bluegill-2-april-13-2013

Comment

Comment by Leo Nguyen on April 14, 2013 at 3:17pm

When you're ready Walt..Department of Fish and Wildlife around here always looks for a few good biologists with fishery management. You already established a history with your management skills at so many different ponds. Just apply to a larger body of water, and factor in the entire region of BOWs for your enjoyment. I've been recruited many times by different agencies to oversee their natural biological reserves to grow monsters for introduction. My family always comes first, so, things like this get tossed to the back burner. Let me know when you are ready to be assimilated into the biological/scientific community.

Comment by Walt Foreman on April 14, 2013 at 3:10pm

Thanks for the kind words, Leo.  I would love to have a fisheries biologist job, as at the moment my day job is substitute teaching, which is slightly less fun than a root canal and pays slightly less than dirt.  But unfortunately I don't have a degree in fisheries science.  It would be a dream to live somewhere like California with a year-round growing season for bluegill.

Comment by Leo Nguyen on April 14, 2013 at 3:01pm

Hm..they're not your ponds, yet you're providing services, and hard earned cash into the ponds. The owners better be extremely grateful to have awesome management resource in their contact list. Imagine if you have your hands on California's waters that have biota studies to raise monsters with. Lake Elsinore, Big Bear Lake, and Silverwood Lake are waiting for your grace.

Comment by Walt Foreman on April 14, 2013 at 2:46pm

Actually, this is one of the ones I've put my own cash into, Leo.  All but a couple of the ponds I guide on have had all of the management done on my own dime the past four years.  

Comment by Leo Nguyen on April 14, 2013 at 2:05pm

Who ever owned this pond really invested to keep these healthy and well fed.

Comment by Walt Foreman on April 14, 2013 at 11:28am

That's an interesting question, Jim.  The thing that was most encouraging about yesterday's catch was that all of the biggest ones, particularly the two one-pounders, looked very young for their size.  This fish for instance has a pretty small head and tail for its body size, which I'm guessing you noticed hence the question.  All of the ones I posted photos of were released after a quick measurement and weight (and most of them I didn't even take the time to weigh), so I didn't have scales or an otolith to look at and would just be guessing.  But the size of this fish's head makes me think it's not more than three years old, if that.  

I worked with this pond for ten years from 1987 to 1997, but then I moved to California for ten years.  I just began this management stint with it in late 2009; the super-healthy fish like this one look to me like fish that have been eating pellets and having a fertilized food chain for all of their lives, so I'm guessing this fish was hatched in the spring of 2010 or 2011.

Comment by Jim Gronaw on April 14, 2013 at 9:02am

Outstanding fish...all of them! What would be the approximate age of these gills?