We took advantage of the nice weather Friday evening and caught a few bass from the pond at K&M. We first stocked the pond in May of 2009, with 28, 6-10 inch largemouth bass and 100 hybrid bluegills. The bass have done very well, and we finally decided to start taking some fish from the pond for consumption. We took mainly fish in the 8-12 inch range, but the fishing was hampered a bit by the thunder and lightning that was approaching. The rain really never came, but we did manage to keep nine fish. We caught several others that were either too small, or too large. Once again, Marlys caught the largest fish which was thrown back before we could snap a picture or two. I'm guessing it was in the 18-inch range, and approximately 4-5 pounds.
The bluegill have been more elusive, but some have reached a decent size. Claire kissed this one goodbye before she threw him back in the water. We have supplemented the pond with additional bluegill stockings in the past, but they seem to have trouble escaping the hungry bass. This is isn't all bad since we really don't want a high, stunted population of bluegills. We'll continue to tweak our put-and-take, and try to grow more and bigger bass and bluegills. For the most part it provides a great opportunity for the kids (and the adults) to catch a lot of fish for some exciting action
Of course, the best part is eating what we caught. It went over very well, as Kate, Claire, Kellen, and Jack all ate their share. I'm sure we'll do it again, and if things go well maybe save a little for that Friday night feed before the opener.
Other than that, things have been pretty quiet. Corn planting will most likely begin this week. Some rain would be nice, but not much we can do about that. As long as the avian and canine influenza's that have been hitting certain parts of the country stay at bay, we'll be happy. With the dry, mild weather things are ahead of schedule, so all we need now is some timely precipitation. I'm sure Mother Nature will provide and we'll all be singing her praises this fall... we can hope.
