Pond Boss Forums INTRO Questions & Observations A good day on the water

Yesterday Tracy came over and helped me survey and graph the pond. It was a bluebird day. His graph clearly showed the thermal cline, the structure, and the fish.

Our thermal cline was hard at 12 feet. It was impressive to see on the graph. As for our structure, it looks great. The man maid structure was still looking good. Our walls and humps were right where we put them and showed little sign of erosion or decay. The brush piles we put in the pond were also looking good. As for the 34 stumps we left in, over half had fish hanging on them. But, the deeper ones were not holding fish, the thermal cline was just too far above for them for the fish to use these stumps. Some of the trees that had fallen down were now on the bottom in several locations. These few logs wether pilled or singles were holding fish in water above the thermal cline.

As for the fish. We were trying to see if our crappie could be found. On occasion, we will catch one or two, but it is not very often, so we were on a mission to find them. The good news is we caught around 50 LMB and only two of them were culls. The RW of our LMB still remains high. The bad news, was that we did not catch a single crappie. I am unsure if they did not sustain from the original stocking, or if we just could not find them, but this data point does not look good.

As for our efforts, I enjoyed the day fishing and looking at the data. Tracy was a very informative fisherman showing me several new ways to rig up. We even had some time to talk about George. I got to tell on him a few times. We laughed and agreed George would have loved to have been there to see the results. Few know this, but our original stocking was not from the best stock. George gave me some FLA LMB from his pond after he got to know me. They were all in the one to three pound range. Yesterday, we landed fish up to six pounds. There were a few, and one in particular that were a lot bigger, but our tackle did not hold up in the brush. The biggest danced for us and she looked to be every bit eight pounds or more and around 24 inches long according to my guide. I really wish I could have gotten that one into the boat!

All in all, after three applications of sunscreen, five different riggings, several fish stories and lots of data the day ended. It was a memory I will not soon forget. I am now even more convinced I would like to add some solar powered aeration to the deepest water we have. The LMB are doing well, The BG are doing great. And our CC are also healthy. I do wish I could find a few Crappie as they are my favorite guest on the dinner table.

I also learned that I need to control some of the vegetation. Now I am off to learn about that.

Tracy, thank you for your help and your time, We will have to do that again!

Great report, HF! Any photos?

Yeah, where's the pics????

Nice work guys !! Those stumps and especially trees now below the thermocline will be holding fish this winter and spring. Go back in about 2 mths and see how different the fish locations are. Hope you were marking/keeping water temps.

Are you planning to create a bathymetry map and add the structure on the map?

I do have a few pictures, but I am unsure where to host them. When I get that sorted out, I'll add them.

Eric, I did mark everything and I have the water temps. I'll be back out to check in October and November to see the differences. Hopefully, our knowledge will increase even more.

And the winer is Bob for 62 points, and if he could have added a Q it would have been worth 3X the points!! Yes I intend to create a bathymetry of the big pond. I am trying to figure out how I can have a map showing how the fish move through the seasons. If I know that, and then add some aeration, I should then be able to see if the fish change their habits.

It is a process for sure.

Very cool!! Even cooler with pics!

Try imgur.com . Not account-based like photobucket, but easy to use.

Brian, I would think you have plenty of time to get your aeration into the pond. Fall is really close and winter usually does not show up until Dec through February . I have seen one ice over here and that was in the early 80's. So plenty of time to put a plan together and even longer time before you might add it. I did not want to say need it because after fishing your lake, I am not sure it would ever need it. And your report was good. But, I would reinforce it by saying, it was a "Very Good Day" on the water. Especially if considering it was a high pressure day following a cold front and also fishing a full moon. Both of those can cause a tough day of fishing, and that was not the case.

Guys, Brian may desire more crappy in his pond but any shortage of those fish are more than made up by his quality and numbers of lmb in the lake. But I do hear ya Brian

This is what I am using these days.

Brian, I need to trade you some BC for some Red Ears.

Brian sounds like you need to telemetry the fish using implants. Ask Bob about it. See the Cutting Edge article in PB mag on it a few issues back. Very neat info source. Fish movements were shocking.

I'm always in on spending Brian's money, so I completely agree!

Yep I can see it when a heron flies off carrying with it one of his LMB including the implant.

Not a heron, it'll probably be a Cormorant.
They did that with HSB in a Raccoon Lake in Indiana. The migration pattern for a year opened some eyes. For a while it was on the DNR website but I can't find it now.

Sounds like a great time Brian.

Nice when a plan works out.

John,
The day was one of the good ones. The plan seems to be working well, but there are things to improve. It is most definitely a process. But I love it.

I caught a 8-9 the other day and put them in my holding basket. Will continue to catch more in the next few weeks if you want to transport them. Otherwise I will fillet them or give them to some friends.