Fish Feeders: A Great Way to Get Kids to Fish
Mike Bolton 03.28.12
Start a conversation about the supplemental feeding of deer and it won’t be long before someone gets angry. There are those who get furious because their state doesn’t allow it. Then there are those that scream that attracting a deer to a pile of corn then shooting it is a travesty.
Mention the supplemental feeding of fish and about all you will see is puzzled looks. No one seems to have much of an opinion either way on that subject.
More and more across the U.S. these days those with access to water are installing fish feeders. The feeders toss floating feed as many times a day as the owner wants and in quantities the owner chooses. And what was once a practice only done in private ponds is now being seen more and more on piers and docks on public reservoirs.
There are multiple reasons for installing feeders where you fish but none as big as creating fishing havens for kids. While the feeders serve to attract fish, hold fish, make them feed when you want them to and make fish grow larger, many say they have installed them simply to make fishing better for their grandkids and kids.
The feeders typically draw sunfishes like bream, which in turn attract bass, and catfish.
The feeders put on quite a show. When the motor is activated by the computer or by a manual override button, it spins and tosses floating food pellets in the water below. In seconds fish begin a feeding frenzy that looks like hogs coming to a trough. Both kids and adults find it amazing to watch.
Norman Latona, the owner of Southeastern Pond Management, installs the feeders on lakes and ponds all across the South these days. He says while some are using the feeders to grow bigger bream most are simply using them to draw bream and catfish to their piers where they are easier to catch.
A number of manufacturers are producing fish feeders these days. They generally range in price from about $50 for a basic model to $500 or more for large, extremely heavy duty models with long-life batteries and solar panels that keep the batteries charged.
Today’s weatherproof electronic feeders can be fine-tuned to the owner’s desires. The owner can determine how many times a day that the feeder casts food. The length of time that they cast food on each cycle can also be programmed as to control the amount of food being fed. Latona says a private pond needs one feeder for about every five to seven acres. Those living on public reservoirs can put a single feeder on their pier or dock.
The floating fish food pellets can be found at many hardware stores and most farmer co-ops. A 50-pound bag of pellets costs about $15 – $16. The feeders can be programmed to cast a handful of pellets morning and evening at a cost of not much more than 50 cents each day.
That’s quite a bargain to entice kids to an endeavor they’ll enjoy the rest of their lives.
Check out the video below for more on automatic fish feeders.
httpv://youtu.be/tJDcaa-OF3I
Mike Bolton, 56, served as the outdoors writer for the Birmingham News for 25 years until his retirement in 2009. He won the AP Sweepstakes Award for best sports story in Alabama on eight occasions and his stories on the Cahaba River were nominated for a Pulitizer Prize. He has also contributed to Sporting Classics, Bassmaster Magazine, Buckmasters Magazine and other national pubications.
