"Remydog" wrote in message
news:t1o9c.19452$w54.139094@attbi_s01...
Here in the Northeast, I think your plan would result in many deceased
fish.
We had over 20 inches of ice over our pond in the middle of the coldest
part
of winter. I had to cut holes using an ice auger just to allow the pond to
vent.

I would be very concerned that the decomposing leaves would substantially
elevate the poisons in the water. I used a leaf vac in the fall before the
serious leaf drop, then built a hoop house and suspended leaf netting over
that. It worked great at keeping the leaves off. I am happy to report that
all of my fish survived (unlike last winter when I had a half dozen fish
pops).
snip

I am near Baltimore, so I'd consider myself a NE'er. I too had to work to
keep a hole in the ice this winter. I used a pump, squirting straight up in
the shallows of the pond to achieve this.

I am considering netting the pond next year, but for this year, I wanted to
see what kind of leaf load I would get. It was a lot, but surprisingly not
as bad as I expected.

*shrug*

For now, the whirlpool effect is making it easier to collect the leaves. One
of these days, I'll have to get in there and do it by hand, but not for
another few degrees or so.


--
BV.
www.iheartmypond.com