Official Ozark Anglers Fantasy Fishing League 2018

[Champ188]

12 hours ago, abkeenan said:

52 bags over 20lbs. Wow! Who wants to take a road trip to Waddington, NY!?

Wonder how much better our own fishery could be without thousands of tournaments a year and perhaps a bit of supplemental stocking. Just sayin ...

[RogueAgent]

5 hours ago, Champ188 said:

Wonder how much better our own fishery could be without thousands of tournaments a year and perhaps a bit of supplemental stocking. Just sayin ...

I think we need supplemental stocking of those great lakes Gobies.  Not sure if their introduction in the 90s has hurt the ecosystem but it doesn't seem to have hurt the gamefish.

[abkeenan]

2 hours ago, RogueAgent said:

I think we need supplemental stocking of those great lakes Gobies.  Not sure if their introduction in the 90s has hurt the ecosystem but it doesn't seem to have hurt the gamefish.

I don't think introducing a new bait food species would be the answer myself. The bass have plenty to eat in TR as it is now IMO. Just need more bass to eat the already abundant bait fish populations. We've had this argument before 1000x here so no need to go at it again but if you look at the Texas Park and Wildlife programs on stocking bass......seems to be working quite well. Would love to see a program funded for 5 years by the MDC where they stock X amount of both bass and walleye in TR each year. Then just see how to lake responds during that period as well as the next decade beyond. 

[Sore Thumbs]

Share a Lunker program is doing well in Texas as well. 

[moguy1973]

I would think that dumping 100k 3" bass would be a good thing for Table Rock.

[abkeenan]

4 minutes ago, moguy1973 said:

I would think that dumping 100k 3" bass would be a good thing for Table Rock.

I don't know what a healthy number is nor do I know what size is best. I'm sure there is an optimal # of fish per acre of water for a healthy population. From what little I know, (and it's very little) they typically stock various sizes/ages of fish in their growth/life cycle. Would be really great if someone from MDC could enlighten us all as to why they won't attempt a stocking program on TR. If it's purely because of limited funds one would think conservationist could come up with a plan to make it happen. I would be happy to add a couple bucks to my fishing license each year for a state wide stocking program for MO waterways. Aid the lakes that either need it badly that can't sustain themselves or the more popular/pounded to death lakes such as TR to have supplemented stocking.

Even if members here have a personal private pond on their property would be interesting to hear their comments as to how they maintain their lake/pond. Would also be even more interesting for someone that made a hole in the ground and filled it with water from scratch. What kind of research goes into that and who do you get consultation from on depth, contours, habitat, etc. Bill Dance would probably be a wealth of knowledge on the subject as all the little managed lakes and ponds he's fished on the last 50 years. It's been a long time but I think there was an episode from Bill Dance Outdoors in the 90's where he was on with Ray Scott and they were doing construction and pushing around dirt on a new private body of water. Interesting stuff, to me anyways.

[abkeenan]

Found a little info for those that give a crap:

 

WHAT FISH ARE BEST?

Years of research with fish stockings have demonstrated that largemouth bass and bluegill are the two species best suited for stocking in most ponds. Channel catfish are often stocked along with bass and bluegill to provide additional fishing and harvest opportunities.

Hard-fighting largemouth bass will be the top predators in your pond. Bass are voracious eaters that feed on small fish, frogs, crawfish and insects. In Missouri, largemouth bass live for six to 10 years unless they are harvested.

Bluegills provide food for largemouth bass as well as great sport and excellent table fare for anglers. Bluegills eat everything from microscopic plants and animals to insects, snails, crayfish and small fish. They can reach 6 inches long and start reproducing after just one year. Once introduced into a pond, they usually sustain their numbers through natural reproduction. Bluegills in Missouri may live five to 10 years.

Channel catfish are primarily bottom feeders, eating insects, crayfish and fish. They canbe trained to feed on commercial food pellets. Populations of channel catfish rarely increase in ponds as the bass eat all the young ones. A supplemental stocking of channel catfish longer than 8 inches every two to three years is needed to sustain a fishery.

HOW MANY DO I NEED?

The number of bluegill, bass and channel catfish that a pond can support depends on the amount of available living space and resources, referred to as carrying capacity. Condition of habitat, the amount of available food and space, and even the soil type in the watershed affect a pond’s carrying capacity. The typical stocking combination for most farm ponds in fertile soil is 100 bass, 500 bluegill and 100 catfish per surface acre of water. Most of the time, stocking more fish than recommended is detrimental to the fishery.

Stocking rates are for 1- to 2-inch bluegill and 2- to 4-inch catfish in September. The following June, 1- to 2-inch bass are stocked. Stocking fingerlings is not only more economical (smaller fish are cheaper to produce than larger ones), but it ensures uniform growth and produces better sport fishing in less time than stocking a smaller number of adult fish.

The Missouri Department of Conservation provides fish for stocking private ponds that meet certain guidelines. A landowner who wants fish must fill out a pond stocking application and agree to have the pond inspected by the Department. (See “Want Fish?” on page 16 for more information.)

WHAT ABOUT CRAPPIE?

“What about crappie?” many pond owners ask after I advise them to stock the usual combination of bass-bluegill-channel catfish.

It’s true that the state records for both Missouri crappie species came from private ponds. However, not all ponds produce quality crappie fisheries.

Successful crappie ponds typically have somewhat clear water and a lot of aquatic vegetation.

More important, pond owners must manage the pond intensively. You can’t just stock the pond and walk away. Landowners have to be willing to manage the pond for numbers of largemouth bass and make sure that the pond is fished often enough to remove adult crappie.

Crappie can be managed successfully in a pond, but owners must know beforehand that there is a risk that the crappie will spawn hordes of young and have very slow growth rates.

If, despite the risk, you decide to stock crappie in your pond, consider putting in black crappie, which don’t compete with bass for food as much as white crappie.

GRASS CARP

Many landowners who want to clear their ponds of weeds stock white amur or “grass carp.” These large Asian minnows can eat two to three times their weight in vegetation per day. When stocked at conservative rates, grass carp can offer pesticide- free vegetation control.

Grass carp, however, do not control filamentous algae, cattails or water lilies. Although they don’t reproduce in ponds, they are hard to remove and may live for up to 30 years.

Over-stocking grass carp results in a plantfree and muddy looking pond as the carp stir up bottom sediments searching for scarce plant life. A weed-free pond might sound nice when casting from shore, but aquatic plants are necessary to start the food chain, contribute dissolved oxygen to the water, provide cover for juvenile as well as adult fish, and protect shorelines from erosion.

Contact your local fisheries biologist for specific stocking information for your pond before trying this weed-control method.

REDEAR SUNFISH

Another popular pond fish is the redear sunfish or “shell cracker.” These cousins of bluegills produce fewer offspring than bluegills and rarely provide enough food for largemouth bass by themselves. Rather than letting them replace bluegills, they are best added to a pond along with bluegills.

Redear sunfish are sometimes stocked to help reduce numbers of snails, which are part of the life cycle of the white grub parasite anglers sometimes see in the fins and meat of fish. Redear can grow larger than bluegill, reaching 2 pounds or more, and taste just as good as any other fish in the skillet.

[Royal Blue]

So I should've kept my mouth shut about beating Champ.

 

[Seth]

I'd be killing it in this tournament if I hadn't dropped Rick Morris for Bernie Schultz. Morris is in 5th and Schultz was basically last. I could have had four guys fishing tomorrow. 

[cheesemaster]

I would have been killing it too, if I had picked better people. 🤣🤣