Wild about Warmouth!

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This group is for anglers that enjoy the "big mouth" of the sunfish family!

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Jeffrey D. Abney

Welcome Mark.....hopefully you can get some useful information from this group and share some with us perhaps.......

Mar 22, 2014
Mark Williams

I'm gonna go to the feed store and see what they have for fish food. Today we figured out there's a new nest of moccasins around this particular pond. We saw 3 today within 20 minutes less than a foot long, so I'm gonna have to deal with that problem. Also catching really large golden shiners on bread balls.

Mar 22, 2014
Tony Livingston

Mark, please post the results of your feeding efforts. I have no idea if Warmouth's will take pelleted feed or not, but I'm certainly curious.

Mar 22, 2014
David, aka, "McScruff"

Shiners? I envy you - lots of fun. Did you know a century ago they were considered good eating?

Mar 22, 2014
David, aka, "McScruff"

Remember, too, that feeding the POND will improve the overall health of the BOW. You may not need to feed the fish, directly, if the lower lifer forms are dining on your offerings.

Mar 22, 2014
Tony Livingston

To a certain extent this is true. However, if the fish are not utilizing the feed, then you need to ask yourself "what is?" Fish feed is a wonderful fertilizer......and uneaten feed sinking to the bottom will oftentimes cause an explosion in aquatic vegetation growth. This may lead to reduced predation, which can lead to increased recruitment, which can lead to inadequate forage, which can lead to stunting.....etc. etc.

When I feed, my goal first and foremost is to get the feed into the fish. it's optimal forage theory at its finest: the least amount of energy expended for the greatest nutrients consumed.

Mar 22, 2014
Mark Williams

So, based on what your saying, how do I know if the warmouth are eating the feed? Will the shiners or bass eat the feed?

Mar 22, 2014
David, aka, "McScruff"

I'm no pond boss, but I'm on one almost every day. I'm thinking bass probably won't take to the feed, but the shiners will. These being wild fish, the shiners are probably the first to go for them. They are foragers. I've seen them swarm over chum I make from dog food.
My guess is the warmouth will avoid them, initially. The commotion of he shiners on the feed may tempt them, however.

Mar 22, 2014
David, aka, "McScruff"

This is why I suggested earlier to not go too far down the path of feeding.
There are just too many variables out of your control, in a BOW you don't own. Without control, you can't be sure of anything.
This is why I think feeding the pond LIGHTLY will give you the best return. Sure, some fish may get a free ride. But so will the lower life forms upon which them warmouth feed. In the end, you can only do so much in what is essentially a free for all.

Mar 22, 2014
Tony Livingston

Mark, feed is available in either floating or sinking varieties. With a sinking feed, you probably won't be able to tell what, if anything, is eating it. With a floating feed however, you can usually see or at least catch a glimpse of what is eating it. If you see Warmouth's taking it, then there you go.

Be aware however, that it usually takes time to condition the fish to take pellets. And with Warmouth, I don't know if they ever will, at least with any regularity and in any numbers.

Mar 22, 2014
Jeffrey D. Abney

Welcome to the group Eric........look forward to your contribution.....

Apr 14, 2014
Mark Williams

Do any of you know if the red tail shiners will effect bream population? These ponds I'm fishing are absolutely overrun with them.

May 23, 2014
David, aka, "McScruff"

"Red shiners can live up to three years. They are omnivorous; they eat both aquatic and terrestrial invertebrates, as well as algae.[3] Red shiners have also been known to eat the eggs and larvae of native fish found in locations where they have been introduced.[4]"
They will compete with. and even prey upon, the bluegill.
Surely, in excess, they can diminish the number of bluegill. Better get some bass in that BOW.

May 23, 2014
Mark Williams

Catching these pretty regular, that tackle box is 19" long. These guys should eat a few shiners.

May 23, 2014
David, aka, "McScruff"

Is think so. Any bluegill caught?

May 23, 2014
Mark Williams

Weird thing is I've never caught anything out of these ponds other than war mouth and bass.

May 23, 2014
David, aka, "McScruff"

That's not unusual for smallish ponds, I suspect.
Were the ponds stocked?

May 23, 2014
Mark Williams

Nobody knows. They were built as retention ponds for a housing development but housing market crashed and no houses were ever built. Five ponds total the largest maybe half acre.

May 23, 2014
David, aka, "McScruff"

Are they all warmouth and bass?

May 23, 2014
Mark Williams

Yep. Every fish over the last year.

May 23, 2014
David, aka, "McScruff"

Well they're predictable, at least.
You're probably looking at ponds without bluegill. Sounds weird to us, but Every pond is different and small unmanaged ones are known for being species specific. As common as they are, there is no rule that bluegill MUST be in every pond. The warmouth must be filling their niche.

It's unusual, for sure.

May 23, 2014
Mark Williams

Do you think adding some BG would be successful? If I catch then locally and just add them in?

May 24, 2014
David, aka, "McScruff"

My opinion is you should start calling them "war gills" and roll with it.

I'm no expert - I'd ask Tony Livingston here at BBG.
From what he's taught me, I'd say the ponds are in some sort of equilibrium. Doing anything new will upset this structure. Since they are fairly small, that can be disastrous.
My sense is don't add more fish; feed and cull for selection the ones that are there now.

May 24, 2014
Mark Williams

Thanks, warmouth and bass lookout!

May 24, 2014
Mark Williams

So while using a net to clear vegetation I wound up catching several very small BG in one of the ponds. The biggest was maybe 3 inches but I know they are there now I just have to find the big ones.

May 25, 2014
David, aka, "McScruff"

Okay then.
Heres another bit that seems relevant in light of this:
There may not be many big bluegill.

We assume because they are there and breeding, they MUST be present. But competition from the warmouth and shiners could be their undoing - again the size of the ponds are the main reason. Only so much to go around, and all that.
Then there are the bass. Usually, we think of them as tools to keep competition under control, which allows for bluegill growth. But in this case, the competition for bluegill food is already there, so the bass may be only making the problem worse.
On the plus side, you found some. They obviously exist in breeding capacity, meaning sufficient bedding sites, adequate food for growth etc. My thought now is, those few that DO SURVIVE are possibly good sized.

May 25, 2014
Jeffrey D. Abney

Welcome to the group Brian.......look forward to your input on this great species...

Aug 27, 2014
Jeffrey D. Abney

Welcome to Wild About Warmouth Vito......glad to have you and look forward to talking about this species with you.......

Feb 4, 2015
Vito Calosacchi

Thank you, Jeff. Doing a little research on warmouths and their distribution. As common as they are in the South that's how rare they seem to be in the North. It seems that, at times, they are locally represented, but are nonexistent in areas which are close by. A Maryland record was caught a few years ago at Cash Lake in the Patuxent research center. Studying their attributes. A warmouth safari is in order!

Feb 5, 2015
David, aka, "McScruff"

Personally, I think going after warmouth is a great idea. Youre as liable to catch some other fish as a warmouth - and that's a good thing.
I've always caught them while fishing for something else. In fact, my picture shows one I caught while doing just that.
And it seems they never really predominate anywhere, but are highly localized instead. I hope you succeed.

Feb 5, 2015
Jeffrey D. Abney

Welcome to Wild About Warmouth Slip......look forward to your input!

Feb 5, 2015
Jeffrey D. Abney

Welcome Robert........we're wild about Warmouth too!

Feb 24, 2015
oldduckcoat

Greetings All, New here and glad to find this group.

Cheers,

ODC

Mar 13, 2015
Jeffrey D. Abney

Welcome to the group ODC.......look forward to anything you can share about the beloved Warmouth.....

Mar 14, 2015
James Micheal Landrum

I hope to put a War-mouth on my wall this year with my 2lb 1oz Copper Head , 3 lb. Crappie and 2lb Shell Cracker!!!!! We have some nice ones here in the Altamaha River Swamps.

Mar 14, 2015
Jeffrey D. Abney

Hope you get him James......an impressive wall already!

Mar 15, 2015
Jeffrey D. Abney

This group is dedicated to warmouth Kevin.......a fun species to catch.

Jul 7, 2015
Jeffrey D. Abney

Welcome to the group Matt......one of my favorite sunfish.......warmouth are a cool species......should be plenty down there in the Florida panhandle......

Jan 22, 2016
Jonathan Titshaw

Hey I'm new to big bluegill and saw there was a Warmouth group. I mainly fish the Little Pee Dee River in SC. Good Warmouth, red breast and bluegill in that river.

Aug 18, 2016
Jeffrey D. Abney

Welcome Jonathan.......I lived in the Low Country for 13 years and enjoyed the river fishing in South Carolina......most often the Edisto........how has the fishing been on Pee Dee since the big floods last year?.....

Aug 18, 2016
Jonathan Titshaw

Thanks Jeff. The Big Pee Dee and Little Pee Dee weren't hit as bad as some of the other rivers in SC. The water levels are low right now and fishing has been pretty good. The red breast have been kind of a challenge to find but the bluegill and Warmouth bite pretty regular. I know the Edisto has a reputation for some good red breast and Warmouth fishing. I need to get down there.

Aug 19, 2016
Jeffrey D. Abney

That's good to hear Jonathan.......has it been South Carolina HOT?...Share a few pics when you get back out.......I like the pan fishing in South Carolina when the water is down on the rivers too........Do you make it down to Santee Cooper at all........still catching big Crackers and Gills there after all these years.....

Aug 19, 2016
Jonathan Titshaw

Oh yea it's been hot. We've gone through a stretch where it's been upper 80s at night! I've fished Santee Coppee area once and a storm ended up coming in so I didn't have much time. That's an area I've been researching. I'd like to check out the north end where the river comes in. I've heard that swamp area has good fishing. By the way how do you post pictures?

Aug 20, 2016
Jim Campbell

Hello everyone!Jim Campbell here from Southeast Arkansas.I fish mainly in the White River Wildlife Refuge which has many overflow oxbow type lakes,shallow with lots of cypress trees and stumps and many Warmouth!Love catching these guys,eating them too.Look forward to joining the discussion and reading everyones comments.Thanks,Jim.

Apr 12, 2017
Jeffrey D. Abney

Welcoe to the group John......How's the Warmouth Fishing in your neck of the woods?

May 23, 2017
John Myers

Not too sure how good the Warmouth fishing is here in MI as I don't normally target them. I did catch a nice one yesterday while fishing for Crappie. I'm studying up on them so I can try the right techniques for catching more. May be especially helpful when I go visit family in Savannah GA as I think they have plenty down there.

May 24, 2017
David, aka, "McScruff"

I catch warmouth here in SC while fishing the backwaters for bluegill.
My avatar pic is a warmouth caught in the S. Edisto river near Aiken, SC.
I don't target them specifically, though, and I don't know anyone who does. They just kinda fall in the mixed bag of fish I catch, although always in the back bays and swamps

May 24, 2017
Jonathan Titshaw

Welcome John. I will second what David said. Hard to target alone, they just kinda come with the mix. Definitely more likely to catch in the swamps and backwaters. There are plenty in the Savannah area. I live in SC now but I'm from GA and still fish around the Savannah River. It's a big river and there are plenty of back swamps and small creeks that run into it. Those slower waters are great for bass, crappie, bluegill, warmouth. There is also some great Red Breast waters around there. Either way it's a beautiful area to fish.

May 25, 2017
John Myers

Thanks for the welcome Johnathan,
Seems like I always end up salt water fishing when I am down there. I am definitely going to do some freshwater fish when we are down there in June.

May 25, 2017
James Micheal Landrum

Got into a big bed of Swamp Bass (War Mouth) thursday afternoon and friday morning! Crickets did the job and man a they sweet tasting!!

Apr 28, 2019