stocking a pond

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neighbor and I just got back from one of my ponds and caught 15 yearling largemouth 4 big bluegills
 
Pulled this one out 15 minutes ago...

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Don’t hold them with a rag like that, you will ruin their body slime and make them prone to infection. Hold them by the lower lip vertically.
 
It was not properly stocked. We just caught some out of another one of my ponds and moved them after replacing pipe. We are taking some of the yearlings out now.
 
Pulled another one out today (may have been the same as the first I showed, same size and the same little red dot on her belly)
This time I weighed her and she clocked at 2.68 pounds
Not sure if that's impressive for an 18 inch bass or not
 
diymirage said:
Pulled another one out today (may have been the same as the first I showed, same size and the same little red dot on her belly)
This time I weighed her and she clocked at 2.68 pounds
Not sure if that's impressive for an 18 inch bass or not
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That weight is about right for the length of a smallmouth.
 
im pretty excited, i went fishing yesterday and pulled two of the large mouths out , one was 5 inches the other 6

i was getting a little worried that the small mouths might have eaten all my fingerlings, but it looks like they survived and are growing
 
Yours are doing fine feeding. When I first moved in our bass had large heads and skinny bodies, trying to survive on wind blown bugs. Pulled 140 juniors out of my 1/2 acre pond in 1 weekend, gave the rest a chance til I could balance the pond.
 
69conv said:
Yours are doing fine feeding. When I first moved in our bass had large heads and skinny bodies, trying to survive on wind blown bugs. Pulled 140 juniors out of my 1/2 acre pond in 1 weekend, gave the rest a chance til I could balance the pond.
Click to expand...

yeah, my pond is a 1/4 acre, on a good day
im excited to see they are doing well
i came across a chart from MSU that says a fingerling should be 1-4 inches, a yearling 6-8, a 2 year old 8-10, 3 years old 10-12, 4 years old 12-14 and 13-17 inches by the time they are 5 years old

it looks like mine are a little ahead of schedule
 
Hey you've got my paddleboat! We grew cattails around a part of the pond to give the little guys a place to hide and attract bullfrogs. Didn't let it grow too much to avoid muskrats. Hate those mfers.
 
69conv said:
Hey you've got my paddleboat! We grew cattails around a part of the pond to give the little guys a place to hide and attract bullfrogs. Didn't let it grow too much to avoid muskrats. Hate those mfers.
Click to expand...
I actually keep the cat tails trimmed so they don't overtake the pond

I got 2 paddleboats out there, the one I like best has a bikini top on it

So, if you guys remember, I also put some channel cats in there
Today I rigged up a cat fish line (a bit heavier then needed for the little ones I put in there, but it is what I had set up)
While I'm out, I figured I might as well toss a light line out there and try to check up on a few more of those bass

All of a sudden, my 6 pound line with #12 hook just starts to run
It's a good thing my boy was out shooting his BB gun, so I called him over to help me land it

Dumb catfish hit the wrong line, but still rang in at 24 inches and 4.85 pounds

(Almost looks smaller then the one I caught last year)

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that catfish is some really good eating, my favorite fish. I used to raise them commercially, Joe
 
they sure are...but that one went right back into the water
 
could vary a lot depending on food source but probably 2-3 years. Down here I could put 2-4inch fingerlings in spring and by fall 1-1 1/2 lbs
 
diymirage said:
I actually keep the cat tails trimmed so they don't overtake the pond

I got 2 paddleboats out there, the one I like best has a bikini top on it

So, if you guys remember, I also put some channel cats in there
Today I rigged up a cat fish line (a bit heavier then needed for the little ones I put in there, but it is what I had set up)
While I'm out, I figured I might as well toss a light line out there and try to check up on a few more of those bass

All of a sudden, my 6 pound line with #12 hook just starts to run
It's a good thing my boy was out shooting his BB gun, so I called him over to help me land it

Dumb catfish hit the wrong line, but still rang in at 24 inches and 4.85 pounds

(Almost looks smaller then the one I caught last year)

View attachment 1715210831
Click to expand...

I found putting river rock gravel around the edge does a really good job of controlling the cattails. Mine circled the pond 12' in before the gravel. Very nice cat!!!
 
manage to hook three of those little bass today, but only one of em decided to hold on long enough to make it onto my dock
that one measured 8 inches
that is up from 5-6 inches back in august :)
 
diymirage said:
manage to hook three of those little bass today, but only one of em decided to hold on long enough to make it onto my dock
that one measured 8 inches
that is up from 5-6 inches back in august :)
Click to expand...

They grow really fast.
 
Glad to see this guy survived...i can't think of a better way to spend my time

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Couple more pics, I'm really excited to report I've caught at least three of the bass this week, so they must be doing well

I use a dipping net to catch minnows to use a bait, and today I pulled out three baby bass, so they must be doing well

And then just to show there still is a fat cat on the block...

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