I do not feed my fish except a handful every couple days to see some BG feed in only one of my 3 ponds. However, I see no reason others should not feed if that makes them happy. Lots of public waters are stocked with hatchery raised fish. Are those "wild" fish. I stocked my 2nd pond with lots of forage and then added a small number of SMB from a hatchery. If one of those SMB grows to a state record, is that "cheating"? I too have questions about a purposefully bred giant whitetail buck being released and after 3 months and then being considered a "wild" deer eligible for setting a record, but I have developed habitat specifically to encourage deer on my place and try to manage the doe to buck ratio in the hopes of encouraging trophy bucks. Am I cheating too? I certainly draw my own lines such as shooting a bred deer on a small high-fence operation, but as long as folks are honest about where and how their trophy was taken, I guess that it is up to the individual to determine how much they contributed to their own success. Like the common misconception concerning organically vs., conventionally grown food, the misconception concerning the safety of pond-raised vs. wild fish is common. Think about why you find no safety or nutritional superiority claims on organic or wild-caught fish food labels. Perhaps because it is a crime to make false claims on food labels.
Last edited by RAH; 07/14/21 06:43 AM.
