I have gotten permission to rehab my neighbors pond. Since I don't have any experience I won't be getting paid for my labor. I'm doing it for the education and also because Mr. H is a great neighbor and I owe him favors.
The goal for this pond is trophy Green Sunfish. I have explained the common wisdom about GSF to Mr. H, and he is willing to give it a try. He has grandchildren that should enjoy the Greens if we can maintain some decent size.
EDIT: Since beginning this project I've learned that Green Sunfish aren't native to our area. Warmouth are native and they are very similar in looks and behavior so I will substitute them for GSF.
BASIC INFO:
*Pond size = 1/5 acre (edit: less than 1/10 acre) at full pool.
*10 ft at the deepest, maybe 6 ft average.
*Pond is about 12 years old.
*Fed by runoff from cattle pasture and Pecan orchard. The watershed is about 15 acres (rough guess)
*The pond would have regular outflow events in normal weather, but hasn't in many months.
*Muck is present at 1 - 2 feet in the deepest area.
THE WATER:
*Current level is 5 ft below full due to drought.
*Water clarity looks about right (will take measurements).
PLANT LIFE:
*The pond has a bad watermeal problem.
*I haven't seen any plant life except for the watermeal.
ANIMAL LIFE:
*I don't believe previously stocked fish have survived.
*There are some frogs and tadpoles
STRUCTURE/HABITAT:
*The pond is steeply rimmed.
*I don't believe any structure has been added (excepting the dock pilings).
*It doesn't look to me like there are many/any good spawning sites at full pool. For now there are plenty of shallow areas, but there's at least 1 foot of muck.
ACTIONS TAKEN:
*I will be ordering this aeration system:
http://www.aerationtechnologies.net/lakepondaeration/airpodone.html *I will be treating watermeal with Sonar AS, and will skim it initially.
STOCKING:
GSF will be transfered from Mr. H's 7 acre pond. At this point there are no plans for adding any larger species. I'm guessing that stocking BG would work against the goal of trophy GSF due to competition and overcrowding.
FORAGE/FEEDING:
I will be stocking Mosquito fish. I plan on collecting other small indigenous fish for diversity and forage. Mr. H and family are willing to hand feed pellets.
QUESTIONS:
1. Is there a species of minnow that seems to fit best into this environment?
2. What additional fish structure would you recommend?
3. How would you improve the spawning structure? I have access to plenty of old tractor tires and pallets.
4. Does it make sense to section off an area with netting as a place for gams or other minnows to safely breed? Should/could I raise some in a fine meshed cage?
Many more questions to come.
Here's a link to the
Green Sunfish Pond thread. This thread references Mr. H's pond also, but is intended as a general discussion about the possibilities of raising trophy GSF .
EDIT: Late Feb. 2008 - The Fathead minnows stocked last October have multiplied to many thousand fish. Recently I began stocking adult Warmouth which I've been collecting from Mr H's big pond. So far the sizes have ranged from 3" to 7" and the total is 6 fish.