Pond Boss Forums MANAGING AN EXISTING POND Corrective stocking Corrective Stocking in hot weather

I recall a recent thread discussing the best times to stock ponds, but I couldn't find the exact one I remember reading.

I realize that the summer months, especially in the area I'm in (south of San Antonio) which often sees multiple 100 degree days in July and August, are not the best time to stock fish. Knowing this, I decided to push the envelope a bit.

I transported about 25 BG from 4" to 9" in a igloo ice chest complete with oxygen tank and diffuser stone. I left my dad's place around 2 and arrived at my mom's place (east of San Antonio) a little before 4 pm. After traveling in the hottest part of the day, all BG were not just alive, but extremely lively. They out-swam the baitnet on several occassions. All BG seemed to do fine in the Waelder pond based on initial observations. I did add a half-gallon ziploc bag of ice to the water, and I double-bagged it so that none of the melted ice water would escape into the pond water. Obviously, I wasn't stocking very many fish and I did it within a few hours, but I was glad to know they did so well nonetheless!

Here a few pics of the fish and the ice chest.

That's cool davatsa.

I really like this setup. Davatsa, how hard was it to rig up pure O2? I've wanted to do the same thing but keep running into roadblocks in regards to cost and simplicity.

Bruce and Dave, this is the unit that Al rcommended to me when I was researching O2 systems.

Dave, correct me if I am wrong, but this unit is primarily designed for salt water applications and cost exceeds $400 bucks.

My DIY system - thanks to Al:
20 cu ft Oxygen cylinder Ebay $60.00
Guages for ~$50.00
Ultra Fine Bubble diffuser (Aquatic EcoSystens) $55.00
Total less than $200 with Igloo Cooler.

Neat system for transport or O2 livewell...

Thanks for the compliments, guys.

George- You are correct. The system was designed for transporting saltwater baitfish to far away fishing holes. IIRC, it was about $300-350, but it's been WELL worth the money (that's easy for me to say, I didn't pay for it!) In all seriousness, it really has been a huge help. The 'ol baitbucket just won't do in these situations on the Texas coast.

Despite its intended use in saltwater, I have found the system equally useful in transporting freshwater fish. I have moved up to 15 9" LMB, and the most recent trip was the 25 4-9" BG. Average time for me to transport is about 3-4 hours. I'm sure I could haul even more fish for an even longer time, but I've never had a mort and would like to keep it that way. My main reason for posting this was to show that it can be feasible to transport fish using this method, even in July. I had the oxygen output on the second lowest setting...so in theory, I could transport probably four or five times that many fish (or much larger fish) if I were to get a much bigger ice chest. This is basically a scaled-down version of what I've seen the fish hatcheries use when transporting fish. I did not add salt, but I'm sure that would help on a longer trip.

Bruce- George's DIY system seems to be the way to go. The one we purchased was called "Salty Air" System, and you might be able to find it online. We purchased it in Corpus Christi, TX. Otherwise, George's setup with the O2 tank and stone diffuser looks exactly like ours. Just be sure you have a good regulator and that the hose from the tank to the stone is cinched tightly at both ends (as you can see in George's picture). I have no doubt George's system would have the same results as ours. It's really simple and can be done at the costs George listed. My biggest problem is not so much with the system itself, but in refilling the O2 tank. There are very few places who will refill it for non-medical purposes. Kinda puts things in perspective when the other people in line want their tanks filled so that they can breathe, while I just want to go fishing/stocking. It really makes you thank the good Lord for the blessings in life.

At any rate, I'd highly recommend getting or making a similar system. I've even used it to transport bass from the main pond at my mom's to the little pond on the same property. It's nice to be able to fish for a few hours with barbless hooks at my leisure, put each fish in the ice chest as I catch them, not worry about whether they'll make it, and pretty soon have a full load of lively fish to take down the road.

Sorry for the long-winded post. I hope others can have even better success stories than me.

Dave and Bruce, I re-fill my O2 cylinder at the local welding supply store, with excellent service since the guys are fishermen.
It is filled at the rate of 2000#’s and as you know the micropore diffuser requires about 25-30# regulator setting to operate the micro-pore diffuser, which is the key to the whole system. The bubbles are so small that can hardly be seen, giving optimum O2 absorption for a long period of usage.

I usually re-fill after about 12 hrs of usage, and still have about 1000#’s left.
I rely on the system so much don’t want to run short when reviving a 5# HSB.

I have only lost one 4# HSB due to fishing mortality - I just played the fish too long.
Was good table fare tho…..

As Bruce has mentioned several times, HSB will “lock-up” from lactic acid build-up and die unless resuscitated.

I have revived numerous stressed belly-up fish using this system.
Currently our water temps have been running more than 80F, and I have recently transferred 30 HSB from ~85 degree water “grow-out” pond to main pond without a single mortality.

Also as many of you know, I keep photo records of our fish,
When I have a specimen I want to photograph, I put it in the O2 live well, let the fish recover, and photo at my convenience.

My every day schedule is to stop at main pond – put about 10 gallon of water in the cooler, add handful of rock salt, and proceed to “grow-out” pond and add another 10 gallons to cooler.

I pay close attention to detail to attain these results.
I don’t like to kill fish, unless for table fair.

In my opinion a system such as ours is invaluable for fish transport, as well a everyday live well use.

Thanks for you comments.
This discussion is good stuff...