By Southeastern Pond Management

Ever hear a conversation between a couple of bass fisherman after a bad day on the water? It might sound something like this: "I threw everything but the kitchen sink and didn't even get a nibble" "Yea, me too. Seems like they just have a bad case of lock-jaw." These two guys may be darn good, tournament winning fishermen but still some days, even under seemingly ideal conditions, bass just won't cooperate.

If you're a pond owner and you're tired of this happening to you and your friends, there is an answer, just keep reading. No, this is not an infomercial trying to sell you the latest, greatest, must have "soft-plastic, rattling, electric, helicopter-banjo hybrid" lure. This isn't about changing what you are fishing with or even how you're fishing, it's about a new development in fisheries science that has changed the nature of the critter you're fishing for. We are talking about a new type of bass that is so aggressive and easy to catch that it can be caught on almost any lure, under almost any condition.

How can such a bold statement be made about such an unpredictable wild animal? "It's not nice to fool mother nature" - but that's exactly what some innovative fisheries biologists have done. Have you ever watched catfish or bluegill "attack" floating fish food with a vengeance in a pond where they are fed on a regular basis? This same type of feeding frenzy can be had in a pond full of largemouth bass. Wha-chu talkin' bout, Willis? That's right, a variety of largemouth bass has been developed and trained to feed on pelletized fish food.

How is this accomplished? Over multiple generations in hatcheries, biologists hand select and cross the most aggressive individuals they can find. From the time the offspring are tiny fry, they are offered a diet of nothing but pelletized feed. Only about 50% of the offspring learn to eat the artificial diet, but those that do grow very rapidly. They are put in holding ponds and fed a daily ration of high protein fish food. This is beneficial because the hatchery can more closely regulate the fishes diet than with natural forage but also, an interesting thing happens when bass are fed in this manner; their brains get re-wired.

Think about it, these fish are tightly packed in a hatchery pond and in stiff competition with their pond mates for the available food. Couple this with the fact that literally everything that has ever fallen from the sky and made a splash in the pond was food and you begin to get the idea. (Keep your hands and feet out of the water!) They approach feeding in a totally different way than their non feed-trained cousins. Instead of conserving energy and waiting in a brush top for unsuspecting prey to come into striking range, if one of these guys sees something it thinks might be edible, it attacks with abandon. This is true weather they are feeding on pellets, natural prey or a fishing lure!

Because these fish are so aggressive and easy to catch, they are a great addition to any pond, where catch rates of bass are less than desirable. They have been especially helpful in ponds containing pure Florida strain largemouth populations because of their notoriously hard to catch nature.

If all of this sounds a little too good to be true, just ask Mark Whitlock about the feed trained bass we stocked in his pond last month, he'll shoot you straight. These fish are available right now, so if you are tired of slow bass fishing, give Southeastern Pond Management a call at (205) 664 - 5596 and find out if stocking feed-trained bass is right for your pond.