There are some very big swirls when feeding. Not sure if they are from larger YP or SMB or the elusive HSB. My water has pretty poor clarity right now, so all I see is the swirl. I don’t get a good look at any fish. Going to try hand feeding per TJ’s suggestion once I retire in seven weeks, and actually spend more than a few hours by the pond.
9 yr old pond, 1 ac, 15' deep. RES, YP, GS, FHM (no longer), HBG (going away), SMB, and HSB (only one seen in 5 yrs) Restocked HSB (2020) Have seen one of these. I think that's about all I should put in my little pond. Otter attack in 2023
Nice looking fish! Interesting coloration. Is that red on the O flap?
Here's another one with the rust on the O-flap. I have never noticed the orange-ish fleshy-ness that surrounds or extends from the black portion of the flap...does anybody else see this in their HBG's?
First off, the new pond HBG record is now 0.6 pounds flat, almost 8" long, and I believe this to be a female...
Secondly, I have noticed several of the fish this year (and a few last year) to have fin damage. Mostly a split down the center of the rear fin and a few with odd anal fins. The picture above shows both.
Next, this 1/2 pound male below has some inflammation around it's eyes: another circus fish. Most likely a bacterial infection...I don't know.
Lastly, most of the fish I catch appear to be females. Maybe only by a small margin, but my males are either too smart for the hook, my male to female ratio is fairly even, the males are busy with spawning, OR I haven't achieved pond meister status when it comes to sexing the fish???
PS: I have found that a small piece of bread smashed onto a hook yields the best catch rate.
Good observation Roundy! I thought the same thing, but you know how a parent can overlook their kid's inadequacies...Is the tail stubby or is the body just large?
New HSB Record for the pond...1.95 pounds at 16.25 inches long. I caught him at 3:30 pm on a copper Rapala Super Duper trout lure (1/4 oz). Actually, it may not have hit the lure as I snagged it in the eye socket. I like to think that he was after it and just missed with his mouth. I was actually fishing for the HBG, but there he was. Water temps were in the low 80's and he showed no signs of distress as he was handled and returned to the pond.
Here's the progression of the HSB in my pond...
April (2018) - Initial stocking, HSB = 4 to 6" long. Aug (2018) - 11" and 3/4 pound. Sept (2018) - 13" and 1.3 pounds. Oct (2018) - 13" and 1.4 pounds. June (2019) - 14.5" and 1.63 pounds. July (2019) - 16.25" and 1.95 pounds.
I have only caught a couple that did not get weighed, but for the most part they have been few and far between, increasing in size with most every catch.
I have been enjoying the crawdads in my pond now for the last two years, BUT I think I stocked too many! My pond has struggled with muddy water all year and last night I was Wonder bread fishing on the bottom for any carp that might be in the pond (none caught). The water was 7 foot deep where I was fishing and a caught several crawdads. I used a throw net and caught some more in the same depth. I even caught a crawdad in the shallows (with the bread) with another crawdad pinched onto the first one (it was a two-fer). These guys are about 4 inches long and seem to be everywhere. A recent trapping produced 20 of them overnight. All were returned
Why aren't my, near 2 pound/1.5" gape, HSB controlling/decimating these buggars? Few little craws are even seen, so, the HBG must be cleaning them up. Part of me wants to give it another year and see what happens, but another part of me wants to eat some northern crays. I'm torn between feeding the fish or feeding myself!
New HSB Record for the pond...1.95 pounds at 16.25 inches long. I caught him at 3:30 pm on a copper Rapala Super Duper trout lure (1/4 oz). Actually, it may not have hit the lure as I snagged it in the eye socket. I like to think that he was after it and just missed with his mouth. I was actually fishing for the HBG, but there he was. Water temps were in the low 80's and he showed no signs of distress as he was handled and returned to the pond.
Here's the progression of the HSB in my pond...
April (2018) - Initial stocking, HSB = 4 to 6" long. Aug (2018) - 11" and 3/4 pound. Sept (2018) - 13" and 1.3 pounds. Oct (2018) - 13" and 1.4 pounds. June (2019) - 14.5" and 1.63 pounds. July (2019) - 16.25" and 1.95 pounds.
I have only caught a couple that did not get weighed, but for the most part they have been few and far between, increasing in size with most every catch.
Nice fish! I think we have a HSB RW chart around here somewhere if you're curious.
Aug (2018) - 11" and 3/4 pound. - RW = 113% Sept (2018) - 13" and 1.3 pounds. - RW = 116% Oct (2018) - 13" and 1.4 pounds. - RW = 125% June (2019) - 14.5" and 1.63 pounds. - RW = 103% July (2019) - 16.25" and 1.95 pounds. - RW = 87%
I am betting that the FHM populations have dwindled enough to cause the decrease in RW and that the HBG YOY have been fewer than needed. This is where I thought the crawdads would come into play. At any rate, the goal is larger HBG, so I half expected the HSB sizes to be jeopardized in the long run.
Originally Posted By: Pat Williamson
QA I think the HSB don’t run the shallows like LMB do, craws more in the shallows. Just guessing though
You are right, at least at my pond. The HSB only seem to feed in the deeper waters (3 feet or more). This is where I see them hitting top water anyhow. BUT, the craws are on the bottom out in the deeper water, apparently. Maybe, the HSB need another year to increase in gape?
QA I think the HSB don’t run the shallows like LMB do, craws more in the shallows. Just guessing though
You are right, at least at my pond. The HSB only seem to feed in the deeper waters (3 feet or more). This is where I see them hitting top water anyhow. BUT, the craws are on the bottom out in the deeper water, apparently. Maybe, the HSB need another year to increase in gape?
HSB might eat crays but I doubt it's a preferred item for them. If they have to spend more energy foraging for them then they'll gain less weight. Can we get a pro to weigh in?
June/July time frame is going to be low WR for HSB compared to Late Aug/Sept/Oct.. that wouldn't be uncommon at all. And I will add to this, there is a reason we measure in mm and weigh in grams at the State level when looking for accurate growth data. Inches and 10ths can easily create a 10-15% error in WR.
Snipe, Thanks for chiming in! I would venture a guess that the warmer water temps keeps the HSB from hunting their prey and hinders their growth? And, I can see your point about more accurate measurements making a noticeable difference in WR results.
This weekend's trapping/culling results:
I set the trap out yesterday to cull medium size HBG and managed to catch about 30 to 40 ranging from 2" to 4.5". I would guess that 1/3 of them had been caught before as their rear fins had been cropped. So much for the HSB getting them quickly. I will be taking about 20 medium sized (3-4") HBG out and installing them in a neighbors CC pond that needs some help with forage. The smaller ones were cropped, if not already, and returned to the pond.
The trap only produced a few crawdads during the day time. It was re-baited and set out over night and produced about 30 to 40 craws, 4 to 5" craws with only 1 HBG,. That's a pretty typical haul for and over night trapping. The craws were returned to the pond even though I suspect them for my muddy water...their time is coming.
I think I caught the old HBG pond record last weekend, but it's lost weight...I'll let you decide. the first photos is from last weekend and it weighed 0.52 pounds. The second photo is the one from above (6/28/19 two months ago) and it weighed 0.6 pounds then. I think you will agree that they are the same fish...small black spot on belly , same black spot pattern on pectoral fin, a few of the same yellow grubs on the pectoral fins, and the same spit tail...length was the same give or take. I cut back on feeding a few weeks ago due to surface scum worries.
I also pulled another HSB out (second this year), not quite a new record, but very close. The cool thing is I caught it on a crawdad fly that I got from Basspro that I just knew was being offered because it looked cool and that it probably wouldn't catch fish...I was wrong and happy for it...