Pond Boss Forums POND CONSTRUCTION Creating habitat New pond

Wow, I'm glad I found this forum! It is full of information; and after reading for a couple of weeks, I guess I'm ready to interact.

I spent a lot of time this past Fall and Winter digging my little pond...haven't measured it, but it might be a 1/4 acre or so. It is around 14' deep at its deepest and the sides are as steep as I dare to go on my tractor. Here's a picture at about a quarter of the way through the digging.



I've got to point out that I dug this pond with a little 30hp Kubota with 4WD, and I'm still working it a little as I get time.

Half full:

But here's a couple of pictures of it now:





Now I have to work on getting that mud settled out of the water!

I bought 100 6-8" Channel Cat, 100 Coppernose Bream, and 300 or so fathead minnows from Tommy's Fish Truck out of Romance Arkansas. $107 for all. It was my first fish purchase, so I guess the price was good. The fish looked very healthy, so I was happy.

So, for structure, so far I have added one large mesquite stump with 4x4" holes cut into it.

And I welded up some steel wheels and old pipe.

I placed these and one more on the slope straight down from the tree that I left in the pond. Eventually, that will be in the center of the pond. Right now I'm working on some floating structure for the minnows to lay eggs under. I'll post more pix as I go along.

Welcome to the Forum, Mobilus, and "Nice Job!"

For a second there, I was afraid you were going to use the Kubota for structure.

Welcome to PB Mobilus. I'll bet you are really enjoying your project.(but dont let anyone else know that...if it is work it takes first priority, if it is fun it takes second) Looks good so far.

Thanks, guys! I do enjoy it, and even though it is physical work, driving that tractor has given me a lot of time to get rid of mental stress. So, no, the Kubota isn't ever going to be structure...well, not on purpose, anyway.

I was digging right up until we got the Spring rains, and if I had known to do so, I'd have placed structure while it was still dry. When I placed the aforementioned structure, I had my dad on the tractor, and he pulled it into the middle with a cable as I guided it into place. It's all around 5-6 foot deep, that sound right?

Welcome Mobilus! The structure sounds good. There are a few current threads on clearing up muddy water - good reading.

What are your objectives for the pond?

Hello Mobilus and welcome to pond boss. Wow and your first four posts contain photos! Bravo! I see you're into classic cars as well, there are several of us motorheads on the forum (I'm currently between car obsessions and this moment).

Nice job on the pond. It's always fun to see the pictures of it being built, and even better to see it full of water. Did if fill up quickly?

On your fish. I think that you are a little light on bluegill and minnows. I'm no expert, so I'm just mentioning it, but I think you need allot more feeder fish so they can have time to reproduce before being eaten up by the predators. The cats will eat both, but the bluegill will only eat the minnows.

Of course, if you feed them floating catfish food every day, that would take allot of the pressure off of the minnows until they get a chance to spawn a few times.

Eddie

esshup, I am adding grass clippings starting today...I'm not sure how many is enough or too much. I'm going to try this before adding alum. I will take a water sample in to our hot tub store for analysis...after $7800 they'd better test it for free!

I want to mimic what I remember as a kid at my grandfather's place...a pond that is interesting for kids, comfortable for adults to be around. Maybe some fishing with the grandkids.

Jeff, my Nova has been on jackstands in the shop for a year and a half...but I swear I'll get back to working on it as soon as I have time (haha, been saying that for the past year). I'm remodeling a 1986 Bayliner Capri 1950 bowrider right now. Sometimes, I think I'm ADD...

Eddie, the pond filled up within about three good rains this Spring. Of course, North Texas is beautiful this year. We've had good rain at well spaced intervals.

I jave been feeding about half a coffee can of floating feed every day or two. I don't think they're trained yet, but I have been feeding around the same time (early evening) when I do. Someimes they eat, sometimes it's washed up on the shoreline the next moring.

I'll take your advice on the minnows...next time I hear of a fish truck coming to town, I'll buy again. How many do you recommend?

Thanks for your positive words. Wife isn't as excited about it as I am, but I think that'll change when the water clears and I get some vegetation in and around the pond.

Where are you in North Central Texas?

I don't really know how many minnows you need number wise. When I stocked my 3/4 acre pond, I put in 3 pounds of fathead minnows. They were all very small, but how many make a pound is a mystery to me.

With just a slightly smaller pond then mine, I'd guess that you would want 300 to 400 to start.

It did take awhile for my fish to figure out the food. I had forgotten that they ignored it at first, but reading your post reminded me of seeing the same thing happen. I just kept at it and after awhile, they started eating it. By the beginning of Fall, I had some cats that were well over a pound.

Good luck,
Eddie

Dave, I'm just a little ways out of Wichita Falls, on the southeast side, in Arrowhead Ranch Estates. The best part is that we're in Clay county...and about four miles from Lake Arrowhead.

Eddie, according to the chart that ewest posted, the pound of FHM that I bought had about 300 in it. There were also a few crawfish in the mix.

I'll keep on adding structure and working on reducing the mudiness of the water, oh, and feeding them as well. Oh, do I know you from a tractor forum?

ewest, thanks for posting the chart!

More pix in my next post...I built and launched a small 2x3" floating island.

I read an article recently about a man in Mexico that built his own island using plastic bottles in nets. And I have seen a few floating islands built by folks on this forum using foam noodles and such.

Here's what I came up with:

I took stainless steel wire and wired a bunch of bottles together, usually starting with a larger bottle in the center and securing smaller soda bottles around it. Then I tied them together and adding filler bottles where needed, followed by a squirt of Great Stuff expanding foam in the gaps between...

This made for a very stable mass. I cut out the bottoms of several bottles and took the caps off or drilled holes in them.

I planted Louisiana Bog Iris in three or four holes, and FrogFruit in seven or eight. I also planted a couple with wort, but I think it was in too rough a shape to survive. Then I piled our rather clayish topsoil on top of it (maybe 50 pounds) and used it to anchor the landscaping cloth around the sides.

this is a horribly blurry picture, but you'll get the idea.

Also taking from someone's idea here on PondBoss, I drilled holes through 1/2" PVC pipe and added a bunch of weedeater twine. This was installed on the anchor cable. It should float right up under the bottles.

Again sorry for the blurred picture. I'll go out today and get a picture of it in the pond...we got a nice rain last night, it'll be intersting to see how it survived.

That's pretty ingenious! It looks like it should work pretty good.

Hey Mobilus, that's a great idea for an island, especially the way you put in plants.
A&E's have very creative mind's, that safety wire sure comes in handy don't it.

Really Cool Island. Welcome to the forum.

Thanks again!

Adirondack pond, there's not a lot a crew chief can't do with safety wire!

Here's a couple of photos of it floating in the pond. When the plants mature, they will lay over the sides and cover the island and its sides. If necessary, I can open a few bottle and let some water in, making it ride lower in the water.

adirondack pond, I had a National Guard student come through my class a few years ago; Matthew Harger was his name - a great guy. He was an environmental conservation officer (game warden) for the state of New York, and I think he was stationed in your neck of the woods...don't remember his address.

I know it is a long shot, but do you know him?

The name doesn't sound familiar, but I probably wouldn't know him unless he arrested me,(he's not the one who stopped me for speeding on a snowmobile years ago) I'll ask my wife she's the town clerk and she knows the local encon officers.

Mobilus
Welcome to the forum.
You are doing a great job.
This is the first time I ever heard that Lake Arrowhead is beautiful.
Has the spring rains got the lake full.

Thanks!



It is standing pretty good right now - a lot better than the other area lakes. Kickapoo is only at about 40%, as I'm told. Wichita is, well, Wichita...too shallow for boating and constantly plagued with fish kills. It is more like a cesspool, in my opinion.

Arrowhead is like a woman, sometimes clean and pretty, sometimes ugly and dirty...but loved by those that care about her through it all. If you don't boat it (there are some neat coves), or if you're there after it gets all muddy (from low levels or torrential inflow), I can understand why some people don't think too high of it. It is, however, only four miles from my home, so we experience it at every phase.

The crappie fishing has been great these last few Springs. The Sand Bass are tearing it up right now. And I know people who go for the big old catfish, some of which are in the 40# range. The state park seems to be a lot busier this year; I guess more people are staying closer to home for their camping outings.

My catfish are eating better now. They are cleaning up a half of a coffee can of feed now. I threw out a second half and they didn't even bother it...so I'll just feed 1/2 can now and try increasing it later. Doesn't seem like much for 100 CC 6-8" long.

Just Kidding about Arrowhead. I love it also. Lots of good memories from my youth there.

otto, I didn't take offense at all. There are better lakes around, but over an hour or more away. So we just stay here most of the time. Possum Kingdom, wow, there's a beautiful lake. And we are planning on going up to Lake Texoma for the first time this summer, provided I can get the boat remodel done in time.

Hey, I cut my pasture today, then used a landscape rake to gather some cut grass. When I put it in the pond, it just floated on top, and the wind gathered it all in one area. Will this still help with the muddy water problem?

Mobilus
Where you live the water is not muddy that is just its color.
JUST KIDDING.

I bought a couple of corkscrew willows this past weekend and planted them on the shoreline at the deep end. I've been adding more grass clippings to the water, as well as to the shoreline to prevent erosion.

Anyone have any suggestions on trees that'd grow fast, provide good shade and be good for the pond?

Bald cypress like lots of water and do very well in North Texas..du

Cork screw willow is a pretty tree. Sweetgum and black tupelo are both native and fairly fast growers and prefer moist soils. The swamp white oak is slower growing but a very nice stately tree. All should do well in northern Texas.

Thanks guys! I'll check with my local nurseries and see what I can get a few trees for. I might be able to transplant some sweetgum trees from Alabama next time I go back to visit.

I haven't heard alot of good stories about the rewards of having sweetgum trees. Do the research.

I like sweetgums, but not around a house. They are fast growing, invasive trees with roots that will cause problems on a foundation. The female tree drops spikey round balls all over the place that a lawn mower never seems able to pick up. Those spikey balls are the biggest complaint of them if they are away from a house. The wood isn't really good for anything, but they are a very attractive tree with nice colors in the fall. Here they are like weeds. Mow them down, take them out, do whatever you want to the ground, in a month, they will start growing all over again. I would never spend any time or money on them, but then again, I kill thousands of them every year. I'm keeping plenty of them because they are so pretty in the fall, but given a choice, I prefer a nice oak tree over a sweetgum every day.

Eddie

I like sweetgums, but not around a house. They are fast growing, invasive trees with roots that will cause problems on a foundation. The female tree drops spikey round balls all over the place that a lawn mower never seems able to pick up. Those spikey balls are the biggest complaint of them if they are away from a house. The wood isn't really good for anything, but they are a very attractive tree with nice colors in the fall. Here they are like weeds. Mow them down, take them out, do whatever you want to the ground, in a month, they will start growing all over again. I would never spend any time or money on them, but then again, I kill thousands of them every year. I'm keeping plenty of them because they are so pretty in the fall, but given a choice, I prefer a nice oak tree over a sweetgum every day.

Eddie

Mobilus, welcome to the forum and have fun with your pond. Please let me know what trees you plant and how they do. I have a new pond myself and seeing how you live pretty close to me, I would like to know what trees work for you. Where will your get your trees Smith's Garden Town?

jakeb, I have bought my plants and trees (not that many yet) from Wichita Valley nursery on Southwest Parkway and Barnett. The folks there are kinda like cool old hippies, but they know their plants...especially the native plants, which is what they specialize in.

Thanks for the word on the sweetgum trees. I'll check into other options before going that route. Maybe some post oaks, as they grow naturally less than 30 miles east of my place. The bald cypress was recommended by the nursery owner I know...but it isn't a fast grower, is it?

Since I've added grass clippings and vegetable plants that I pulled from the garden, the water has started to clear near the surface. The suspended mud isn't anywhere near like it was, and the color of the water is more brown than red. So we're making progress there.

I've also started adding grass clippings around the side that is complete, holding off on half of the shoreline because I'll start pulling more dirt from there when I get time this winter.

Oh, the corkscrew willows are taking well...when I feed the CC, I dip a couple gallons of water into each planting. I'll be adding more plantings soon if I can, or I might wait until it starts to cool off. Supposed to be 105 tomorrow.

That is a good picture of a west Texas pond.

So this is an old thread with the last post in 09.
Can you give us an update on how the catfish are doing now (still feeding them and how big are they?)and a picture of the floating island and what it looks like if the plants did well would be interesting.

Thanks for prompting a follow-up on this pond, snrub. I enlarged it a bit, and it seems that it has held water better than a lot of stock tanks because of its shape: long, narrow and deep. It is positioned so that as much runoff as possible is captured, and it has less evaporative potential than a similar sized bowl shape.

I'm very proud of its success. Yeah, it'd be more aesthetically pleasing if the water was clearer, but it is a brown instead of the red clay that was suspended for so long.

I stocked 100 CC, 100 HBG, and FHM in 2009. Those CC are at the 5# size, and very healthy. In 2010, I stocked 50 CC and 100 RES, and those CC are around 3.5#. The BG and RES are hand-sized.


I give them just a half of a coffee can of feed each day. It's kind of like feeding hogs, and always good to watch.



My grandkids and I swim in it some each summer, but my wife won't dare get into "that dirty water". It has been a fun place to spend time with them, and fishing is much better from the dock.



I've got a lot of things left that I want to do, and the most immediate will be to pipe the water from the new shop roof into this pond. Just 1800 sq ft on this phase, what size pipe do you think will handle a decent rainfall?

Define decent rainfall. Have you actually ever seen one? Probably 6 to 8 inch.

Hey, try to stay warm and dry the next couple of days

Ha! That's a good question, Dave! It HAS been awhile, for sure. Just hoping this front is very productive. It's wet and the wind is pretty fierce as I type this...I just want to see torrential rainfall on my place (and the lake watershed).

I've got a fire going and plenty of dry wood...

Nice to hear a success story.

Fish look good, floating island looks good, land island looks good, dock looks good, pond looks good. Life is good!

I remember when I was a kid my dad saying when he built a pond he wanted it deep and with only enough runoff area to keep it full. He said too much runoff area and it silted in too fast, not deep enough and it would go dry in dry weather. Now my dad was not thinking of recreation when he said that (much too practical for that) as a pond for him was something so he did not need to haul water for the cattle. But I still remember his ideas and reasoning in pond building and think they have merit.

Thanks for the compliments! I'm glad to know your dad had the same thought process I used with this one...in good company, I'm sure.

I need to get out on that island and cut down that dead mesquite. And maybe build a foot bridge to it...I know the grandkids would like that.

There's always many projects and never enough time...

I hear that things got a tad cool, wet and windy in your neighborhood.

Dave, they sure did! I saw some of it as we drove south. The front hit home after we left on a trip to Phoenix. I saw freezing rain all the way down I-20 to where it meets I-10. From there to Tucson, it was very windy. From Tucson to Phoenix, it rained all the way. One tough 14 hour trip!

Driving back was easier by far, clear skies, good roads, and I do love that 80 mph speed limit down in south Texas! 80 plus what you think you can afford...that should be the rest of the sign.

No appreciable rainfall though...I think my pond dropped a little while I was gone the nine days.

Father-in-law (78) broke his hip on the morning we were to move him to another assisted-living facility. Parkinson's and a list of other ailments makes for a tough existence. Third or fourth trip this year. We have to take care of family, that's a given, but it's good to be home.

Dang, you made that trip from Wichita Falls to Phoenix in 14 hours?

With all of the sleet, etc., I got 1/2 inch.

Gonna be crummy weather again for a couple of weeks when the front comes in Friday.

Can't do much elk hunting in this stuff..... Count your blessings. That's only 4.5 hrs worth of snow and it's supposed to continut until tomorrow morning.

Scott, can I just pay you a $100 to come down here and say you are hunting? You seem to be bringing weather with you the last couple of weeks.

Hopefully that storm will swing far enough south to hit you.

Hey, you are a good token, esshup!

We are getting a slow but steady rain of sleet and while it isn't a gully washer yet, the heavier stuff is supposed to come in later. I'm proud to get any and all precipitation, regardless of the form it takes on the way to the ground!

I might even get to stay home tomorrow!

I personally prefer rain or snow to ice.

Rain is ok , you can keep the frozen stuff.

I'll be there hunting tomorrow; temp supposed to be 8. That's nuts.

Dang, Dave...you're hardcore!

I got the call this morning that the late reporting set for 10 o'clock was changed...to "STAY AT HOME!!!" Woohoo!

As I drove home from work yesterday, I was once again reminded that the worst thing about driving in north Texas during inclement weather is...


wait for it...


the 50% of drivers (could be a higher percentage) that either go way too fast or crawl along waaaay too slow. When the two get together, there's going to be trouble.

People from other parts of the world laugh in disbelief when they hear how easy it is to shut this area down...working on base, I hear it all the time.

Who's nuts, the 8 degree temperature, or you?

Speaking of nuts, be sure and take along a warm seat pad to your stand.

I'm not that hardcore on hunting. I haven't shot anything this year or last year. I haven't seen anything that I wanted to shoot.

My 15 year old Grandson and his 2 buddies are predators. I've been taking them hunting for years. They are good kids and we are trying to keep them that way. Another of the Kids Dad always comes along and he also hunts. He also likes to cook. He and I haven't even had to gut a deer in years, Those guys do it all like getting the tractor out to bring the deer in to hauling the carcass off. There are a lot of discussions about unprotected sex, drugs, booze, etc. This will be my Grandsons last weekend that he can get away to buck hunt. He hasn't gotten to hunt that much. His stand(popup blind) has a lot of GOOD bucks coming in. We've avoided his area when he can't go. I doubt that we will see much. I don't recall Texas deer having that much enthusiasm for ice skating.

I won't be driving. I cleared all of the ice off the windshield of my pickup yesterday evening. After that was all done, I turned on the wipers and a chunk of one came off. So, the other Kids Dad is driving.

Thinking about it; driving 70 miles one way on ice to freeze our butts off. I have the gear to handle it but I'm the only one who does. I expect that I'll let the Kids use my gear and somebody has to make sure the fire in the trailer house stove doesn't go out. The high temp is forecasted for 22 and somebody has to make the sacrifice.

Dave:

You had to buy a coat sooner or later!

It was -8°F when I shot the cow Elk a few days ago, and the guys from Florida that were hunting were out in -21°F temps. They called home when they got back to the lodge and there was a 100°F temp difference between the two places.

It's not the lack of heat, it's the humidity.

Didn't make it hunting. About 5 miles North of Fort Worth, all traffic stopped due to icy roads and hills. Those hills go for about 100 miles. We were in line for hours until we could get to an exit. In those hours we made it about 1/4 mile. Got back home about 5 hours after leaving. 90% of the traffic was trucks.

I'd have gone crazy! That is one thing that I don't deal with very well...traffic jams. We had to go pick up the grandkids from town today, and even though the roads were slick, the half-bed of firewood for my daughter definitely helped with traction. Getting started was usually pretty easy (except when my wife had to get something from Wally World - that parking lot was slick as snot), but stopping was a little more exciting. When we took them home tonight, I threw 300# of bags of gravel in the bed over the rear axle.

If 90% of the traffic was trucks, I wonder what shortages will appear in stores this week. Just-in-time delivery gets dicey in bad weather.

Oh, both ponds are iced over pretty thick. Wife wants to skate, and depending on how long this front lasts, she might just get to do so. Today made us miss Alaska...

It was about 75% trucks. When we finally got to the exit and could turn around, we looked down and saw trucks. None had chains. They were about 100 yds apart and taking turns trying to get up a small hill. During the wait, we took naps and tried to not think about having to pee.

No tire chains in Texas? What are those guys thinking?

Dave - Holding it? With all that roadside? Not me...not anymore. A full bladder can cause prostate infections. After the second time, and both times direct results of holding it forever in a traffic jam on the interstate, my doc asked me (the second time) if I was really that slow on the uptake of information. That was very PC, and I knew what she meant.

Normally, I wouldn't write about such, but men need to get out the word that such actions like that that we all participate in occasionally are, in fact, harmful to the prostate.

esshup, from my experience in AK, -8 isn't that bad when properly geared up and the wind is low. Here in north Texas, the wind seems to blow constantly and that's the hard part. How does the wind factor into the equation up in Indiana? Never been there (yet).

Wow dave that sounds horrible. Hope it warms up a little for you guys. South of houston we have not hit freezing yet, although looks like tuesday night we got a good shot.

As for mobilus comment about shortages I work in the retail grocery business and it is indeed causing a problem. Major beef and dairy suppliers for texas are located in and around dallas/ft worth and we have already seen major problems with trucks getting in/out of that area to the rest of the state. You probably will see some minor shortages on red meat and dairy products but nothing crazy or extended.

Two soldiers were walking guard duty in Alaska during a blizzard. One looked at the other and said "Man, it's cold here.". The response was "Sure is; Aren't you glad you're not in Amarillo?".

Mobilus, -8°F isn't bad like you said if the wind isn't blowing. It was dead calm or maybe going 5 mph then so it wasn't bad at all. Usually, when it's that cold the wind isn't blowing much here, but we've had times with temps in the negetative numbers and wind, so for here, it could be cold. I've been in -80°+F temps when figuring in the windchill, and that gets dangerous quick.

I think humidity also plays a big role. Today, 29°F felt durn cold with a 10 mph wind, MUCH colder than the -8°F felt.

I would expand your forage base. Maybe add more fatheads and then some golden shiners down the road, Im no expert though. Great looking pond though

Thanks, Culumills123.

I have a very robust FHM population, and the RES and BG spawn seem to be right where I need them now...I occasionally run a dip net off the dock to check (a big salmon hoop that I re-netted with some 1/2" mesh).

I always heard that shiners would take over small ponds, your take on it?

I realized that I never uploaded any pix of the pond since I doubled its size and installed a dock that I built:











And the best part:



Merry Christmas all, and may God's blessings fill your ponds and your lives with goodness this coming year! Mark

A little update on this small pond...



It never went dry during the drought...although it was very low. Had probably 7 to 8 feet at the lowest. This picture is full pool, overflowing to the big pond.



My wife realized her dream of having ducks on it that she could feed and watch the grandkids. We cut out the dead mesquite (yeah, it was so dry here in Texas that a mesquite tree died even though it was surrounded by water) and she wanted to put a doghouse on the island for her birds. I know better than to fight losing battles, so I just said "yes Ma'am" and did it. Soon after, she realized the ducks are perfectly fine without the shelter. When it's hot, they're in the cattails or under the dock.



I brought in a few rocks, and a couple of old slip pans. Slip pans hold a special place in my heart...my granddaddy built a pond with one and a mule a long time ago. We had many good times around (and in) that pond back in Alabama. Rocks, well they are reminders that even hard times can be put to good use.

Slip pan sounds like a fresno.

Slip pans and teams of mules built a lot of public works dams and stripped a lot of shallow coal seams in days gone by. Used to have one laying around. Can't remember what happened to it.

More than once I have thought that old timers that walked behind those things would have thought they had the world by the tail if they had something like your Kubota tractor or about any tractor or dozer.

Dave, from what I found, "fresnos" were of a little more complicated construction than slip scoops (or slip pans, as I know them). They had hoops on the ends to help with rolling the load forward, these slip pans relied on the cutting edge digging in enough to tip the load forward to empty it. Probably wasn't a job for a little feller.

snrub, I have often thought the same thing.

So, what I have a couple of and know as scoops would qualify as a slip pan?

Probably. Post up a picture if you think about it.

I just looked both up and what I have is a 3 point dirt scoop.