Tried to e-mail but failed, so this post can be intro and comment on your interesting article
Rick,
I enjoyed your recent article on catch and release in ponds. I am a pond meister, aka rancher, aka retired NASA engineer and would like to comment on a couple of aspects of the article.
First, as a rancher, I really appreciate your consideration of the property. That is huge to the landowner.
On the subject of BG, I think taking all BG less than 11 inches is excessive. If you only fish a pond once a year, then its a different story, of course. The BG are the backbone (along with Tilapia and shad) of the forage base in my ponds. Six to eight inch BG are the number one choice of food for large LMB. I’m of the opinion that taking a few BG for eating occasionally is ok, but in general I do not take them out. I have huge BG; the largest I have ever seen anywhere. I attribute that to the number and
size of LMB and HSB (hybrid striped bass) in the ponds.
Relative to LMB, I have found that taking all, underline all, 12 inch and under LMB after three years is required. I have also discovered, to my great disappointment that Florida strain LMB, as they mature beyond about three pounds, become very lure/fly
shy…in fact almost impossible to catch. Catch and release of Florida strain LMB, with regular fishing pressure, in the presence of artificial feeders, in small ponds, does not work…period, it does not work. If you fish a pond only infrequently,
that’s a different story.
In an effort to combat this problem, which is very real, I have established a HSB fishery on a put and take basis to complement the LMB fishery. The HSB is a terrific pond fish, fights better than LMB, tastes better, and grows faster. I have also stocked a new pond exclusively with the F1 LMB in an effort to determine if they really are more aggressive and do not “learn” like the Florida strain LMB.
Again, I enjoyed your article and thank you for reading my comments.
