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Joined: Apr 2020
Posts: 1
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OP
Joined: Apr 2020
Posts: 1 |
Hello!
I live in a new community in Naples FL, we have 2 ponds...they call them lakes. They are about an acre per pond. They get to 10-12ft. deep in the middle and slope down from the sides.
They have zero structure. My pond has two litoral shelves on each end, but when the water is low like it is now the plants are almost out of the water (as again its new and hasnt had time to mature.)
nature has found a way and I have various sunfish/cyclids. Last spring I stocked my acre pond with 300 bluegill, 150 bass, and 75 crappie. When I started feeding them it was a FRENZY! My fish were all small and honestly didnt see many of them. But I was seeing literally hundreds of panfish variations. Got me thinking they need structure!
So instead of spending the 250 at bass pro for the honey hole I built my own! Large piece of PVC, anywhere from 3-6ft, then i drilled holes through it every which way I could and put sprinkler hose through it! again, cut it to whatever lengths i wanted. I drilled the holes just under size so the hose would not come out. stuff is super cheap at home depot, i think its $8 for 50ft or something like that. i can make these make shift christmas tree's for under $25 compared to that 250 honey hole! I weight them down with half cinder block. I also threw in a couple of christmas tree's that I cleaned up, but then I thought more about it and those are not weedless! My sprinkler hose is too large for any hook to catch on, so these are weedless, awesome I think.
Fast forward through the winter till now and we have had quite a few predator birds around and 2 otters! I did not see them, but neighbors saw them a while back. I walk out to feed the fish now and it takes 5-10 minutes to get a few to come to the feed, where as last spring as soon as the feed would hit it would be a frenzy!!
Did the otters eat all my fish?? Can I put up owls or something to scare otters away perhaps? Has anyone had this problem. I can't shoot them as im in a community. again, i haven;t seen them ina long time.
So this goes back to my title, i have probably a half dozen of these honey holes in my acre pond. Should i make more?? I really want to make a large one for the middle, kind of like a coral reef and just put a ton of different things on it, using the PVC pipe etc. I'm thinking if i have more structure the safer my fish will be.
Any suggestions I would love,
Thanks
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Joined: Jan 2019
Posts: 134 Likes: 1
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Joined: Jan 2019
Posts: 134 Likes: 1 |
The more structures you make the better. Put them in various depths from the shallows out to the middle of you don't have shallow water vegetation. While more structures will improve your fishery, it likely otter situation much. Trapping them would be th best way to get rid of them.
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Joined: Jan 2006
Posts: 16,049 Likes: 276
Moderator Lunker
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Moderator Lunker
Joined: Jan 2006
Posts: 16,049 Likes: 276 |
I’ve not heard of anything other than a gator or a trap to control otters
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: Sep 2014
Posts: 3,668 Likes: 57
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Joined: Sep 2014
Posts: 3,668 Likes: 57 |
it's a catch 22 @ my place I remove the gators too. I will never forget my first experience with a gator in the pond. Setting in the boat with my dogs and fishing when this small gator pops up just a few feet away, checking to see if we were eatable I guess? He didn't stay long. It wasn't that he was large enough to do much damage about 3' or so, but it started me looking for his mother. So far I have had 3 that size show up. One at a time every so often.
As far as setting Connibar traps they work but I would not use them if any dogs are around.
Last edited by TGW1; 04/29/20 11:33 AM.
Do not judge me by the politicians in my City, State or Federal Government.
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