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Massachusetts Redfin Pickerel Hunt

Started by Guest_bumpylemon_* , May 12 2010 03:21 PM

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19 replies to this topic

#1 Guest_bumpylemon_*

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Posted 12 May 2010 - 03:21 PM

alrighty i headed down to the marlboro area in search of redfin pickerels. also ive been for a year now in search of the redfins. so off i went...i had a good idea now of the habitat i needed after my trip to bashakill. i took my 3 year old son with me...he enjoys throwing rocks in the water and snapping pics. I got lucky and found some very small pickerel right off the bat. im still waiting for an ID on them.
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i kept one of them cuz i thought that the snout looked appropriate to a redfin. so i kept scooping and BOOM i saw something good sized...a banded sunfish. i was VERY happy. I currently only caught bandeds about an hour and 10 min away. so i wanted to have s spot closer to me. i had driven by this spot for months and never stopped.
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so off i went to find the redfins....drove to another pond...
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caught lots of lil pickerels that i couldnt ID...so i didnt take. also caught a very good sized chain pickerel.
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he was about 5 or 6". i also caught bandeds there as well. so 2 new banded spots! caught some crayfish that seemed very red.

i went down the road to another pond....caught more lil pickerels....and a swamp darter with a pretty pinkish belly. let them all go.

here is a pic of the pickerel i kept
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I keep catching the lil guys. Im looking for a 4". one that will eat crayfish and fish. and one that i can properly ID. I will be out tomorrow off again in search of redfins!

Edited by bumpylemon, 12 May 2010 - 03:23 PM.

#2 Guest_NVCichlids_*

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Posted 12 May 2010 - 05:29 PM

trying to find one that eats crayfish may be tough! I kept bass for a while (smallmouth and Largemouth) and it was in a 10'x4'x4' tank (god do I miss that house.. hope the people who bought it enjoy the tank as much as I did!!!) and the bass reached 10-12" and I could never get them to eat crayfish.. (although my SA cichlids sure made a meal of them!!)

How big of a tank are you going to keep the redfins in?

#3 Guest_bumpylemon_*

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Posted 12 May 2010 - 05:32 PM

trying to find one that eats crayfish may be tough! I kept bass for a while (smallmouth and Largemouth) and it was in a 10'x4'x4' tank (god do I miss that house.. hope the people who bought it enjoy the tank as much as I did!!!) and the bass reached 10-12" and I could never get them to eat crayfish.. (although my SA cichlids sure made a meal of them!!)

How big of a tank are you going to keep the redfins in?

Well in the end it will be a 90 gallon. depending on size i catch it will be a 20 gallon long or the 55. keepnatives pickerel eats crayfish...when i said crayfish i was referring to small ones not biggies! lol

#4 Guest_Kanus_*

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Posted 12 May 2010 - 11:38 PM

Looking at the length of the snout, I'd say the little one you kept is a redfin.

#5 Guest_bumpylemon_*

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Posted 13 May 2010 - 04:40 PM

today i went out again...netted about 10 in one scoop. it was literally a ditch/outlet. i dont get why i cant find any 3-4". i did spot about a 7" it could have been a chain. but what are my chances of catching one thats not basically a fry?

#6 Guest_fundulus_*

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Posted 13 May 2010 - 08:14 PM

Most of the population will be very young fish; few survive to larger size.

#7 Guest_bumpylemon_*

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Posted 13 May 2010 - 09:21 PM

Most of the population will be very young fish; few survive to larger size.

poor fish not surviving. what eats the redfins? chains? pike? esp in these small ponds. how fast will this fry grow? he is about 1"

#8 Guest_bumpylemon_*

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Posted 14 May 2010 - 08:39 AM

just caught my pickerel some fry from a pond. he snatched 2 right away.

#9 Guest_scottefontay_*

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Posted 14 May 2010 - 11:01 AM

what eats the redfins?

Anything that can. redfins, sunfish, bass, blue herons, green herons, turtles, snakes, frogs, king fisher, aquatic insects, disease

#10 Guest_NVCichlids_*

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Posted 14 May 2010 - 11:22 AM

I see that 5-6" chain eating your little redfin for a snack...

At1".. they would be really low on the food chain, but I woudl expect for it to grow pretty fast being a predator.

#11 Guest_dmarkley_*

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Posted 14 May 2010 - 01:00 PM

today i went out again...netted about 10 in one scoop. it was literally a ditch/outlet. i dont get why i cant find any 3-4". i did spot about a 7" it could have been a chain. but what are my chances of catching one thats not basically a fry?

Oh nice! Can you send me a few?

Dean

#12 Guest_bumpylemon_*

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Posted 14 May 2010 - 01:03 PM

Oh nice! Can you send me a few?

Dean

yeah i could def do that. i may not be able to 100% confirm if they are all redfins...but most likely are. whats in your area? maybe we can do a trade!

#13 Guest_bumpylemon_*

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Posted 15 May 2010 - 05:50 PM

here are some more pics of my "redfin"
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#14 Guest_tennfan56_*

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Posted 16 May 2010 - 10:42 AM

If you are trying to trade some away I may want one also. I have rock bass, red breasted sunfish, bluegill, pumkinseeds, several darter species.

#15 Guest_bumpylemon_*

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Posted 16 May 2010 - 10:44 AM

If you are trying to trade some away I may want one also. I have rock bass, red breasted sunfish, bluegill, pumkinseeds, several darter species.

i can get all the species you have listed except maybe your darter species. i only have 4 redfins...but i could easily collect hundreds. send me a PM of the darters you can collect. thanks! if you were able to get gilt darters, longhead darters,Variegate Darter,Blackside Darter,or Bluebreast Darter that would be the best....keep in mind i dont know whats legal in your state

Edited by bumpylemon, 16 May 2010 - 10:49 AM.

#16 Guest_mikez_*

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Posted 18 May 2010 - 09:59 AM

I scooped one of those little guys with a bucket of weeds the other day.
Right now you see the crest of the baby pickeral population as they were hatched early so as to be ready and waiting for the burst of fry that will be coming available right about now.
By the end of the summer you'll have to scoop all afternoon to find one.

I forgot what a pain these are to feed. Must be the highest metabolism of any fish. Reminds me of trying to keep a shrew alive in captivity. You pretty much have to keep it with a big school of bait at all times or it turns into a stick in a few days.

#17 Guest_bumpylemon_*

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Posted 18 May 2010 - 10:02 AM

Yeah they are feeding on blacknose dace fry.

#18 Guest_bumpylemon_*

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Posted 01 June 2010 - 06:52 PM

my my have these guys grown. I currently have 2. they have colored nicely as well. when i throw in some black-nose, common sucker, or common shiner fry they GO CRAZY. these things explode! i love it. they dont even run from me now. i start to open the cover of the tank and they come right over waiting for me to drop in the food. incredible. ill update this thread with their progress. im still looking to re-home one of the pickerel before i get any casualties. maybe these pics will bring to conclusion any doubt they are chains. some pics are blurry. i was messing with a new macro lens...and as of now i havent perfected it yet.

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#19 Guest_bumpylemon_*

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Posted 01 June 2010 - 06:53 PM

#20 Guest_FirstChAoS_*

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Posted 01 June 2010 - 08:22 PM

Ooh, I should catch some fry for feeding some time (the other day I got alot of banded killi fry but returned them to the water, i never thought of using them as food(