Are my bass confused

[Brian Bell2]

History:

Stocked my lake ( about 3 acres ) last year with the following, the only thing in there before that was frogs, snakes, turtles and some crawfish.

I stocked with:

300 Southern Largemouth fingerlings ( they are now in the 1 to 1 1/2 pounds size )

500 Bluegill

800 Shellcrackers

300 Channel Cats

and the bags had some minnows so now we have a HUGE amount of them in the lake too.

The bass I am assuming are eating minnows and any other small fish ( that do not look like minnows, frogs ect )

Every morning we toss old bread out and the bluegill go nuts.. and we can see bass 4 to 5 times their size swimming along with them..

I thought bass eat bluegill, the bluegills are adult palm size on average. Will the bass starting eating them when they get a little bigger, or are my bass confused and they are bluegill or something.. Its realy wierd to watch a bunch a bass swimming along the bank with the bluegill and not even attempt to chase one down..

any thoughts..

Also I have yet to see any of the cats or shellcrackers I put in last year. Wonder what has become of them? ( bass food )?

 

[Andrew Zuber]

Most fish don't like to eat catfish...

Do to their fins, they can get lodged in the throat of the predator...Most fish know what catfish are and steer clear!



az

 

[Rob LaMoy]

The cats will stay on the bottom for the most part. Start throwing chunks of meat out there, and they'll likely surface. It's normal to see bass mixed with sunnies and bluegills. Panfish are further down on a bass' diet than most people realize. The amount of effort it takes to eat one, the possibility of being injured by fin bones/spikes. Bass are oportunistic eaters. They will go for craws first, lizards occasionally, (more to kill since lizards raid their nests), and minnows. So craws and minnows make up the bulk of their diets, along with bugs. Panfish come into play when no other forage is available or plentiful, or when it is wounded and a very easy target. My GOSH I gotta stop reading so many biology books on bass! LOL

 

[Scott Hammer TOXIC]

Fish school....duh!! and there is nothing better than schooling with your food source. You see, fish are instinct driven, the bluegills won't scatter everytime they see a bass because they know if they can see the predator they are safer. It's when the bass go into feeding mode that they get nervous, besides bass aren't going to take bluegill that are past prime eating size for them. Did you consult a pond biologist before establishing how many of what kind of fish you stocked the pond with? There is a very delicate balance that must be maintained and there should also be established harvest rates for each species to keep it healthy. Gills are prolific breeders and will over run most ponds if not controlled i.e, eating them or using them to fertilize the yard/garden!!LOL My point is that you have to manage it.



TOXIC

 

[Texas Transplant]

Something that I read/saw just this week, talked to this subject. It maybe the current issue of BassTimes. I'll look this evening.



I'll see what I can find, and post accordingly.



Tex

 

[Brian Bell2]

Toxic,

Yep I had my pond stocked by the company thats works directly with the FWC. They came out and took a look and recomended xyz... So far so good, 1 year later the bass look great and keep getting bigger and the bluegills look good too.. We even have the occasional otter and Ospry munching on the fish,, Saw an ospry 2 days ago swoop down and grab a ( about 1 pound bass ) and land on tree in my yard and start eating.. Was prett ticked that he could'nt have selected a bluegill for lunch.

 

[fatrap]

I used to scuba dive all over Florida. Bass and gills swim together all the time. Bass will feed on size approprate bluegills although I have found dead bass with a bluegill stuck in their throats. Like Rob said they will feed on the easiest, high energy food first. Gills in plain sight aren't worth the energy expended on them for the return in nurtrients.

In farm pond heaven(Iowa) many of the farmers want people to remove as many gills as possible to keep there numbers down, but the real balance is kept by the predator prey relationship. A pond full of stunted bass means things are going wrong as does no bass and many tiny bluegills. The stocking done by a pond biologist is a formula developed by Auburn University therefore the "Auburn Formula" I believe it's set up to populate a pond that will be sucessful with no outside interference(fishing) When the pond is fished there should be a harvest factor. ie the amount of predators that can be removed before the possibility of the balance being disturbed. I know it's very hard to fish down a bluegill population but easy to eliminate the top predators. You should have had a recommendation for harvest on your pond if not enquire as to what it would be. As for the shell crackers they like deeper water than bluegills and are usually found on the drop offs like bass. My info is old and a bit rusty like me but I don't think much has changed.

fatrap

 

[Bill McElroy]

There's a cartoon in here somewhere!!..LOL...



stay 'Tooned!!

 

[fatrap]

Did I over do it? I used to teach a "Fish Iowa" class and pond dynamics was part of the course.

fatrap

 

[Scott Hammer TOXIC]

Speaking of Pond Dynamics, my poor frozed Koi are alive!! My filter froze and burst but the pump is alive and well.



Then my daughter goes and and lets loose a huge painted turtle she caught into the pond. I flipped...I told her (6 years old) to go pull one of her nature books and read it until she could tell me what painted turtles eat.....she did......FISH!!! I told her she was gonna be swimming if she didn't find and catch that turtle!!



TOXIC

 

[Scott Hammer TOXIC]

Yeah well I got paid back....when she got home from school she went out to the pond and pulled up all of the fish habitat looking for that blamed turtle. I had to put it back together.....my arm is frozen!!

LOL!!



TOXIC