Feeding My Smallmouth (Help)

[mikeymike]

My small backyard pond (homemade) is almost completely established. There are plants, minnows, tadpoles, snails, added crayfish, and of course algae. My smallmouth bass that i put in is about 10 inches and there's also a sunny. I threw in a couple worms today and this is what happened. The bass let the first and second drop to the bottom before he cautiously ate them. The next two he ate in mid-drop but still a little suspicious (im standing 3 feet away), Then i tossed a smaller one for the sunny and he whips in out of nowhere and gobbles it right up. Same thing for the next worm, he just ambushes it. Is it possible that I am feeding him too much or is he really hungry? Will he stop eating when he's full? please comment.

[mikeymike]

also, I live in new york and right now there is a big heat wave

[mod479]

Bass are oppurtunistic feeders, so by nature he will eat until you run out of worms!

I feel ya on the heatwave friend, I have been suited up in tyvek all morning for work...I hate the stuff, but its better then getting covered in PCBs.

[mikeymike]

thanks bro......so by opportunistic do you mean given the opportunity they would explode their own stomach by eating too much? how many worms/crayfish would be good to feed him (or her) per day?

[mod479]

In nature, a meal is never guarunteed for a bass, so by oppurtunisitic, I mean it will instinctively eat anytime an easy meal presents itself, for the sake of saving energy the fish may need later on...and continue to do so until there's no easy targets left to scarf up.

I'm no expert on bass biology, but I'd probably feed him a 3-4 worms/crayfish a day, or throw in a few dozen feeder goldfish in the pond every week.

Back to the heat...smallies dont like warm/hot water...might wanna run a hose in there for a hour or so every hot day to keep him cool and the water oxygenated.

[mikeymike]

I've been making trips to and from the local creek, I catch minnows and crayfish and bring them back to my pond. I compare the creek temp to the pond temp and they are usually the same, and i have a mini waterfall for aeration. Im afraid that if I put hose water in it, bad chemicals will also get in. But thanks for all the advice

[clayton86]

id throw some feeder fish in there how do u plan on keeping him alive in the new york winters and hows the heat wave back in new york it was 118 here today

[AK-Jax86]

id throw some feeder fish in there how do u plan on keeping him alive in the new york winters and hows the heat wave back in new york it was 118 here today

I was wondering the same thing

[mikeymike]

I live in southern ny where it doesnt get THAT cold in the winter, this past winter rarely got below freezing during the day. This coming winter I plan on breaking the less-than-a-foot-thick ice every once in a while so oxygen can get in, how do they survive in nature?

[clayton86]

they move to deeper water

[mikeymike]

what about in 2-3 foot deep cricks?

[clayton86]

thats all the depth our cricks are here with them but there no where to be found my guess is they move down stream back into the lake and then ventrure back up in the spring like the salmon do in the winter just with out dieing, i could be wrong but there no where to be found in the winter when im chasing the occasional trout but come late march I can start at the mouth and stat catching them and follow them up stream to the dam.

[Lund Explorer]

How big is this pond, and how deep?

[mikeymike]

as I said, its a small pond. About 9 foot long by 5 foot wide and the deepest being 2 and a half feet

[Crookedneck]

The difference between your pond and the creek is there is flowing water in the creek. So when it comes to freezing the creek won't freeze 100%. Your pond will freeze if not heated or kept open. Several very cold days and your 2 1/2 feet will be solid. Move your smallie indoors?? Not sure what your local laws are on that, so I would check first?

[JunkYard814]

Southern New York is cold enough that that pond will be frozen by early December and remain frozen until probably late February. Unless you plan on footing the money to heat that thing and keep it above 45 degrees all winter, that little guy is gunna die in there before January.

[clayton86]

The difference between your pond and the creek is there is flowing water in the creek. So when it comes to freezing the creek won't freeze 100%. Your pond will freeze if not heated or kept open. Several very cold days and your 2 1/2 feet will be solid. Move your smallie indoors?? Not sure what your local laws are on that, so I would check first?

I used to have a small LMB in a 55 gal tank and fed him gold fish might be the way to go in your case for the winter months big fish tanks are all over CL

[roadwarrior]

as I said, its a small pond. About 9 foot long by 5 foot wide and the deepest being 2 and a half feet

Well, first of all that isn't a pond, it's a small trench and totally inappropriate for raising a bass.

The water will be hot and stagnate in the summer, frozen solid in the winter. That's no way to

treat a wild animal.

[mikeymike]

To those of you trying to help, I have thought about moving it to a big pond in the fall, but Im still undecided. As for roadwarrior, the pond is definitely stagnant. There is no moving water whatsoever, its near boiling temp. I know this because there are many bubbles on the surface right next to the waterfall. The waterfall is the reason that the trench is stagnant, there is no water current! Poor fish, and to think that the water is this hot even though its in 80% shade! Oh dear!