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#257359 05/03/11 04:59 PM
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I noticed after this long cold winter the FHM population in my 1/4 acre pond took a major hit. So today I went and bought 7 lbs of GSH 4-6inches to load in there for my bass. Well lets say the bass went nuts. Everyone is swimming around with tails hanging out of there mouths. The GSH dont seem to be near as smart as FHM they just formed bait balls and let the bass whack em. Its been about 4 hours now and still see big schools around the edges but I notice numbers dropping fast. Any chance these guys will get established in there or was it just a feeding frenzy for my bass. I paid 14.50 a pound which was the cheapest I could find in central PA. Guy charged me a flat $100 which I guess is not bad for a nice pre spawn snack.

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Light pre-spawn snack.


Todd La Neve

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That's the problem with hatchery raised GSH... They are usually raised in holding ponds with just other GSH. They have no idea what a bass is until WHAM! A lot depends on just how many bass you have and what size they are... 6" GSH are pretty decent sized, but even then a 14" bass could handle one that size without much issue.

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Kinda my thoughts.... Im gona try and put a pound in one of my large goldfish ponds and see if I can grow them large enough to not become a quick lunch.

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I'd day just put a couple dozen of the biggest ones you have in there... If you feed them well, in a years time they may be large enough to avoid predation. Too many and you may affect thir growth rates. I'd rather have 20 10" GSH than 1,000 6" GSH with what you are trying to do...

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The orchard next to me has a little 10th of a acre pond that has nothing but stunted BG in it. I was thinking throw some in there but how would I get them out.

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When they get bigger, they are easily caught with a small hook. But with piles of tiny BG, they'll have plenty of competition for the bait and the food as well. You can also use a seine or cast net...

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Talk to the orchard owner and see if you can remove a lot of the stunted BG either by trapping, seining or chemical. Lots of stunted BG will compete pretty strongly with the GSH and slow their growth. I would remove at least 1BG better 2 BG for every 1 GSH added. This frees up invertebrates for more GSH forage.

Also maybe your pond has too many bass overeating the food source. A common problem in many ponds. Thin the bass numbers and forage lasts longer. There is also a possibility that your pond has a habitat problem - not enough cover for small forage fish. Thus it is too easy for bass to catch smallfish such as GSH.?

Last edited by Bill Cody; 05/03/11 08:35 PM.

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My family owns the orchard, so thats not a problem I do like to take my nephews and fill up a bucket of 30-50 two or three inch gills and feed them to the bass. It is fun to watch the bass follow you as you throw them in. I drained the quarter acre pond and dug it out last spring, then stocked it with adult fish. So I am sure part of my problem is not having that slot group of fish thats making them hit the minnows so hard. I plan on culling the adult bass population hard after this springs spawn. The pond in qustion is in my front yard I do like being able to walk down after work and watch the big guys swim around. Odd thing is I stocked 5 bass at about 26-28 inches true fattys. They have had no problem gaining weight, stocked about a dozen 12-18 inchers and they are fat and healthy, the 8-10 class look hungry. I am sure the BG I stock week to week are feeding the bigger guys and the lack of fresh spawn fish are hurting the smaller guys. I know Its alot of bass for a small pond but its in are front yard and we have several ponds I do the " Right way" with, but this one I dont mind playing god with, if gota find ways to feed the lions meat for my kicks I dont mind. I like to watch the big guys swim around in a 1/4 acre like there king.

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Okay - then I suggest you thin heavily the small BG in the orchard pond and stock some GSH. Then you will have two types of forage available. Provide or insure spawning sites for GSH. It you feed fish in the orchard pond production will increase depending on how much you feed and resulting water quality.

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Will GSH feed on aquamax? Its odd I have been fishing around here since I was a kid and never have caught a wild GSH. They must not be very common around here. In a little pond like the orchard how many pounds would you put in?

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Yes, GSH will eat Aquamax but it's awful expensive and over kill for their needs. This is one time you can get away with feeding cheapo feed. With the "orchard pond" being just a 1/10 of an acre, have you considered draining it? Kill off all the fish and utilize it as a forage only pond?

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My problem with that is that the pond drains into another neighbors 3 acre. Pond when it rains hard. It also has a stream that feeds into it. I am going to try traps and see what happens.

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Excessive numbers of small BG in a crowded small pond will eat lots and lots of the GSH eggs. A big negative. Only way I know to minimize that is keep the fish full on pellets esp during GSH spawn time or maybe collect eggs then place mats with eggs in a fenced in area until eggs hatch. It would not take much rotenone (@1ppm) to kill a 0.1 ac pond and then if several days later that overflows into another larger pond minimal affect will occur due to rotenone breaks down fast in warm temps and strong dilution reduces concentration in receiving pond. A 50 ft seine will remove lots of small BG.

Last edited by Bill Cody; 05/04/11 07:42 PM.

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I'd vote for the seine and toss the little BG in the 1/4 ac pond.


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Today I made a 2ft by 2ft fish trap out of quarter inch chicken wire, threw some chunks of fish in it and let it sit in the orchard pond for a few hours. Wow pulled out about 150 1-3inch stunted BG. Threw them in my bass pond and watched the bass go to town. I put the trap back in hopefully over nite I will have even more. I am guessing I cant throw to many stunted BG in the bass pond can I? I plan on trapping till I see the numbers caught drop dramaticly then stock GSH in the orchard pond.

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Decent plan. Does the orchard pond have some shallows where grass like plants and short vegetation grows?. GSH will spawn in those types of areas, sometimes puttings eggs as shallow as 1"-3".


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Its actually in the middle of the a heavily wooded area, there are alot of trees laying in the water along the one side. Lots of leaves on the bottom but not to much vegetation.

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You may need to add artifical spawning mats in shallow water for the GSH.


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I was told that "Welcome Matts" work good... is that what you are reffering too?

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I like old air filters from a house. GSH will readily spawn on them. I have not heard of anyone using a welcome mat, but throw one in there, along with some filter material. I think the finger material of the filter will work better though. I would place the artificial spawning material in 6"-18" of water.

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So when do GSH spawn and how many times a year do they spawn?

If I remember I thought I read where FHM spawn until the water cools down, just not sure to what.

Thanks

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Welcome mats with short turf like 'stems' or a short shag are the type of mats intended for GSH spawning. Spawning starts at around 70F and will end as the water rises into the 80F. Normally one main spawn period per year. Occassionally a later summer spawn occurs if a cold rain lowers the water temps to below 80F and fish have time to develop and lay eggs before good conditions change. Eggs hatch in about 5-4 days at these temps.

If you live in OK I think your GSH spawn is over for 2011.

Last edited by Bill Cody; 06/09/11 08:35 AM.

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I think you are right, just had some GSH and FHM in a 300 gallon tank and have not seen any small ones yet, so maybe they did not spawn.

Or may have ended up as a snack.

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The small ones would be a snack... GSH are highly predacious on the fry of their own and others. I doubt you will have any luck raising GSH in a 300 gallon tank. If you get GSH to lay eggs, remove the eggs attached to the spawning mats to another tank with no fish in it and let them hatch there.

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