Pond Boss Forums MANAGING AN EXISTING POND Evaluating and adjusting fish populations stunted sunfish

WRT HSB survival in hot weather:

Remember, george is very protective of his HSB in hot weather in order to keep from losing them. He aggressively rescuscitates them with pure O2 when caught. George, am I correct that you curtail HSB fishing in the hottest weather, or has the pure O2 system obviated the need for that?

Thanks again for all of these great responses, the real world experiences of those on this forum are worth tons to me.

I have decided on the following plan. I welcome any criticism.

Add:
20 7-8" HSB
40 4-6" CNBG
40 4-6" RES

Continue to remove all GSF caught with angling and traps. Everything else would be catch n release for at least 6 months, maybe longer.

Re-evaluate at the spring and fall of every year and adjust as necessary.

Meadowlark, would HSB become conditioned even if you removed every one that you caught? I'm considering a GG, HSB mix in my (1/2 - 3/4 acre) pond. I was thinking that I would condition every HSB caught to 375 degree oil.

Yes, I do cut back on fishing for HSB in hot weather, not so much for the fish as for my own well being... :rolleyes:
I don't have an O2 resusitation chamber that can accomodate my old body....

I do fish for BG in hot weather, and when I hook a HSB, I resusitate with pure O2

A good point about harder to catch HSB in a small pond is whether they are feed trained - our first batch in "grow-out" pond were introduced into a pond full of FH minnows, followd by a BG spawn and they never became feed trained.
The best way to catch them has been on small spinner baits and rattle traps.

Current batch are feed trained and will hit pellet flies and lures.

GW and ML, please excuse me for jumping in on your question but if strickly a "put and take" HSB fishery, a "ladder" of HSB can be estblished by limited annual stocking.
All HSB can be released into hot grease and have a new crop every year of easy to catch "non-conditioned fish.

If you have various sizes of HSB in your pond, with the smallest being 8 inches, is there a way to target the large ones without hooking the small ones?

Are the small HSB just as likely to die if hooked as the large?

Good question GW – I really don't know, but I'll give my opinion and strategy employed.

First of all HSB don't become hook shy on pellet flies if pellet trained and in a feeding frenzy mode.
Competition overcomes conditioning.

The approach I use for selective harvest is size of lure/fly.
Larger the fish – larger the lure – and use single hooks.
Treble hooks will catch small fish.

I've done well recently with a 3 inch $Gill fly tied with synthetic GLO bright chartreaus material, with chartreaue spinner blade.
They'll probably get wise to this fly.

Based on my experience, the larger the fish the harder the fight and more prone to stress.
Mortality from stress appears to be about the three-pound range if not landed quickly and resuscitated.
I've only killed one HSB and it was 4.5 #'s and good table fare.
Based on years of striped bass fishing, I prefer 2 – 3 # fish for the table.

Trim the stronger red meat as you would a white bass or striped bass.
Excellent table fare.

GW,

I don't know for sure but it just seems logical that if you do indeed remove every one you catch, then conditioning should be minimized. It certainly works that way on LMB for me. The problem , as I see it, with that approach in a small pond predator situation is being disciplined about removing every one caught, without exception, and also being disciplined about replacing them in a timely manner. I really like the GG's for their growth and aggressiveness, but it is very critical that you keep sufficient predators on them. IMO, the LMB is a superior predator in that situation. HSB have a small mouth, prefer pellet food, and since the GG offspring grow very quickly, they can get ahead of the HSB. I'm seeing evidence of that very thing happening in my small GG pond. Another reason I'm switching over to LMB as the predator on a catch and remove approach in that pond.

It's certainly appealing to be able to have a sterile predator, but all things considered, I'll take the fertile LMB every time for East Texas ponds...only exception is the grill where the HSB has few equals in warm water fish.

By the way, I think I was possibly the first on here to report HSB high temp angling intolerance in Texas ponds...a report which generated great derision from some. My findings, then and now, are consistently high angling mortality (100 % for me) in HSB over 3 pounds caught in water temps above 82 degrees regardless of tackle used. If you practice catch and remove, then the water temp problem in East Texas won't come into play. I have seen this mortality only (but sadly always)on fish over three pounds and have seen evidence of non-angling high temp mortality the past two summers.

I wish it were not so, but then I also wish I could have SMB and rainbow trout year around in my East Texas ponds, but wishing doesn't make it happen.

ML. I'm just not a gloom and doom sort of guy - I enjoy succeeding when others fail.
All fish are vulnerable to catch and release mortality.

LMB tournament professional fishermen face this problem continuously, and devise sophisticated live well systems to handle the problem, yet fish sometimes die when released back into tournament lakes. Oxygenated live wells are now being used in some of the new bass boats.

Didn't you recently lose a 10# LMB due to catch and release stress?
It's not only HSB that are vulnerable to C&R stress.

I will be happy to catch 2 – 3 HSB the rest of my life, even though I have caught and successfully revived several larger fish.
I am not into “trophy” fishing.
“It all depends”