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Augie Offline OP
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Here I go talking to myself again...

I've been hanging a torpedo trap off the dock catching FHM and GSH for bait.

Also been catching the occasional 1"-3" RES and similar sized BG and RES/BG hybrids that resulted from daughter's doberman wrecking the cage that held the hatchery "RES" last summer.

Most times I bait the cage and hang it ~1' deep off the side of the dock.

Today I tossed it on the bottom in about 4' water with no bait.

Pulled up a dozen-ish 2"-3" baby RES and RES hybrids when I checked it.

Tossed em in the big cage with the others that I'm pellet training.

The original stocker RES, the ones that took to pellets anyway, have grown quite large. I've not yet fished for them, but observing them when they feed the biggest of them look to be 8"-9".

Things seem to be going in the right direction for now.

I think...

Forgot to mention that there were two ~3/4" PK shrimp in the trap. I put 20 in last summer that I bought from ebay guy.

Last edited by Augie; 05/17/20 09:45 AM. Reason: added a comment
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Augie Offline OP
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Decided it was time remove some of the larger accidental BG/HBG from the pond.
I've been feeding earthworms along with the pellets beside the dock. The RES have moved off the dock and are fanning beds.
There are at least half a dozen rather large BG/HBG that come out from under the dock every day to slurp pellets and worms.
None of these fish have ever seen a worm that had a hook hidden inside. I tell myself that I should have the upper hand.

But no, the fish have the upper hand. I start tossing pellets and worms and Oh, look at that, the RES are back.
Not all of them, but enough of them to make a nuisance of themselves by trying to bite the worm that is supposed to be for the BG/HBG.
Dang RES. Laziest fish on the planet until they aren't. When it's raining earthworms they will fight to get theirs.
I hooked three of them. One of those flipped loose and landed on his head on the dock. Maybe it knocked some sense into him.

And yes, I know I should be doing weights and measures on these fish, but I'm not prepared for that just yet.
Digital scale and adhesive-backed steel measure tape will be here soon. Once those are here I'll be able to collect some data.


The YP are ridiculously fast. I tried my best to keep the worm away from them, but the one time I let it sink just a tiny bit too deep... KABOOM!
This is the first of the Snipe strain YP I've caught by angling. I didn't want to catch it, but I caught it. Released to fight another day.

5/26/20

[Linked Image from hosting.photobucket.com]


If I wanted a bluegill pond I think I'd be very happy with the condition of these fish. They were ~2" sized when they went in 11 months ago.
I hooked another one that managed to flip loose, bounce off the dock, and then flip back into the water. So now there's one in the pond who knows what time it is.
These two I put to the knife and tossed in with the sack of BG that I took out of the freezer yesterday.

5/26/20

[Linked Image from hosting.photobucket.com]

Last edited by Augie; 06/16/20 08:30 AM. Reason: fixing the pics
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Augie Offline OP
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This little guy was in the crayfish trap when I pulled it up this morning.
I assume by the size he's one of the fingerlings that went in last September.




8/11/20

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Nice, Augie!

Is your plan to focus on big YP? I forgot.

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Augie Offline OP
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That was the plan. Big YP and RES, with SMB/HSB/WAE for crowd control.

It's still the plan with the complication of accidental BG/HBG. I know I can't get rid of them, so I'm going to have to manage around them and make the best of what I've got.
I've been trapping and removing them by the hundreds. The 3"-4" size have mostly been used for bait so far. The 3" and down size are being relocated to my buddy's quarry
lake and into my new forage/bait pond. I pulled a few 7"+ size on hook and line earlier in the summer. Those went into the skillet. There are a few more of those still in the
pond that need to be caught out, or maybe left to grow to whopper size. Reality will probably be a little bit of both.


The SMB are reserved at Hartleys in KS. Supposed to pick them up sometime next month. Also hope to take home a handful of HSB from Mr. snrub's pond on that trip,
then will make a run to Snipe's later in the fall for the WAE.

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Augie Offline OP
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Pulled these two baby YP out of the Z trap this morning. They look to be a bit on the skinny side, but they are living proof that the Snipe strain perch that were stocked last fall pulled off a spawn.

9/3/20

[Linked Image from hosting.photobucket.com]

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Augie Offline OP
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The day that I've been waiting for, the day that paid back every bit of the $$$, toil, and suffering that it took to resurrect my pond, finally arrived.

Between the COVID panic, military obligations, nuclear reactor training, and all of the other assorted craziness in the world today, it's been over
six months since I've been able to see any of my grandkids. Things worked out to where they were all able to come for a visit over the weekend.

This one is Lexi. Just turned 5yo, she belongs to my oldest son Justin and his wife Amanda. Lexi has been asking to go fishing since the first time
she saw the pond after it filled, so she got to go first.

9/12/20

[Linked Image from hosting.photobucket.com]


Then it was 4yo Rhett's turn. He belongs to #3 son Taylor and his wife Rachel. This kid is a pistol. Pretty sure he's going to be the one that
turns out to be Grampa's fishing buddy.

[Linked Image from hosting.photobucket.com]


This is 7yo Lennox. He belongs to Taylor and Rachel. Poor guy suffered a brain injury at birth and is severely challenged mentally. After seeing
the other two catch a few he looked at me and said "Fish, Grampa?" You could have knocked us all over with a feather at that moment in time.
It was obvious that he'd been paying attention. He grabbed the rod and the reel handle just like how I'd been showing the other two to do it, and
dipped the jig in next to the dock like a pro. Soon as he felt a tug he was cranking on the reel like he had Moby Dick on the end of his line.
Moments like this don't come along very often for this kid. I'm glad I was able to be a part of it.

[Linked Image from hosting.photobucket.com]


Wife Jamie, daughter Leah, and Logan - the doberman that thinks she's a Lab rode herd on Lexi and baby Ruby while the boys were fishing.

[Linked Image from hosting.photobucket.com]


There was way too much going on to get weights and measures on the fish we caught, but just from visual observation they are doing very well.
Every one of the RES and BG/HBG that were caught were in great shape. Most of them were in the 8"-9" range. I was especially impressed with
how thick the RES are across their backs. I don't have a lot of experience yet with the YP, but they looked to be in good shape too. We caught
half a dozen of those, all in the 7"-8" range, so I'd assume they were all fingerlings from the first stocking in September of '19.

But this day wasn't really about the fish, it was about the kids. The fish could have all been stunted 3-finger BG and it wouldn't have made a
nickel's difference in the amount of fun that was had and the memories that were made.

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Augie, that’s what it’s all about.


It's not about the fish. It's about the pond. Take care of the pond and the fish will be fine. PB subscriber since before it was in color.

Without a sense of urgency, Nothing ever gets done.

Boy, if I say "sic em", you'd better look for something to bite. Sam Shelley Rancher and Farmer Muleshoe Texas 1892-1985 RIP
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That's what the pond is all about, the kids and especially the memories.


www.hoosierpondpros.com


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3/4 to 1 1/4 ac pond LMB, SMB, PS, BG, RES, CC, YP, Bardello BG, (RBT & Blue Tilapia - seasonal).
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Glad to hear the day came together for you and yours!


Fish on!,
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That's really awesome and some great pics. Since we bought our place my wife's constant refrain has been "it has to be a place that everyone wants to come visit". Seems like you have accomplished that.

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That post was the best read I've seen on these forums.

'nuclear reactor training' would have one that alone but the kids stories.... oh man.

That is what I want with my son (and I hope it isn't too late for my daughter, 12).
And my niece and Nephew, both just under my son's age (almost 3 for him)


Im going to ask a lot of questions, but only because I'm clueless


5-20 Acres in Florida. Bass/Tilapia/Bowfin/Gator
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Augie Offline OP
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Originally Posted by CityDad
'nuclear reactor training' would have one that alone but the kids stories.... oh man.

No joke on the nuke plant training. Oldest son works at the Ameren plant in Mokane, MO.
He just finished nine months of operations training and passed his plant operator test a couple weeks ago.

When he started there he was Klaus Hergersheimer checking radiation shields.
Now he's Homer Simpson pushing buttons on the reactor control console.

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Future picture of Augie and his grandkids fishing at his pond. grin

[Linked Image from images.definition.org]

Sorry, couldn't resist lol.


"In the age of information, ignorance is a choice." - Donny Miller
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Augie Offline OP
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I laugh every time I see that three-eyed fish. If I catch one out of my pond like that I'm gonna have it stuffed.

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Been busy repairing dam damage done by the muskrat invasion last summer. It took 1500lbs of bentonite to pack all of the tunnels.
I bought a unit of SoilFloc from TJ last week, and will apply that to the dam damage before I put down a nice thick layer of crushed limestone.
I'll follow that with another application of SF. With any luck that will stop the leaks and deter any future rodent tunneling.

The fish seem to be doing well. I caught these two a couple weeks ago on a little bead-head fly.


10/13/20
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The muskrats did a lot of damage when they invaded back in the summer. It took 1800lbs of bentonite to pack the tunnels they dug in the pond dam.
I did a light Soil Floc treatment around the edge, then used Nanner to place ~20 ton of 3x6 crushed limestone on the face of the dam.
That should do well to thwart any future tunneling attempts. I've got a few hours worth of hard labor in store re-arranging and smoothing out the stone.
Once that is done I'm going to hit it around the edge with a triple-shot of Soil Floc, then wait for the rains to bring it back to full pool. After that it's wait
and see if that stopped the leaks.

11/5/20

[Linked Image from hosting.photobucket.com]

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I love the look of a rip rapped pond. It will look very nice when your done and very helpful. Some day I wanta do mine.


The people who say I can't do it can just sit the @^#% down and watch me. Friends call me Rusto I also subscribe to pond boss mag. http://forums.pondboss.com/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=504716#Post504716
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Augie Offline OP
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Even as messy as it is right now it looks better than it did before. I've got ~5 ton left, but I don't think that's going to be enough to finish the job.
Once I get the last of it applied I think I'll let it settle over the winter and decide if it needs more when the weather warms up next spring.
I want to finish the rip-rap project and get the leaks all plugged before I do the final landscape grading on the dam.

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Did you put anything under the rock? If so what did you use?


The people who say I can't do it can just sit the @^#% down and watch me. Friends call me Rusto I also subscribe to pond boss mag. http://forums.pondboss.com/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=504716#Post504716
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Augie Offline OP
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I didn't. The inside face of the dam is a pretty steep slope. Figured if I tried to put fabric down it would just slide into a heap at the bottom rather than sticking where I wanted it.

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Some of my bank is pretty steep also. So it's got me curious. Will you spray for weeds or let them grow?


The people who say I can't do it can just sit the @^#% down and watch me. Friends call me Rusto I also subscribe to pond boss mag. http://forums.pondboss.com/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=504716#Post504716
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Augie Offline OP
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I don't like to spray chemicals around anything that I intend to eat, so it will be me and the weed whacker if anything comes up that I don't want growing there.

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Will you post some more pictures please? I'm not crazy about chemicals either but not totally against either. Also I like the looks of a well manicured pond. Some ponds looks awesome with plants n trees around them.


The people who say I can't do it can just sit the @^#% down and watch me. Friends call me Rusto I also subscribe to pond boss mag. http://forums.pondboss.com/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=504716#Post504716
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Goats do a good job of eating stuff.


www.hoosierpondpros.com


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3/4 to 1 1/4 ac pond LMB, SMB, PS, BG, RES, CC, YP, Bardello BG, (RBT & Blue Tilapia - seasonal).
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