Pond Boss Forums INTRO Questions & Observations water level falling affecting spawn?

i am still worried about my newly constructed pond leaking. it is raining non stop here so the lake is full but i am sure it is leaking.i am just not sure how fast the water level will drop once all the rain leaves and hot weather arrives.

my cnbg and fatheads were stocked feb 5th and both are starting to spawn now. i see the fatheads underneath rock ledges twisting and turning doing their thing. i started seeing bg beds in the last week.i actually saw a small school of fry today. probably fatheads if i had to guess.

questions is,,at what point can falling water level affect their spawn? if the beds get too shallow too quick do the eggs die?

i guess i should have asked how long it takes for bg eggs to hatch

Scott,

I am not a pro but IMHO you have nothing to worry about. The spawn will be fine unless your leaks are huge and your BG spawned in 6 inches of water.

Bill D.

Fish deal with falling water all the time in natural systems. It can effect them but unlikely. Most fish eggs hatch in 10 days or less +- depending on water temp.

I do know on our man made lake up north the Lake trout have been hurt really bad with low water level spawning. The Lake is 54 miles long and there is many land owners on the lake, but we do not have ownership of the water. A company owns the water for hydro. They open the dam in the fall to make power when this happens if the Lake trout have spawned in the shallow gravel beds the eggs die.

Now the hydro company gets fined if they let the water out of the dam out of their allotted time. It takes about a month to drop the water four feet. They need to drop the water before the trout spawn now or wait until the fry has hatched.

Cheers Don.

Scott, I would imagine your fish will build nests in enough depth to not be bothered by lowering waters...just like I wouldn't think the lake trout would get hurt bad, since they typically lay eggs in flowing water.