GSF don't play well with fingerling LMB While emptying weeds gathered into my pond boat I boat, I rescued a small LMB, possibly 3.5" long. I introduced it to my 30 gallon aquarium. The 4" and 5" BGs and 6" GSF were curious but not aggressive about their new neighbor. This morning went I went to feed the bunch I saw No bass, a greenie lacking his usual food aggression, and sporting a nice round, lumpy belly. So, that rescue didn't go so well for the little bass. At least in a fish tank, a 6" GSF can consume a bass more than half his length.
4Corners - Very good experience and observation about the abilities of green sunfish. When in college, I conducted a student research project where I put one equal length BG and one GSF into small test aquariums. ALWAYS in each test the GSF killed the BG within a few to several days.
Last edited by Bill Cody; 06/29/2208:30 AM.
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I wouldn't have thought a 6" GSF could swallow a 3.5" LMB. Sheesh.
Visited pond & refilled feeders yesterday, lowest water level I've ever seen, maybe 18" below normal pool. Will extend walkway to dock soon, definitely needs more depth. One of my pontoon boats hitched to the dock is stuck on dry land! More water birds than usual trying to take advantage, likely larger LMB are doing the same under the surface.
Artificial habitat getting prepped, will deploy in a few weeks. Low water actually a benefit for this, makes placement easier. Plan on using plastic "lilies" to mark exact location of larger structures.
Frank, sounds like lots to do while the water is low. Be thankful it is not like Lake Mead!
My pond is doing well with 8 and 1/2 years into it. And Frank, I had an old friend over from Dallas and he hooked into what I believe was the nice female you gave me years back after my fish kill. Like a lot of big ones, it was not landed but got a good view of it and big bass might be an undersized comment. One of those bass of a lifetime maybe. We caught a lot of nice bass that morning.
Do not judge me by the politicians in my City, State or Federal Government.
Went by and tossed some feed out right by the daily feeder, the swarm of fish waiting and depending on the feeder is incredible, the pond is pretty big and I have no intention of trying to feed everybody but they seem to just congest around the feeder big time, and now the LMB have discovered the feed as well, they will literally destroy the feed in a matter of seconds, churn the water and it seems like only a pellet or so apiece and its gone, the CC are a little too slow to the table as they are a little slower eaters, they are around 4 to 5 lbs now, after the feed is gone they are left swimming around under the surface, like they are wondering where the hell the feed went. My concern is when the otters and cormorants realize this congested area of fish they could do some major damage really fast. All the brush piles and stuff are holding a ton of yoy fry, looks like everything is going great, my biggest wish is I had more time to spend around the lake. but oh well, maybe one day I will be able to move there. its about 30min away.
All the really good ideas I've ever had came to me while I was milking a cow.
Frank, sounds like lots to do while the water is low. Be thankful it is not like Lake Mead!
My pond is doing well with 8 and 1/2 years into it. And Frank, I had an old friend over from Dallas and he hooked into what I believe was the nice female you gave me years back after my fish kill. Like a lot of big ones, it was not landed but got a good view of it and big bass might be an undersized comment. One of those bass of a lifetime maybe. We caught a lot of nice bass that morning.
Tracy, I'm delighted! You've always been my superior when it comes to growing trophies, this one apparently had the right F1 genes to take full advantage. Congratulations and I hope next time you get a good picture!
Good deal Tracy! Congratulations, sometimes it doesn’t matter if you land it or not , especially if you get a good look at it. The two largest bass that I have caught I didn’t get a pix of and didn’t even take them out of the water due to stressing them…. As long as you have a memory of it that’s good enough….. well done!
I saw something I never thought I would see ... not today but yesterday ...
My son was fishing with a free swimming BG and a turtle took it. Not unusual but two ~18" LMB began trying to take it way. Went on for about a minute until one of the LMB took it (or maybe most of it?) from the turtle.
It isn't what we don't know that gives us trouble, it's what we know that ain't so - Will Rogers
I saw something I never thought I would see ... not today but yesterday ...
My son was fishing with a free swimming BG and a turtle took it. Not unusual but two ~18" LMB began trying to take it way. Went on for about a minute until one of the LMB took it (or maybe most of it?) from the turtle.
I saw something I never thought I would see ... not today but yesterday ...
My son was fishing with a free swimming BG and a turtle took it. Not unusual but two ~18" LMB began trying to take it way. Went on for about a minute until one of the LMB took it (or maybe most of it?) from the turtle.
Not on that cast Pat. We just barely hook (less than 1/8") into the fish. They have to be carefully casted or the fish will be tear where hooked. So in trying to get the fish away from the turtle, his hook tore through.
But it may be that he caught one of those two fish on a later cast. We were using 2" to 3" BG and an ultra light. The hook was a fly hook in size 10. It's too small really but most of the time we hook up. It requires tearing the hook out of the BG when setting the hook and almost always sets in the lip. Takes patience. The fish must be completely taken in its mouth and the LMB needs to be facing some direction other than facing directly to successfully get a hook set. He catches about 60-70% of his takes which I think is pretty good.
It isn't what we don't know that gives us trouble, it's what we know that ain't so - Will Rogers
Another experience with LMB occurred when I lived in CO (and I know Pat will get kick out of this story too). I liked to fish an irrigation reservoir for crappie during times around the spawn. I would wade so I could cast farther and reach staging fish. Used a 1/8 chartreuse jig and either a red or black tube with chartreuse tail. Love that lure for crappie. Anyways, I'd string the crappie until I reached the limit. But one day, a particular LMB would come up and try to take crappie off my stringer. It was around 20". It exhibited the behavior several times and I would only notice when I felt him forcefully strike a crappie on my stringer. My wife was fishing beside me that day and she thought it was hilarious ... she had no issues (but not as many fish on her stringer).
Last edited by jpsdad; 07/02/2201:53 PM.
It isn't what we don't know that gives us trouble, it's what we know that ain't so - Will Rogers
Yup have had LMB take 6-8” LMB when fishing with small jig a hang LMB then big LMB decided to eat it, had that happen maybe two weeks ago. I don’t fish for bg on purpose so haven’t had the LMB take them but have had lots of BCP stolen (saw them), each time it was 7-8” BCP that got et. Think the reason that they not to crazy bout BG is all the barnacles and stickers all over BG…… try grabbing them…. Lol
I think stealing prey from other predators is an effective strategy.
I have had multiple hits (and sometimes caught multiple fish) when using crankbaits on spotted bass in the spring.
When the initial bass is hooked on the back treble hook, the other bass are intently focused on the crankbait to see if it "escapes". We would frequently observe a trailing bass as the hooked fish became visible as it was reeled to the boat.
I think our record is five bass brought right to the edge of the boat - with one hooked and four in pouncing position!
Fished minnows for a couple of hours today. Caught 4 crappie, one huge copper nose, and 5 or so LMBup to 4#. The LMB have definitely taken over the brush piles. No crappie at all in the usual piles or falls.
Fished minnows for a couple of hours today. Caught 4 crappie, one huge copper nose, and 5 or so LMBup to 4#. The LMB have definitely taken over the brush piles. No crappie at all in the usual piles or falls.
They there to scarf up the BCP. Same thing at my pond
I went to the doc yesterday at dark and caught a handful of bass under a pound on a small crank bait, looks like might have a light bloom going on, the water isn’t as clear as it has been
I dug up three willow bushes coming up on the dam. Man are they heavy. After I pulled the last one out I grabbed a handful of FA and threw it back over the dam. Two tiny spotted fawns came bolting up out of the fescue on the back of the dam. Twins are ok as we took three does last fall.
I do have one question. I have a bunch of cottonwood trees coming up at the base of the back side of the dam. Must be 20 small trees. They cover about 30 yards across the mid section of the dam. My dam sits on the property line, so almost all of the trees are on my property. I’ve decided to remove them before they get bigger. My question is, doesn’t that signal where a leak would be? Aren’t cottonwoods attracted to water? I usually see them along creek or river banks. So, not a particularly good sign, but it does show me where my leak is.
FYI, it’s a small leak. We are in a near drought, and the pond is just down about 8”.
Thx Jeff
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
I have them in various places on our property also. (Mostly along creek banks.) This grove just popped up in a thick patch right at the base of the dam. I thought it might mean something, I guess maybe not.
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
Could mean something. We have clay soil, but on sandy soil, cottonwoods may need more of an inflow of water. My 4th pond seems to have a leak. I knew it was a real risk due to the sand veins that I hit. Sealing them was like trying to dig a hole in a jar full of marbles. It has been really dry, but this pond had dropped more than double that of any of the other 3 ponds. I know where the water shows up about 100 feet behind the dam since it forms a very small trickle into a shallow trench that leads to the stream below. It always was a seep, even before the pond was built. Time will tell if it gets worse, stays the same, or decreases. I am hoping suspended clay will eventually seal it up, but I really don't expect that.
Days are heating up, harder to fish during the middle of the day. But my brother lives right on the Grand River where the kids can almost always catch bluegill, SMB, or even this crazy looking fish! Looks like the fish is eating well and was right under the swim dock (an old pontoon deck) Bowfin? Must be a reproducing population still in Lake Michigan and its watersheds.
The cameras out there show dozens of gar pike at night but still no success in catching those.