Pond Boss Forums MANAGING AN EXISTING POND Feeding Bass Self Training to Pellet Feed

Was out by the pond last night when the feeder went off so I stopped by to watch. The usual cloud of minnows and fry were there, along with some really nice BG. To my surprise a small school of LMB swam in and 2 or 3 of them started taking big gulps of food from the surface. No fish have been added since the last renovation in 2012 so these were never previously feed trained. Been feeding the Optimal Bass G3. I didn't get a pic or video in time, I'll have to try tonight if I'm home for feeding time.

I've found that LMB learn to take feed fairly easily if bluegill are present and taking feed.

I've also noticed that smaller LMB sometimes school with bluegill, so those LMB clearly see the feed being taken by bluegill.

One feature of fish accepting pellets has to do with how long the parentage generations have been pellet trained. The longer feed training history of the parentage does appear to make each subsequent generation of the offspring quicker and easier to learn to accept pelleted food.

Bill do you think that is based on the yoy watching the adults (learned/adaptive) or do you think that eating pellets is a heritable trait? We now know that several behaviors/traits which were once thought to be learned are at least partly genetic/heritable .

Started early enough, I think most species will feed train.

I've been observing two LMB and two different BCP eating pellets, Optimal BG, this year. Their rapid growth was obvious compared to others of the same species. All 4 of these outlier feeders were 5" to 8". Interestingly, neither LMB nor BCP showed any interest in the mealworms the BG were consuming. They only chose Optimal, which the GSF prefer and the BG reject.

LMB have the capacity to learn. Some with more capacity than others according some investigators. In a couple of the local ponds near my house, LMB figured out that a BG head and guts leftover from cleaning is something edible and can be consumed. I know that because I have caught LMB fishing for catfish with the bait on bottom. Also, throwing BG heads with guts into the water attracts attention and LMB will draw them right in. Sometimes they spit them out and suck them back in. There are many occasions where the food drifts out of sight. Seen all the possibilities over the past couple of years.

Pretty cool they are taking feed for you. Much better conversion feeding to your LMB than the feed can do for your LMB when the BG consume it.

ewest, don't know if will be helpful but IIRC some have suggested that the ability to learn is variable and heritable. In the literature, this has also popped up propositionally in vulnerability studies seeking answers to the question which other traits are being selected for when high (or low) vulnerability is selected.

Any experience with Walleye? I'm assuming they will be almost 100% a no simply due to typical habitat in relation to where the feeding happens, but that would be a big bonus. They are going in this fall along with some YP, hopefully they will get some exposure to the feeder before it gets too cold, but I haven't heard a date on when they'll be available yet.

I do think that some fish can "learn" or attempt to eat something due to watching another eat something especially if the first experience is POSITIVE. "monkey see monkey do" type of thing. Some call this conditioning more than learning. ALSO competition and hunger for food are other important factors that I learned more about just this week. A cohort who raises cows says his cows compete with each other for food, evidently greed and I want it all plays a role when cows eat what is offered especially if the amount is limited. GENETICS LOADS THE GUN AND BEHAVIOR PULLS THE TRIGGER. . My experience with training fish to pellets is - If the food has the accustomed texture and is palatable then the fish is much more likely to accept the unfamiliar food.

On the other hand, I and several growers that have been working with a yellow perch strain from Lake Erie that has been domesticated for 44 years. We are convinced the pellet feeding tendency is inheritable as suggested by ewest and jpsdad. Those that have been working with this strain of YP the longest say the new crops are getting gradually easier and easier to train with a larger percentage accepting pellets each year. However I think instinct and competitive nature play a role in how fish behave especially when it comes to eating and feeding.

Walleye to eat pellets. I have always had difficulty getting walleye to eat pellets. I and a couple neighbors a couple years ago bought some pellet raised walleye that were eating only pellets until they were 8"-10" long, except for maybe a few eating smaller cohorts in the fry - fingerling stages. I have yet seen a walleye come to the surface to eat pellets. Either I am not seeing them among the pellet eating YP who they live with OR the walleye have resorted to eating small fish. There is a chance the pellet trained walleye have all died but this is doubtful because one neighbor this summer caught one of those pellet trained walleye.

Do you have any location on your pond that is known to hold a heavier concentration of walleye? If you put a floating feeder on the deepwater side of that structure, perhaps you could get a few of the walleye to eat pellets and start the training/rewards process.

I know that it would be a pain to maintain the feeder. Do you have a spot where you could anchor with two ropes on opposing shorelines? That way you could slack one line and use the other to bring your feeding platform back to shore.

Walleye will be stocked here in a month or so, so I'm not sure yet. I do have a location that I think will hold most of them. It is essentially a saddle between 2 points on opposite sides of the pond. It is actually the old bank from the original pond before it was widened back in 2011 or so. Drops off to deeper water on both sides and it is where our crappie seemed to hang out through the summer. I'll have to see if the Walleye end up congregating there, it would be a good spot for exactly what you're suggesting.

I was told by someone very experienced with fish feed that most all fish actually prefer sinking feed as it more mimics what they're used to consuming. Of course, that's not as much fun for us as we don't get to see it.

I'm thinking the best chance of getting walleye on feed is with sinking feed.

Sunil makes good points.
Fly fisherman generally know that trout spend most (90%) of their time feeding under the surface.
My aquarium tilapia, rosy reds, and sunfish stare at floating pellets until they drift down, then rush each other to be the first to grab one.
Pellets sinking in my pond rarely go out of sight in the depths, they go into a fish's mouth.

Just an observation, i have smb fingerlings of the same size and age class in 2 different ponds. One pond has very high numbers and the other has around 10% of numbers of fish. I have to feed floating pellets to the pond with low numbers to reduce feed waste because those fish feed slow. because the sinking pellets end up on the bottom. In the pond with high numbers they are extremly agressive so i can use a sinking pellet which seems to be much easier to get them feed trainned. Both ponds were started on sinking. Both seem to prefer the sinking. I prefer the floating to make sure im not overfeeding or creating a bloom or poor water quality. Pretty crazy to see the differents in agressiveness.

We do know that aggressiveness is a heritable trait in several species. In nature being overly aggressive can result in a short lifespan at the mouth of larger predators or the end of a fishing line.

Mixing floating and sinking feed can work well.