Nice fish. Looks like a super trip!

Dfitz, that's why I stock tigers rather than pure-strain muskie. Although you would be surprised - a couple muskie won't empty a pond of fish like you might think. They do do a better job of thinning out bluegill so they can get big, than bass do. My two best ponds for big bluegill are the two on this property that have had tiger muskie since 2009. Both of those ponds also have nice-sized largemouth for ponds with bluegill that big - the first bass I posted a photo of in this thread came from the pond the muskie was caught from, and the second bass came from the other pond that has muskie in it.

That's a good job of pond mangement. Nice fish way to go!

Thanks, Wade! I've been known to think outside the box every now and then when it comes to managing ponds.

Nice Catch. Love those fat Bluegill!

one of the best places I ever fished was a one to 2 acre farm pond in the middle a nowhere
giant bluegill on gold wire hooks and no bait
big bass like crazy as well
the interesting part
it was stocked with a good number of blue cats as well
the place seemed to be in perfect unison to me
lots a big everything and it was 6 years old when I fished it the first time
funny how pond management can take lots of "wrong" turns and still have a good end result
I have heard always NEVER stock blues in small ponds
I would think traditionally the same with tiger muskie
funny how breaking the "rules" of stocking can produce such great results aint it ?

You're right, Ketchn. A lot of the "rules" were written by people who have no firsthand knowledge of the stocking strategies they're advising against. When I first began recommending stocking pike and muskie in ponds, it was a regular occurrence to have someone chime in saying I was giving bad advice, that it would ruin the landowner's pond, etc. The fact that I had stocked esox multiple times before with dramatic success, and the people naysaying the advice had not, evidently had no bearing on the discussion. I actually got ridiculed by multiple other regulars on one forum that shall go unnamed. Since then those same people who ridiculed me have recommended stocking muskie to other pond owners. But of course they skipped the part about apologizing to me and admitting they were wrong.

The top hatchery in Texas now recommends stocking a small number of blue catfish in ponds, even smaller ones, for population control of bluegill. My very best bluegill pond right now has two tiger muskie that were stocked at 12" each in December 2009, and five blue catfish that were stocked at five to ten pounds each in the summer of 2010, in addition to several large largemouth and a few (but not overcrowded) smaller largemouth - all in a pond that's probably not a full acre. I also stocked ten 8-10" hybrid stripers four summers ago, but no one has ever caught one so they may have gotten eaten. The bluegill average about 9.5" in that pond; I have fished it twice this year so far, and both times we caught several 10" or better, including a 10.5" the first time and an 11" the second.

Nice Fish! I remember a post a while back from the "Rionator" who fished with you and he had some HUGE gills. Need to put your ponds on my radar screen for a possible summer,early fall vacation.

If you are talking about the picture with it in your net, there is no way that fish is 42"!!!!!!!!! 0% chance. Your fingers would have to be 12" long!

Sounds good, LakerOne! I'll be here anytime. May through July is the best time, although October can be very good for the northern-strain bluegill. When the water is cool the coppernose don't cooperate, as evinced by how few we caught of them this most recent trip.

As far as the length of the muskie goes, I think it was probably closer to 36". Although, I have never caught a muskie before and therefore have never measured one, whereas the guy who estimated its length has caught and measured them many times, which is why I mentioned his estimate rather than my own. If you use the torso and the leg of the fisherman as a reference for scale, I think you get the sense that the fish was bigger than what a cursory glance at the photo might suggest.