Pond Boss Forums GENERAL QUESTIONS Pond Boss Ice Fishing - Finally!

Very nice fish so far from your trophy pond project. It appears the growth is progressing at our experienced rate for your methods. Evidently most of your concern and worry a year or two ago from not seeing nor catching larger perch was unfounded. Often YP when fat from pellet feeding will get "lock jaw" during mid-simmer. The difficulty as I see is it to keep them healthy enough from eating pellets to prevent premature deaths which is the main problem Cecil and I experience.

Very nice TJ! I got the well turned off on my puddle to see how it freezes up this year.

You're welcome for not hitting you with a stick, and I completely agree, it was an awesome trip. Granted I was a newb and walked around with sad puppy dog eyes, but all of you took great care of me, and it was an ice fishing trip I'll never forget. It will always be my first.

Yep TJ, I got the approval from my boss, so I guess a road trip is close.

Since I have no experience ice fishing, I would think I would look like the Michelin Man all wrapped up in thick layers. And would most likely have to be placed on the sled because I would not be able to walk a shanty would be nice, like in the movie Grumpy old men. A great ice fishing movie. Al, did Sparkie not bring his special clothing, (outfit), reminded me of One flew over the Coo Coo's nest. Maybe all you ice fishing guy's (including Al) should make a funny movie I can see a Texan falling on his back side on the ice, Now that has to be funny


Tracy

Thanks Bill, my YP shut down feeding in late May and didn't resume until October which only left them 3 months of feeding. Now I just need to find a good pellet which will handle nutrition needs for BG and YP fishery. I've researched Skretting and Zeigler and am waiting to see what Rayl at Optimal does this Spring. I don't mind feeding my BG a YP pellet - just want the best pellet possible for YP growth. BG can take it or leave it, plenty of grass shrimp for them to graze for growth in this fishery.

TJ - It is very possible your YP that went off pellet feeding were feasting on the abundant YOY crayfish in your pond.

Yellow Perch do like small crayfish!

My YP sampled in the Fall were all below 100 WR - they look great now, but obviously because they're gravid. I think the lack of vegetation and turbidity really affects the YP more than the BG. I'll be interested to see how the YP perform this coming season. I plan on keeping on top of the crayfish with weekly trapping so some vegetation/clarity can return to the pond.

Could the perch control them better now that the perch have a larger gape?

I'd think they'd improve predation rates steadily as YP increase in size.

Beautiful fish, TJ... Congrats!

Nice work TJ !

We all need to keep in mind that YP are cool water fish and keep feeding when water temps slow down BG and LMB feeding. As a result the time factor in RW status is not exactly the same as with BG and LMB etc..

I think it's time to put a few YP to the knife. Weigh the eggs/milt and deduct that from the weight of the fish, getting the WR without them.

Great fish TJ!

Ponds iced over here, only 1" or so. Then we had 5" or so of lake effect snow last night/this morning. Not good for making safe ice.

Later this week we are supposed to get rain and temps in the 40's. My only hope is that it will melt all the snow to allow the ice to build to a safe thickness.

No ice here yet but the YP are sure active with the cold water.

Well, I shut down my feeder when the water temps went below 50 degrees. Not many YP were hitting the feed, on the surface.. I was under the impression that they wouldn't feed with temps below 50.
It's down below 40 degrees now, I don't think I should restart the feeder, but should I have kept it going? Assuming that the YP were hitting it after it started to sink, along with the RES?

Thanks
Jeff

What are you catching them on? Mind sharing. I still need to remove several hundred out of my pond. I was having very little luck late in the fall..

I asked TJ the same question earlier in the thread...

She's a beaut - nice work, looks ready to pop!

I would stop feeding in mid 50s - if YP are still sporadically hitting pellets you could just hand feed so you're not committed to 1 second throws which may equate into wasted feed/excess nutrients.

Jeff

My most reliable methods to sample YP in any weather is 1/32 oz jig/crawler combo fished slowly making contact with bottom in open water or fhm baited on tru turn wire aberdeen on a slip bobber rig. The latter works well on the ice, too, but so do jigging spoons for more active fish. My favorite are Custom Jigs Spins Slender Spoon and the VMC Tingler spoons tipped with a small minnow or minnow head. Waxies or spikes also work on the spoons.

Few more pics from this weekend - some 9-10" BG with emerging helmets, couple lunker HBCP, WE trying to get there, and a dandy SMB that went just under 18".

Really nice but she'll get much bigger before she drops her eggs in the spring like this:




As I mentioned earlier in the thread for some reason our feed trained perch don't develop their ovaries as rapidly as their wild counterparts, but no one commented.

Here's a wild counterpart, beleve it or not, caught ice fishing.

Awesome TJ!

How many inches is your ice now and how many inches was the crappie?

How old is that crappie?

Great looking fish guys!

Hey Cecil,

I thought they quit making Heineken in the 1 ounce cans!

Ice is 3-4.5" - those HBCP were 12.5" and 13. Much larger swimming in there, they are now age 6.