Pond Boss Forums GENERAL QUESTIONS Help Killing unwanted fish while rebuilding a pond

What are my options on killing unwanted fish in a 6 acre pond?

My family has a 6 acre pond. The pond is 50+ years old and the dam was in poor condition (wouldn't hold a full lake of water).
Our plan was to have the lake drained, rebuild the dam, get rid of the unwanted carp, shad, etc., put in structure, refill and restock.
The drought helped us drain the lake. The dam has been completely rebuilt and looks great, however we still had a considerable amount of water left in the lake. We have just pumped out most of the rest of the water (40+ hours with several pumps). We have approximately one acre of water (8" deep) left in the lake. You can see the carp thrashing about and stirring up the muddy bottom.
What should we kill the unwanted fish with? I have been told HTH (as used in pools) would be a good solution. How much do I put in the lake to get a good kill? How do I put it in the lake to get a good even distribution? Do I broadcast from a boat like fertilizer? How long should it take to kill the fish? Do I need to keep other animals (deer)away from the lake until it dissipates?

Thanks for any guidance that you can lend me.
This has been a 10 year dream of mine (to fix the lake)since I fished the lake as a boy and had a great time. I want to give some fishing fun back to my dad like he gave it to me as a boy.

Thanks,

Waguli

I think in your situation I'd try hydrated lime. Ewest or others can give you an idea how much to use. After you're done, you've prelimed the pond for the refill.

Hopefully the amount required for 1 acre, max depth 8 feet, er, inches, is not prohibitive.

Can you pump the last little bit dry? Otherwise you will need to purchase and apply retonene (sp?) which can be expensive. You may also need liscensed applicator to apply the chemicals depending on your states regulations.

Thanks for the information.
I am a new poster. I have had a subscription to the magazine for several years.
Someone else had also suggested Hydrated Lime.
The maximum depth of remaining water is only 8 inches.
Do I broadcast it like fertilizer.

Can others chime in? I have spoken with Frank and we can apply rotentone but looking for chearp alternative that he can do. Do you know app. rates for chorline ( hth) or hydrated lime? Thanks guys

Waguli:

I would take a careful look at my budget and use Greg if I could. You have taken on quite a project here with a lot of family sentiment.

Giving back something to your father to help repay him for what he gave you is admirable. Finishing it off right just makes sense if it fits in your budget.

Besides that Greg is a really good guy, a family man and a valuable resource to the future of your lake. I am sure he will do right by you.

Bing

The use of hydrarated lime is done with the intent of raising the pH of the water to lethal levels for the fish. You could add some and check the pH and add some more until they are dead.



Using a mask broadcast it by shovel around or you could mix it up with water and dump it in.

Chlorine would be way down the list as it can bond into the soil with long lasting implications.

anyone ever added the hydrated lime to kill fish? to give us something to go by. I mean how many bags does he need to buy b/f he drives all the way to the pond etc. I would like to try to provide that as an alternative to rotenone. I have applied HL many times but never more than 100lbs/acre in fear of killing fish.

Ewest good call on chorline but I've been told it is gone fairly quickly from the water that is why you have to add rapidly b/f it is reducded in concentration. I guess with soil activity that is not the best plan of action.

Now that he has the pond down the rotenone cost is not as high as when we originally spoke making it a more attractive alternative.

I have no idea what Rotenone costs, but since he is down to less than one acre foot of water I wouldn't think it would be too expensive.

Can someone give us an estimate of how much that would cost?

Bing

You'll probably need about 600-800 lbs of hydrated lime for this project. It is a messy job, but cheap and very effective. We pour our lime into a 5 gallon bucket and walk around the pond bottom spreading as we walk. HL is caustic, will burn your eyes, and will dry out your skin. Use the wind to your advantage. Don't apply without a breeze. With a breeze walk into the wind. When you've used enough HL you will see the mud start to floc and settle and fish will start to die. The next day you should see all dead fish clear to the bottom, crystal clear water. Around here HL costs about $7 per 50 lb bag.

Another option is to use a small boat with trolling motor, but 8 inches of water isn't much and you might find yourself in a bind.

HL is our product of choice for killing fish in a drained pond.

Around $85-$95/gal, depending on the source and quantity. But, rotenone is Fed restricted-use pesticide, and requires a license to purchase/apply.
1-gal should easily treat 1 ac-ft - and probably a little more, depending on the targeted fish-species and the water's level of turbidity. Lastly, treatments can be a little tricky if there are deep pockets of water, and rotenone is not thoroughly injected throughout the water-column.

KD thanks I have to pay a little more than that the shipping is what will raise the price on us. Bing I of course will have to charge for our time. It will be $350 to cover travel, drive time and application time. This is why I wanted to save him this app fee on somehting he can do. thanks Todd for that advice. It is nasty stuff, I make myself wear long selves when I put it out along with mask. Glad you gave us an idea of how much so it will cost about $96-$128 around here for approw amount to do the job. Frank let me know what you need us to do.