Texas Farm Pond - 08/11/10 04:19 PM
Hello-
My family and I have two one acre ponds on 50 acres in Bluff Dale, TX and we want to make these into great bass fishing ponds. One of our ponds is fairly muddy and has catfish and blue gill in it. This pond is about an acre in size and the deepest part (the middle) is about 10’. The majority of these catfish are 5" in length and it seems that some of these are not channel catfish. We have caught some channel catfish, but we have also caught some catfish that have a brownish/yellowish color to them. I am going to try and get rid of all of these yellowish catfish to see if that will help clear up the pond. Is there a better approach to get rid of these bad “mudcats”? What is the best approach without killing the other fish? Also, we want to be able to clear up this “muddy looking” pond as much as possible so I will be performing a water jug test next time I am out there. This pond also looks like it does not have any vegetation in it and I didn't know if I should plant any to help provide oxygen and cover for the baitfish. Our main concerns are that we don’t know where to start or what we need to do to get this pond in order to stock bass in it this fall. Here is a list of questions/concerns that I have:
1. It doesn't look like any vegetation is growing in it. Do we need to get any vegetation to grow?
2. I have dropped some structure in the middle of the pond and I will be adding a couple of "rock/brick" reefs in the middle and adding pea gravel in some other shallower parts. Should I drop any kind of structure in the shallower water? Any other suggestions on structure?
3. What do I need to do to ensure a healthy bass fishing pond?
4. What is the easiest way to clear a muddy pond?
5. There are some water testing kits online…should I buy those and test the pond water myself? If so, what brand do you recommend I use?
6. Should I be adding any fertilizers or lime to help promote a healthier pond? Do I need to add anything once a year/twice a year or anything like that?
7. Are aerators necessary for TX ponds since it gets so hot? Is there a cheaper way to help aerate other than buying a $1,000 machine?
Can you suggest any step-by-step approaches that I need to take to ensure a healthy pond for bass? For example, first take a pH test and add lime/fertilize from the samples you get back. Secondly, …..
Note: I have attached a picture of this pond to show you the size and how muddy it looks. This picture does was taken last fall, so it is not near as muddy as it looks today. We have a 20 acre coastal hay field around this pond and I have checked for any erosion and was unable to find anything.
Please let me know what you think I need to do to ensure that once we stock bass it will be a great bass pond for years to come. I greatly appreciate your time.
My family and I have two one acre ponds on 50 acres in Bluff Dale, TX and we want to make these into great bass fishing ponds. One of our ponds is fairly muddy and has catfish and blue gill in it. This pond is about an acre in size and the deepest part (the middle) is about 10’. The majority of these catfish are 5" in length and it seems that some of these are not channel catfish. We have caught some channel catfish, but we have also caught some catfish that have a brownish/yellowish color to them. I am going to try and get rid of all of these yellowish catfish to see if that will help clear up the pond. Is there a better approach to get rid of these bad “mudcats”? What is the best approach without killing the other fish? Also, we want to be able to clear up this “muddy looking” pond as much as possible so I will be performing a water jug test next time I am out there. This pond also looks like it does not have any vegetation in it and I didn't know if I should plant any to help provide oxygen and cover for the baitfish. Our main concerns are that we don’t know where to start or what we need to do to get this pond in order to stock bass in it this fall. Here is a list of questions/concerns that I have:
1. It doesn't look like any vegetation is growing in it. Do we need to get any vegetation to grow?
2. I have dropped some structure in the middle of the pond and I will be adding a couple of "rock/brick" reefs in the middle and adding pea gravel in some other shallower parts. Should I drop any kind of structure in the shallower water? Any other suggestions on structure?
3. What do I need to do to ensure a healthy bass fishing pond?
4. What is the easiest way to clear a muddy pond?
5. There are some water testing kits online…should I buy those and test the pond water myself? If so, what brand do you recommend I use?
6. Should I be adding any fertilizers or lime to help promote a healthier pond? Do I need to add anything once a year/twice a year or anything like that?
7. Are aerators necessary for TX ponds since it gets so hot? Is there a cheaper way to help aerate other than buying a $1,000 machine?
Can you suggest any step-by-step approaches that I need to take to ensure a healthy pond for bass? For example, first take a pH test and add lime/fertilize from the samples you get back. Secondly, …..
Note: I have attached a picture of this pond to show you the size and how muddy it looks. This picture does was taken last fall, so it is not near as muddy as it looks today. We have a 20 acre coastal hay field around this pond and I have checked for any erosion and was unable to find anything.
Please let me know what you think I need to do to ensure that once we stock bass it will be a great bass pond for years to come. I greatly appreciate your time.