Well...just took posession of a 1.8 acre, 30+ year old pond and for the life of me, can't put this peg into a hole. It has several issues, the big ones include...
1. 2+ feet of black muck surrounding the edge of the pond. In one place a stepped (hip waders on of course ;)) the water was 6 inches deep and the muck was 2.5 feet. I assume this is the case for the entire pond bottom, but cant say for sure.
2. The previous owner was an aggressive user of copper sulfate, cutrine-d, etc. He claimed, and I have seen personally, that if let go without treatment, pond weeds, bright green hair algae, etc, etc, took over quickly.
3. It is almost impossible to crankbait without dredging the salad.
4. Bottom fishing is impossible without pulling up a ball of green.
5. LMB fishing success has markedly decreased over the past 2 years.
6. The LMB that are caught are almost never over 1-1.5 pounds.
Heres the rub though...the water is gin clear. On a calm day, with fishing glasses on, I can see down to 5-6 feet. This is the other reason I think LMB populations are down...cant see many fish like we used to.
My question (heck, I have a million of them) is this...how would you categorize this pond. All of the research I have done says that a 30 year old pond with a bottom full of black muck should not have clear water.
By the way...the water quality (ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, alkalinity, pH) is PERFECT.
Any input, feedback, etc. is immensely appreciated. We would love to restore this pond, greatly reduce the muck, and increase LMB recruitement, growth rate, etc.
Sorry...I know this is alot for one post, and alot of rambling, but my head is swimming (no pun intended).
Thanks in advance for your assistance everyone!
Bucketmouth
