What is the best way to sink trees or keep them from floating as the pond fills up? I was planning on putting some very big trees in the pond but worried they will float up. What have you done or do you suggest? Also most of the trees were going to be oak trees? But I thought I read that some people thought Oak was a bad idea. Pond/Lake will be around 8 acres with depth 6-15 feet.

Where is the pond (state) ? Here is a method without using weight but rather staking in place. I have used oaks many times without issue - ,some report issues. At 8 acres I would try an oak structure.

From the Hands On Structure presentation during PB III.

A method of adding cover to a pond with water. This is an adaptation of the Ray Scott method from the Great Small Waters video. It can be done using xmas trees , buckets of limbs , pallets , or pvc structures. It involves driving a post into the pond bottom and using it to mark and hold the structure items. Using a boat (if unsteady you can use an A-frame ladder to drive the post) to drive the post ( using a shovel or fence post driver or hammer or ax) . After the post is in place tie the xmas trees to the post with small trot line string. Think about how you want the trees to hang in combination. Top up or down , horizontal . vertical and at what depth for each. You can also tie several trees together in squares to triangles (tree tops to bottoms to form and even structure). Then tie and place it over the post. Note after a year or so you can cut the string and allow them to fall to the bottom and tie on new ones. This will form a pile or cone of trees from bottom to top.

Post and trees





Tied to the post





Set to feed over



After they sink



Xmas trees work well for BG cover from predation.






A typical Ray Scott rendition of a pond with this method (pickle bucket method) and ridges , cuts and standing timber etc.

How would you stake down a massive oak tree or group of them?

If dry bottom, then obviously using multiple stakes. If full of water, then as set out in the answer above. As they waterlog, they will stay in place. You are trying to keep them from blowing/floating around until they waterlog and sink in place.

What do you use to tie the trees?

What have you got? I have tied structure down/together with old, weathered nylon rope, #9 wire, and used 12 gauge water pump wire. All has worked, none has failed so far (14 years and counting).

I go with more of an anchor/lanyard type system.

First, I lash a bunch of trees together. Then, I figure our how much depth of water the clump will be place in. Then I cut a rope a few feet longer than the max depth of the water. I tie the clump of trees to a cinder block with that long section of rope.

I my case, the clump will move a bit, but never more than a few feet in either direction until it eventually sinks.

You can also drop the tree in the pond, and if the pond has water in it, tie a few cinderblocks to each end of a rope and drop that over the trunk of the tree to help hold it in place.

I bought empty sand bags and tied them to tree. Much cheaper than cinder blocks
Oh by the way filled them with sand….

Day, don’t use fresh or green oak. It contains tannic acid that leaches out and is highly poisonous. (Tanins).

When I first impounded water in my 2 to 3 acre pond, we knocked down some big oaks and piled them in the bottom. We got a big rain and the pond filled. I bought and stocked a lot of bluegills and fathead minnows. Also, a heckuva lot of crawdads.

Then, the crawdads started leaving the water. I found no fish activity in a couple of weeks. In other words, none came to pellets. The water turned black.

I tried an experiment. I soaked a piece of green oak in a bucket and added some minnows. Within a short time, they were all dead. I knew a Texas Parks and Wildlife guy that was involved in lakes and ponds. I called and told him about what happened. He had no idea. We ran another test by putting some minnows in a floating bucket in the black pond. just to prove it to him. Yep, they died within an hour.m

I expect you could use oak that has been dead and dried out. But, why take a chance? I now use a lot of cedars.

I use trot line string - black and has about a 1300 lb rating.

Hello.

If you have wetlands (Vernal pool ) near you , look there are almost always dead trees at the bottom of the water,

Which no longer floats if there are a lot of them you could even sell some.
A+

Ok thanks. Anyone else have any issues with Oaks. Is it certain kind of oaks or all oaks to worry about?

Just the tea colored water but that’s not really a problem if your pond is big enough to handle the tannins. I use mostly cedars……

There are a LOT of Oak Trees in the woods surrounding my pond. My pondwater will look like tea if there is runoff from the woods to the pond. It takes a few years for it to clear up.