Pond Boss Forums GENERAL QUESTIONS Muddy water Detenton pond muddy water

I am moving to a 4.5 acre detention pond/lake in March but have fished there many times while they are building our house. There are about 8 houses on the lake and when it rains the water runs off from the street into the lake via drain pipe.

The lake itself is about 7-8 years old and it has stayed muddy most of the fall and winter. We fished alot there late last summer and the water clarity was much better....probably a 1 or 2 foot visbility with a green tint not brown like it is now. We caught alot of nice bass out of it over the summer but since it turned muddy the fishing has been bad all winter (and we've had alot of rain). So I'm not sure how long it takes to clear up after a rain (if it ever will naturally).

Couple of questions = I did the mason jar test and the water settled/cleared completely in about 3 days. Does this mean that I would not need chemicals to help clear the lake? Shouldn't it clear up within a few days of a rain since the jar did? So far it hasn't cleared all winter. I know there are bullheads in the lake we've caught about 30 so far so maybe thats part of the problem. Also being that its a neighborhood lake would we need to fertilize it since it gets alot of runoff from yards that have been fertilized?

I'm just looking for a way to keep it fishably clear for bass but not sure if its even possible since its a detention pond. Thanks for any advice or opinions!

If the water cleared in the jar, it shouldn't need chemicals to clear it in the pond. Something is keeping it stirred up. It could certainly be the bullheads. I'm picturing that runoff rainwater from the streets and yards goes into the retention pond pretty quickly when it rains, and does not continue to run in over a long period of time. If the pond does get runoff over an extended number of days, maybe that is keeping the mud suspended.

Having residential yards in the watershed means it's quite likely there will be a high level of fertilizer in the runoff, at least seasonally. I think you might need to observe the pond over the course of a year to see what's going on before being able to develop a complete management strategy. It sounds like you have data from most of a year now. I'd continue to observe and fish during the warm months in 2007. You may find out how bad the undesirable species problems are (anything bad besides BH?) and water conditions in the Spring/Summer may warrant water quality tests.

With community water there are other issues to contemplate. You can find out what the pond neighborhood thinks wrt managing it (Does anyone care? Are there fishery goals which are at odds with your own? Does anyone even realize the capabilities and impact of managing a pond?). Is there a tenant's association which would be responsible for setting/enforcing rules like size and number limits? You may need to educate your neighbors-to-be about such matters.

Thanks Theo. The neighborhood assoc is kind of a cluster. Two different assocs. and also 1 Private individual that owns the entire north side of the lake. So its messy there.....and I'll have to work thru it.

The only species known to be in the lake are Florida LMB, Channel cats, Bream, Fathead minnows, and the Bullheads. I need to go on a bullhead removal mission.....maybe even some traps.

After a rain the water dumps in fairly quickly and does not string out over several days. There is no vegetation in the lake as it is too muddy for light to penetrate. Also any water coming in also goes out quickly via underground pipe to a bayou a half mile away.

Its good to know that chemicals are likely not needed since it settles out on its own. I'll have to watch it this spring and see after a couple weeks of dry weather how it settles. Thanks!

If there is a lot of new construction, you can expect a lot of disturbed dirt that will wash in. It will stay suspended for awhile. Once the rainy times end, the suspended stuff will have time to settle.