Wes,
Can you sit something on the bottom where the fish are swimming for size
reference? Maybe an old fishing reel or something. It's hard to tell just
how big these fish are.
DonO
Hi Dono,
Probably won't, as we don't want to put anything artificial down there that would spoil the appearance of a natural setting.
The smallest fish you see in with any regularity (one ham in particular) is probably about 17". When you start seeing the fish with a hunchback (i.e. big shoulders) that usually develops when they reach six pounds. The largest fish are 7 to 8. Rarely, you might get a glimpse of the pond leviathans. There are just a few above 10 pounds, and they are really cautious and anti-social, tend to stay in deep water and only feed in low light. I would be shocked to see any of the biggest fish anywhere near the camera which is in 3' of water.
For the a-fish-cianados, the strains in this particular pond are Eagle Lake and Donaldson rainbows. The Eagle Lake strain is very popular and is the fish stocked into the Upper Sacramento River, and the MIssouri below Holter Dam. Donaldson's put on a lot of weight fast, but are very smart and hard to catch (they are not triploids). Most of the fish in this pond were raised at the ranch from fingerlings, and there is significant natural reproduction. Every once in awhile you will see a fish that looks like it's 5-6 inches. That is one of this year's crop of naturally reproduced trout.
Some of the other lakes at Sugar Creek Ranch have native landlocked Scott River Steelhead in the mix. Someone even caught a salmon this year. The steelhead and salmon make it into the lakes via the water inlets as fry and eggs. They get big and can't find a way out! The nearby Scott River and Sugar Creek have protected runs of salmon and steelhead.
Thanks for the thought.
Wes
