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Just an FYI, NeMo fish hatcheries in Perry MO used to stock YP, I’m not sure how the fish are. I bought FHM from them, and they did very well. I also bought HBG from them, and they’ve done well, except reproducing way more than I thought they would.
I bought my YP from Rainman here on the forum. I believe he got them from South Dakota, but not sure. They’ve done very well.


9 yr old pond, 1 ac, 15' deep.
RES, YP, GS, FHM (no longer), HBG (going away), SMB, and HSB (only one seen in 5 yrs) Restocked HSB (2020) Have seen one of these.
I think that's about all I should put in my little pond.
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Originally Posted By: SetterGuy
Just an FYI, NeMo fish hatcheries in Perry MO used to stock YP, I’m not sure how the fish are. I bought FHM from them, and they did very well. I also bought HBG from them, and they’ve done well, except reproducing way more than I thought they would.
I bought my YP from Rainman here on the forum. I believe he got them from South Dakota, but not sure. They’ve done very well.


Rex (Rainman) is a GREAT guy. He talked me OUT of a sale I didn't realize I didn't need so I feel like I owe him some business.

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I got a few pallet structures done today. The bottom of the stacks might be in a bit deep once the pond fills, but it will be easy enough
to add more to the top at a later date. The pallets are screwed together, and then wired to the t-posts.

I used up the whole lot that I dragged home from work awhile back. I'll keep my eye on the dumpster spot and scrounge a few more as
they become available. Haven't decided if I'm going to put a couple more of them in this pond, but I'll need them for when the forage
pond is done. I really like this 3'x3' size. They're easy to handle.

The water was quite turbid after last weekend's rainfall. It has cleared up quite a bit since then. Jury is still out on whether or not I'll need
to do a floc treatment to settle out the bentonite, but I've got the feeling that I will.

1/6/19
I put one in the upper neck.
[Linked Image from i1174.photobucket.com]

1/6/19
One about 30 yards to the east next to the overflow.
[Linked Image from i1174.photobucket.com]

1/6/19
And one tied to the fence on the west side. Didn't see any reason to use additional posts here.
[Linked Image from i1174.photobucket.com]

Last edited by Augie; 04/19/20 08:10 AM. Reason: fixing the pics
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Nice work and thanks for the pics ! Added them to the archive thread.

Last edited by ewest; 01/07/19 10:01 AM.















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Cool thread, nice pictures, and a nice write up!... I really enjoyed it

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Hey EWEST how can I find where you put this picture at?


The people who say I can't do it can just sit the @^#% down and watch me. Friends call me Rusto I also subscribe to pond boss mag. http://forums.pondboss.com/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=504716#Post504716
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Great work! I tried sinking a pallet one time by stuffing it with thin cinderblock and was shocked when it floated away... blush


7ac 2015 CNBG RES FHM 2016 TP FLMB 2017 NLMB GSH L 2018 TP & 70 HSB PK 2019 TP RBT 2020 TFS TP 25 HSB 250 F1,L,RBT -206 2021 TFS TP GSH L,-312 2022 GSH TP CR TFS RBT -234, 2023 BG TP TFS NLMB, -160




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Pictures are in the Archives Common Pond Q&A. Newest pallet pictures are at the end of pg2.
http://forums.pondboss.com/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=92463&nt=2&page=1



Last edited by Bill Cody; 01/07/19 07:31 PM.

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Augie,

Wow, you have a way with words. Your story was an awesome novella, full of hope, dreams, disappointments, hard work, and success. Glad to see you on the forum. It's nice to see another Missourian, I am in West Central Missouri, over near Warrensburg. I will also recommend Rainman (Rex) here on the forum. He brought me some YP a few years ago, they were big and healthy. Plus he is entertaining!


CMM

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Thank you for the kind words, Neighbor.

I have a good relationship with my local guy, but he did tell me last week that he doesn't really have any experience with the yellow perch. I requested that he ask the hatchery if the YP he might be getting for me would be pellet trained.

I do a good bit of business locally, and with this pond project getting to the "I need to buy a lot of stuff" stage there is potential for quite a bit of money to change hands. I consider myself fortunate to have a local outfit that cares about the success of what I'm doing. It would be my preference to get everything from one place (one throat to choke if something goes wrong, you might say), but... this is my first, best, chance to get the pond off to a good start and I refuse to let friendships compromise that.

I'm thinking it's time I contact Mr. Rex...

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Major snow event in this part of the world. It's not often we get a foot of snow in one shot, but we've got that and more, and it's still
coming down. I thought I might head down to Eagle Bluffs today and see if I could dip some grass shrimp out of the marsh, but that
adventure will have to wait for another day.

1/12/19
[Linked Image from i1174.photobucket.com]

Last edited by Augie; 04/19/20 08:13 AM. Reason: fixing the pics
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The temps have been mild since the big snowfall and the meltwater is helping me out. Water is creeping up onto the
shallow shelf for the first time since the dam was closed.

I spent some time on the phone this week with Kurt Harrison. Nice guy. He likes the idea of YP, RES, and SMB, and feels
confident that getting gravid females this spring won't be difficult. I very much like the idea of stocking the 6"-8" size YP
and having a chance to pull off a spawn right out of the gate.

I haven't been able to connect with Rex, but I will keep trying.

1/19/19
[Linked Image from i1174.photobucket.com]

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I cut nine cedar trees today and chucked em in the pond. I think there are probably enough in there now, but I haven't made
my mind up completely on that. I'd liked to have gotten a few more out on the ice over the deep hole, but the ice isn't safe
to walk on and I'm not man enough to throw a 20'-30' tree that far. Two or three more big ones on the shelf next to the pallets
might be good.

I've located a local source for aluminum sulfate. $34 and change for a 50lb bag and no shipping charges to get it here.

Tomorrow I'm going to chop a hole in the ice to dip some water for a jar test, and order another load of 2"x4" crushed limestone.
It will need to either freeze or dry up some before I can start placing it on the inside face of the dam, but it will be here and
available when conditions improve.

1/27/19
[Linked Image from i1174.photobucket.com]

Last edited by Augie; 04/19/20 08:21 AM. Reason: fixing the pics
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We've received two rounds of substantial rainfall here during early February. The ice is a nuisance, but I'm happy to see the
water continue to rise. I bought another 26 ton of 2"x4" crushed limestone. It's too muddy right now to do anything with it,
so I wait for the ground to either freeze or dry up.

2/10/19
[Linked Image from i1174.photobucket.com]

2/10/19
[Linked Image from i1174.photobucket.com]


Last edited by Augie; 04/19/20 08:24 AM. Reason: fixing the pics
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I'd been concerned about the water color so I cut a hole in the ice and dipped some water out for a jar test.
Based on the results I don't see any need to floc the pond at this time.

This is what it looked like fresh from the pond.
2/2/19
[Linked Image from i1174.photobucket.com]

I put a pinch of pickling lime in one jar. Eight days later it looks like tap water. The floc on the bottom of the jar is algae.
The jar in the first pic doesn't look much different than it did a week ago.
2/10/19
[Linked Image from i1174.photobucket.com]

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With the improvement in the weather I've been able to get a bit done on the pond over the past couple weeks.

There was a bit of frost in the ground when I put the crushed limestone down on the north bank. It was semi-mud and semi-frozen
and extremely slick. I didn't really feel safe getting close enough to the edge with the tractor to get all of the rock over the edge,
so I wound up with a knee-high pile the length of the bank. I've been piddling at tossing that stuff into the water and finally got it done.

I figured since I had to toss all those rocks into the water I might as well do it in a way that would improve the habitat for the fish.
This gap between cedars seemed a natural place to make a long pile.

3/22/19
[Linked Image from i1174.photobucket.com]


I built two more piles on the outside of a big cedar that lays parallel with, and right up against the bank. There's another
one underneath the big one that is visible next to the rock pile. These piles will have three to four foot of water on top
of them when the pond is full and hopefully will prove to be suitable bedding sites for the SMB.

3/23/19
[Linked Image from i1174.photobucket.com]


I used the tiller to chew up the ground so I could improve the grade where quite a bit of water runs down to the pond from
the driveway. The soil that came out was used to build a small terrace that will catch an extra little bit of runoff and drain it
to the pond. This spot had eroded quite a bit over the winter so I dumped in a couple yards of crushed limestone.

3/23/19
[Linked Image from i1174.photobucket.com]


Same spot from a different vantage point.

3/23/19
[Linked Image from i1174.photobucket.com]


Tilled, graded, and ready for grass seed. I got that done and put a hay mulch on top to help the baby grass get established.
I also added about 20 ton of crushed limestone to the driveway to bring it up to roughly the same elevation as the new terrace.
That should greatly reduce the surface erosion further down the slope on the driveway by sending the water into the pond.
It will need more work after everything settles, but it'll do for now.

3/24/19
[Linked Image from i1174.photobucket.com]


Right now the pond is a foot and half, maybe two foot from being full. A couple more good rains should do it. Then I'll decide
if I want to raise the spillway or call it good where it is.

I found some pre-owned encapsulated foam dock floats on craigslist a few days ago. $300 for enough of them to float my dock
and gangway and have a couple left over. I'm not going to build the dock until I know where the full-pool waterline is going to
wind up, but finding the floats gives me a good head start on the materials, and saves me over $1000 compared to the cost of
buying them new.

I should have a stocking quote from Curryville Fisheries in a day or two. Forage minnows, RES, and YP will go in this spring.







Last edited by Augie; 04/19/20 08:40 AM. Reason: fixing the pics
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I bought a small order of scud bugs from Kyle. They arrived today in decent shape considering that it was 70� here this afternoon.
There were a few morts, but I'm sure that is to be expected even under the best of weather conditions.

After I turned them loose in the pond the sleepy ones woke up and they were swimming around like happy little scud bugs should.

3/27/19
[Linked Image from i1174.photobucket.com]


Pops scored a small pile of limestone rocks and brought them over this afternoon. Not enough to make a proper rock pile
in the pond, but it's a start on one. I'm going to get some more out of the creek at our other farm after the ground dries up
enough to get in there without getting stuck.

3/27/19
[Linked Image from i1174.photobucket.com]

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Got a good start on my dock after work today.

4/8/19
[Linked Image from i1174.photobucket.com]

Last edited by Augie; 04/19/20 08:59 AM. Reason: fixing the pics
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Got the other two floats wiggled into position under the dock frame after work yesterday.

4/15/19
[Linked Image from i1174.photobucket.com]

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Took off early from work yesterday and did a bit of work on the dock. Floorboards are all down but still need some screwing.
Five pounds of screwing is all the screwing my old bones can take at one shot. Another five pounds will have the floor nailed
down to where it shouldn't fall apart in a stiff breeze.

And now I have a brief rant regarding PT 5/4 deck boards... That stuff is junk! I would lose what little is left of my mind
if I had to build with that stuff every day. I picked the best of what was on the pile at Lowe's, and grabbed three extras
just to be safe. By the time I had the dock covered two of the boards had warped so badly they couldn't be used. I'd have liked
to quit about halfway but if I'd done that it would have meant taking all of the remaining boards back and trading them in for
straight ones. It's unreal to me how fast that stuff warps when the sun gets on it.


4/16/19
[Linked Image from i1174.photobucket.com]

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As the pond has gotten closer to full pool it has sprung a few leaks. Couple days ago I happened to notice some bubbles
in the water. Three or four little bubbles... pause 5-10 seconds... three or four little bubbles... repeat.

I grabbed a sack of bentonite and my tomping stick and got after it. Tomped the dickens out of the general area where
the bubbles were appearing then dumped 50lbs of bentonite on top and tomped some more.

No more bubbles. The trickle below the dam stopped completely overnight. There are two more small leaks that I need
to find and fix. One is a trickle and the other is just a low spot that's standing water. Pond was losing about an inch a
week. The leak I fixed was the worst of the three, so I'm expecting to see a noticeable reduction in the rate of water loss.

4/27/19
[Linked Image from i1174.photobucket.com]


Planted a bald cypress tree on the northeast corner of the pond near the overflow. I know it will be a water sucker,
but that will be more than offset by the beauty of the tree.

4/28/19
[Linked Image from i1174.photobucket.com]

Planted two cardinal flowers and a buttonbush on the south side. Both are native species, attractive, and wildlife-friendly.

4/28/19
[Linked Image from i1174.photobucket.com]

4/28/19
[Linked Image from i1174.photobucket.com]

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We got a veritable toad-strangler of a rain overnight. Added a good six inches, maybe a little more, to the water level
in the pond. If the weather guessers are right about what's going to happen tomorrow it should hit the overflow by
Friday morning. Happy, happy...

5/1/19
[Linked Image from i1174.photobucket.com]

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Weather guessers guessed wrong. We got some rain, but not what they were expecting. It brought the water level up a couple more inches, but not enough to hit the spillway. It's supposed to rain some tomorrow, then more next week, so hopefully it will be full to the brim within a week.

Talked to fish guy today. It seems the weather is causing gill fungus issues with the sunfish at the hatcheries around here. He won't take them without a clean health certificate, so it's not certain when I'll be getting those. So far he's not been able to find pellet trained YP from a source that he trusts. Those may have to wait until fall. Regardless, the FHM and GSH are coming on Monday. I'm going to be down at Bennett Spring trout fishing when they arrive, but I'll ask him to get some pics of the stocking.

A couple or three weeks ago I bought some PK shrimp from the ebay guy in Louisiana. I didn't really expect much out of them, just did it because I could. Hadn't seen any sign of them since, not that I really expected to, but yesterday as I was watching the various wiggly things in the water I saw some critters that I couldn't quite make out what they were. Skinny, clear, black spots, maybe 1/4" long, lazy movement with an occasional twitch. Went out this evening with an aquarium net and dipped some out - turned out to be itty-bitty PK shrimp. About half of the order were females that were loaded with berries, and it seems that some of them hatched. I'm hoping to get a big order of them from TJ towards the end of the month, and now that I know for sure that the water is suitable for them I won't fret over dropping some coin on something that's just going to croak on me.

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Forage minnows were installed on Monday. 15lb FHM and 5lb GSH. I tossed a few handfuls of feed store catfish food out and was able to observe a few coming to sample the offering. I don't expect it will take long for the rest of them to figure out that Lamont's Free Soup Kitchen is open for business.

Had a nice visit with TJ on the phone this afternoon. Discussed the seeps that have popped up since the water has gotten close to full pool. I found another new one yesterday while mowing the grass on the dam, so that makes four very small leaks that I'm aware of.

It was agreed that a SoilFloc treatment on the area where the dam was re-cored would be worth the effort, so that is going to happen real soon now. I drove a piece of 3/4" pvc pipe with 1/4" graduations into the pond bottom so I can closely monitor the water level both before and after the SF treatment. Empirical data for the notebook.

We also discussed my stocking plan and the difficulties my local guy is having finding pellet trained YP this spring. TJ recommended another hatchery close to me where I should be able to get them, and that it would be best to wait until fall to put them in to make sure I'm not getting runts left over from last year.

He also offered PK shrimp once conditions are right at his place for harvest, so it looks like I'll be making a road trip to Lincoln sometime next month to stock up on those. The 20 that I bought off of ebay guy have been very prolific so far. I found two more groups of about two dozen baby shrimp this afternoon. I think tossing in another four or five hundred of them will be quite a boost to the food chain.

So, TJ, many thanks for taking the time to help me with this stuff. I hope to make it worth your while, one way or another.

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Thanks for the update Augie. I enjoy reading your thread.

P.S. Happy belated birthday! Hope it was a good one!

Bill D.


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