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Will, it's going to get pretty cold here in E Texas in the next day or so. Weather guys are talking in the teens. So, it got me to thinking about pond forage adjustments in about 60 days or so. And in order to think things out, I thought I would throw this out there for some discussion. First off, I found a 2 to 3 lb Tp dead and floating yesterday. I thought they had been gone for a couple of weeks, guess not. I also found a 1" tfs dead and floating next to the Tp. I think that was a fluke and not that all the tfs are dead. Its not that cold yet, but it might be in a few days after this cold weather passes. I will be checking temps after this cold spell. So, here is where my thoughts are this morning. With a little history, last March we did an e-shock survey and found out I was short of 2 to 3" cnbg. I expect the same this coming March 1st. Hay, they have been feed on all winter with no reproduction. I did see a 2"er about two weeks ago, dead and floating, so I know I had a late spawn of cnbg. Anyway, low numbers of small cnbg expected and if my tfs don't make it? Last year the tfs help me get through the low cnbg numbers. But if no Tfs, then where to start with inserting more forage into the pond? If I wait till April for Tp, that is a month or more with a low forage count and my lmb will or may be coming up short on Wr. And that is not the desired path I want. I have been thinking of restocking the Tfs and will do it if suppliers don't lose their breeders due to cold weather. I have also been looking at Gshad, I think most of my lmb(15 to 17") are in the size range needed for gizzards and some of my Hsb are getting close to being big enough to help in control of the gshad. But I have also given some Gsh some serious thought, instead of Gshad. I am thinking I can get one or so of the forage fish into the pond by mid Feb. Just thinking outloud here guys. Where to go from here?


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Tracy I think the overnight temps are made worse by the daytime temperature staying low with lots of clouds. It don't look any better for the week coming up. I had a small school of tfs this summer but probably will lose them . I have golden shiners - I think- that will help fill the void . I guess we will have to wait until spring to see who survived...... fun ain't it.

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Pat, Fun, I'm not so sure. Don't get me wrong, I love the pond but it has made me a Worry Wort frown I never worried about much before the pond. But to reach my goals I worry about this and worry about that. You know, things like when to stop feeding, water to cold or water to green. Is there the right amount of forage and is the forage the kind of forage to grow Big lmb and big Hsb? Soft rays or spiny rays, can they get it in their mouths without choking? Are they burning too much energy with too small of forage? And what about how many pounds of predators per acres are in the darn pond? I have yet to figure that one out. And oh yea! How cold is the water, are my TFS going to make it? lol Ok, Pat, how do you like the Golden shiners? I have some in my forage pond and I have seen one in the big pond(from bucket stocking 3 yrs ago). But I was thinking if the TFS go by the wayside, then what about heavy stocking of GSH and in doing research, the Gshad may not be a bad deal considering my goals. I feel like a flip flop, not knowing which way I want to take the pond when it comes to forage.


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LOL

Tracy......

Deep breath, take two issues of Pond Boss Magazine, and call Dr Bill Cody in the morning if conditions do not improve. laugh

I don't think your conditions are serious, but you may need professional help. grin


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It's funny and I am glad I can laugh at it all smile I wished I was down in the Carib with ya. We used to make a lot of trips down there. And it's cold here. I told my wife I was ready to go back, I love wade fishing for Bones and I snorkel now, much easier than all the tanks etc. She told me we have done enough traveling lol. She does not want to leave the Great grand baby. I love the kid but it was not in my plans to raise another. I would much rather be where u r at snrub.


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I miss going out to my own pond each day, but not when there is weather at home like there is now.

Only ice I want to see is the cubes in my drink! grin

I see a school of bonefish out here in the shallows every once in a while.

Daughter just came down today so will be diving with her for a couple weeks.

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Tracy, I don't see the shiners unless the pond overflows, then I scoop them up downstream. Sometimes I see small fish jumping out in open water with a larger fish after it, really not sure what they are but guessing that since it's a single fish and fairly fast it's a shiner but I might be wrong. Agree that you should take a deep breath and look to the east in the morning -- the sun will come up-- meaning don't make this work , have fun and see what happens and then make adjustments. Mother Nature is purdy sharp.... just needs a little tweaking now and again. IMO (not very Valuable)

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Great pics ! TGW take time to smell the roses and don't worry so much.
















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Tracy,

What to do for sustainable supplemental forage is always an interesting discussion to me. Up here, the easiest to source are GSH. You guys have TFS, GSH or GSD to choose from. I understand the GSH have the ovarian parasite issue after their second year but besides that they seem to be an easily maintained forage. Is having GSH 2 years+ that put their energy into growing larger for your LMB instead of spawning a bad thing? My understanding is TFS can be difficult to maintain, move, source, etc. so what is the attraction of TFS over GSH?

Snrub,

Great pics! My compliments to your bride!


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Ewest, "smelling the roses" I do take that time smile but when we have hard freeze cold weather warnings here it gives me time to set back and plan ahead "just in case" lol. Hay, do u guys north of here get winter weather warnings? Snrub, never seen a lion fish in the wild, Tell the wifey nice pics. And what size or weight are the bones u see, if u had to guess? Bill D, I ask the same question when it comes to the GSH and the TFS. I expect to lose my TFS every 3 or 4 yrs and so I am looking at the Gsh and maybe next year the Gshad. I did have or I do have around a thousand GSH in my forage pond, not sure how they are doing right now.


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The bonefish schools I see are working the 10'-20' deep water sand/rubble from the shore line to the reef drop off. I think it is probably one or two schools that work this area of the island. Usually in groups of 10-15. They will spread out some to feed on the bottom but stay within close proximity. If you spook then they will gather up and leave. A very wary fish. Most in the 18" size range give or take. No good on guessing their weights.

Fifteen years ago lionfish were rare to non existant in the Caribbean. Now I see one on virtually every dive and often several. Lionfish hunters regularly spearfish them and keep the numbers relatively low to keep them from getting out of hand, but there is no getting rid of them. They have been spotted around Bonaire to almost 600' depths by submarine survey. Have friends that will come out to this house reef and thin them if I start seeing too many. He likes to make ceveche with them but I prefer my fish cooked. grin They are very tasty with a light flaky flesh. They are served on the menu on the island at several places. To clean them you simply use a pair of scissors to clip off the poisionious spines, then they clean like an ordinary fish. Get hit, even scratched, by one of the spines and it is very painful for quite a while. Something similar to what a bumble bee sting might be. Super sharp solid spines surrounded by a skin tube with the poision rising up around the spine via the tube. They are very docile because of their lack of fear of predation. If they have not been shot at by a spear gun (they learn quickly if missed) you can get within a couple inches of their spines. They just watch you and flare their spines out like in the picture. They also use their fins (only a few of the fins have poisionous spines) flared to herd small fish into ambush. They suck their prey in like a LMB. Pretty fish though.

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Eric and others, It's cold outside so I'm inside and thinking things over and wanted an opinion. Look see what u think. My pond will be 3.5 yrs old this coming April. A little over 3 acres. And I was just wondering what u thought about adding a good number of GSH along with Tp to the pond this spring (April 1st)? As of right now, I see the pond like this. Good numbers of 5" to 8" cnbg along with some res( I see 5" size on occasion but never any larger ones). HSB in the 10" to 17" range guessing somewhere between 30 to 40 maybe. The HSB count is based on 2 and a half yrs of stocking around 20 each spring and fall along with counting the dead ones I find floating over the last couple of yrs. The LMB, I am pretty sure I am at or around 30 to 40 lmb per acre at a 2.5 pound average. I am pretty sure I have around 3 or 5 lmb in the 5 to 6 pound range. Pond has a lot of small TFS and not many breeders, and after this cold spell I may not have any. One thing I have noticed with the TFS is they seem to run pretty small and that tells me the larger ones are getting hit pretty hard. Larger size, I'm talking 3 to 4" range. I would like to see some 4 to 6" sized TFS or GSH in the pond. So, looking at this I might be predator heavy but HSB and LMB look really healthy. So, I was thinking of getting some larger sized GSH along with some 2" sized and adding them to the pond. If I can find some larger sized GSH. I also plan to reduce lmb numbers through fishing and removing males, starting late February.


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With using normal stocking numbers (which you likely don't have - you have more) you are at the point where initial growth is maxed out. The fish will still grow but pond has reached carrying capacity. So harvest and population mgt is now critical. Watch the results of RW , catch results and electroshock closely and harvest accordingly. I think you are on point with adding or improving forage size. TFS are great for small to med sized LMB but not for big (5+ lb) LMB. TFS don't live long 2 yrs max and 6 in is about the max and only for a %. You might want to drop back on HSB #s to 10 for a year or two and assess #s and mortality. IMO 100 HSB or less is enough in your situation. Remember that the status of your forage is a good indicator of what the predators look like. If larger forage declines it likely means those 4-5 lb LMB don't have enough to eat to grow bigger. They need 6 to 8 inch forage. Do not remove your initial LMB and harvest from gen 2 and 3 etc. That becomes harder to do (id original stockers) as the 2 and 3 yr olds get to 4-5 lbs. You will likely need larger GSH and tilapia as you move forward.
















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Thank you Eric. I agree with your forage recommendations. I feel like I need to increase the size of the forage fish, with the exception of the CNBG. I am watching CNBG size and their numbers for any indication of reduced numbers.

Here is a little more background information. Pond was originally stocked Fall of 2014 with 1,000 cnbg per acre and 600 res per acre along with 90 lbs of fhm. Followed by spring stocking of Camelot Bell fingerlings. Ten months later in March 2016, we shocked pond and discovered low lmb numbers, We shocked up 5 lmb, two had crazy growth at 3.5 lbs in 10 months. We restocked with 100 lbs of yoy Texas Lonestar Legacy LMB, (10 to 14"). We followed up with another shock a year later(last March) and returned 25 lmb back into the pond. We did not have lmb reproduction in 2016. We added another 100 lbs of yoy lmb in the 10 to 14
" size with the plan to monitor and remove males or low performing lmb.

I hope this gives a better picture of the lmb in the pond. And as far as additional forage, I went with 12 lbs per acre of Tp last April. It seemed to work out, any recommendation on stocking numbers this next April? And what about numbers of GSH, any suggestions?


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That is some serious amount of forage stocked!


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Originally Posted By: snrub
That is some serious amount of forage stocked!


Snrub, We went with around 40 cnbg for each lmb fingerling stocked. Greg Grimes numbers so to speak. And then we had low survival of lmb fingerlings for the next 10 months and that gave up more cnbg forage. And with 3 TH feeders going the cnbg stayed pretty healthy.

When we did the shock last March our WR average on the lmb was 120. But like Eric said, we are maxed out(most likely) right now and will need to do some culling as soon as the water warms up on mid to late Feb. But here is something I learned from Al(fireishot). Al and I met at the PBC in Dallas on lake Ray Hubbard. While visiting on the patio area, he told me when forage numbers are high the lmb are harder to catch. He was right on! I don't know if it is due to high forage rates or because the lmb are 100% Florida but they can be hard to catch most of the time.

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Well it stands to reason, if a LMB is well fed and not hungry, it is less likely to strike for hungar reasons at least. We know they strike for other reasons also, like territorial. But if I were surrounded by smorgasboard all day, it would be hard for someone to tempt me with another piece of food.


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Originally Posted By: TGW1
Ewest, "smelling the roses" I do take that time smile but when we have hard freeze cold weather warnings here it gives me time to set back and plan ahead "just in case" lol. Hay, do u guys north of here get winter weather warnings? Snrub, never seen a lion fish in the wild, Tell the wifey nice pics. And what size or weight are the bones u see, if u had to guess? Bill D, I ask the same question when it comes to the GSH and the TFS. I expect to lose my TFS every 3 or 4 yrs and so I am looking at the Gsh and maybe next year the Gshad. I did have or I do have around a thousand GSH in my forage pond, not sure how they are doing right now.


We get the hard freeze warnings for the very first hard freeze here in KS.

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The reason F-1s were first started by hatcheries was because they had clients with Fla LMB stocked for several years and could not catch them. They called and told the hatcheries that they had no LMB and when the electroshock survey was done there were hundreds of large very healthy Fla LMB that no one could catch.
















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Western Kansas can get cold when adding the wind chill up there. Whew!
And Eric, I may add some Northerns to the pond in the future but for right now the path I chose may be working out, it's just to early to tell. I think the Texas Lonestar Legacies from Todd Overton would be more catchable if there were not so much forage. It' kinda of like shooting myself in the foot so to speak. In order to have extra large lmb in the shortest possible time, it takes high forage count of the correct size forage. And when doing that, it may make the lmb harder to catch on artificial baits. At the PBC on Ray Hubbard they spoke of Couch potato bass, never have to get off the couch to eat. I was new to all this and did not realize they might be harder to catch. Hay! So I might not be the sharpest pencil in the box. smile So, the purpose of the Hsb was to add additional, fast growing, hard fighting catchable fish to the pond. But, as I take this path I come to a part of the road I need assistance or support in my game plan, it is sure nice to have you and others here to help. Like Bill D asked, what is the attraction of TFS over GSH? I had or have the TFS but now I think I need the larger GSH. And if I go with the GSH and add them to a pond that has had no reproduction of lmb in the last two springs, how is that going to play out?


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Originally Posted By: TGW1
And if I go with the GSH and add them to a pond that has had no reproduction of lmb in the last two springs, how is that going to play out?


I may have missed it, but why has there been no LMB reproduction in the last two Springs? Just curios.


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A couple of possibilities as I understand it for no reproduction. Too many cnbg in a new pond that has no vegetation for the fry to survive. Cnbg are eating the fry. 2nd, when there are high numbers of bg the lmb will not nest, knowing there will be no reproduction. Sounds crazy doesn't it?


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Wow! That does sound pretty crazy!


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Originally Posted By: TGW1
A couple of possibilities as I understand it for no reproduction. Too many cnbg in a new pond that has no vegetation for the fry to survive. Cnbg are eating the fry. 2nd, when there are high numbers of bg the lmb will not nest, knowing there will be no reproduction. Sounds crazy doesn't it?

Tracy, you know this is the same scenario as the almost mythical female only LMB pond. I hate this for you, but I am interested to see how this all plays out.

Are you getting another electroshocking this spring?


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TFS are good for small to medium sized LMB but big LMB don't tend to focus on that size forage. GSH get much bigger than TFS but they are not easy to establish in an existing LMB/BG situation. Also hatchery raised GSH can have reproduction problems. Tilapia may be your best option.
















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Al, it has been interesting to say the least. smile If I were to do it all over again, and stayed with the high forage stocking rates, I would have used yoy lmb for the first stocking of lmb and not fingerlings. Or I would have built the forage pond earlier and grown out some of the legacy's, like u did. Hind sight is 20/20. Todd Overton has really helped me out, he found me some legacy yoy that we used to restock and they seem to be doing well in the pond. And on the e-shock I am going to wait till next fall unless the lmb wr/rw is real low and then I may do a shock to remove some of them. Al, did u add small Tp from Todd Overton this past fall?

Eric, around this time last year, I read an old post where Todd Overton said 12 lbs of Tp per acre was a good number for lmb/bg ponds. And that is what I did last April. Looking back since last April, I would see a couple of small schools of 2 to 3"Tp hanging out in an area of the pond daily. And by Sept, I would see a school of 25 or so 6 to 7" Tp at two of the feeders. If I read it correctly, I produced enough Tp but it was with the TFS. This year I will be surprised if I keep the TFS, if that's the case and I do not add the GSH, would you have a number(ponds per acre of Tp) in mind? I would like to see what u think? Maybe 15 lbs per acre? Or maybe hold off and see what kind of bg production I get and then add Tp come Oct. It would keep biomass down, what u think?


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Tracy, I didn't. I really don't have a pond budget per se, but I dropped a ton on the floating dock, so I passed on fall tilapia and winter trout. No big projects scheduled, so I will do the fall tilapia again this year. CNBG recruitment really seemed to have popped this last spring, with tons of small CNBG hitting the feeders. I can't help but think the sacrificial fall tilapia were a big part of that.

I can't offer up any tilapia stocking numbers for you, but I did put around 400# in the big pond in 2016, so 35# to 40# per acre? The majority of those were grown out here, but I may not do that again. Right before I pulled our tilapia for the 2016 fall stocking, I was feeding 50# of Cargill every 3-4 days. I can buy a lot of tilapia, and save tons of effort, by just buying them instead.

Tracy, our ponds are very different, but here's my reasons for stocking forage the way I do. TFS? My water's not fertile enough to support them, and my big pond's froze over this morning, so I can't even get a surface temp. Either scenario means an annual restocking. GSH? Although I want them badly, they're egg eaters, and CNBG recruitment is still my main priority. GSH have the "potential" to affect that, so I'll wait until electroshocking, and personal observation, show that my CNBG base is rock solid. Having said all that, I always come back to tilapia as the best supplemental forage option for me. Best bang for the buck as Todd calls it.


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Al, I understand our ponds are very different. Heck, I don't know another pond that acts like mine. Todd Overton told me from the very beginning, he only knew of a couple of people taking similar paths. Not knowing what I did not know, looking back, I think Greg Grimes was using feed trained lmb when he used high forage numbers. I should have used yoy and would recommend to anyone going this route to use yoy lmb when doing lmb stocking with high forage numbers.. And like you, my cnbg had a large spawn where I saw close to a thousand 2 to 3" cnbg last June. There were so many the GBH did not fight over territory, they would not chase off another GBH just 20 foot away. And, as I said earlier, I'm getting spawns all the way through Sept. POND BUDGET, What's that? lol!! I never had one of those but I am starting one this year. I have to or it becomes a money pit! I was happy to read Eric's recommendation on the Tp because like u, I am concerned about GSH being egg eaters. But I would like to have some 5 to 7"er's in the pond. But , there goes that pond budget!!


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Al in most cases of an existing pond I would not worry about GSH being egg eaters any more than the following fish doing exactly the same (BG , RES , tilapia , LMB and most others). Again it is not easy to establish a GSH population in an existing LMB/BG pond and they can have reproductive problems as well.

TGW it is hard to provide easy tilapia stocking #s as it depends on your water and predator situation. For example stocking 4 inch tilapia into a pond lacking larger forage and full of 3-5 lb. LMB could be a challenge.
















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Originally Posted By: ewest
...TGW it is hard to provide easy tilapia stocking #s as it depends on your water and predator situation. For example stocking 4 inch tilapia into a pond lacking larger forage and full of 3-5 lb. LMB could be a challenge.


Eric, I completely agree. That's one of the reasons we started waiting until later in May to get our spring tilapia. Fewer tilapia per pound, but the larger size gives them a better chance of survival.


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Eric, In the past we would stock 6 to 8" Tp and never had to worry with the lmb or hsb eating the breeders. And last year 12 lbs per acre looked like a good number for stocking rates. I really need to look at the size of the lmb this year prior to stocking. I am thinking the 6 to 8" would work again this year. Even the largest lmb have been heavy in the past but their mouth was not what I would call large mouthed bass. I am betting the lmb are feeding on 3 to 5" forage. And last year Overtons introduced me to their Hawaiian Gold Tp. They threw some in with the Moz. Tp. I really liked those Tp, easy to see in fertile waters,

Last edited by TGW1; 01/05/18 09:44 AM.

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I would stay with that size tilapia. The question becomes what size forage are those tilapia producing. If they are producing over the summer 3 inch offspring then what size LMB does that help? The same ones as the TFS - small to med sized 10-14 inch LMB. If that allows more 3-4 inch BG to survive and grow to 6-8 then mission accomplished. In any situation it is key to look at the whole food web in relation to the goals.
















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Eric, "Key is to look at the whole food web in relationship to the goals". And that was my question when I started this thread. I do not want to beat a dead horse here. I understand what you are saying. Fact is, after this discussion I have changed my mind and will not restock the TFS this year. My lmb are larger now, so are the HSB, and the TFS are to small to fit my goals at this time. Now, if I was seeing some lmb reproduction I might restock the TFS. Or I might try to catch some larger wild TFS just to see if I can. I am thinking of what Al said about a pond budget. Tp(the gold ones if I can get them) will be restocked this spring. Just not sure of the 12 lbs per acre. It seemed to be good last spring and I may just add some GSH even though they may not establish in the pond. They should help in the open water for the hsb. Al, you had to bring up "pond budget" smile


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Tracy, you're getting there, so stay the course. You don't need no stinkin' budget. I only do it because I'm scared of my wife.


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Al, I've met your wife. Do not be scared. Be worried, she would be hard to replace, she is Pretty and Attractive. And you, not so much! And she could wind up with half of your lmb pond. smile For me, I don't have the ability to keep a wife happy, so if you do, you are a better man than me. I get fussed at most every day smile


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Tracy, she grew up in Houston County, so she could probably take me in a no holds barred cage match.

I am a tad unkempt.


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I would think the B word qualifies as offensive language on this forum and could get you kicked off!


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I made it to the pond today, first time in a week after this cold spell. I found a couple of breeder sized TFS floating. But I also found the pond water still with an excess green water color. Now going on 90 days of this excess green water. Visibility was at or around 9". I was hoping the cold water would kill of the plankton bloom, it has done so in the past. I have to take care of this before I add anything else to the pond. Plans are to catch a water sample today and get it sent off for a water test. I am frustrated to say the least. Awhile back I got a sample and did a jar test and found decaying material floating in the sample after a day or so. I am now thinking of Alum to reduce the phosphates and or a chemical to kill off the plankton by treating 1/4 of the pond at a time. And I am still fighting a drought at my place. I have had one decent rain a couple weeks ago and that was the only measurable rain have seen since last June. Pond came up about a foot but it is still close to two foot from being full. I am pretty sure I can say "It sucks" I need some more rain.


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No hurricane water ? Hope the water test tells us more. Can you estimate what % of your pond vol is missing.
















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No Hurricane water, turned east before it got to my place. I misspoke earlier, I had a two inch rain in early Aug and 3" in late Dec. And that is it! We had two big rain fronts come through in Dec. One gave me the 3 inch rain and I missed the second one, it went just north of me. Right now, I am down 2.5 foot from syphon point and a good foot down from normal pool. My neighbors, one of them is a dirt contractor and both agreed we are way down from our norm. We should be getting 4 to 5" per month right now. With the ongoing drought I ran a lot of well water the past 6 months. The well water has never caused the excess blooms before, so I don't think it is a contributor now. I ran a lot of well water when filling the pond 3 yrs ago.

I have a question. When treating for excess plankton blooms, would one add the algaecide (1/4 of the pond at a time) prior to treating excess phosphate, or visa versa? And during this time of year my DO is most likely the highest of the year, so this would have to be the best time to use an algaecide? Old threads talk of a product Phoslock, any newer reports on this product? I could do nothing but that would be poor pond management I would think.

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I would suggest you do an experiment with about a 100 X 100 portion of the pond in shallow 3' water and see the results of reducing the plankton. I have doubts on treating plankton in winter on normal ponds (yours is not acting normal) but it is worth a try. Pick a calm area with wind blowing away to test.
















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Originally Posted By: TGW1
...Al and I met at the PBC in Dallas on lake Ray Hubbard. While visiting on the patio area, he told me when forage numbers are high the lmb are harder to catch. He was right on! I don't know if it is due to high forage rates or because the lmb are 100% Florida but they can be hard to catch most of the time.


Tracy, this might be an interesting read, especially section 3 dealing with private waters.
http://texasfishingforum.com/forums/ubbthreads.php/topics/12503271/1


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Thanks Eric for the suggestion, and I agree the pond is not normal, never has been lol. Would you mind if I asked what algaecide might work best in this situation? Plan was to do a sample area and please remember I am the pond mgr good or bad. it's all on me. smile PM if you want.

Here could be a kink in the chain so to speak. The product I added last Oct had a sun screen and I could be seeing a combination of screen and/or plankton. Screen was to produce a 12 to 14" visibility. Possible to produce less visibility? but was told no, I wonder?

Al, I am a member of the DD team, just not the 15lb club lol. I remember the old days on fork. There is a hump there where three cedars grew, known as Tracy's hump. Most had to guided into there and would not take their boat. Back in those days my boat was made to fish from and not to just look at. Those Champions back then were tough boats. smile


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Tracy, I like reading about the LMB movement stuff. I've got the first book here somewhere, and it's a pretty good winter afternoon read too. John Hope's got a book that was done at Houston County lake with transpondered LMB. That's interesting for sure.

It's cold, wet, and I'm bored.


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I am enjoying the rains right now. I need one of those weeks where it rains nice and steady. And my wildlife food plots are going to enjoy this weather. They were looking pretty bad and needed a good rain.

I had a meeting yesterday with Dr.Changyoon Jeong, Ph.D. Assistant Professor of Soil and Water Quality at LSU Ag Center Research & Extension. We talked about my pond along with several ponds and lakes that are experiencing excess algae problems around our area. I have a water sample from the pond but it has to be mailed in and after testing we will set down and discuss the results. Results will be back to me in 7 to 10 days. He also wants a soil sample from the pond bottom. We discussed his upcoming study (this spring) using a similar product to what I used to treat excess nutrients. He told me the company will not discuss what is in their trade secret treatment. It is a microorganism nutrient eating product. The professor told me the company and the product but I will hold off for now telling the brand name. But will be happy to post results after his research and testing.


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Outstanding decision Tracy, please keep us in the loop.


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Good plan. I thought you had soil sample analysis already ? That won't change a lot over time absent major soil additions.

Tracy and all - a suggestion - consider getting this book.









Chapter

3. Physiochemical Characteristics of Ponds (Claude E. Boyd and Christopher A. Boyd)

Claud Boyd is the preeminent professor on pond/lake water , soil, etc.

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Eric, u have a good memory, me not so much. I forgot to go to Mr. Lusk's Facebook yesterday evening. And I did a soil sample in and around the same area of the pond about 5 yrs ago for seeding wildlife food plots. I just remember it needed lime. Other than that I have CRS. frown Going back to my meeting with Dr. Jeong, his first recommendation was to add aeration to the pond, told him yep, done that. Also discussed the high cost of adding nutrient eating Microorganisms . He has been involved in a large neighborhood lake where the cost was to expensive to treat. We discussed Shreveport La. Cross lake, the water supply for Shreveport, and the excess algae problems. Most likely due to lawn fertilization. He also suspects my problem is due to excess Phosphate's. It is possible it could be due to excess Nitrogen, so the water test will help.

I have a question for Bill Cody. Mr. Cody, I applied the BioCycle mid Oct and the product had a green sunscreen. Is it possible to look at the Plankton and Zooplankton to determine if the water color today is the screen or Biological? I did not ask the LSU Professor, and I should have. But here I am asking you. What u think? Sorry, if I ask to much.


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Did the water in the jar clear when put in the dark for a few days?
















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The last time I did a jar test, couple months ago, I found what looked to be some dead or decaying material floating in the test water. Have not check it this time. I have a bottle of pond water that has been in my truck for a few days and the water has a green tent to it. When checking the visibility in the pond I can only see about 8 to 10". I put the water in a bottle and the water looks pretty clear with a green tented color but looks like I should see a much greater distance because it's not all that green and it's not dirty water or cloudy. I was thinking if it was the sun screen I might see a reduced number of microscopic plants and animals. But now I am thinking it would need to be looked at before and after. Or if it was sunscreen dye would there be no plants or animals in the sample? That is what I was thinking when asking Mr Cody.


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