Fish University

We are homogenizing our animal communities. You can hunt Nilgai in south Texas Reticulated Pythons in Florida, and wild pigs just about anywhere. But did you know things are often worse in the aquatic world? It is true that we have released just about every species discovered into our waterways, and many have taken hold. Some were intentional and part of legal government management, some were accidental, but many are the result of just concerned pet owners that can't keep Nemo but want to give him a fighting chance. To discuss some of these issues, Wes chats with Dr. Mike Sandel and his graduate student, Tobin Davidson. So, sit back, relax, and enjoy. Then let's go spearfishing for Lionfish. Do you have questions or comments? Follow the Fish University Facebook community and chat with Wes or suggest future episodes!

Fisheries managers have a wealth of information available on how to manage small ponds, and there has been substantial research directed at managing large reservoirs that impound substantial rivers. However, there is a scarcity of information on reservoirs that are too big to be ponds and too small to be major reservoirs. These mid-size systems appear to be biologically distinct from their larger and smaller cousins. In this episode, Wes discusses these intermediate systems with biologist Hayden Funk, who just completed his master's degree on management of mid-size southern impoundments. They discuss the fish, the habitat, and the people that make up the management triad of these lakes, and some of the management opportunities that are available.  Do you have questions or comments? Follow the Fish University Facebook community and chat with Wes or suggest future episodes!

We have scientifically proven approaches to lake and pond management, but there is always an element of art involved. Every lake is different. There is always something just a little odd that needs to be considered or a unique issue that must be addressed, and some lakes are just simply “problem lakes”. In this episode, we take an in-depth look at a lake that fits this description. This is a lake built in a deep erosion valley of the Mississippi River escarpment that has faced watershed issues, plant issues, and fisheries management issues for some time. But with proper management and attention to detail, the lake is getting back on track. Wes discusses this lake with owner/manager, Mr. Jeffrey Clark. Do you have questions or comments? Follow the Fish University Facebook community and chat with Wes or suggest future episodes!

Fishing has become a game of technology. Some of it is finding fish, like with GPS and sonar, and some of it is catching fish, like electronic lures and synthetic scents. But there's tool in the bass fishing word that is engineered to help you decide when and how to fish. The application is called BassForecast and it is the #1 bass fishing app in the world, boasting about 1 million subscribers. Research on BassForecast suggests that its fishing predictions can significantly increase the likelihood of success on the water. To discuss the app, Wes interviews avid angler and the app's founder, Mike Mehlmann. Mike and Wes discuss how and why app works, gives some examples of its efficacy, and go off on some pretty interesting tangents. Tune in and decide if this app is for you! Do you have questions or comments? Follow the Fish University Facebook community and chat with Wes or suggest future episodes!

Do you own a property rich in ponds or a small lake? Do you want to make money off those resources? If so, this episode is for you. Wes chats with Dr. Daryl Jones, Professor at Mississippi State University and leader of the Natural Resources Enterprise Program. They discuss what type of person it takes to run such a business, the potential opportunities a landowner might consider, and the legal and business side of making money from water. Grab a notebook and your laptop, because Fish University will get you started on turning your land into a profitable outdoor enterprise. Do you have questions or comments? Follow the Fish University Facebook community and chat with Wes or suggest future episodes!

Are you thinking of building a pond or are managing an existing pond? In this episode, Wes presents his crash course in pond management. Learn about the best approaches for recreational fishing ponds from construction to stocking to fish management, and even adjusting water quality to maximum fish health and trophy production. We'll start with the three golden rules and build on them with examples from Wes's years of pond management Extension experience.         Do you have questions or comments? Follow the Fish University Facebook community and chat with Wes or suggest future episodes!

You have surely heard of the flying carp that invaded our larger rivers. Videos of water skiers dressed up like gladiators and armed with dip nets pulled at 30 mph are ubiquitous on the internet. In this episode of Fish University, Wes talks to the leading expert on the invasive carps from Asia, Mr. Duane Chapman. We talk the history, biology, movement, control, and even a recipe or two. Duane shares stories from his decades working on these species, including the time he and colleagues captured 240,000 pounds of these fish! Do you have questions or comments? Follow the Fish University Facebook community and chat with Wes or suggest future episodes!

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

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

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!        Do you have questions or comments? Follow the Fish University Facebook community and chat with Wes or suggest future episodes! Follow Natural Resources University on Instagram, YouTube, Twitter, & Facebook

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

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.     Do you have questions or comments? Follow the Fish University Facebook community and chat with Wes or suggest future episodes! Follow Natural Resources University on Instagram, YouTube, Twitter, & Facebook

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.     Do you have questions or comments? Follow the Fish University Facebook community and chat with Wes or suggest future episodes! Follow Natural Resources University on Instagram, YouTube, Twitter, & Facebook

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! Do you have questions or comments? Follow the Fish University Facebook community and chat with Wes or suggest future episodes! Follow Natural Resources University on Instagram, YouTube, Twitter, & Facebook

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

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! Follow Natural Resources University on Instagram, YouTube, Twitter, & Facebook  

Have you ever though about purposefully trying to push your bream to trophy size? What if you had the resources, connections, and the perfect pond to do so? In this episode, we chat with someone who is doing just that. Sarah “The Closer” Parvin joins Wes to tell a story about a trophy bass pond that suddenly died off and rose from the ashes like a phoenix, reborn into one of the best bream ponds in the world. Called “The Slab Lab” for obvious reasons, Sarah and her father are consistently growing coppernose bluegill in the 1–2-pound range, with 2-3 pounders becoming more frequent. The pond is only 5 years old and is an experiment in progress, so who knows what they'll be pulling out in a year or two! Do you have questions or comments? Follow the Fish University Facebook community and chat with Wes or suggest future episodes! Follow Natural Resources University on Instagram, YouTube, Twitter, & Facebook

As the Gulf of Mexico Red Snapper fishing seasons kick off for 2023, Wes sits down with Dr. Marcus Drymon, and Assistant Extension Professor with extensive experience in Red Snapper research and management. Marcus tells the history of Red Snapper fishing, some of the controversies and conflicts that have arisen between recreational and commercial anglers, managers, and scientists, and they discuss the status of Red Snapper research and management. Tune in an let Fish University dispel some of the myths and highlight some of the challenges in the management of this iconic fishery.  Do you have questions or comments? Follow the Fish University Facebook community and chat with Wes or suggest future episodes! Follow Natural Resources University on Instagram, YouTube, Twitter, & Facebook  

You know what to do when your pet cat or dog is sick, but have you ever thought about who to call when your pet fish are under the weather? In this episode, Wes chats with Dr. Jessie Sanders, a mobile aquatic veterinarian and author, to talk fish health. From sick Koi and goldfish to whether fish get constipated, no discussion is out of bounds. Join in for a fun and informative discussion about your aquatic scale babies. Do you have questions or comments? Follow the Fish University Facebook community and chat with Wes or suggest future episodes! Follow Natural Resources University on Instagram, YouTube, Twitter, & Facebook

Did you know that fish much larger than you with a mouth full of sharp teeth might be swimming just below the surface of your favorite swimming hole? Don't worry, these ancient creatures do not have a taste for humans. In this episode, Wes interviews Matt Wegener (Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission) and Kayla Kimmel (U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service) about the biology and conservation of one of North America's largest fish, the Alligator Gar. Do you have questions or comments? Follow the Fish University Facebook community and chat with Wes or suggest future episodes - https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100087242320601

The world of fishing, and especially bass fishing, has changed considerably in the past 50 years. In this episode, Wes sits down with retired fisheries expert and active angler Dr. Hal Schramm to discuss how the techniques, science, and management of bass fishing has evolved over the past 50 years and what the next great challenges may be.   Do you have questions or comments? Follow the Fish University Facebook community and chat with Wes or suggest future episodes! Follow Natural Resources University on Instagram, YouTube, Twitter, & Facebook  

In this episode, Wes talks with Dr. Beth Baker of Mississippi State University. Beth and Wes discuss sediment and nutrients in our water and how they affect fish and other aquatic life. Do you have questions or comments? Follow the Fish University Facebook community and chat with Wes or suggest future episodes! Follow Natural Resources University on Instagram, YouTube, Twitter, & Facebook

If you are interested in building the best fishing lake, you need to talk to the most experienced lake designer! In this episode, Wes chats with The Pond Boss, Bob Lusk, about what factors he considers when designing awesome fishing lakes. Do you have questions or comments? Follow the Fish University Facebook community and chat with Wes or suggest future episodes! For more, follow Natural Resources University on Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, & Facebook

Once home to the largest brown trout ever caught, the Little Red River is fighting a battle between perception and reality. Dr. Wes Neal visits with researcher Dr. Steve Lochmann to discuss what's really going on. Sit back and enjoy! Be sure to follow Fish University on Facebook!

Dr. Wes Neal chats with Tom Lang, Director of the Texas Freshwater Fisheries Center, about the selective breeding approaches the state of Texas is using to grow bigger, better bass. Hear all about the Toyota Share-Lunker Program and how genetic approaches are increasing maximum bass size in Texas. Enjoy! Follow Fish University on Facebook  Follow Natural Resources University on Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, & Facebook

Fish University is a science-based podcast covering the latest research in fish management from the small pond to the vast ocean. In this first episode, Dr. Wes Neal sits down with Deer University host Dr. Bronson Strickland to discuss the similarities between managing for trophy bass in ponds and trophy bucks in the deer woods. It turns out deer are just bass with antlers.