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Started By
Message
Help me not screw up my pond
Posted on 4/7/20 at 11:17 am
Posted on 4/7/20 at 11:17 am
Firstly, in before Nascar…
We dug a pond last spring to get some dirt to raise a section of our property. Total coverage is about .2 acres in the shape of a long kidney bean (it’s roughly about 180’ long x an average of 50’ wide). Each lobe is about 10’-15’ deep in the middle. There’s a shelf around the whole thing that’s about 2’ deep when the pond is full. It was full recently with the rain we had in Jan and Feb but it’s about 1’ down right now since it’s been dry recently. Also, it’s not a drainage pond, only water that gets in falls directly down, minimal runoff. The water stays pretty clear so far.
Since I didn’t know how it would hold water, I told my sons I wasn’t going to stock it until we knew how the water table would fall. Well, they’ve taken it upon themselves to stock it with perch (only perch I told them) from another local pond. I also have a friend that puts any perch he catches in as well (shout-out to CootDisCootDat). I thought we would be able to put a few fish in and probably never catch them. Wrong! Now, we’re catch and releasing fish hand over fist.
There’s not a lot of vegetation in general, some grass on the shelf. At this point, I just want to maintain it like it is, help the fish grow, not get overpopulated, maybe add some bass, and maintain the current vegetation state and clarity (don’t want it to over-grow). There are minnows in the pond somehow, not sure how that happened. What about feed? Is there pond feed? Dog food? Other? Should I get some sort of aerator for each end?
We dug a pond last spring to get some dirt to raise a section of our property. Total coverage is about .2 acres in the shape of a long kidney bean (it’s roughly about 180’ long x an average of 50’ wide). Each lobe is about 10’-15’ deep in the middle. There’s a shelf around the whole thing that’s about 2’ deep when the pond is full. It was full recently with the rain we had in Jan and Feb but it’s about 1’ down right now since it’s been dry recently. Also, it’s not a drainage pond, only water that gets in falls directly down, minimal runoff. The water stays pretty clear so far.
Since I didn’t know how it would hold water, I told my sons I wasn’t going to stock it until we knew how the water table would fall. Well, they’ve taken it upon themselves to stock it with perch (only perch I told them) from another local pond. I also have a friend that puts any perch he catches in as well (shout-out to CootDisCootDat). I thought we would be able to put a few fish in and probably never catch them. Wrong! Now, we’re catch and releasing fish hand over fist.
There’s not a lot of vegetation in general, some grass on the shelf. At this point, I just want to maintain it like it is, help the fish grow, not get overpopulated, maybe add some bass, and maintain the current vegetation state and clarity (don’t want it to over-grow). There are minnows in the pond somehow, not sure how that happened. What about feed? Is there pond feed? Dog food? Other? Should I get some sort of aerator for each end?
This post was edited on 4/7/20 at 11:23 am
5
Posted on 4/7/20 at 11:30 am to Coon
If it was my pond..
Poison out all the perch and stock it with a giant variety bluegill and nothing else, maybe add some shellcracker (redeared sunfish/(chinquapin)). Let vegetation cover most of the banks but cut out a fishing spot every 20 feet or so. Plant some catalpa trees. Throw each year's Christmas tree into the deep lobes.
Edit- I would also build a covered picnic pavillion next to it with a fish cleaning station, grill with gas hookup, and chemical potty for girls and ladies to sit down on, couple of picnic tables, and a can of yellow jacket spray.
Then I would keep one lobe empty of christmas trees/structure, and build a floating dock out a few feet with a swim ladder. The dock itself will provide cover for fishing off the dock, and also for kids and adults to do cannon balls into the deep parts to cool off in the hot afternoons.
Then I make a square worm bed from cross ties, filled with leaves and compost and newspapers where you will always be able to turn over for a quick can of worms.
Poison out all the perch and stock it with a giant variety bluegill and nothing else, maybe add some shellcracker (redeared sunfish/(chinquapin)). Let vegetation cover most of the banks but cut out a fishing spot every 20 feet or so. Plant some catalpa trees. Throw each year's Christmas tree into the deep lobes.
Edit- I would also build a covered picnic pavillion next to it with a fish cleaning station, grill with gas hookup, and chemical potty for girls and ladies to sit down on, couple of picnic tables, and a can of yellow jacket spray.
Then I would keep one lobe empty of christmas trees/structure, and build a floating dock out a few feet with a swim ladder. The dock itself will provide cover for fishing off the dock, and also for kids and adults to do cannon balls into the deep parts to cool off in the hot afternoons.
Then I make a square worm bed from cross ties, filled with leaves and compost and newspapers where you will always be able to turn over for a quick can of worms.
This post was edited on 4/7/20 at 2:17 pm
Posted on 4/7/20 at 11:31 am to Coon
quote:1st, don't do this.
Now, we’re catch and releasing fish hand over fist.
Posted on 4/7/20 at 11:35 am to Coon
Yes, there is fish food for ponds, I think its mostly used for catfish though. Panfish will get in there naturally. I've heard several reasons why, like they are dropped in there by birds. Bream and perch are some of the most prolific producers during the spawn. That's why they recommend putting them in with Bass. Gives the bass plenty of food. If the water stays clear, you will definitely end up with a lot of vegetation as the sun light will penetrate the water further.
Posted on 4/7/20 at 11:39 am to deeprig9
This. You are going to need some bass and you are going to manage the population. My pond was about .3 acres and if memory serves me I was supposed to harvest about 90 lbs per year of bluegill to keep a healthy population. I had buttonbush all around my pond which is a great pollinator and it really kept the bluegill feed. Insects were always falling into the water (they also stayed full of water moccasins).
Posted on 4/7/20 at 11:43 am to TimeOutdoors
quote:
I was supposed to harvest about 90 lbs per year of bluegill to keep a healthy population.
That would be a piece of cake if it were my pond. I would not put bass in my bluegill pond if I could manage the population on my own at 90#'s a year.
Posted on 4/7/20 at 12:36 pm to deeprig9
And the first year you lose track of it you’ll have a pond full of 3” stunted fish. Everyone goes in with the idea they can keep it fished down, but rarely delivers. Removing the prescribed lbs per acre often means taking out fish that are too small to clean or even whole fry, not just hand sized slabs. It could certainly be done but it’s not as fun as you’re imagining.
Posted on 4/7/20 at 1:14 pm to TheDrunkenTigah
Not if you do supplemental feeding. Also, having to manage a bass population as well as managing a bluegill population while they are both trying to manage each other, I'd rather just worry about having to manage 1 species for a little tiny pond like that.
This post was edited on 4/7/20 at 2:20 pm
Posted on 4/7/20 at 2:11 pm to deeprig9
I would also suggest that you shoot every otter that you see.
Posted on 4/7/20 at 3:17 pm to Coon
50*180 isn't close to one acre??? Is it that size or two acres?
Posted on 4/7/20 at 3:55 pm to Coon
It will be very difficult to have clarity and vegetation control. Generally you have to sacrifice one. There are some stains you can introduce that will limit sunlight penetration.
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