Pond Boss Forums MANAGING AN EXISTING POND Evaluating and adjusting fish populations sexing HSB

I will be culling some 2-3#ers early spring. Want to cull males and relese females due to their growth potential.
Any photos or good verbal explanations appreciated.
No funny stuff, JHAP, Brettski, et al!

Spoilsport!

OK, Et Al, have at it!

SRAC

http://srac.tamu.edu/getfile.cfm?pubid=54



Growth rate

declines rapidly with increasing age

and is similar in males and females.

Maximum reported weight for a

hybrid striped bass is approximately

10 kg. The typical size of hybrids

caught by fishermen generally ranges

from 2 to 5 pounds, but fish in

the 10 to 15 pound range are not unusual.

The usual life span of

hybrid striped bass is 5 to 6 years--

more similar to white bass than to

striped bass (30 to 40 years).

The growth rate of hybrid striped

bass in production ponds is determined

by several factors: water

temperature, quality and quantity of

food, palatability of food, frequency

of feeding and water quality. Hybrid

striped bass are generally harvested

at a weight of 1.5 to 2.5 pounds when

they are 18 to 24 months old.

Oh sure let Et Al have all the fun and keep Bski and I on the sidelines!

Is the hybrid striped bass that Bruce raised still the forum record at fifteen pounds?

Still trying to find out how to determine their sex. Are there any PB isues which contain info on HSB?

Burgermeister will you please give me more information on what you are trying to accomplish. I think you are the first one I have heard on the forum with this goal with the hsb. I have only seen it discussed for the bluegill. How much of a growth gain does the female have over the males? Sorry I don't know how to sex them.

It's not just growth rate but also max size. In both striped bass and white bass, females reach substantially larger sizes than their male counterparts. However, males usually outnumber females 3 or 4 to one. When they spawn, a single ripe female will release eggs into the open water where a group of 3 or 4 or even more males will race in to fertilize the eggs. In striped bass, males typically top out around 10 pounds or so with females going over 50 pounds. HSB are 50% striper so you can quickly see the potential females have over males as far as growing a trophy fish. I am not aware of a external way to sex HSB outside of the spawning season.

Some good HSB info here: http://aqua.ucdavis.edu/Special_topics/bass.html

Good info, CN. Actually, James, I intentionally overstocked LMB and HSB in the beginning to keep the bluegill in check. I had to stock out of season. 600 BG in March and Apr. '08, then I saw BG nests in June. Had trouble finding anything but FL bass, which I didnt want. I found and stocked 75 F1s in Aug. and 75 HSB in Sept. '08, all fingerlings. They have done their duty, now want to cut back to more reasonable #s to prevent too many runt LMB and to keep HSB from eating all the feed.
Pond is less than 1 acre. Looking to produce large BG, but maintain good variety of fishing. I have kept about 15 each of LMB and HSB. I figure cull 20-25 of each and considering some mortality, get down to 25 each of initial stock. I still will have some yearling LMB. I have only caught a couple 6-8" this fall of the spring LMB spawn.
Plan on adding 25 hybrid catfish soon. They will help with small BG instead of having to depend on too many runt LMB.

None other than Bruce said that the male HSB is hardly worth messing with. I will leave some so all size mouths will be looking for prey. I guess size will determine the cull. Most I have caught have been similar in size, depending on when I have caught them.

Growth rates for males and females seem to be the same for the first couple years. But at about year 3 is when you see the females really out pace the males.

This is interesting! I will probably want to add some HSB to the pond in the future and will have to keep this in mind if there is a clear cut answer.

Help me out here, Bruce.

Good luck Burgermeister. Trying to get info out of Bruce is like pulling teeth.

You mean he only does it 2 1/2 days a week?

Note: Bruce really does only pull teeth 2 1/2 days per week. He drills & fills for another 2 1/2 days, cleans for a day and a half, and spends a half day fighting the heartbreak of gingivitis.