Managed to cull 1 today, 14.75" 1.45 lbs No other bites and off to Vegas for the weekend
Did I attach these images correctly? What fry are these? Several schools of them swimming around unmolested today (except by me)
Have I told yall how much fun I've been having lately canoeing with my 4yo? He's finally old enough to sit "still" on the canoe and its the best friggin experience ever.
LOVELOVE! This is why I do it
Last edited by esshup; 01/20/2204:25 PM. Reason: dirty word removal
Im going to ask a lot of questions, but only because I'm clueless
Images from above. Im not help besides that. Yes kids having a good time outside makes the "work" worth it by long shot. Don't comment a lot but enjoy reading your thread.
Heeeeeyyyy I finally got the forum to send me a PW reset. HI YALL!
Pond is getting crazy low but beds are being made and Tilapia at least are sitting on some eggs. I think I've seen at least one bass bad. Honestly i think the Tilapia are so big they chase bass and BG off the good bedding areas. Weird problem IMO. Gotta work on that this year with feeder and nets.
In Late jan/early feb the pre spawn bite was good and I yoinked out ~10lbs of 75% WR bass. All under 1.5lbs.
I've added some structure by way of large branches and xmas trees in my 'canal' area. When the pond fills back up I will stock, I am definitely putting my march/april stocking plan on hold until it fills though. There is no realistic way I can get enough cover into the deeper parts right now. A few bags of river gravel too but not a ton because money is a thing.
I got some quotes for electroshocking which weren't terrible, but I'm going to wait until next winter/spring I think. Why shock now when I know the result will be "lots of underweight fish and not enough forage"? Only reason would be to cull everything and I dont feel like paying for that. Although maybe I should. Meh idk.
If you follow the IG you see updates more often, especially when I log myself out of here and can't get back on. @polkpasturedpork
Hopefully I can cull some bedding bass in the next month or 3. Wont be able to put in some effort until the end of the month though. How are yall doing?
Im going to ask a lot of questions, but only because I'm clueless
Caught and culled a pregnant 1lber, havent had much time because life has been.... Yea.
Anyway what do yall know about Tilapia bedding? Do they bed and then back off 20' or so to watch it? Cause I think that's what mine do. I've got tons of empty beds and tilapia staring at them from 10-20' back. Really weird. Pretty sure bass would be sitting on the beds.
Absolutely MONSTER tilapia out here, need to cull a bunch I think. *another thing on the to do list*
Im going to ask a lot of questions, but only because I'm clueless
Got some time with my son in the canoe! I caught 3 dinks while he mostly giggled. Hes getting better at casting but still gets bored and would rather play in the water with the minnow net. Its adorable I love it.
Seeing a bunch of what I think are 2-4" bass but wasn't able to net any Bunch of other fry/minnows but Westley had a monopoly on the minnow net...
Still think the Tilapia hoard the good bedding spots away from the bass. When i get the feeders re-set hopefully they will be drawn to them and I can cast ne tthe big ones out
Im going to ask a lot of questions, but only because I'm clueless
Got some time with my son in the canoe! I caught 3 dinks while he mostly giggled. Hes getting better at casting but still gets bored and would rather play in the water with the minnow net. Its adorable I love it.
In my experience, kids don't enjoy fishing, the enjoy catching!
Hopefully, he will be out with you one of these times when the LMB, or BG, or tilapia are hitting almost every cast! THEN he will become a fisherman.
My best "quality time" with my father while growing up included a huge chunk of time fishing together.
Culled another 5lbs of bass since last post. One of them I almost took pity on today because it was actually close to 100% WR, being 1.13 lbs and 13"
But I stuck to my guns, I need to get rid of predators so anything under 2 lbs is a goner no matter what.
Only 2 caught this AM despite being up early and fishing. Bass were exploding everywhere and I swear I saw a big tilapia fully clear itself out of the water (chased by a turtle maybe?). It made a funny "SHHHFWOOP" sound.
Not being able to catchwhen predators are splashing and chasing all around me is something I need to fix....
Pound is still emptying at about 2"/week. Today I stood and fished from a sandbar that is usually ~18"-2' under water.
Looks like some of the grasses and lillypads are able to grow fast enough in the 'new' low areas to keep some habitat for gams and minnows, and theres definitely something breeding. Im seeing tons of gams, and something bigger than a gam, like 2-3" but not many and I cant net them.
I wonder if my minnow trap will be exposed soon so I can grab it...
Im going to ask a lot of questions, but only because I'm clueless
Not being able to catchwhen predators are splashing and chasing all around me is something I need to fix....
Do you know how to fish topwater lures? That is definitely the most fun way for me to catch LMB! (When it works.)
If they are hitting on topwater lures, then you need to be careful not to set the hook too soon. When I was a kid, I would see the fish coming and sometimes yank the lure away from the fish.
It sounds like you are doing a good job culling those bass. I hope THAT job is more enjoyable than some of the other chores on your list for this spring!
I had a spinner bait hooked up and tried buzzing that along the water. It got knocked once and that's it. Maybe I should have gone for a popper? Choosing the right lure is not wha tI'm best at.
Ill tell ya its more fun than castrating piglets!
Im going to ask a lot of questions, but only because I'm clueless
Spent 2 hours fishing yesterday with my brother in law. I had one bite that spit it out, he had a few bites, and then broke one of my rods hooksetting a 1/2pounder that we fed to the pigs.
When I say "all the rain in florida intentionally goes around my pond" take a look at today's radar for central florida. That MASSIVE band of rain? Stops about 10minutes north of my pond.
At least itll fill up the river that branches into a creek that goes into my pond I guess...
Im going to ask a lot of questions, but only because I'm clueless
Citydad, I have the same issue regarding rain clouds. When I first met Lusk, many years ago, I told him where my land was. He said that he had been watching radar for my area, about 75 miles from him, for years trying to figure out why rain clouds always seem to split and go around me.
It's not about the fish. It's about the pond. Take care of the pond and the fish will be fine. PB subscriber since before it was in color.
Without a sense of urgency, Nothing ever gets done.
Boy, if I say "sic em", you'd better look for something to bite. Sam Shelley Rancher and Farmer Muleshoe Texas 1892-1985 RIP
My house, about 30min north of the property, got ~3" rain yesterday, the property? 1/2 inch
Easy solution. Just start construction on a small lake house. Get the project mostly framed in, but make sure you run into budget problems before installing the roof.
I guarantee copious amounts of rain will fall on your property shortly thereafter. ***
*** Please make sure you finish the roof before the fall, otherwise you are likely to draw a hurricane into the area!
This weekends forecast was for massive amounts of rain just north of the property. Then sunday's forecast changed, it was all going to DIRECT HIT MY PROPERTY!!! YEAAASSSSSSSSSSSSHA#$#
Then it went farther south. Like th estorm said "f* it lets go to miami instead"
Im going to ask a lot of questions, but only because I'm clueless
Pulled another 2 1lbers out yesterday. One had a seriously bad infection on the side. I dont think it's from C+R since I havent released anything in a while. Ill need to keep an eye on all the fish to see if there is more. COuld have had more, the bite was good, but I'm bad at fishing
Despite a smidgen of rain my pond is cut off from all the surounding water now due to the drought. A neighbor today told me that what I consider full is actually 3' lower than what they do (they used to mow this pasture for the previous owner). SO i'm 6+ feet low right now
Still have lots of space that is 5+' deep, but if we dont get rain before it gets hotter a fish kill might be around the corner IMO....
Im going to ask a lot of questions, but only because I'm clueless
Still have lots of space that is 5+' deep, but if we dont get rain before it gets hotter a fish kill might be around the corner IMO....
Can't remember - do you have any aeration at your place?
If not, then you might start reading some aeration threads to determine what you might need to install at your place BEFORE you reach the emergency stage.
Can't afford a good solar aerator and there's no power to do an AC unit. It's been on my list but its after silly things like clothes for teenagers and such.
I'm considering nuking it.... but then where do I fish when i'm pretending to be busy with farm chores? Also can't afford a full restock so...
Im going to ask a lot of questions, but only because I'm clueless
Can't afford a good solar aerator and there's no power to do an AC unit. It's been on my list but its after silly things like clothes for teenagers and such.
Sounds like time for a Mad Max solution!
Pig manure makes methane to drive your natural gas generator to produce AC power for your aerator.