Pond Boss Forums INTRO Questions & Observations Dilemna...mud

Here is my dilemna.

Our drought in Colorado appears to be over. That is the good news. Bad news is that now the smallish creek that supplies water to my pond is a large muddy creek and has been for the last 10 days. My pond is quite shallow....5-6 feet tops. I am worried about not getting new water into the pond as regular as I usually do. Normally there is an 18" pipe, 3/4 full to full bringing water in 24 hours per day and going out the other end, thus turning over the water quite often.

Now that it is muddy, I am closing it when it is at its worst. Question: Is cold, fresh, muddy water better than letting my pond sit without any new water coming in? The weather is 30 degrees at nite and 50-60 in the daytime. The pond is roughly 1 acre. I have an aerator in the middle. Surface type, but I cannot run it as the water level is below the pump when the creek is off. I could lower it if necessary. Also, I currently have approximately 1500 lbs of trout in the pond as I could not let the stocking truck go by....

Usually we sell 1000 lbs per week this time of year, therefore the stocking levels are meaningless as they are temporary.

Thanks in advance

Your temps are what is critical and with the cool weather we have been experiencing as of late you will be ok. The muddy water brings silt with it and adds to eventually you having to dredge the pond out or it will be to shallow even for limited over wintering of the fish not caught. I expect that weekends are your busiest time so i would continue to run water a few days a week to keep the pond cool and with new water. When your stocking rates are as high as you need them for a pay fishing site i would think it would be critical to have a good supply of fresh water whether it is muddy or not. It won't hurt the fish but it will the flavor of the meat.

jdm

Guys,

My experience with silty water and trout is it is not too much of a problem for a short period of time as this does happen occasionally in nature. The larger the fish the more tolerent they are of it --larger fish have larger gill filliments -- but fingerlings, and obviously eggs can have major problems. I have also found out that brook trout are more sensitive to silty water than rainbows or browns.

If it does not last for more than a few days at a time I would not worry too much if your fish are at least 12 inches.