Thread: 1st gills from my pond.

Technically they can't revert back to one or the other parent species, but what happens over time with hybrids is that more and more inferior genes of both parents begin showing up in subsequent generations. This is called outbreeding depression and is why it's the norm for a pond that has had hybrid bluegill for several years to be overrun with two- to three-inch-long fish that have more characteristics of green sunfish than bluegill. I almost never recommend hybrid bluegill for this reason. In southern latitudes coppernose will get bigger and are a much better choice.

Originally Posted by tnpondmanager

Technically they can't revert back to one or the other parent species, but what happens over time with hybrids is that more and more inferior genes of both parents begin showing up in subsequent generations. This is called outbreeding depression and is why it's the norm for a pond that has had hybrid bluegill for several years to be overrun with two- to three-inch-long fish that have more characteristics of green sunfish than bluegill. I almost never recommend hybrid bluegill for this reason. In southern latitudes coppernose will get bigger and are a much better choice.

This I can agree with. Whether it is a green sunfish or a hybrid green sunfish, do NOT put it in your pond. They will eventually stunt out. I have seen this happen on too many ponds as well.

I'm ready to catch and fry and put some large mouth bass in the pond to eat what I can't catch. I'm still going to stock some black crappie since I'm still catching
crappie from neighbors pond that I stocked 12 years ago. Her pond is not even 1/4 acre and I've managed to keep the population down to keep them from stunting.
I just need to target more perch than in the past to cut the population down some. At least I won't be putting Green Sunfish in my pond again.
My pond is a little over an acre and has some structure and I think I can keep it under control too. Plenty of fathead minnows and perch for the crappies and a couple
of large bass should help. Channel cats have the best of both worlds with perch and floating catfish food. Always have had healthy fish and plenty of them as long as
I do my part.

I would strongly, strongly recommend not stocking crappie. They are the surest way to ruin a good pond. One of my competitors claimed a few years ago that they had found a stocking strategy that allowed for successful stocking of crappie in ponds; now they're back to recommending to all of their customers that they not stock crappie in ponds. Pretty much the only thing universally agreed upon in the pond world is that crappie are a disaster for ponds.

Originally Posted by tnpondmanager

I would strongly, strongly recommend not stocking crappie. They are the surest way to ruin a good pond. One of my competitors claimed a few years ago that they had found a stocking strategy that allowed for successful stocking of crappie in ponds; now they're back to recommending to all of their customers that they not stock crappie in ponds. Pretty much the only thing universally agreed upon in the pond world is that crappie are a disaster for ponds.

I agree 100%. Crappie + small pond = ruined pond. I have done many, many extension visits on farms ponds that had stunted bass and various sunfish species. The one common denominator was that they had also stocked crappie. The other big mistake that pond owners make is that they do not harvest enough on their bass and sunfish. As you know, harvest is a must to maintain a good balanced fish population in a pond.

Originally Posted by D10

I agree 100%. Crappie + small pond = ruined pond. I have done many, many extension visits on farms ponds that had stunted bass and various sunfish species. The one common denominator was that they had also stocked crappie. The other big mistake that pond owners make is that they do not harvest enough on their bass and sunfish. As you know, harvest is a must to maintain a good balanced fish population in a pond.

Matt, if harvesting is a must (not just in ponds), why has the AGFC changed the size limit of crappie in Lake Conway to 10"? Seems to me that is just asking for over populated and stunted crappie down the road. Can you explain? Not griping and for sure appreciate all you do for district 10, but just seems counter productive to me.

Originally Posted by ibmack

Matt, if harvesting is a must (not just in ponds), why has the AGFC changed the size limit of crappie in Lake Conway to 10"? Seems to me that is just asking for over populated and stunted crappie down the road. Can you explain? Not griping and for sure appreciate all you do for district 10, but just seems counter productive to me.

Length limits are effective at improving the size structure of a given species if you have good growth and a high rate of harvest (exploitation). Lake Conway has excellent growth (average 10" white crappie is around 1.5 years old) and we estimated the exploitation rate to be around 70% from a tag reward exploitation study. This is one of the highest crappie exploitation rates reported in scientific journal articles. This means that 70% of the crappie that die in a year is due to angler harvest on Lake Conway. So we already have a very high rate of harvest. The 10" MLL combined with with the fast growth will improve the size structure of harvested crappie. In other words, the average sized harvested crappie will be bigger. Sen me your email in a PM and I will send you a report in the topic with more information.

Ponds are different because they often only have a few people fishing them and some pond owners are protective of "their" fish and don't want people to harvest them. This results in stunted fish due to a lack of harvest. I have an Uncle that fits this category. It took me 10 years to convince him that he needed to harvest more fish!

Very informative. I can understand every pond is different and managed differently by individuals. Prior to my pond going dry and knowing it was going to dry up, I
had a number of friends and some from a local nursing home coming by regularly to fish my pond. I did not limit anyone on the fish harvest because I knew they
were having fish fries and I was invited to all of them. Most of those older fellers are now gone to their reward and they will be replaced by a good number of friends
and nephews and nieces that love to fish and have fish fries. Several of us fly fish and target different species, but still catch channel cats on flies and they are fun
to fight and land on a fly rod. Does not change the taste of the fish. I purchase loaves of bread and purchase 50 lb. bags of floating catfish food for perch and cats,
so they are always fed well and grow fast. If l think my fish are stunted, we fish harder and catch more. I have never had anyone complain about my fish tasting stunted or they were too small to eat. LOL My feeling is to be vigilant and mindful of what is happening in my pond. If the water gets too low, I call in the family and friends and we catch more fish. I refuse to willingly feed cormorants, so as long as I'm able to manage my pond and have the species I desire, I'm going for the gusto and just do it.
I do appreciate the advice and understand the repercussions of not being diligent in my pond management. Your comments and advice are very much appreciated and
I welcome them anytime on any topic. My home and land are up for sale and if I sold it all tomorrow, I would have no regrets. I would advise anyone that purchased it
to fish hard and follow my lead. If they do, they would enjoy what I enjoy. If not, then the ball is in their court and they can deal with it as they desire.