Pond Boss Forums INTRO Questions & Observations WHAT TO DO BEFORE THE POND FILLS?

GREETINGS FOLKS, THIS HAS QUICKLY BECOME MY FAVORITE SITE, THE INFO AVAILABLE HERE IS TOP NOTCH!
LET ME GIVE YOU A LITTLE BACKGROUND. IN 2005 I PURCHASED 130 ACRES IN N.W. MISSOURI, 50 MILES FROM KANSAS CITY. I HAVE A 1 ACRE POND W/ BG,LMB, AND BULLHEAD, AND ANOTHER SHALLOW [3-5'] POND W/ CRAYFISH THATS ABOUT 1/10TH ACRE AND IS SPRING FED. I HAVE A CONTRACTOR BUILDING ANOTHER 1 ACRE POND [NRCS SHARED] THAT SHOULD BE COMPLETED IN MARCH.
I PLAN ON BUILDING FISH STRUCTURE FOR THE NEW POND BUT DON'T KNOW WHAT I SHOULD DO BEFORE IT FILLS, DO I LIME THE BASIN? SHOULD I FERTILIZE, ADD ROCKS/BOULDERS? I'M ENTHUSIASTIC BUT A COMPLETE NOVICE AT THIS. ANY ADVICE WILL BE APPRECIATED! SIGNED UP FOR POND BOSS MAG. TODAY, CAN'T WAIT FOR MY FIRST ISSUE!

Welcome, MARKALLEN.

I'll try to do a search of a recent thread on structure placement.

The need for liming will need to be addressed by a soil specialist from your area, or a forum member from around your parts.

Keep your enthusiasm. It will serve you well. My words of caution to anybody building a new pond. Don't let your enthusiasm make you stock fish that you haven't thoroughly researched all of the ramifications.

Bruce's credo says "It's much easier to stock fish than to unstock them." Remember those words!

Does anybody know which thread recently tied together a bunch of the structure placement links?

Bruce,thanks for the reply. I plan on stocking the new pond per MDC stocking rates and species, BG, LMB, CC. The existing 1 acre has bullhead all about 1 pound, have never caught a small one yet. I'll try removing all I can this summer.
The bass we catch are from about 7 inches to 13 inches, the bluegill from 4 to 8".
The small pond I hope to turn into a minnow pond.

Brettski, thanks for the links, I'm a homebuilder in AZ., but bluegill condo's will be my first multi-family project.

Welcome Markallen. Tons here to digest, Oh and welcome to Missouri, will you be staying in Mo. or using it as a summer get away? Great country in the NW area

trialsguy, I agree, lots of great stuff to research. Right now I spend about a week every two months there, but hope to increase that after we get a home built this summer. My wife and kids love to spend time at the farm, it's definatly a great place to go and de-stress. My son and I also hunt deer and turkey, plant food plots, and in general just have a great time playing "farmer".

You will probably have to lime, but I would not fertilize. 50m from KC....Smithville area??

MARKALLEN, I just wrote a short piece about cover placement and put it in the archives section. It will give you some hints about cover placement.

h2O, between Cameron and Chillocothe. The pond is in a timbered area and will drain about 20 acres, the MDC recommends putting superphosphate over oats and mulch in the pond basin, any thoughts on this??

Thanks Bob, I'll take a look at that.

Bob, just read your article on cover placement, do you know of any archives that would show a sample pond with the structure/cover relationship?

I would sow oats, japanese millet or annual rye grass in the basin to hold soil until it fills, but not fertilize. Soil is pretty fertile up there. Take a soil sample to county extension office and they can tell you how much lime to add.

Hey, neighbor. I live in Kearney, just south of you. Have 30 acres and 3 ponds. 2 were built in 2005 by the NRCS. The other existing 1 acre pond had bullhead. MDC came out and sprayed Rotenone to kill all the bullhead. I was impressed. It did a great job. They were floating in minutes. MDC will stock your pond for free only if there are no other fish present. It only cost me about $70 buck for the Rotenone.

I would recommend the following:

-Get rid of ALL bullhead(call MDC)
-Add several brushpiles (weighted down) and other structure (rocks, tires, etc).
-Take pictures of pond before it fills.
-Add fathead minnows once there is about 3 feet of water.
-Add some redear sunfish with other MDC recommended fish.

Have fun and good luck!

John

johnstaci, thanks for the reply, We stay in Kearney when we fly back to work on our place. It's a really nice town. we enjoy eating at the mexican resturant and having coffee at Mojo's. Did you have to fertilize any of your ponds?

Don't need to fertilize- ground is plenty fertile around here- often too much vegetation growth.

MARKALLEN, I purchased Ray Scott's Complete Guide to Creating Great Small Waters. It's a three volume set on DVD. This DVD is offered from PB. I believe it was volume 2 had some great ideas on adding structure to newly constructed ponds. All three volumes were very good. Ray covers a lot of different points besides structure but his ideas on fish cover was first class in my opinion.

Mark,

It's a small world! I used to be the MDC fish biologist out of the Chillicothe and then Pony Express (just west of Cameron)offices. Our soils up here are inherently fertile so do not fertilize as of yet. Ponds around here that need fertilizing are very rare.

I suppose you are located near Hamilton. I, too, am a neighbor. I live between Polo and I-35 off HWY 116 in Caldwell County.

I'm sure you've read some great tips about structure. I also like to lay-out landscape fabric parallel with the shoreline for about 10 yards and then extend into pond about 6 feet. I do this to prevent early-on submerged vegetation in this small area. I then cover it with gravel to make future spawning areas. The gravel also serves to create interstitial spaces for invertebrates to colonize.

I was ice fishing 3 miles NW of Hamilton just today. It was getting soupy on the ice. With our cold spell snapped, I'd say that tomorrow will be the last day to yank 'gillies from under the ice. NW Missouri is a great place to live....especially for sportsmen.

Mikel, thanks I'll check that out.

SHAWN BANKS. thanks for the tip, do you think the Lowes in Liberty carries that? I,m planning on putting gravel and larger rock in the pond for habitat. Glad to here the cold snap is over, my contractor should be able to start the pond midweek if the ground thaws out enough. I drive 116 to our farm so I probably pass right by your place. were off 116 just west of Braymer a couple miles. Thanks again, Mark.

Mark,

I'm not sure if Lowes has it or not. I'll be down there this week and I'll check for you. Are you having Marshall Phillips dig your pond? If so, he's pretty good.

The world is even smaller than I previously thought. After resigning from MDC to pursue my business, I taught science at Braymer High to makes ends meet. Some pretty good folks over that way.

I'm actually 5 miles west of Polo. I live just south of Prairie Ridge church. You can see my 3 machine sheds from the highway.

Shawn, it is a small world, Marshall is doing the pond work, my son,brother, and myself are flying out when Marshall's done to seed, mulch, lime, build habitat and other fun projects.
I know where Prairie Ridge church is so I'm sure I've seen your place, nice area there. What kind of buisness are you in?

Good question and one I ask of myself often. I have a lake management company. Most of my real-world experience and academic training is what the industry calls "blood and guts" fisheries management (fish population dynamics- age and growth, etc). But I have morphed into the guy who makes home association lakes look pretty- most of my time is spent controlling aquatic vegetation.

The last two days here have been between 45 and 55 degrees. The ground is a mess with all the thaw. I would be surprised if Marshall could start this week. Are you going to put a spigot (bottom withdrawal pipe) through your new dam? They're pretty handy to have. Hopefully the completion of your pond project will coincide with the beginning of turkey season. I'm already getting the itch. It's sick how many turkeys Caldwell County has. I don't think you can drive 2 miles on any road without seeing some.

Mark do not listen to this guy, Shawn. He has a new baby and that clouds his judegement. Just kiddin' good to see you on the forum. We both had kids at the sametime reason for the rib. Shawn what is funny is you said how many turkeys you have in Caldwell county. I never realized that is the county I bought land in KY. I hope they are in that caldwell county as well.

Shawn I will see you in TX. Folks in the midwest hit Shawn up with some questions he knows his stuff and I expect to see him here now that pond mgmt is his full time job.

Thanks Greg, I'll really have to scrutinize Shawns advice now that I know he has a baby, I remember those days of sleepless nights and clouded judgement

Shawn I am putting a spigot in, it's something both the nrcs[ John }, and Marshall recomended.
Glad to here about all the turkeys, we seem to have a strong population at our place also.