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Joined: Jul 2006
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OK. Thanks. The BH concern me the most. I just havent had the time to trap or trot lune them. I might check with Angler Enviromental to see what they would charge to electro shock it.
Montani semper liberi Mountaineers are always free
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Electrofishing isn't the catch-every-fish device that most people think it is. It does a good job at collecting a representative sample (small portion) of most fish species in a pond. It is better at getting some species than others and is better in certain waters than others due to conductivity. Water clarity also plays a role - if you can't see it, you can't scoop it.
If your goal is bullhead removal, your money would be better spent on buying a fyke net or two rather than paying someone to electrofish the pond. This method assumes you have the time and means (a boat on the pond) to set and check the traps. Consistent use of the fyke net will do a much, much better job of bullhead removal in the long run.
The fyke nets won't likely catch the grass carp. Grass carp can be electrofished, but they seem to be much better at avoiding the boat and "shooting" through the electrical field before they get stunned than most fish.
Last edited by csteffen; 09/17/09 10:53 AM.
Every person should have an interest in life - I think I'll go fishing. ~ Thoreau
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good info csteffen. thanks
Montani semper liberi Mountaineers are always free
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I agree with the fyke net idea as well... One quality fyke net could do some real damage on the BH population! As far as the grass carp, if they are coming into feed, I could easily whack a few with my bow fishing gear. The rest should get the message to leave the feed alone, if they don't I'll whack them too! HAHA
Did you have Angler Environmental consult on/build your pond?
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Joined: Jul 2008
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Lunker
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I put seven GC in when I bought this place, as far as I can tell they eat nothing except the pellet food I throw out. I wouldn't recommend them to anyone. I caught one about a month ago on a worm so now I have six, I don't know anything about bowfishing, and it's just another expense but if I could get them all out; it would be fine with me.
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If you lived closer than Kansas City, I'd gladly come whack a few for you...
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I like the fyke net idea. It would also let me see how the CC are doing since I cant catch any. Tried to catch some today with hot dogs, Can you believe that all i caught were LMB- on a piece of hot dog! Then, when I wasn't looking my lab ate my bait and so ended another attempt to catch the mysterious CC. Had to laugh. Should have known better than leave a hot dog any where near where my "chow hound" could find it.
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Have you tried chicken liver, Mark? It's one of the best baits for CC. Put a big piece on a #2 circle hook, throw it out with no weight so it sinks slowly, and if you're in an area of the pond that has CC, you should get one.
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Yes I have. I also tried fresh goose liver last weekend from one I shot. Guess what? I caught 2 LMB and a big BH. Have you ever?. I am 53 years old and have been catfishing since I was 6 or 7, if not younger and have NEVER caught anything cut cats on liver. My bass are crazy.
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I have heard of bass taking chicken liver, but it's certainly not common - has never happened to me. I've caught some big bluegill on liver fishing near automatic feeders.
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Liver i can see-but hot dogs?
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Catching bass on liver and hot dogs seems more common than I originally thought.
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Maybe it's smaller ponds where the bass eat strangely. Now, when fishing for cats in my pond, I don't let them run at all with the bait as I never know what's on the end; I HATE deep hooking a bass.
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I overstocked my pond with the darn things...they did the job on the Chara for sure...its gone. But getting rid of GC is not easy for me. I have confirmed kills on 5 with a .22 but its darn hard to sneak on them in shallows and I have yet to figure point of aim broadside...all my success is with a head on shot...i think its the refraction thing thats messing with me.
They dont pay attention to pellet food becuase my CC's are so aggressive and get it all before they get there.
I need to kill 10 more, ill just keep stalking.
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I am not positive my GC are a real problem. All I know is FA grows and does not disappear until I spray it with Cutrine.Maybe the GC help with the demise of FA but i wonder what they subsist on with no FA? The fact that they may be eating pellets or beneficial plants is what troubles me because they are getting huge.
I hate to kill them without being sure.
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Are you ever at the pond when the feeder goes off, Mark? If so, you won't have to guess whether the carp are eating the food - they're not subtle. If you see wallowing and splashing like a juvenile hippopatomus has found its way to your pond, those would be the GC happily enjoying the pellets you intended for bluegill. Although it could be CC, or a combination of both.
If you wear polarized sunglasses you should be able to see the fish eating the food, whether they be GC, CC, or bullhead.
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If I were a Vegas oddsmaker, I'd put the odds at about 1,000,000 to 1 that the GC aren't eating your pellet food.
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When my GC eat pellet food, they are very calm and do not scare the other fish away. The wildest I've seen them act is sometimes shooting small water spouts out, but I'm not even sure that's when they're eating pellets.
In my pond, they just slow-cruise and take a pellet in without any splash or disturbance of the water.
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."
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If I were a Vegas oddsmaker, I'd put the odds at about 1,000,000 to 1 that the GC aren't eating your pellet food. If I were a sadist, I take those odds for $100.
"Live like you'll die tomorrow, but manage your grass like you'll live forever." -S. M. Stirling
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Sunil, I wish mine were the same but the ones I have are not so calm and they're smart...real smart. When they see my arm move to throw the food out, they (6 of them) will make a huge splash at the surface before the food even hits, I'm assuming this is to scare the others away so they can feast on the pellets alone. They make these splashes randomly during the feeding.
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After 3 months or so of feeding there is very little action around the feeder when it goes off. i am seriously surprised by the lack of fish feeding. maybe the geese have ruined it but even when no geese are present there is very little fish activity.
i tried to catch cats again using shrimp but all i caught were LMB. I broke down and ordered a trap to set to see if there are any cats in there.
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Sunil, I wish mine were the same but the ones I have are not so calm and they're smart...real smart. When they see my arm move to throw the food out, they (6 of them) will make a huge splash at the surface before the food even hits, I'm assuming this is to scare the others away so they can feast on the pellets alone. They make these splashes randomly during the feeding. SK, if you will catch a couple on pellet flies and release them, they will leave the pellets alone. They become pellet shy fast. My experience anyway.
N.E. Texas 2 acre and 1/4 acre ponds Original george #173 (22 June 2002)
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My experience matches george's -- two GC hooked on Stubby Steves and one landed produced over a month of MUCH less pellet feeding.
"Live like you'll die tomorrow, but manage your grass like you'll live forever." -S. M. Stirling
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That's interesting. I hate to ask- what is a Stubby Steve?
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Stubby Steve's Fish Food lures - look and taste just like an Aquamax 600 pellet. "Match the hatch" for artificially fed fish. http://www.stubbysteve.com/
"Live like you'll die tomorrow, but manage your grass like you'll live forever." -S. M. Stirling
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