Pond Boss Forums INTRO Questions & Observations Building fence on dam for Triploid Carp? any ideas

I already have my drawdown pipes enclosed by a cage. I need to put up a barrier on the dam to keep my new Triploids from getting out. What do you guys use?
I've read the opening needs to be rectangular in shape no more than 2" high and can be as wide as possible to allow debris to flow through but the fish to not get out. The best match i found is what people call "horse panels" not "hog panels". The opening in the panels is 1.75" tall and 4 inches wide. I can cut out some spots to make the width maybe 8". It comes in 16ft lengths by 4ft tall for $55.

Any better ideas.

I read something about laying a series of pipes in the water. It was to prevent the carp from leaving but being stronger than fencing and less danger of clogs. If I can fing the link, I will post it later.

Chad, are you talking about the run around area? If so, I would just use the panels without modifying them. If you go to 8", the carp will escape during a flood. I stocked them for a guy in North Texas and had to do the same thing. I assume that you are dealing with Bruce Hysmith of the TPWD. You will have to provide pictures for his files and they had better not be modified.

I worry about debris clogging but Bruce says that the panel opening ought to be OK. Who knows?

Yes this is going on the spillway, or runaround area. The guy I talked to just said to make sure the vertical part of the rectangular opening is no more than 2". This man said the horizontal section of the rectangle opening be as wide as possible since he didn't think the fish would turn on their side to pass through the fence.

here is a link that has a good picture. it shows a fence made from solid bars only laying horizontally. There is no vertical bars besides the posts that hold up the fence. In that situation the rectangle openings are 2" tall by 4ft wide.

http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us/landwater/water/habitats/private_water/gcarp.phtml

I dont know how often you overflow, but you might want to consider just letting the triploids overflow and periodically stock new ones?

Cost might be the same? Also would be more effective with periodic stocking of younger fish.

Most state agencies don't want the triploids to get out into the public waterways which is why they want to see evidence that your spillways are caged.

Barricading the spillway is a double edged sword due to the potential for blockage that holds water and pushes the dam to it's limits.

Nate, taking a chance of them escaping is not an option to TPWD. That's why we have to jump through these hoops. It's government and they are here to help us. We have to assure that sterile fish don't escape and somehow reproduce and clean out all of the milfoil in the public lakes. We seldom get enough rain to have an overflow but......

Glad I cleared that up?

well my Triploids are in the pond as of yesterday. One thing I noticed though is I don't really think the barrier fence size that the state suggest will do any good untill the fish are a little bigger. They were 12" fish on average I guess. the state says a fence with rectangular openings that are about 2" tall. I think the fish will swim right through this untill they get bigger...

not sure what I should use now.

12" grass carp only stay 12" for about a day. Even in Iowa our May to September growth was 12" to 8 pounds.

I didn't think they would really grow any for atleast 3-4 months being that it is winter. This is the worst time for overflows also.

They will definitely grow and grow fast as long as they have plenty to eat. They will feed all winter, just not as fast as in warm water.
As far as a fence, if TPWD didn't ask you to build one, I don't know that I would. If your pond overflows more than six inches deep over the emergency spillway, grass carp will escape. But, if you choose to build a fence, put it somewhere downstream a little bit so as not to compromise your dam. I have seen several lakes blow out because of a fence across the spillway. Make sure the top of the fence is at least a foot below the lowest point of your dam.