Pond Boss Forums MANAGING AN EXISTING POND Evaluating and adjusting fish populations Where to begin?

Gates - Since catching large fish is not a priority for you and since the pond does not seem to have any major or imminent problems you can approach the management casually and in a step wise fashion. We should be able to recommend some tasks for you to do and then you can report back your results. Then we could go to the next step.

Firstly - Do you have a digital camera?

Do you have a dock (jetty)?

Have you ever measured the pond depth from a boat with rope and weight or just took the previous owners word about depth?

Secondly - I agree with you and I think the red&white fish are koi. They feed differently compared to the other fish in the pond. Koi fed by rooting and sieving the sediments for a variety of living and dead plants and animals (mostly animals). This is why they are big and appear to be doing fine; probably not much competition for food from the majority of the other fish. They are most probably reproducing and the colored offspring are getting consumed at an early age by predators. HOWEVER, some of their offspring that are drab colored are no doubt surviving and you probably have additional smaller koi in the pond. You have a very exceptional case if I am wrong. A couple things will suggest that I am correct. 1. Water clarity. Since I cannot visit the pond, You should be periodically checking or measuring this (monthly Apr-Oct). Tie a thin rope or cord to a white coffee cup. Mark the cord in one ft increments. Lower cup into water until it disppears, note the depth reading oncord. Numerous koi will keep your pond roiled and cloudy. Their feeding activiity will also keep rooted vegetation to a minimum due to rooting of sediments and cloudy water conditons.

Thirdly - Do your best to catch one of those rockfish. Take a close picture of it. I do not know what you mean by rockfish, so I cannot determine their niche in your pond.

Fourthly - You could easily have too many bass and too thin of bass in your pond for a normal sport fishery pond. BUT this fact may be what is keeping the koi and other nuisance fish in your pond from becoming over abundant and causing problems worse that what you have now.

Fifthly - First task fish-wise for you this summer is to start fishing and keep track of what you catch and its length and relative plumpness - emaciated, thin, average, plump. Fish with a variety of methods, live bait and artificial. Fish on or near the bottom with worms or crickets- bobber&no bobber. Occassionally use a few minnows for bait. Catch as many difertnt types of fish as possible. Report back.

Barley straw is probably keeping some of the algae growth suppressed. Koi rooting will also suppres some algae growth (physical & turbidity). Flow through from spring will also dilute nutrients and somewhat flush the pond thus helping reduce algae problems.