My "How to kill fish even if you don't want to" story
I say lucky because this sediment pond is in the process of having a massive fish kill. I suspect some of the smaller ones will make it but still lots of fish piping at the top. Right after a big (around 4" total) rain event this pond was flooded with new, cold water. The other bad thing adding to the problem is we had spread chicken litter (manure plus wood shavings) on the field where the terrace directs water into this pond. We always disc this organic fertilizer in (to incorporate it into the soil) as soon as we apply but this time got caught and did not get this five or so acres done. This particular litter was very dry and dusty when we spread it so the very fine dust washed right into this sediment pond. Plus the stock pile was located in this watershed. At only 1/10th acre and multiple water exchanges it was just too much for the fish.
When I saw them piping at the top, there happened to be a strong wind that blew a lot of them to one end. Using a dip net I netted the larger ones and what was probably a thousand or maybe several thousand small ones from an inch to three inches. I got quite a lot in the day time but after dark where they could not see me I would get up to a gallon of fish per dip net full. So quite a few fish got moved to the main pond.
The main pond got some also, enough to change the water color slightly. But it being 3 acres and the sediment pond being 1/10th no comparison. The sediment pond looked like chocolate milk. The fish are still hitting feed there and seem to not be affected. I definitely am not going to need to add fertilizer though.
The good news is it is on my own land, we did the application ourselves and it is my pond. I'm just glad it was not adjacent to someone else pond. Lesson learned. We always incorporate this litter when we use it, but in the future even more attention will be paid to rain forecast and any fields near BOW's. My bad. At least it was on me and not someone else. On me is bad, on someone else would be terrible.
Another good news is I got to clean out some freeloaders in this pond. Everything of any size was floating to the top and it included 3 CC with one of them being a couple pounds. They got transferred to the main pond. A half dozen 6" GSF. A couple went to the main pond then I decided that was enough and the others were dispatched. One very fat 1.5# bullhead............. have no idea where it came from, but glad it was the only one I found.
So that is my experience on "how to kill fish unintentionally".
Edit: Yes I know, several GSF along with the BG and one either RES or RES hybrid. Probably some other hybrids in there too. Have got a lot of hybrids out of this pond.
Looking back at some of my past management (moving all these forage fish to my main pond during this fish kill - should have just let them die), is there any wonder I have excess BG in my main pond and not enough LMB????
I have moved thousands of additional BG, RES and hybrids into my main pond that was already at that time becoming over crowded with forage fish.
In my defense, at the time I built these ponds the general consensus was that LMB overcrowding was the main problem facing most ponds and that removing bass was needed to maintain a balanced population. So my mindset was toward creating more forage. Turns out that was not the problem I was heading towards. By feeding my fish regularly my BG population was doing quite well enough on its own but my thinking process was towards creating MORE forage fish when in reality I was already creating more than enough.
What I ended up with in my main pond is so many forage fish my LMB are either not reproducing or if they are all the recruitment is getting eaten shortly after hatched.
Now as a management practice I am raising LMB in this sediment pond large enough to escape predation to transfer to my main pond to correct my previous management practice of producing too many forage fish.
All the while removing (filleting mostly) lots of fish to keep the total biomass from exceeding pond carrying capacity.
Ain't ponds fun!
Actually they are. I have enjoyed every step of the process. And fortunately for me, in my case the journey is what the goal is all about. The goal itself (pan fish pond) is kind of superficial. I know that is not the case with many peoples goals (they want XXXX and are terribly disappointed if they to not get it), but for me the journey is the goal.
My motorcycle trips are the same way. The goal is not really the destination. The destination (goal) is just a means to justify the journey. It is just the way I roll.
