Pond Observations

[Blue Raider Bob]

     What a difference just a few degrees make. Last Sunday's Shad release in 45 deg. water brought no interest from the pond LM, I mean none at all. Shad were swimming right past the resident LM's with no aggressive movement at all. Fast forward to this past Sunday's Shad release with the water just a couple of degrees warmer, and the reactions were completely different. The LM were quick to recover from their (Human on the bank) scatter, and came right back to the release point. They ran down the weaklings and busted topwater after others. Fortunately the release was large enough to allow a nice school of healthy Shad to occupy the open waters.

     Did the very few degree difference in the water make all the difference in the changed behavior? Probably not. There are just so many variables involved, but it surely made some difference. We still have so far to go of our understanding of Micropterus Salmoides, but its a fun journey.

     One other interesting thing to mention....one of my Bass has a blind eye. It is about 16" long and I did not notice this until the water cleared this fall. The water is tap water clear now and I see (Deadeye) often. I must have blinded him when he was caught and just didn't know it. Well. anyway, this last shad released had shad swimming by Deadeye, and Deadeye fed on the ones that crossed his good eye flank. While this is no surprise, Deadeye did not feed on the shad that swam past his bad eye side. The lateral line should have been his (Eyes) on the blind side but he never reacted to anything that passed him there. Just more food for thought. 

[Swamp Girl]

11 minutes ago, Blue Raider Bob said:

They ran down the weaklings and busted topwater after others.

 

How exciting!

[Functional]

24 minutes ago, Blue Raider Bob said:

The lateral line should have been his (Eyes) on the blind side but he never reacted to anything that passed him there. Just more food for thought. 

I wonder if with all of the commotion going on around him/her it was kind of like a sensory overload to the lateral line and he/she relied on eye sight the most. I'd be curious how he/she reacts to a shad casually swimming by in a still/calm environment. 

[Blue Raider Bob]

1 hour ago, Functional said:

I wonder if with all of the commotion going on around him/her it was kind of like a sensory overload to the lateral line and he/she relied on eye sight the most. I'd be curious how he/she reacts to a shad casually swimming by in a still/calm environment. 

I think you're on the right track. Being predominately sight feeders, I bet the lateral line wasn't exercised in the clear water environment, but I may be mistaken. There is always good clarity in my pond, but in the summer, with the phytoplankton bloom, the clarity is reduced.

[Blue Raider Bob]

Air temp 28 deg. Today. Water temp in lower forties. Amazingly, (to me), the water lilies continue to push out new growth. The surface leaves are still alive and the submerged leaves are reaching for the surface. Had no idea these plants could flourish in such a cold environment. Pickerel Rush are dead at the surface but green growth is evident at soil line. Can't wait for spring to observe how these and other water plants react to the changing seasons.

[Swamp Girl]

2 hours ago, Blue Raider Bob said:

Air temp 28 deg. Today. Water temp in lower forties. Amazingly, (to me), the water lilies continue to push out new growth. The surface leaves are still alive and the submerged leaves are reaching for the surface. Had no idea these plants could flourish in such a cold environment. Pickerel Rush are dead at the surface but green growth is evident at soil line. Can't wait for spring to observe how these and other water plants react to the changing seasons.

 

I'm excited too, Bob! Keep us posted.