20 females in a SMB/perch/RES pond. 1.5 to 2 acres.

http://www.pondboss.com/forums/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=103583&fpart=1

Here's the forum's previous discussion on this subject...

CJBS2003 what do you think of the idea I posted? I respect your opinion. I dont post much because I dont have much practical knowledge but I read the boards pretty much everyday.

The reason I would like to have female LMB is just for a novelty catch. They get bigger than males so thats why I want females. With no reproduction and low numbers they should not be too big of a problem in regaurds to competing with the SMB.

I've been dealing with LMB for a long time and I wouldn't even trust myself 100% of the time on making an accurate sexing decision. Even catching males off the nest, you just don't know for sure it wasn't a female there at the wrong time. I love the idea of doing female only LMB. I'd love to put a handful in my future SMB pond, but I just don't want to take the risk. It just takes 1 male and it's all over! In the spring during the spawn, you may be able to squeeze bass and see if they release milt or eggs, but you just can't be sure. I would love to do the same thing for crappies as well. Adult BG have very distinct sexual dimorphism making it easy to sex them. YP are fairly easily sex through the squeezing method... One member on here has a smaller pond and only put in what I remember to be 4 what he thought were single sex LMB, but oops they weren't...

What can you tell me about adding wild caught fish to a pond in reguard to disease and parasites? I know there have been discussions on this subject before but I cant seem to find them. The reason I ask is because I would like to add a few wild caught walleye. Maybe 10, tops.

IMO, as long as you get healthy looking fish, disease and parasites shouldn't be a problem with your pond. You may accidentally introduce a disease or parasite, but as long as it doesn't cause a huge die off or other populations problem, future generations of fish will only be stronger from surviving it. Some may disagree and I claim no expert status, but that's my point of view. CJ will have a better opinion because he has done some work with adding wild-caught fish to ponds.

Risk of disease & parasites is dependant on the original water body and age of the fish. Some bodies of water definately contain more disease and parasite problems than other waters. Sometimes the problem is not in or on the transferred fish but it is in the source water. I never recommend transferring source water into another pond unless one knows what is biologically in the source water.

Most risky bodies of water are those that have one or more feeder streams. The more connector streams the more the potential for problems. Sometimes the season of the year can affect what and how much is in the water. Source of the streams also play a role. Streams that flow through other lakes or a chain of lakes can have more potential for problems.

General advice is, if you are determined to take the risk, first be familar with cleaning fish from the source water. IF those fish always appear "clean" inside and out then risk is lower. It would be a good idea to check with the local game warden or state agency about the source water and ask a generalized question about any known diseases or parasites of fish (walleye) from the source water. Be advised the DNR of state's consider the wild sport fish their jurisdiction and frown (often illegal) on moving state owned sportfish into private waters. Be careful and thoughtful about this. For only 10-20 fish it is often safer and easier to just buy a few stocker fish from a relatively clean controlled source of a hatchery or fish farm.

Thank you Bill, about exactly what I would have said and Bill knows a whole lot more about the subject than I...

Just remember, just because a fish "looks" healthy doesn't make it healthy. There are many disease that don't show up right away and many microscopic parasites fish may have.

Why take the risk? Stocking is one of the cheapest aspect of the overall pond cost.

The only time I really take a risk is when I cannot get the species of fish I want or the size I want through a hatchery. If you do certain things and taken precautions you can lower the risk of getting diseased or parasite infested fish from the wild down to the same risk as getting your fish from a hatchery, as low a risk as that is...

CJ: can you expand on the "certain things" to do to lower the risk. Hasn't a salt water dip been recommended in a previous thread?

A salt dip is no guarantee but it is a darn good idea.

When moving fish, I've always dipped them in a bucket of the water i'm moving them to in order to remove some of the parasites and such. Does the salt make a big difference? It makes sense but I've never thought to do it.

What exactly is a salt water dip? I ve been tempted in the past when I ve had a couple walleye in the cattle tank with the aerator going, to just transfer them. I have not so far because I was unsure of the possiblity of disease and parasites. I ve just thought it'd be fun to have a couple 18in in the pond.

Bill Cody and I are finishing up a series of articles that will touch on this subject. I hate to give all the juicy details away on here. The first article should be out in the Nov-Dec or Jan-Feb issue... I believe the second article will talk about methods you can use to reduce the risk when transferring wild fish to your pond. It is more aimed at forage fish, but the methods mentioned will certainly be pertinent for game fish as well.