Large Pond Bluegills

[taxid]

O.K. I know it's a pond and the pond is managed for big bluegills that I sell but thought I would share this. Just wanted to show what one can do if you intensely manage a pond for large bluegills. The bluegill and yellow perch are hatched in a separate pond and once I can sex them only male bluegill and female yellow perch are put into this pond. I also grow YOY out during the winter in my basement and three high schools I set up with recirculating systems. If the high school fish survive I get them back at the end of the school year. These are NOT hybrid bluegill.

As some of you already know I produce trophy fish of various species for sale frozen to fellow taxidermists all over the U.S. Even sent some to Hawaii once.   Anyway harvest for the bluegills and yellow perch has traditionally been intense fishing by hook and line by friends for a couple of weeks every year. However it had gotten to the point where the fish that were released were getting hook shy.  The pond is only .62 acres.

To that end I purchased a seine totally 180 feet by 12 feet deep to seine the pond this year.  Ended up pulling up about 175 fish in three pulls with all going back except 26 one lb. to one lb. 8 1/2 oz. bluegills and 22 perch in the 14 inch range. Believe it or not I had some bluegills that were under 10 inches that were over a pound but they were put back to grow to at least 10 inches. The yellow perch in the 14 inch range were put in a holding pond until next spring when I will seine them out full of eggs which is what my taxidermy customers want.

I think we missed a lot of fish as there was something on the bottom in two places that the seine got snagged on. I had to go out in a boat to pull the net up both times. I'm sure fish escaped when I pulled the net up. I will be doing some scuba diving this summer to remove whatever is causing the problem.

Here are some bluegills from the first haul. None are under 10 inches and go up to 11 inches.



Seining the pond. The pond is bisected by a pier and seining is done on one side and then the other.

[taxid]

[Greg2ha]

Very cool! I remember you posting for people who wanted to pond fish to come up and help remove fish. Awesome setup!

[royjulius]

That's a cool post. Thanks. We have a couple of lakes that kick out 10 inch gills and man are they tasty! The lakes are 100ft deep and they don't warm up so the meat is firm and fresh tasting. I'd rather get a livewell full of those than anything.

[RIVERRAT2]

NICE gills,what do you feed them?
 
RAT

[taxid]

NICE gills,what do you feed them?
 
RAT

Aquamax pellets that are made by Purina Mills/Land of Lakes that are ordered through the local Purina supplier in Wolf Lake, Indiana. Unfortunately the supply has been FUBAR this year and I may switch to another manufacturer. I would in a heartbeat if I didn't need to drive far or pay expensive shipping.

I hydrate my feed in a gallon zip lock bag on a daily basis. I get a better feeding response that way and I believe they digest it better.

[princecraft]

^^^^^^^^^
Do you ever eat any of the fish out of your ponds?  The reason I ask is, many years ago my dad bought me some pond raised bluegills that I am sure were fed pellets and they tasted terrible.  Didn't even compare to the wild lake bluegills.

[taxid]

^^^^^^^^^
Do you ever eat any of the fish out of your ponds?  The reason I ask is, many years ago my dad bought me some pond raised bluegills that I am sure were fed pellets and they tasted terrible.  Didn't even compare to the wild lake bluegills.

I eat the male perch and female bluegills. They are outstanding dipped in flour, egg, and Italian bread crumbs. Maybe it was the brand of feed? Certain types of algae in a pond can create a bad flavor to fish also.

I also raised tilapia last year in my aquaponics system on the same feed. Tasted really good. Better than any I bought at the grocery store.

[RIVERRAT2]

Aquamax pellets that are made by Purina Mills/Land of Lakes that are ordered through the local Purina supplier in Wolf Lake, Indiana. Unfortunately the supply has been FUBAR this year and I may switch to another manufacturer. I would in a heartbeat if I didn't need to drive far or pay expensive shipping.

I hydrate my feed in a gallon zip lock bag on a daily basis. I get a better feeding response that way and I believe they digest it better.

THANKS. i have several ponds and i am going to feed like you say
thanks again
 
RAT

[sprkplug]

Nice fish Taxi! Good work with the seine, also!

[seamonkey84]

Wow, nice operation you have going. Just how big do you think you can grow a perch or gill in those ponds on that feed? Record size maybe? Maybe selecting a few (tag them or something) to keep putting back year after year.  I guess it's needless to ask, but please tell me you ice fish out of there too. I can imagine how crazy your ponds can be jigging them up lol. 

[taxid]

Wow, nice operation you have going. Just how big do you think you can grow a perch or gill in those ponds on that feed? Record size maybe? Maybe selecting a few (tag them or something) to keep putting back year after year.  I guess it's needless to ask, but please tell me you ice fish out of there too. I can imagine how crazy your ponds can be jigging them up lol. 

My biggest perch was 16 1/4 inches on a board and 2 lbs. 13 ounces on a certified scale, 5 ounces bigger than the state record. I caught her ice fishing in February of 05' and think she would have gone 3 lbs. if I had caught her later in the spring bulging with eggs. I can grow them in the 14 inch range but 15 inches seems to be a wall few surpass. I haven't caught a 16 inch perch since contrary to the state's contention that feeding is all it takes to produce a state record.

At some point I hope to grow a 2 lb. bluegill if they live long enough.

I don't need to put a few back. The seine does not get them all, and in fact it snagged on something twice so I had to go out with the boat and lift it. When I did I'm sure some escaped.

I do some icefishing but prefer not to hazzle the fish before the spring and fall seining.

[rp dog]

Pretty neat stuff right there we have a guy growing perch in a nearby town inside of a building. They never see the light of day but its still interesting to see how he does it. I'm just curious as to how deep your pond is. My son's pond is similar in size but only about 15 foot deep. We use some of the best genetics out of local lakes so the kids can have fun on big gills.

[taxid]

Pretty neat stuff right there we have a guy growing perch in a nearby town inside of a building. They never see the light of day but its still interesting to see how he does it. I'm just curious as to how deep your pond is. My son's pond is similar in size but only about 15 foot deep. We use some of the best genetics out of local lakes so the kids can have fun on big gills.

I grow my YOY BG and YP inside their first year of life after seining them out of the ponds a few months after they hatch. Recirculating DIY systems that can hold up to 100 lbs. of fish each. This to give them an advantage on growth as they wouldn't grow outside durin the winter. And of course three high schools. Going to switch the three high schools to tilapia next year, as I can grow the BG and YP I need at my location, and a friend that uses tilapia to control algae in his client's pond needs a closer source.

My trophy BG and YP pond is only 9 feet deep maximum. I use a small compressor and airstone to keep a little water open in winter near shore in three feet of water, which is all that is needed. In summer I use a larger compressor to run two diffusers in the pond in the deepest water to prevent an anoxic layer to develop in the deepest water.

The indoor recirculating tanks are not without risk. I killed 125 6 to 7 inch bluegill a few days ago due to my own stupidity. Pulled a drain to drop the water level and got distracted and forgot about it. Came back to a drained tank and dead fish.

[seamonkey84]

Wow, that's still a very big perch!  Maybe go fishing for some sumo sized wild perch to add some more to the gene pool, if that's allowed.