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
Topics40,902
Posts557,119
Members18,452
Most Online3,612
Jan 10th, 2023
Top Posters
esshup 28,420
ewest 21,475
Cecil Baird1 20,043
Bill Cody 15,112
Who's Online Now
6 members (Shorthose, Freg, Fishingadventure, Boondoggle, RogersTailgate, jpsdad), 874 guests, and 177 robots.
Key: Admin, Global Mod, Mod
Previous Thread
Next Thread
Print Thread
#495016 08/18/18 09:17 PM
Joined: Oct 2015
Posts: 2,424
Likes: 19
J
OP Offline
J
Joined: Oct 2015
Posts: 2,424
Likes: 19
Do you mow right down to the water or leave a ring of vegetation? I have been leaving a 2-3 foot wide strip of grass for the frogs to hide in. It's too muddy right by the water to mow easily anyway.

Joined: Apr 2018
Posts: 1,220
Offline
Joined: Apr 2018
Posts: 1,220
I used to allow about two feet of growth around my little pond, but have become more prone to keep a manicured look now. My full pool line is about a foot below the bank so it stays firm around the edge, but I use my weedeater and a walk behind mower around the pond. The mower is set to mulch, so it doesn't discharge clippings. Traveling in a clockwise direction, the weedeater tends to sling refuse away, but you still get a little in the water, especially when I top off the water willow that grows out to about 6 inches of water. I have a few clumps of rush that I leave alone and this year I've had some emergent grasses start to take hold in spots which is providing natural cover to minnows and fry and small frogs.


.10 surface acre pond, 10.5 foot deep. SW LA. The epitome of a mutt pond. BG, LMB, GSF, RES, BH, Warmouth, Longear Sunfish, Gambusia,Mud Minnows, Crappie, and now shiners!!...I subscribe!!
Joined: May 2009
Posts: 5,714
Likes: 281
R
RAH Offline
Lunker
Offline
Lunker
R
Joined: May 2009
Posts: 5,714
Likes: 281
All depends on your goals; I do keep walking trails around my ponds and wetlands so we can enjoy the view. We access the pond in the pictures from the dock, a boat, or a few openings where fishing is good.






Last edited by RAH; 08/19/18 08:21 AM.
Joined: May 2004
Posts: 13,939
Likes: 268
Moderator
Lunker
Online Confused
Moderator
Lunker
Joined: May 2004
Posts: 13,939
Likes: 268
Supposedly geese don't like vegetation around the pond, but muskrats sure do. I like to keep the edges cleared as much as possible.


"Live like you'll die tomorrow, but manage your grass like you'll live forever."
-S. M. Stirling
[Linked Image from i.pinimg.com]
Joined: May 2009
Posts: 5,714
Likes: 281
R
RAH Offline
Lunker
Offline
Lunker
R
Joined: May 2009
Posts: 5,714
Likes: 281
Yup - Muskrats love it, but my retired neighbor traps and cleans them out each winter. We have overbuilt dams, so they is not a problem for me once the plants get established. However, left unchecked, the muskrats will decimate the emergent plants. As it is, they just trim them back.

Joined: Oct 2013
Posts: 6,086
Likes: 93
S
Offline
S
Joined: Oct 2013
Posts: 6,086
Likes: 93
On my main 3 acre pond that has a level "bench" covered in gravel right up to the waters edge I mow right to the water. I say gravel covered but the gravel has mostly turned to grass and after 4 years what was a driveway is mostly mowed now, which was by design. Eventually it will all just look like grass but will have a solid base underneath we can drive vehicles right along the pond edge. This pond is just south of the house and is kind of an extension to our yard so we keep it looking "country yard" maintained. Not urban maintained by any means, but not a farm pond either. I can take our 72" Bad Boy zero turn mower, leave the deck in top position, and mow hanging over the water to pretty well clean up the edge without using a weed eater except in a few places around the dock or overflow pipe. I just throw the discharge side clippings away from the water and only a minute amount ends up in the water. The fish follow me around getting the grasshoppers and crickets that jump in.

My ponds south of the small creek are not kept or mowed nearly as closely or kept as nice. The banks on the dam are steeper and would be harder to keep mowed close. I hang a 15' flexwing pasture rotary mower over the edge of the water a couple times a year to keep things from getting too overgrown but it is not kept manicured by any means. I do try to keep it "fish-able" around the entire shore line of all the ponds.


John

I subscribe to Pond Boss Magazine

Link Copied to Clipboard
Today's Birthdays
cro, HC1968
Recent Posts
Dewatering bags seeded to form berms?
by RogersTailgate - 03/29/24 05:45 AM
Relative weight charts in Excel ? Calculations?
by jpsdad - 03/29/24 05:43 AM
pond experience needed
by esshup - 03/29/24 12:45 AM
New pond middle TN: establishing food chain?
by Bill Cody - 03/28/24 07:57 PM
Happy Birthday Bob Lusk!!
by FireIsHot - 03/28/24 07:33 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
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