For cover in a forage pond cedar trees with a concrete block attached (to sink) and rope tied to the trunk then staked to the shore line with a metal concrete form stake works well. They will last about three years and with the rope attached can be easily pulled out to seine or even throw a cast net. Before you came up to help seine my forage pond I had one of these in that pond that I pulled the day before. I probably should have had several.
A cast net is handy to check progress, get fishing bait and harvest smaller amounts of forage fish from a forage pond. In my forage pond I also used it to raise RES recruits and to harvest some. I found if I would hand feed near dusk, then use the cast net in the shallow area of the pond where I fed, I could get quite a few small RES (and once in a while a big breeder). Five to ten throws and I would have enough in a 5 gallon bucket or two to stock my other ponds.
Other times of day with the cast net I could only occsionally get an unlucky or dumb RES. Right before dusk or slightly after was best time to get RES. That and cool weather when they were more slugish.
But a cast net does not like snags! I learned pretty quickly I did not remember as well as I thought the location of cover in my big pond and about ruined the net. But I used it a lot in my forage pond.
Last edited by snrub; 03/21/22 09:45 AM.
