Pond Boss Magazine
https://www.pondboss.com/images/userfiles/image/20130301193901_6_150by50orangewhyshouldsubscribejpeg.jpg
Advertisment
Newest Members
Shotgun01, Dan H, Stipker, LunkerHunt23, Jeanjules
18,451 Registered Users
Forum Statistics
Forums36
Topics40,901
Posts557,100
Members18,452
Most Online3,612
Jan 10th, 2023
Top Posters
esshup 28,417
ewest 21,475
Cecil Baird1 20,043
Bill Cody 15,110
Who's Online Now
12 members (FishinRod, esshup, PRCS, Boondoggle, Layne, Dylanfrely, nvcdl, H20fwler, Bing, Fishingadventure, Angler8689, Sunil), 702 guests, and 194 robots.
Key: Admin, Global Mod, Mod
Previous Thread
Next Thread
Print Thread
#399468 01/31/15 12:41 PM
Joined: Sep 2014
Posts: 3,668
Likes: 57
T
TGW1 Offline OP
OP Offline
T
Joined: Sep 2014
Posts: 3,668
Likes: 57
After building my pond, I have created an area (outside the pond) where water stands for days to weeks. This was caused by building a levy that was necessary in building the pond. I can dig a drain when it dry's out this summer and or I can dig a forage pond that would catch the water coming off the hills drainage for a small watershed type forage pond. The area that now floods was an area used by deer. It is extremely thick of brush to 6' high. The area is about 10 to 15 acres that is now flooded to a depth of 1 to 2 feet.
I do not want to spend a lot of money here, but it might be a good area to build a forage pond and to control the flood area. An overflow would be needed.
So I was thinking maybe forage pond with FHM, RES, Crawfish and grass shrimp. Can they all be added into one forage or would maybe building a figure 8 type pond, where section can be screened off. Clay is @ 4' so I am thinking that will be the depth, and I am thinking maybe 20' wide and 60' long. I would like your thoughts on this and I was thinking this would help my LMB pond grow bigger bass.
Thanks
Tracy

Last edited by TGW1; 01/31/15 12:46 PM.

Do not judge me by the politicians in my City, State or Federal Government.


Tracy
Joined: Jun 2012
Posts: 2,058
Likes: 7
D
Offline
D
Joined: Jun 2012
Posts: 2,058
Likes: 7
Cool idea for sure. Only thing I would be worried about is hitting a weak soil vain that would let your above pond leak into your smaller pond.

If your not worried about that I would get digging. After building my own pond the first thing I was thinking of was where can I build another forage pond. Crazy pond bug I have now too.

Cheers Don.


[Linked Image from corvettejunkie.com]
http://www.pondboss.com/subscribe.asp?c=4


7/8th of an acre, Perch only pond, Ontario, Canada.
Joined: Oct 2013
Posts: 6,086
Likes: 93
S
Offline
S
Joined: Oct 2013
Posts: 6,086
Likes: 93
Here are a couple of small ponds I built last year. They are both multi-species with PK shrimp, FHM and RES in the forage pond and CNBG and RES (and PK shrimp when I get more transferred over from the forage pond) in the sediment pond. The sediment pond is also really a forage pond at least for the time being. If I get tired of managing it for a forage pond will connect it to the main pond and let the fish run together.

These might give you some ideas at least, and there are several links to others forage ponds and sediment ponds.

snrub's forage pond

snrub's sediment pond towards the end of the thread a lot of links to other small forage and sediment ponds.


John

I subscribe to Pond Boss Magazine
Joined: Sep 2014
Posts: 3,668
Likes: 57
T
TGW1 Offline OP
OP Offline
T
Joined: Sep 2014
Posts: 3,668
Likes: 57
THANKS Don !! I was not worried about the big pond seeping or leaking into the new forage pond till you said something about it. smile And then reading snrub's report where he had some seepage from his big pond to his new forage pond. Something else to worry about in pond management errors of oop's.
Snrub, how many pounds of fish have you provided to your big pond since your 2nd yr of experience in forage ponds?
What about crawfish? Did you raise crawfish also, if so, how did that work with the RES? I would think Res would love crawfish. And I could see where crawfish would take up excess fish food from feeding the FHM. Did your RES end up being pellet trained in the forage pond? And the Grass shrimp, I would think the Res would be all over them, how is that working out. And how often do you move forage over to the big pond? What else you got ? lol
Thanks
Tracy


Do not judge me by the politicians in my City, State or Federal Government.


Tracy
Joined: Oct 2013
Posts: 6,086
Likes: 93
S
Offline
S
Joined: Oct 2013
Posts: 6,086
Likes: 93
All good questions but only have partial answers for one or two of them.

The two small ponds were just created last year, the earliest one in late March. So neither pond is a full year old yet. So most of your questions are also my questions that I don't have answers to yet.

No crayfish. I've temporarily nixed the crayfish idea till I see how the PK shrimp do. Thought adding crayfish on top of the PK shrimp might just wipe out the PK shrimp. If the shrimp do wonderful in the forage pond and get established in the main pond, then I might look at crayfish again. I still had some PK shrimp alive this fall, which is a good sign.

Only production I've taken out of the forage pond is FHM to date. Should have RES reproduction spring of 2015.

Will know a lot more about it by the fall of this year. Probably be another year or two before I really know how much if any of the effort pays off.

It is mostly something to keep me busy and away from the bars and chasing wild women other than my wife. Just a hobby. Hobbies are supposed to waste time and money, and so far my ponds are living up to expectations. grin

Last edited by snrub; 01/31/15 09:09 PM.

John

I subscribe to Pond Boss Magazine
Joined: Jun 2013
Posts: 605
Likes: 13
Offline
Joined: Jun 2013
Posts: 605
Likes: 13
Snrub, after going back over your forge pond digs I`m curious what is the exact distance between the main pond and forge?


Forced to work born to Fish
Joined: Sep 2014
Posts: 3,668
Likes: 57
T
TGW1 Offline OP
OP Offline
T
Joined: Sep 2014
Posts: 3,668
Likes: 57
Snrub, have the Res taken to the fish food? And I am also wondering about how big the Res might get in a forage pond, anyone? And do you suspect crawfish might take the grass shrimp out? If I decide to go ahead with a figure 8 plan, I might be able to separate the craws and shrimp or maybe not. They do have legs. Anyone ?
Snrub, I got married in August, so the bars and wild women are days gone by for me to. And I have never found a cheap hobby smile

Last edited by TGW1; 01/31/15 09:30 PM. Reason: word change

Do not judge me by the politicians in my City, State or Federal Government.


Tracy
Joined: Oct 2013
Posts: 6,086
Likes: 93
S
Offline
S
Joined: Oct 2013
Posts: 6,086
Likes: 93
As far as I know the RES have not taken to food. When I feed, I do use both some floating and some sinking, so in case the RES are eating they can get some. I need to get some better quality feed when I start back up again this spring. There is only 32% stuff available locally and so my plans this spring are to order in some higher protein feed. With the large number of FHM, they will clean up anything on the bottom pretty well. I've also caught a few PK shrimp in the minnow (fish food for bait) trap so I suspect the shrimp are utilizing the fish food also.

I only have a small number of RES in the forage pond (since it is so small). The idea is for them to spawn then as the new fry begin to grow take them out when they reach 2-3". The pond is way too small to grow them out, so if I can get them to reproduce will use the sediment pond to grow them larger. It is kind of an experiment.

The crayfish and PK shrimp might get along fine together. But my experience with crayfish is that they are very aggressive. I only bought 400 of the shrimp for this small half of a tenth acre pond. The RES fingerlings and FHM were already in the pond when I learned about the PK shrimp. If I were doing it from scratch would put the FHM and shrimp in together in the beginning, then add any other fish I wanted later after the shrimp were established. If I am finding lots of shrimp this summer, will harvest them as they become available and transfer to the sediment and main pond. After I raise enough to get them established in other ponds where I want them, then may start thinking about the crayfish again. I just wanted to give the shrimp all the advantage I could to get them established, and I already had the RES as predators so did not want to add crayfish also to add to their difficulties.

So that is kind of where I am at. Wait and see. Last summer I saw a couple small nests and RES 4" guarding the nest. I don't know if they were just practicing or if they were successful. I kind of doubt if they had a successful spawn because the male was constantly running off the FHM. Hoping this spring the males will be bigger and be able to keep the FHM better at bay. The RES were not big enough to eat any significant size FHM, so the FHM's had no fear of the RES.

I will likely know a lot more by about early summer. Hope I see several RES on the nests. Then maybe capture RES fry by late summer with a cast net or seine.

Good luck with the new married life. My wife has always given me good advice concerning other women and I have followed it religiously. "Look but don't touch". grin Took me a second try to get it right, but a good woman is one of the best things that can happen to you. A bad one............... well not a topic for PBF. laugh


Last edited by snrub; 02/01/15 09:58 AM.

John

I subscribe to Pond Boss Magazine
Joined: Oct 2013
Posts: 6,086
Likes: 93
S
Offline
S
Joined: Oct 2013
Posts: 6,086
Likes: 93
If you want to know about grass shrimp, TJ and a bunch of other guys have had them for a number of years and can comment on getting them established.

My forage pond is not ideal because since being new has very little natural cover. I did put a bunch of 3-4" limestone rock in the pond though, and according to Shorty the shrimp survived in the bottom of his aquarium in rocks, much to his surprise because of agressive RES in the aquarium. He did not find he still had shrimp till he cleaned the aquarium out and found them in the rocks.

So I have high hopes they will survive and eventually do ok in my forage pond. My big pond has loads of FA and plenty of places for the shrimp to hide, but I also have tons of BG and predators. I hope I can grow enough in the forage pond to get them established there.

One interesting thing about the PK or "Mississippi" grass shrimp, they unlike some of the other species grass shrimp have a pelagic portion of their growth. For I think a week or ten days they float in open water feeding on phytoplankton. My hopes is that as they hatch out this spring and go pelagic, we will tet typical spring time rains when we get flow through in the ponds. I have the overflow from this forage pond via a pipe directly to the main pond. So my hope is that some pelagic shrimp will get washed into the main pond and get them established naturally, even without my intervention via trapping and placing them in the main pond. Like I said, that is my "hope". That may all it ends up being.

Lots of guys on here with much more experience with PK shrimp.


John

I subscribe to Pond Boss Magazine

Link Copied to Clipboard
Today's Birthdays
Bob Lusk, GaryK, GrizzFan, PhotographerDave
Recent Posts
Relative weight charts in Excel ? Calculations?
by Boondoggle - 03/28/24 06:45 PM
Working on a .5acre disaster, I mean pond.
by PRCS - 03/28/24 06:39 PM
Fungus infection on fish
by nvcdl - 03/28/24 06:07 PM
Can anyone ID these minnows?
by Dylanfrely - 03/28/24 05:43 PM
1 year after stocking question
by esshup - 03/28/24 04:48 PM
Yellow Perch Spawn 2024
by H20fwler - 03/28/24 04:29 PM
New 2 acre pond stocking plan
by LANGSTER - 03/28/24 03:49 PM
Happy Birthday Bob Lusk!!
by ewest - 03/28/24 03:37 PM
Paper-shell crayfish and Japanese snails
by esshup - 03/28/24 10:39 AM
Brooder Shiners and Fry, What to do??
by Freg - 03/28/24 09:42 AM
Dewatering bags seeded to form berms?
by Justin W - 03/28/24 08:19 AM
Newly Uploaded Images
Eagles Over The Pond Yesterday
Eagles Over The Pond Yesterday
by Tbar, December 10
Deer at Theo's 2023
Deer at Theo's 2023
by Theo Gallus, November 13
Minnow identification
Minnow identification
by Mike Troyer, October 6
Sharing the Food
Sharing the Food
by FishinRod, September 9
Nice BGxRES
Nice BGxRES
by Theo Gallus, July 28
Snake Identification
Snake Identification
by Rangersedge, July 12

� 2014 POND BOSS INC. all rights reserved USA and Worldwide

Powered by UBB.threads™ PHP Forum Software 7.7.5