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#1
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Advice on pond bottom (structure)
Hi, I'm new here, and this looks to be a friendly and active group. I'm digging a 400'X150' recreational fishing pond. I want to stock bluegill, white crappie, bass, and perhaps red ear bream (chinquapin). For a food supply, I will stock it with a good supply of gambusia and small freshwater shrimp (ghost shrimp?), and of course crawfish will find their way into the pond Any other suggestions for food chain balance? My main question is this: I want to make about 1/3 to 1/2 of the pond 10' deep because of the heat problem here in Cajun Country. However, I want to make some bottom structure that will attract bluegill to spawn in. I have seen them bed in water 1' deep, and 8' deep as well, but have decided on 4-5' Where should I put my shallow bedding areas? Along the banks? Flat-topped ridges out 15-20' from the banks, or where? We like to fish from the banks with fly rods or 10' bream poles, but getting a small boat is no problem. Oh, 1 other question. Should I make one small area in a corner of the pond very shallow and allow weeds to grow there? My thinking is this would make a nice refuge for the gambusia and shrimp, and allow them to multiply. It would also protect hatchlings, but I don't know if this would cause over population. Any advice is greatly appreciated! 1' deep and counting! Oy, that's a lotta dirt! :-\ Bob |
#2
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Advice on pond bottom (structure)
Hi Bob! Your proposed pond sounds wonderful! Most of us don't even come close to that size. Until they can chime in I'll give you a few other references and hope you let us know how it all goes! :-) The following are great resources for large ponds. Earth Pond Sourcebook by Tim Matson and the newsgroup misc.rural and the ask the Pond Boss forum http://www.pondboss.com/cgibin/ubbcgi/ultimatebb.cgi and A HREF="http://www.aquaticecosystems.com/aquatic1v1/index.icl"http://www.aq uaticecosystems.com/aquatic1v1/index.icl/A good luck! k30a |
#3
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Advice on pond bottom (structure)
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#4
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Advice on pond bottom (structure)
Hi Bob,
I have a large pond as well. About 4.5 acres of water surface and 1.5 acres of wetlands. The one thing you want is a balanced pond. To answer your questions and provide some insight: You'll want an area of 1'-3' deep for your bluegill to spawn. The bass will spawn there as well. If you want to make them really happy put down a layer of pea gravel. Stock only largemouth bass. Small mouth bass don't fair well in ponds. Small mouth bass like gravel bottoms. I would also add channel catfish. Add no other types of catfish as they muddy the bottom of the pond. Do not add koi or carp they muddy the water as well. DO NOT ADD GOLDFISH. You'll need an area with water plants for the baby fish to hide. I have cattails and irises. Rule of thumb is 20% plants. Do not add extra food as one of two things will happen: You'll get an over abundance of small bluegill or your pond will be based on your food source so when you stop your pond will crash and fish will starve and stunt. When you stock your pond for the first time stock fathead minnows and shiners (preferably a month before bluegill and bass). They will provide food for your bass until the bluegills spawn. Usually crappie do not do well in small ponds (even mine is too small). That's not to say that crappie in some small ponds don't do well. Crappie spawn before bluegills and bass and the offspring will be in a position to eat the eggs of the bluegills and bass. Red ear bream are a good choice but they do not spawn as much as bluegills and stocked instead of bluegill will not provide enough food for bass. Stocked with bluegills is a good choice. I think it's 1 to 1 stocking rate. Everything is about chain of life for the bass. It goes like this: suspended algae eats macro/micro nutrients in pond water small creatures eat suspended algae bluegills, baby bass, frogs, crayfish eat small creatures bass eat bluegills, frogs, crayfish The key here is algae. You do not want a clear pond. A clear pond will result in very few fish and they will all be small. Some pond owners dump fertilizer into their water to keep the clarity only 18". Usually any underwater structures you build will attract fish (good for fishing, it'll be your ponds sweet spot) but will not provide shelter or protection from larger fish. I built a large reef out of old junk though just for the heck of it. Don't sink any "green" black oak in your pond. 10' is a good depth. Anything over 12' will be starved for oxygen and won't get used by fish HOWEVER if you live in a drought area that 20' hole might save you. I have (2) 20' holes. You won't have big fish for 3 years and you should not take anything from the pond for those first 3 years (catch and release). Be careful of the plants you stick in your pond. You can ruin it. Lilly pads can easily take over a small pond as can cattails. If planting cattails check the species of cattails and make sure it's the species that grows only to 2 feet and not 3-4 feet. If you have any specific questions please feel free to email me. "Bob Adkins" wrote in message ... Hi, I'm new here, and this looks to be a friendly and active group. I'm digging a 400'X150' recreational fishing pond. I want to stock bluegill, white crappie, bass, and perhaps red ear bream (chinquapin). For a food supply, I will stock it with a good supply of gambusia and small freshwater shrimp (ghost shrimp?), and of course crawfish will find their way into the pond Any other suggestions for food chain balance? My main question is this: I want to make about 1/3 to 1/2 of the pond 10' deep because of the heat problem here in Cajun Country. However, I want to make some bottom structure that will attract bluegill to spawn in. I have seen them bed in water 1' deep, and 8' deep as well, but have decided on 4-5' Where should I put my shallow bedding areas? Along the banks? Flat-topped ridges out 15-20' from the banks, or where? We like to fish from the banks with fly rods or 10' bream poles, but getting a small boat is no problem. Oh, 1 other question. Should I make one small area in a corner of the pond very shallow and allow weeds to grow there? My thinking is this would make a nice refuge for the gambusia and shrimp, and allow them to multiply. It would also protect hatchlings, but I don't know if this would cause over population. Any advice is greatly appreciated! 1' deep and counting! Oy, that's a lotta dirt! :-\ Bob |
#5
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Advice on pond bottom (structure)
On Tue, 10 Jun 2003 14:29:52 -0400, "Sam Hopkins"
wrote: I have a large pond as well. About 4.5 acres of water surface and 1.5 acres of wetlands. The one thing you want is a balanced pond. To answer your questions and provide some insight: You'll want an area of 1'-3' deep for your bluegill to spawn. The bass will spawn there as well. If you want to make them really happy put down a layer of pea gravel. Stock only largemouth bass. Small mouth bass don't fair well in ponds. Small mouth bass like gravel bottoms. I would also add channel catfish. Add no other types of catfish as they muddy the bottom of the pond. Do not add koi or carp they muddy the water as well. DO NOT ADD GOLDFISH. You'll need an area with water plants for the baby fish to hide. I have cattails and irises. Rule of thumb is 20% plants. Do not add extra food as one of two things will happen: You'll get an over abundance of small bluegill or your pond will be based on your food source so when you stop your pond will crash and fish will starve and stunt. When you stock your pond for the first time stock fathead minnows and shiners (preferably a month before bluegill and bass). They will provide food for your bass until the bluegills spawn. Usually crappie do not do well in small ponds (even mine is too small). That's not to say that crappie in some small ponds don't do well. Crappie spawn before bluegills and bass and the offspring will be in a position to eat the eggs of the bluegills and bass. Red ear bream are a good choice but they do not spawn as much as bluegills and stocked instead of bluegill will not provide enough food for bass. Stocked with bluegills is a good choice. I think it's 1 to 1 stocking rate. Everything is about chain of life for the bass. It goes like this: suspended algae eats macro/micro nutrients in pond water small creatures eat suspended algae bluegills, baby bass, frogs, crayfish eat small creatures bass eat bluegills, frogs, crayfish The key here is algae. You do not want a clear pond. A clear pond will result in very few fish and they will all be small. Some pond owners dump fertilizer into their water to keep the clarity only 18". Usually any underwater structures you build will attract fish (good for fishing, it'll be your ponds sweet spot) but will not provide shelter or protection from larger fish. I built a large reef out of old junk though just for the heck of it. Don't sink any "green" black oak in your pond. 10' is a good depth. Anything over 12' will be starved for oxygen and won't get used by fish HOWEVER if you live in a drought area that 20' hole might save you. I have (2) 20' holes. You won't have big fish for 3 years and you should not take anything from the pond for those first 3 years (catch and release). Be careful of the plants you stick in your pond. You can ruin it. Lilly pads can easily take over a small pond as can cattails. If planting cattails check the species of cattails and make sure it's the species that grows only to 2 feet and not 3-4 feet. If you have any specific questions please feel free to email me. Sam, Thanks!!!! Much of this stuff I knew already, but there were some nuggets in there. The variety of weeds was priceless. I had considered cattails and rushes, but had never thought of our native irises! You're a genius! How about alligator weed? The little shrimp and gambusia absolutely love it for cover and spawning, but it can get away from you if your banks are too shallow. The ratio of weeds to water was also something I could never have found anywhere else. (Pond Boss is soooo hard to find things!) My pond will be built to discourage weed growth except for designated shallow weed beds in a couple of corners. I will fertilize at first to get things rolling, and taper off to keep the water smelling fresh and on the clear side. The pond should be large enough to not need lots of fertilizing keep the fishing lively. I love trees to fish under, but trees are a no-no. Their leaves cause foul odor, acid, sludge, and discoloration. Some are even poisonous. So no trees within 100' of the pond! :-( Thanks again Sam! Bob |
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