I’ve got several water quality issues in a spring fed lake my family recently bought and would like to get some advice on how best to tackle them. The lake is ~30 acres in size, is surrounded by a large stand of oak trees and has a heavy infestation of Watershield (Dollar Bonnet). Specific water chemistry readings from a test last fall were:

pH: 6.0
Alkalinity: 10.0 ppm
Hardness: 10.0 ppm
Visibility/Turbidity: 6 feet

From the research I’ve done to this point all recommendations point to adding 2 tons of ag lime / acre but the logistics and costs of distributing 60 tons of lime seem rather daunting when you consider the limited lake access options I have (poor road and several steep hills from closest paved road).

Any additional advice would be appreciated.

Thanks,

When you say spring fed, how much water are we talking about? If you have a couple hundred gallons per minute flowing out of the lake it will be difficult to increase any of those water quality readings.

jmartin, saw yer other post as well, welcome to PB,

my first reaction: sounds like you have alot of shallows on a BIG POND....congratulations on the pond size, it must be beautiful. bottom diffused aeration has been a key for me to reduce visibility, promote phytoplanton blooms (giving a nice murky olive green color to water) and thereby reducing sunlight penetration and macrophyte (aquatic weed) growth. i have used no chemicals, and reduced FA and elodea through simple aeration....this is one thing to consider, lets see who else has feedback for you....

dave

Chris, I have at least 4 visible springs feeding the lake and their flow varies through the year. Right now I'd guess I'm pushing 75-100gpm over the spillway but that's just a swag. From this past July through September it stopped flowing all together. I'd estimate my average annual flow is in the neighborhood of 50gpm but I'll need to validate next time I'm there... Appreciate any thoughts... Thanks,

What is the water quality of the water from the springs as it can be different from the watershed ? Soil sample tests would be a good idea.

What are your goals ? Thirty acres will produce a lot of fish even at low productivity. How many people will be fishing and what do they want ?

If your goal is a good fishery for more than a few people you will need to deal with the alkalinity. No matter what the natural or artificial fertility of the water at that low an alkalinity you will not have much of a plankton food chain base. You could undertake a massive feeding program to avoid the food chain problem but recruitment may be a problem. Stress from ph swings due to low alkalinity will hamper fish growth and survival.

We have springs also with water flow through sometimes 7-8 mths a year at a rate (guess here) avg of 25 gals a min. We lime and fertilize with very good results. Our standing natural alkalinity is about 9 ppm. With lime about 25.

My incoming water quality varies based on samples taken to the Freestone County Exension office. The south end of my lake actually extends beyond my fenceline so I didn't get results from what is the primary source but the three others had the following readings for pH and Alakilinity respectively:

Spring 1 (10.1 / 27.2)
Spring 2 ( 4.5 / 14.7)
Spring 3 ( 5.5 / 20.4)
Spillway ( 5.0 / 20.4)

From a goals standpoint, I'd like to raise some quality LMB (>6 lbs) for family and friends to catch but pressure will be generally light and I'd like to retain enough quantity to keep the beginner LMB / BG fisherman entertained. To date, the biggest fish we've caught has probably been about 4lbs with the average probably at 0.75lbs.

Like many others I've read about, we're over run with stunted 8-12" LMB and we're removing all we catch but our fishing pressure to this point of the year has been light.

All in all, it sounds like I might need to revisit the liming activity to get that Alkalinity level up and just work around my logistic challenges. It's been awhile since I've tested lime prices. What are you seeing out there these days?

Thanks again for all the insight..

My pond is almost gin clear. I know I need lime but like others, access is a problem and it is expensive to get a barge and the equipment hired to do a 2.5 Acre pond. What effect does the clear water and need for lime have on the fish catching. My fish are hard to catch. Would adding lime help with the fish being more aggressive and easier to catch?

Jim, lime doesn't appreciably decrease your visibility. It actually increases the alkilinity level and allows fertilizer to "take hold". Have you checked your alkilinity? You can usually come close enough with a cheap swimming pool kit.

In most places the Co-op will bring out lime on a spreader truck. They back up to the pond in several places and turn on the spreader. Call the Co-op for prices.

Those alkalinities are better than the pond's. I would think that lime would work well and not be offset by the springs. If you can get the pond to match the springs you will be in good shape. This link will explain the situation.

http://srac.tamu.edu/tmppdfs/381285-4100...08454fb2925264a

I had the farm store spread 10 tons of lime along on small side of the pond a few years ago. It didn't raise the alkilinity very much. Access , again, is a problem with the ag truck. If I lime the pond, get the alkilinity where it should be and then fertilize, will the fish be more aggressive and be easier to catch? I know the bass are there but we fish and fish and catch one or two fish over a weekend. Fish with artificial lures and minnows. My son , grandson and I consider ourselves fairly decent fishermen.

It SHOULD improve the fishing. Right now, the fish can see you as well as you seeing them. I believe I would get a water sample and send it to A&M. They will define your water situation.
With clear water, you are missing phytoplankton, the bottom of the food chain. Without phyto, nothing works very well. What else do you have in the pond?

I have Florida bass, bream and catfish in the pond. I can get the water tested but I know I've got to need lime. Before I had the pond filled in 1990 they put a lot of lime in it. As I said, a few years ago I had the water tested and I needed 3 tons per acre then . That's when I had the 10 tons delivered but couldn't get it in the pond very good. I've tried to think of a way to get lime spread over the pond without using the barge. Thanks for your help Dave. I'll work on it. I just wanted an opinion as to whether it would actually help the fish catching part. I may bite the bullet and get it done and close my eyes when I pay the man. I really want to improve the fishing for my family. They enjoy going up to the home place and fishing is part of it. Thanks again.

I'm meeting a rep from a local feedstore later this week to test my options for delivery of lime. Any pointers on how best to distribute it evenly over a lake of this size? I am planning to use a small pontoon boat to get it on the water but still working on the best method to spread it . Thanks,

jmartin,

Welcome!

Sounds like a great pond you have there. You're lucky to have the springs flowing almost year round.

Obviously, the springs are dictating the water quality, and there isn't much you can do about it while they're flowing. If you could only use them "as needed", and divert them the rest of the year, you could lime and fertilize to get a better plankton bloom going. Until then, I suspect anything you add is mostly lost over the dam. Feeding will help until you get it figured out.

Jmartin, when we do bioaugmentation (adding bacteria) we like to apply the bugs directly over our sub-surface aerators. The currents created should spread it pretty well in the general area of the aerators. I don't know if there are any bad effects of doing this with lime but it seems to work pretty well with the bugs.