Originally Posted By: jpsdad
Originally Posted By: teehjaeh57


Per Cody - if your fishery becomes predator heavy [BCP, YP, SMB, WE, HSB] you will need to lean heavily on supplemental feeding AND a very robust forage plan to keep WRs from tanking. I've been there, done that. Supplemental feeding of tilapia or catfish fillets helps also and is a lot of fun.



TJ, Would you please expand on the red letters above? Is it like throwing filets in the water that the fish eat while drifting down?


Yes. Supplemental feeding programs - I cull BG and feed HSB, YP, SMB, WE and HBCP. This program reduces biomass and re-purposes as supplemental protein for my apex predators. All HSB will train and are indiscriminate and voracious, other species are a bit more unpredictable and selective, but the fish that train will exhibit crazy WR values over time, and the process is a lot of fun, too. The same fish wait daily in the shade of the dock - they truly become a lot like pets.

When I get lazy or lack the time to fillet BG chunks I'll use TP strips or CF nuggets both of which I buy wholesale from local grocery stores with whom I've established relationships over the years. I always keep a case or two in the freezer for these occasions. CF is cheaper than TP [$1.50/lb vs $3], but fish prefer TP over CF significantly.

Feeding TP and CF is my least preferred method as I'm not reducing biomass and am neglecting to utilize a free protein source [BG] - but things tend to get busy and I'm not always in the mood to slaughter BG on the dock and spray everything down when I'm done feeding.

The ideal method would be to seine several hundred BG each Spring, cut into bite sizes, and freeze for the season in 3 lb bags - just grab one on my way out the door. I think fish benefit nutritionally from the scales and bones of chunk BG vs. TP or CT fillets, also. When I live on site I am hopeful some of these projects will become more feasible.

The training process takes a few weeks - just start with fin clipped BG around the dock using a hand line and alligator clip or other easy release method at the same time each evening until the BG are getting hammered regularly. This first step will take some time to get fish tuned into looking for struggling BG - start with smaller fish [2-3"] to encourage predation. Soon they'll start looking for the BG and one can drop fin clipped BG right off the dock without need for the hand line - they won't go far before something hammers them. Feed slowly, only introduce another BG until you verify the previous one was consumed. Once this behavior is established, one can start using fresh BG chunks - and once this is achieved you can feed anything you want and get productive sessions. I usually stop feeding after 3#, but the HSB especially would continue feeding long thereafter as I've never managed to overfeed HSB to date.

Many men go fishing all of their lives without knowing that it is not fish they are after. ~ Henry David Thoreau

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