Pond Boss Forums INTRO Questions & Observations the beach clean-up and Lake Georgetopia

Zep, in talking to my contracting supervisor buddy a short while ago he said concrete was going for around $100-$120/yd his price in the Chicago area.

Thanks Todd, Today I get the geomatting to control erosion and contain the rye grass seed. After that, minnows go in and then CNBG. Add a little barry white music for mood and.......

Mark, that price seems really high from the prices here. That slab was done correctly. I have never seen anyone move a slab that large. If your pond is shallow in that area, you could form it and block off the water to pour it in place.Good luck.

Well Lake Georgetopia has been covered with Geomatting and Rye grass seed. I got my son to help and here is how the place looks now.

From the side:



From the top:



And from a distance:



I really like the new view as I drive down the driveway.



And here is the new beach area:



And here is the geomatting before we got started:



Don't worry Allen, we did not use it all on lake Georgetopia, there is some left for us to work on the beach....

Well done. It should be green in a couple weeks. You have enough water to add a few FH. That beach is going to be nice. What is the plan for the beach ?

Eric, I hope to be able to have the family or the scouts out there with the canoes and kayaks. I would really like to put in a fire pit out there, we'll see if I can add that to the list of projects! If I get a fire pit, it should be ready for next November!! I know I have enough firewood.....

Further, we will plant a few more trees strategically to enhance the view and utilize the land.

I also expect the BG and others to spawn there the depth and slopes are right and with the "fishing peer" peninsula blocking the wind and waves, that area should be well received by the spawners.

Brian,

How much did the geo mat cost? May be interested in that for my ponds.

Good place to fly fish over the BG beds !

By special permit only.....
Georgetopia...

Brian...you are one busy man.
It's looking really good.
Keep the pictures coming!

Chris I think Brian's on the big bird, but they're around $35. IIRC, they're 8X50 and rated for one year. They worked very well for me last year, and I highly recommend them for any bare earth. Very little rye float after they're laid.

Chris, they were $31 a roll, and they cover 800 square feet. I was impressed with the coverage. I have a few leftover for now.....

George, I can pump water from the big pond to Lake Georgetopia, but I am concerned about getting unwanteds in the new brood pond.

Thoughts? I can pump all day long any day I am out there. I can also pump from the well.

Eric, I can see flyfishing over the beds in my future...... and out by the two bass havens we left out near there.

On the big bird later.....

a bit of thread drift here...but since we are talking "bare earth", "rye grass", ect....

has anyone had much luck "planting" wild flowers?

are some wild flower seeds basically "just throw them out"
and they'll grow?....or do you have to till or plant all of them?

I would love to have a bunch of wild flowers growing at our gate and fence as you drive up....but I'm too lazy to plant them one by one.

something like this would look cool...

Is there any way to "screen" lake water pumped into pond?
Would "unwanteds" survive pump impellers?
Sure would "jump-start" stockers with fertile lake water vs. well water?

Brian, you have done a FANTASTIC job!!!
George

George, my intake for the solar powered sprinkler is screened down to a quater of an inch.

The pump is a four piston setup and I doubt much could get through it, but I would like some input from the experts before I pump from the big pond to the brood pond. But, now is as good a time as any to fill, so lets see what the experts say and we will go from there.

Brian your big pond has got to be near full now isnt it?

Screens will work. Screen the exit point at the pvc or hose and let the water then fall through a small net (like cheese cloth) into the water. Can also use 2 or 3 burlap seed bags for the final screen.

On the front end (lake side) put the intake hose in a 5 gal bucket with holes in the bucket side to let water in and place it in a net or burlap bag with the top of the bucket about 2 inches above the water line. You can put a brick in the bucket to weight it down.

Mark, we are less than 28 inches to full pool in the big pond!! BTW, for blue bonnets, I think you only need to spray the seeds. I see the trucks do it in the hill country all the time. Of course, that is in the hill country, your milage may vary.


Eric, thanks for screen info, that ought to do it. I'll start pumping when I get out there. I have heard different info about FHM's some say do and others say don't, any inputs here?

I will be using this brood pond for CNBG for the big pond.

Do. I'd put a couple of pounds in there. You'd be suprised how many small minnows BG eat. Put some FHM spawning structure in there too, and make it easy to remove when you want to seine out the CNBG.

I was thinking something like this, too, Ewest, but perhaps with some window screen wrapped around the outside to prevent anything from making it in through the holes.

Brian, that view down your driveway is amazing! Absolutely fantastic! Congrats on the progress and be safe flying - remember to keep the greasy side down!

Window screen would work as well around the bucket.

I would add the FH as they will make a good natural supp to feed for the CNBG. CNBG eat lots of yoy/fry fish of all kinds including their own.

Yours will be full soon.
Ours is officially full as of last weekend.
Small trickle was going thru dam overflow pipe.


Wow....that sounds low maintenance like I'm looking for.
I''m gonna try some "Black Eyed Susan" seeds...see what happens.

Mark, I have tried bluebonnets and paint brushes several times to no avail. I have an awful lot of wild flowers and only a few of the ones that I have tried to grow. I have no idea how the Texas Hwy Dept gets them to grow.

Agreed Todd.
Brian has some incredible views on his property.

Thanks Dave.

Last week I bought a pound of Black Eyed Susan seeds.

Gonna try them out around our gate entrance.

See what happens.

Black Eyed Susan Flowers