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Joined: Oct 2018
Posts: 1,141 Likes: 278
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OP
Joined: Oct 2018
Posts: 1,141 Likes: 278 |
OK, I've managed to get all of the photos that were on TinyPic loaded up to PhotoBucket, and replaced all of the old broken links, so it's time to get caught up. Got the last section of dock basically set into place. Just need to screw the top on and move the rest of it into position. 7/28/19 A bit of adjustment and a few more pipes driven into the mud and this part of the project will be finished. The section that sets on the bank is bedded in gravel, and the mud poles/brackets are drilled and bolted together so it doesn't move around. The rest of it can move on the poles as the water level fluctuates.
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Joined: Oct 2018
Posts: 1,141 Likes: 278
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OP
Joined: Oct 2018
Posts: 1,141 Likes: 278 |
I built this stand out of 1/2" PVC pipe to hold the bubbler up off of the pond bottom. I set it in ~14' full-pool depth. I tied a jug to it with a poly rope so it can be easily retrieved for cleaning or repair. 8/10/2019 So far it's working great. It makes a huge boil and doesn't stir up any mud when the air is running. I bought a RubberMaid tote to keep the pump dry until I can finish the shed around it. It's a bit of a nuisance dealing with the lid, but it's just a temporary thing so I can live with it. 8/11/19
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Joined: Oct 2018
Posts: 1,141 Likes: 278
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OP
Joined: Oct 2018
Posts: 1,141 Likes: 278 |
A few of Mother Nature's gifts to the pond. This stuff all came volunteer. There's kidney-leaf mud plantain (hat tip to QA for ID-ing that one), sago, APW, and arrowhead. I still haven't figured out the little reed-grass looking stuff. And I need to pull out that runaway pallet and put it back on the pallet stack it floated away from. Big dummy Lamont must have forgot to screw it down properly. 8/30/19
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Joined: Jun 2018
Posts: 1,470 Likes: 107
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Joined: Jun 2018
Posts: 1,470 Likes: 107 |
Augie you have a nice looking place there. Someday I hope my water looks that good.
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Joined: Oct 2018
Posts: 1,141 Likes: 278
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OP
Joined: Oct 2018
Posts: 1,141 Likes: 278 |
I'd just gotten home from a visit with QA when I noticed this common snapping turtle headed towards my pond from the creek, so I flipped him over and went to find a 5 gallon bucket. He just barely fit, but I managed to get him stuffed in head-first. There was a bit of disagreement about him going in, but he finally saw it my way. Then I hauled him a few miles down the road and put him in a neighbor's pond where nobody will bother him. I don't mind having a snapper in the pond unless I have ducks, and Mrs. Augie thinks she might want to get a couple ducks, so Mr. Snapper had to go. 8/31/19 I traded some plants from my pond for a trap load of northern crayfish from QA's pond. With no bass in the pond right now these guys should have a fighting chance to get a breeding population started. The next day I found one half a mile away in the middle of the road. I guess he was homesick. Pump shed is boxed in and roofed with recycled barn metal. 9/2/19 Made a little more progress on the pump shed. Ready for paint and door latches. 9/8/19
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Joined: Oct 2018
Posts: 1,141 Likes: 278
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OP
Joined: Oct 2018
Posts: 1,141 Likes: 278 |
I'm going to jump ahead for a minute here because something really cool just happened. I didn't see any ribbons in March when they should have been here. The water was super stained from frequent heavy rains, and there's a ton of brush that I simply can't view from the shore. Then I found a heron-stabbed YP the other day, and that started the gears to grinding in my little pea brain. (dangerous, I know) Anyway, I decided to toss my B-trap in to see if something might decide to swim into it, so yesterday about an hour before dusk, I chucked the trap into about four foot of water next to the dock. No bait, just an empty trap. This is what I found when I pulled it up this afternoon: I count at least 26 YP in there, and they appear to be in great condition. For scale the cage is 18"x36" at the bottom, and made from 1/2" mesh. So I think it's probably safe to assume that the clouds of tiny fry I've been seeing since the water started to clear up over the past couple weeks are most likely YP, as the water hasn't yet reached the temps needed for FHM and GSH to start spawning. I'm really happy to know that they didn't all die after they were stocked.
Last edited by Augie; 04/24/20 07:15 AM. Reason: fixed typo
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Joined: Jun 2016
Posts: 2,344 Likes: 101
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Joined: Jun 2016
Posts: 2,344 Likes: 101 |
Very, Very cool Augie! I'm envious. Looks like you have been pretty busy.
Fish on!, Noel
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Joined: Jun 2018
Posts: 1,470 Likes: 107
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Joined: Jun 2018
Posts: 1,470 Likes: 107 |
I would say they survived with flying colors.
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Joined: May 2013
Posts: 2,901 Likes: 146
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Joined: May 2013
Posts: 2,901 Likes: 146 |
Any tips on how you built a 'B' cage? I love your innovation and this might be easier for me to build than a Clover or a Z cage
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Joined: Dec 2018
Posts: 899 Likes: 201
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Joined: Dec 2018
Posts: 899 Likes: 201 |
Any tips on how you built a 'B' cage? I love your innovation and this might be easier for me to build than a Clover or a Z cage Same here, I need some pictures or instructions.
All the really good ideas I've ever had came to me while I was milking a cow.
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Joined: Oct 2018
Posts: 1,141 Likes: 278
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OP
Joined: Oct 2018
Posts: 1,141 Likes: 278 |
The B trap is super simple to make. It's sort of like a cloverleaf trap that's been cut in half across the top. Flat piece of mesh on the bottom, then the B perpendicular to that, then another flat piece on the top side of the B. I built this one a full 2' tall, but that's probably not necessary. I also added some cut-up cattle panel for stiffness, thinking that might help it to hold up in the creek. It's ~18" front to back, and 36" wide. Again, maybe more than is necessary. The throat on this one is a bit more open than what you might want if you're just after bluegills. It's ~1.5" wide and 12" tall. I did that so it would fit foot-long bullheads and common carp. If I was going to make one just to catch panfish I'd probably go with a 1"x6" throat opening. There are also possum cop rules that need to be considered - this one wouldn't be legal to use in public waters in my state because the throat opening is larger than allowed, so if you're going to build one it's a good idea to check the rules if you think you might want to use it in public waters. Catching those YP yesterday was the first time I used it since I built it last summer, and it's hard to argue with results like that, so I'm gonna say that I'm rather pleased with how it works. You could almost build two like this one with the materials it would take to build one cloverleaf trap. I can't take any credit for the design of this thing - it's been around forever. When my Grampa Wilkie had his commercial license back in the 70's he preferred these over the cloverleaf style because two B traps took up the same amount of space in the truck bed as one cloverleaf, and he said two Bs would catch more bait than one clover. He had ten or a dozen of them. They all disappeared after he passed, probably just got chucked in the trash, but I didn't forget what he taught me.
Last edited by Augie; 04/24/20 05:08 PM. Reason: added some more detail to the description
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Joined: Apr 2018
Posts: 234 Likes: 17
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Joined: Apr 2018
Posts: 234 Likes: 17 |
Thanks Augie! That looks easy.
Dan McWhirter DannyMac
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Joined: Jun 2018
Posts: 1,470 Likes: 107
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Joined: Jun 2018
Posts: 1,470 Likes: 107 |
The fish swim threw the inch opening? Does that hurt the fish? It seems like they would rub again it. I havnt messed with traps before. Might have to make one of these. Looks really ease.
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Joined: Oct 2018
Posts: 1,141 Likes: 278
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OP
Joined: Oct 2018
Posts: 1,141 Likes: 278 |
Fish relate to cover/structure, and when the trap is in the water it's a piece of structure. As they swim/hold near the trap some of them find their way inside. It doesn't hurt them to rub on the wire. Fish scales are tough.
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Joined: Oct 2018
Posts: 1,141 Likes: 278
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OP
Joined: Oct 2018
Posts: 1,141 Likes: 278 |
Getting the transport tank ready for a trip to meet Snipe in windblown Kansas and bring home a load of fingerling YP. 9/19/19 I think is probably the first yellow perch that I've ever touched. They are pretty little things. Shame what happened after they went into the pond. http://forums.pondboss.com/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=511908#Post5119089/22/19 I made another run to Almost Colorado, Kansas to meet Snipe and get some more perch. Hatchery guy couldn't be located, so Snipe went above and beyond - he dipped some fish out of his own stock. Most people would have just said "Sorry, dude, let's try it again some other time." My list of good guys is very short. Snipe is on it. 10/20/19 This was a nice batch of fish. Almost all of them were 6"-12" size.
Last edited by Augie; 04/27/20 04:58 PM. Reason: added some more detail to the description
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Joined: Oct 2018
Posts: 1,141 Likes: 278
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OP
Joined: Oct 2018
Posts: 1,141 Likes: 278 |
The last week of April brought lots of sunshine and warm weather. Water temp went from 59° to 69° in ten days time, so I switched the aeration from daytime running to nighttime running.
I had intended to switch over when it hit 65°, but I wasn't paying close enough attention.
The dang sugar ants decided to make a nest in the pump timer and wrecked it, so I've had to remember to start and stop the pump manually. That's a nuisance.
I guess I need to shop around and see if I can find a decent solid-state timer at a reasonable cost.
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Joined: May 2012
Posts: 1,358 Likes: 4
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Joined: May 2012
Posts: 1,358 Likes: 4 |
G This was a nice batch of fish. Almost all of them were 6"-12" size. Did these survive? I gotta know!!
Last edited by Bocomo; 05/04/20 01:21 PM.
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Joined: May 2012
Posts: 1,358 Likes: 4
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Joined: May 2012
Posts: 1,358 Likes: 4 |
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Joined: Oct 2018
Posts: 1,141 Likes: 278
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OP
Joined: Oct 2018
Posts: 1,141 Likes: 278 |
Tree frog napping on the pool ladder. He wasn't terribly concerned with me stomping around on the dock while tossing fish food. 5/3/20
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1 member likes this:
RStringer |
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Joined: Jan 2019
Posts: 212 Likes: 3
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Joined: Jan 2019
Posts: 212 Likes: 3 |
How is that trap working for large BH? I have four cloverleafs and they catch small BH pretty well.The entrances on one were enlarged but I'm not catching large ones. It seems the small BH just swim in and out based on the amount of bait that goes away.
How are you going to know unless you try!
NW TX 2ac main pond fed from 1100ac watershed going through 2 2+ac sediment ponds. 1st filled 10/2018 900BG, 200RES, 200HBG, 100CC and 23# FHM...."Free" BH, GSF GSH, LMB & ??? 75LMB 3/2020 I subscribe!
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Joined: Jan 2006
Posts: 16,065 Likes: 279
Moderator Lunker
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Moderator Lunker
Joined: Jan 2006
Posts: 16,065 Likes: 279 |
Augie, ,is the white square thing on top a door to dump/remove fish? Pretty neat design
It's not about the fish. It's about the pond. Take care of the pond and the fish will be fine. PB subscriber since before it was in color.
Without a sense of urgency, Nothing ever gets done.
Boy, if I say "sic em", you'd better look for something to bite. Sam Shelley Rancher and Farmer Muleshoe Texas 1892-1985 RIP
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Joined: Oct 2018
Posts: 1,141 Likes: 278
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OP
Joined: Oct 2018
Posts: 1,141 Likes: 278 |
How is that trap working for large BH? I haven't tried it in water that has BH. Neighbor guy has BH in his pond and would like to be rid of them. Next time I bump into him I'll see if he wants to borrow the trap and try it.
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Joined: Oct 2018
Posts: 1,141 Likes: 278
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OP
Joined: Oct 2018
Posts: 1,141 Likes: 278 |
Augie, ,is the white square thing on top a door to dump/remove fish? Pretty neat design The white square is where I would put my name and conservation number if I was going to use the trap anywhere off my property. The dump flap is on the top right in the photos. The shiny flat metal thing is the door latch. I had the latch left over from daughter's bunny-raising days. Drawback to using it is the flap has to swing into the trap to get the fish out. That makes dumping the trap a three-hand operation. Before I use it again I'm going to cut that one out and make a new one that opens outwards.
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Joined: Jan 2006
Posts: 16,065 Likes: 279
Moderator Lunker
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Moderator Lunker
Joined: Jan 2006
Posts: 16,065 Likes: 279 |
It's not about the fish. It's about the pond. Take care of the pond and the fish will be fine. PB subscriber since before it was in color.
Without a sense of urgency, Nothing ever gets done.
Boy, if I say "sic em", you'd better look for something to bite. Sam Shelley Rancher and Farmer Muleshoe Texas 1892-1985 RIP
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