In Western Missouri there is a lake that doesn’t follow the standard private pond formula. Lake Deanna is a larger private lake with unique habitat, unusual depth, and an experimental fish community. The deep lake has been stocked with largemouth and smallmouth bass, walleye, and sunfish. Bluegill and Redear Sunfish are already pushing a pound, and bass have exceeded 8 pounds in just 4 years! However, the lake is not without its issues. In this episode, Wes discusses Lake Deanna with the Pond Boss, Bob Lusk, and the lake’s owner and visionary, Greg Graves. We’ll take you from inception and construction, through the development of the fishery, and even prescribe management for the future. So grab a beverage and join in, you don’t want to miss it!  

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Anglers know that many fish species depend on the structure that trees provide. Habitat, such as standing timber, blow downs, snags, and cypress trees are popular places to fish in lakes and streams. But what about when the river leaves the riverbed and enters the bottomland forest? It turns out that this “flooded forest” habitat is critical for many fish species. Most lowland rivers used to seasonally flood into the surrounding forests, which could remain inundated for months at a time. These areas were important to spawning, early life history, and feeding ecology of many important fish species. Today, many rivers have lost this connection due to river regulation for navigation and flood control, with consequence for many river species that depended on flooded forests. In this episode, Wes discusses the value of flooded forests and ways we can improve our highly regulated rivers with Dr. Sandra Correa.    

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This episode quacks me up. Fisheries management to produce quality fishing often requires actions that are counterproductive to attracting migratory ducks and vice versa. But in this episode, we’ll talk about some ways that you might be able to have the best of both worlds. Wes sits down with two leading experts in the duck realm, and they brainstorm on what can be done to bring more ducks to a small pond without necessarily hurting fishing opportunities. Any you’ll receive wonderful egg-splanantion on the intricacies of duck biology, including how to deal with pesky resident geese. If you migrate to the link and listen to podcast, I promise I will quit quacking duck puns.  

 Do you have questions or comments? Follow the Fish University Facebook community and chat with Wes or suggest future episodes!

Have you ever noticed that when someone catches a big largemouth or Florida bass, like a double-digit bass, they refer to it as “she”, “her”, or “big girl”? That is because female bass get larger than male bass, and you’ll never catch a male that big. In a normal population, half the population is male, so only the female half will have trophy potential. But we can change this dynamic if we only stock the lady bass. In this episode, Wes and Senior Fisheries Biologist Tim Bonvechio discuss the efforts Georgia DNR has been undertaking to create all-female lakes for better trophy fishing. They talk establishment, prey, harvest, and keeping out those pesky males who only have one thing on their mind. Tune in – this may be an option for your next pond or lake renovation!       

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Hide your dog, hide your kids, stay indoors! Monster fish are taking over! Well, not quite. In this episode, Wes talks with the biologist who was at ground zero of the Northern Snakehead (Channa argus) invasion in Virginia. John Odenkirk tells the story of the first detection, subsequent expansion, and the system-level impacts that snakehead fish have had in the two decades since they were first detected. Join us and learn about the real and perceived issues with this fish, and about how they continue to be spread around the United States.    

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Every water body has them. Plants. Sometimes they’re good, like phytoplankton that for the base of the food chain or a patch of American Pondweed that holds a 10-pound bass. Sometimes they are bad, like Naiad that blocks your boat ramp. And sometimes they are just plain ugly, like Giant Salvinia that suffocates waterways with mats that might be 3 feet thick. In this episode, Wes and his guest, Dr. Gray Turnage, discuss the good, the bad, and the ugly of aquatic plants. Don’t miss this discussion, as you’ll learn all about when and if to treat, how to treat, and how to encourage beneficial plants.  

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Living in a water world comes with challenges that are markedly different than those we air breathers face, and fish have developed unique and creative ways to face these challenges. Understanding fish biology and physiology is not only interesting, but also useful to us fish-loving air breathers.  It doesn’t matter if you are an aquarist, and angler, a pond manager, or a researcher, a greater understanding of why fish are the way they are will make you better at your fish-loving pursuits. In this episode, Wes picks the brain of Fish Physiologist Dr. Peter Allen on how fish work. We’ll talk osmoregulation, respiration, senses, and even some reproduction. So, tune in and hear all about what makes fish do what they do, and what you can do to keep, manage, or catch them more effectively.  

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Deep in the Sonoran Desert are various fish species that survive in the harshest of conditions. These extremophiles often live in water that is often much saltier than seawater, much hotter than a jacuzzi, much faster than a freight train, and with little or no oxygen. Where did they come from? How do they survive? What is their future? Wes chats with desert fish expert Dr. Scott Bonar of the University of Arizona to answer these and many more questions. So, grab a tall glass of water and your sunscreen, because this one is a scorcher!

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If you like to fish, you have probably caught Largemouth Bass and Smallmouth Bass, and maybe you have caught Spotted Bass. But if you are on a quest to catch all the Black Bass (Micropterus spp.), you have a long way to go. In this episode, Wes chats with Steve Sammons, a researcher from Auburn University who has worked with many of the bass species. They’ll discuss the 14 described species of bass and where they can be found, as well as talk about 5 more potential species that may soon be described. The Black Bass Slam just got a whole lot more complicated, so grab a notebook and a map, and join us on this road trip!

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Have you purchased or inherited a property with and old and neglected pond on it? Or perhaps you’ve lived on the property with a pond for your whole life, but life simply got in the way of proper management? Either way, tune into Fish University to hear Wes discuss how to restore ponds that have been let go for far too long. His guest is Mark Griffith, a private pond consultant and owner of Ichthys Pond Management, LLC. They’ll discuss levee inspection, organic matter buildup, alternative strategies, complete renovation, and much, much more!  

Do you have questions or comments? Follow the Fish University Facebook community and chat with Wes or suggest future episodes!

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