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#53184 04/15/05 04:15 PM
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Need your input:
Background first:
I did my initial stocking last October on my 1 acre pond with 4# FH minnows, 4# Redear minnows, 250 2"-3" Blue Gill, and 50 6" fingerling channel cats.
I fed a 1# coffee can of floating/sinking fish food once a week through the winter months. Pond is in Parker County, Texas, so the winter was relatively "mild".

For the last 2-3 weeks, I've fed 2 times/week.

I've seen a tremendous amount of top-water activity all over the opnd from the BG-looks like they're ranging in size 3"-5", a few were larger.
Thought I saw some channel cat activity in the deeper end over a brush pile.

However, I haven't seen as much minnow activity, especially as they should be moving around the shallows.

There are several brush piles in various depths and locations--both "loose" and "compact" in density. Plus, there are several limestone rock shelfs/piles for other "hiding/ambush" spots.

First, what should be my feeding pattern? Am I feeding enough or too much and what food do you recommend?

Second, where are my minnows? I really expected to see thousands of little ones by now. Has something cleaned me out or have the BG been "feasting? on them?

Thanks.
gb

#53185 04/16/05 09:56 PM
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Glen,

Your minnows are now fish poop. They most likely didn't survive more than a month. Stocking minnows is simply a method to provide a natural snack for your fish. Rarely do minnows survive long enough to reproduce. You can enhance their survival by having flat places for them to lay eggs (oak pallets in shallow water. Also provide a lot of brush cover. If possible, perhaps screen off a section of your pond for minnow production.

Feeding your fish depends on the purpose. For maximum fish production, feed all they can clean up in a ten minute period. Most fish will stop eating when full. Not so with redear, overfeeding redear bream is just a waste of food as they will continue to eat and expel undigested food.

For maximum productivity, feed daily, and feed at the same time each day.

Roughly, two pounds of fish food will produce one pound on fish "on the hoof". A two pound fish provides less than 1 pound of cleaned fish.

Bass and crappie and perhaps blue cats will eat 5 to 10 pounds of fish to produce one pound. That is pretty expensive fish.

If your pond is to provide you with fresh fish, keep the bass and crappie out, scare off all preditors that eat fish. In a natural environment with bass and crappie, you will be lucky have a 1 in 3 survival rate of your stocked fish.

My best calculation for producing a pound of cleaned fish in my natural pond is about $2.16 per pound. This is my worse case senario and assumes no natural reproduction.


Dennis
#53186 04/17/05 06:29 PM
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Glen,

I made an error on my reply.... Red ear bream will not eat any commercial food, they eat snails, worms, etc. Some Hybred bluegill will overeat that is why you should stop feeding after ten minutes.

Your 6 in cats ate the minnows. Doing the math... 8 lb of minnows div. by 50 cats equals .16 lb or 2.6 oz of minnow per cat. It does not take long for the cats to eat all the minnows. Also, birds can wreck havoc on the minnow population.

I had the same disappointment (twice).


Dennis
#53187 04/18/05 08:09 AM
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Thanks, Dennis.

I suspected as much about the minnows...seems like a waste of money. Believe it or not,about a month after I stocked, I came home from work and saw I had ONE water turkey sitting out there --he/she probably cleaned out most, if not all, of the minnows--if the "cats" didn't. I was able to rid the pond of the bird. Even though I know it was there for only about a day, someone told me that those birds can eat about 3#-4# of fish in a day!

At least I seem to have a very active and healthy Blue Gill population. Harold Arms over in Proctor/Dublin Texas, where I bought my initial stockings,recommended stocking LM Bass in July of this year. I'm just worried that I won't have the right balance to support the bass stocking, especially if I don't keep minnows in there.

Would it still be a waste of money to re-stock the minnows? Won't they spawn now that spring has arrived?

I provided flat surfaces--pyramided wooden pallets and lots of brush cover. That cover/structure has been inplace since the pond started filling.

Thanks again for your input and advice about the feeding, too.

Glen B.

#53188 04/18/05 08:20 AM
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Hi Glen I have found the exact opposite as Dennis in my pond. I stocked it with minnows and adult bluegill about 4 years ago followed by 200 channels the following spring. We have since caught out about 150 channels but I have had some spawning activity as we are catching 8-10 inch channels now and then along with the 5-10 pounders. I stocked 50 bass 2 years ago. When I feed you can literally walk on the shiners and fatheads that are feeding on the surface.

Bob

#53189 04/18/05 09:07 AM
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Glen,

I also disagree on the minnows...fatheads. They are very worthwhile in jump starting your predator fish. The fatheads generally prefer deeper water but in my ponds get chased to the shallows for safety. I don't know catfish very well, but doubt that 6 inch cats can clean out those fatheads. More likely it is the dreaded water turkeys who love fatheads and any other small fish.

I recommend you consider restocking the fatheads and establish a regular daily, at least morning and evening, feeding program. The water turkeys should be gone North for now and the fatheads would be a relatively cheap investment.

#53190 04/18/05 09:10 AM
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Glen,

I'm sorry I missed the question on recommended feed...for a gereral purpose starter feed with cats and BG and fatheads, its hard to beat Purina Game Fish Chow, IMHO. It comes with several different sizes combined in the bag which is great for small and larger fish. Feed at least two times a day, more often if your feeder will support that.

#53191 04/18/05 02:21 PM
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Heck, I add a couple of pounds of fatheads every year. They last for awhile then they are gone. I see $15.00 crank baits and buy $2.25 per gallon gasoline. The fish just aren't that expensive. For the most part, I think they are feeding small fish, not predators. If I take care of the little stuff, the predators shoulds be OK.

#53192 04/19/05 02:10 PM
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hey, dave...where are you buying your FH's?

#53193 04/19/05 02:23 PM
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Glen, I haven't bought any this year but always in the past I have gotten them from Bobs Fishing Hole on Boat Club Road. He is in the Cowtown phone book.

#53194 04/19/05 02:35 PM
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thanks, dave...that's only about 10 miles from my house. I live 1/2 way between azle & weatherford off 730.

have you bought anything else from him? how much for a pound or more?

#53195 04/19/05 03:49 PM
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I actually stocked my pond from him. The fatheads were about $7.00 or $8.00 per pound. However, it recently changed hands and I haven't dealt with the new owner. My telephone discussion about tilapia convinced me that I knew more about them than he did and thats dangerous. I will probably not hesitate to buy fatheads from him but will get tilapia from Trent Lewis at Prosper.

#53196 04/22/05 10:24 AM
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Update:

Along with the minnows and shiners, I don't think my 50 channel cats survived over the winter. \:\( If they did, I haven't been able to tell this spring...

Could they be deeper and just not joining the feeding frenzy of the "hundreds" of BG that I have?

You'd think that if the 2"-3" BG's made it through and have actually spawned at least once--'cause I now have smaller 1"-2" BG's running with the larger fish.

Anybody have any thoughts on the 'lil cats presence or lack of it?

#53197 04/22/05 10:30 AM
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My fish guy told me that when you put channel cats in, you won't even see them for a few years. But when they do show up, look out!

I put (10) cc's in last spring '04; they were about 10-12" long. I haven't seen any yet, although I don't fish for them.


Excerpt from Robert Crais' "The Monkey's Raincoat:"
"She took another microscopic bite of her sandwich, then pushed it away. Maybe she absorbed nutrients from her surroundings."

#53198 04/22/05 09:01 PM
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I figure your cats are OK. Winter wasn't at all bad. The only way I knew I had some was the schools of fatheads being harassed.

#53199 04/25/05 11:53 AM
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the catfish generally start showing up later to the dinner table than the bluegill when the water temperature gets warmer. My bet is that they are still there and you will see them soon.

#53200 04/25/05 04:31 PM
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Thanks, Guys...I'll keep an eye for the cats when it gets warmer--and, around thes parts THAT won't be long!

The FH's seem to be on the nest...I saw several darting in and out of a stack of limestone rocks. Pretty...dark color with a couple of reddish/orange/yellow vertical bands around their bodies...somebody told me that was the male. Is that right?


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