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Yea next time I go out I'm going to drop the basket in again, I just can't figure out how I friggin missed the spawn? Like hello????? Was I blind?

Edit- Finally got the first fish feeder set up! 3 times a day 10 seconds each. If i dont see a bunch of activity near it next time I'm out Ill likely move it. I want to get it to the back where there's grass and I found that bluegill, or get another one back there.

Last edited by CityDad; 03/23/21 07:41 AM.

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


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Just wanted to report that I culled 2 fish today. A 1/2lb bass and a ~2lb mudfish
The first one broke my heart

The second one was a jerk after i canoe flipped him and i didnt mind leaving him out for the birds (do turkeys eat em? hope so, i've got wild ones on my property)


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


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Your heart will feel that way until you witness a fish kill because you didn't take out enough. Then your heart will realize that what you are doing is for the best interest of the pond and it's fish.


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What types of things would cause a fish kill in a pond this size?


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


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Originally Posted by CityDad
What types of things would cause a fish kill in a pond this size?

DO crash due to bio overload most likely.


"In the age of information, ignorance is a choice." - Donny Miller
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Put my fish in last march had aerator running since last march have lost several fish in last 2 weeks.The pond never froze all the way about a 15' hole in middle.The fish look good so i dont understand what it could be? Lack of food in a new pond? Any ideas would be appreciated.

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I think we get too much fast flowing creek/river water for DO to really be a problem. There's never not a light current going through the pond.
natural predation also helps with numbers Herons hawks, alligators and probably other things I forgot


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


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Originally Posted by Gramps61
Put my fish in last march had aerator running since last march have lost several fish in last 2 weeks.The pond never froze all the way about a 15' hole in middle.The fish look good so i dont understand what it could be? Lack of food in a new pond? Any ideas would be appreciated.

IF you had the aerator running all winter long in the deepest part of the pond, they could have been stressed from the cold water. What type of fish died? Redears are the most susceptible.


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Wasn't in deepest probably 4 or 5 ft most dead fish were hybrid bluegills.You could right ponds not very big i will move it shallower come fall?

Last edited by Gramps61; 03/26/21 11:37 AM.
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Originally Posted by Gramps61
Wasn't in deepest probably 4 or 5 ft most dead fish were hybrid bluegills.You could right ponds not very big i will move it shallower come fall?


How many were dead, and what did they look like (body condition wise)? Typically up here (I am about 30 miles South of the Indiana/Michigan state line in the center of the state) the diffusers for winter are in 1/4 total pond depth but in an area where the open water extends to shore so in case anything goes into the water it can get out without having to climb up on the ice.


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I have probably lost 15 or 20 they looked good no sores and not skinny i will be for sure moving it this fall

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Do you think i should shut aerator off till water warms up?

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Originally Posted by Gramps61
Do you think i should shut aerator off till water warms up?

Yes. Move it to deepwater get ready to turn it on shortly. Take pond water temps, using a swimming pool thermometer. If you wait long enough for a thermocline to form, then you have to use the start up procedure for the aeration system.

In my pond I will turn it on for the summer (the deepest one) when the water temp is in the low 60's and leave it run 24/7.


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So as soon as temps reach around 60 or so just plug it back in and let it go like i was before? i dont think i mentioned my pond is ground water pond if that makes any difference in water temps.

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So Umm.... a few things happened the last few days. 1 of which i will save for another post.... so lets talk about Fish and how I'm obviously the worst angler/pondmeister of all time.


Trillions of lil bass fry everywhere. My phone is busto and wont upload photos to anywhere right now but i'm 97.3% certain they are bass fry. WOOHOO


But... when did they come about?


Um... Ya know all that whining I did about Tilapia? I think they were just bass..... Or at least a lot of them were. Since I couldnt catch any and still dont have a cast net I went with the "if it wont eat a lure its not a bass" method of fish indentifying.

But I think I'm just dumb. Also an inferior angler (this was known)

Those had to have been bass that were just too smart for me/I'm a terrible angler. In my defense I never got em out of the water, and my FIL confirmed they looked like tilapia.
I can't fish bass off beds in a pond with 0 other fishing action? Jinkies....


The bass were definitely out and about yesterday. I was testing new lures that they didn't like much but tons of jumping and feeding. Managed to cull two ~1lbers that were eating fry. Saw several small schools of 3-5 diving in and out of the grasses pestering the fry/minnows/etc. Lots of bigger ones doing similar solo mostly.
Going to try putting a big ned weight with some weedless worms and chuck into grass shortly.

Definitely a bunch of beds out that are bass beds with decent looking bass sitting on em (2-3ish? maybe a few bigger?)

Florida's current dry spell really needs to end though. Beds that were submerged a few weeks ago are 3 inches out of the water now. I'm going to use this time to cull some stick fish,
Water Temps are in 70s, and still plenty of creek water coming in so it might get lower but aside from predators eating out all the baitfish forced out o fgrass i think everything will work out ok after we get some gosh darn rain.



............................Its so hot and dry out someone might accidentally burn down 5 acres of the nieghbor's cow pasture.................................................................


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


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My lake has a FB page if you are interested.
https://www.facebook.com/ButterflyLakeFarmandConservation

Also I have a new theory that will have to be tested over the years:

The winter dry season lowers the level of the pond too much for many forage fish to survive, resulting in a food fest for predators in the early spring, and I will need to re-stock after the first big rains if I want to grow the bass bigger.

I will definitely want to set up a forage pond/tank or something tohelp with these costs. Hopefully I'll get a tractor soon so I can knock out the beginings before the rains come.


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


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Just keep harvesting the bass. That will allow the remaining bass to grow bigger. The problem with adding more fish to the pond to feed the smaller bass is that you will soon run out of carrying capacity for the pond, and when that happens Mother Nature makes room for more fish by killing 90% or more of the fish in the pond.

So, keep harvesting the small under performing bass.


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I culled another yesterday. Theyw re jumping like crazy but my inferior angling skills (or lure choices) meant they wouldnt bite. The bastards.

Between natural predators and what I'm sure will be fish loss due to overflow in the rainy season I doubt I can afford to exceed carrying capacity.
Going to hold off on adding until the rain comes, but I do think it needs to be on the agenda once or twice a year to restock BG, and maybe some shiners as a 'distraction' so they BG can hide while the predators go after shiners.

I think HSB are legal in the area, might do some of them next year after I see more of what's going on.

Anyone here know what kind of fish food tilapia respond to the best? I want to figur eout how to get them to clump up so I can cast the biggest ones out.


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


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https://imgur.com/gallery/XEFO6Ro


A few pictures of my little fish feeder. 3 or 4 more of those by summer.

Any guesses what the bugs are the are flitting around on top of the water near it? Definitely tons of yoy eating at the food.

I've been going back and forth, but I think this area is going to get a bunch of felled trees fairly soon. That should help the yoy and then when the rain comes this is where Ill put a few hundred bucks worth of BG. Habitat+BG + 4 feeders should get me a few spawns before the bass get em all. Maybe? Who knows.

Didnt fish it today, going to try out a new lake near my house with my wife and son for easter. Also need to build a chicken coop for 7 new layer chicks.


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


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What kind of feeder is it?


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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Dave- I got the moultrie adapter and stuck it on a 5G barrel. The trick is making the hole big enough to drop that feed, otherwise works fine so far.
https://www.moultriefeeders.com/quick-lock-directional-kit



Only had a few minutes to fish, this guy was sitting on top of my favorite honey hole... Caught nothing despite lots of stuff jumping. I have proven, yet again, I am the inferiorist angler.
https://imgur.com/gallery/eSU6fqC

Bass Forecast says this weekend will be nuts, but I'm worried my bass are freaked out since the lake looks about 4' too low (which is keeping the BIG gators away, which is helpful i guess). Hopefully wife lets me get lots of time in smile.

I did see a few bass getting some late spawning done, but they wouldnt bite.

The big tilapia still hanging around shore. Mocking me.

The GAR are now spawning, or at least a few were hanging on shore and nibbled on lures I chucked at them then spit it back out. Should I be culling gar if I catch them or leaving them in?

Also supposed to finally get rain this weekend, hopefully that cools down water temps, and gets my grass growing back from the fire. Pigs need rotating but I can't get a post into the damn ground.


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


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The damn gators are lined up right where we like to hang out. I think I might need to get my gator license.

Also it looks like the pond went up 5ish inches from the weekend storm, which is AWESOME and the ground is a lot easier to work on now.

Looks like we should get some more less intense rain over the next week, that is good too for the pond and the forage I had to replant from the fire.

Not had much time to fish, in the 30-45 minutes I tried I got skunked


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


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You could always fish for gators! ROFL


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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Unfortunately need a license for that, or to not get caught.... I've got a buddy says he is gonna get his license and come grab these. We'll see if he does...

I did manage to cull 2 small bass yesterday. Still annoyed that I can't find bigger ones in here somewhere. Am I crazy for thinking if I can find 2-5 lb bowfin relatively often I should find bass in the same weight class?
I guess unless the gators eat too many of them...

Onto good news:
Found a local bow fishing club with a bunch of peoplemore than happy to come shoot tilapia and plecos I think it's late enough in the florida spawning season to go ahead and do this and still have plenty of tilapia left to grow and get more spawns off. I'm just trying to make more room for other forage and bass since nothing is big enough to eat these big bastards. I've got the scale ready to weigh em, I bet we can pull at least a dozen 5lb+ tilapia out of there if they can aim. Plus a bunch of others.

I wont let them shoot bass off beds. There are a few around (not numerous but I've seen a small number) Can anyone think of another 'restriction' I should put on them?

Also-
I think this is the best feed I have easy access to. This or various "catfish" feeds. Seemslike a decent option since I can't find tha tpurina bluegill mix in any store nearby.
I've got 2 moultrie kits working that just went through a bag of the 'catfish' feeds. Time to restock em.
https://www.tractorsupply.com/tsc/p...j-Ec09N8iwwxVj8f0dHW_2vphssaAs23EALw_wcB


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


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Order Optimal Fish food on line - it gets delivered to your door. Can't be much easier than that.......


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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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