Pond Boss Forums MANAGING AN EXISTING POND Feeding Optimum Feeding Ring Size

Last year, 0 B.P.B. (Before Pond Boss) I threw together a 5 ft square feeding ring out of 1.5" schedule 40 PVC. I spent half of 2004's feeding weather trying to get my BG to eat in it without success. The CC, GC, and GShiner will feed just about anywhere, so I stopped using it and just fed with the wind to give the fish the maximum amount of time to eat before the pellets blew to shore.

This year my BG started taking feed, so I have anchored the old feed ring at their preferred locale and feed BG inside the ring (2x daily), CC outside the ring (1x daily). (The Shiners eat wherever.) As the number and size of BG taking feed has grown it has become apparent to me that next year I will want to use a bigger ring. My reasons for a bigger ring are to hold more feed without it blowing away, have room for more BG to eat, feed all the fish inside the ring, make it easier to toss a bigger amount of food into, and allow part of the ring to be farther from shore (I think that covers all the pros I've thought of).

I recently scored some used semi-rigid black plastic 1" & 1.25" water pipe (pulled from a well) which I am sitting on to use as electrical conduit in the future. I think the 1.25" would make a decent round feeding ring (assuming it's not holed) and would like your ideas on what the best size to use would be. I'm thinking a 10' diameter would be minimum; I have enough 1.25" pipe to go up to about 25' diameter maximum.

Pond is just under 1 acre. I will be feeding the above mentioned species for 2-3 (?) years and then hope to stock 8"-10" HSB when most of the CC have been removed. I feed by hand and will continue to do so (pond is only 200 yards from the house and I always make time to feed the fish - it's damn relaxing).

Thanks for your input.

FWIW: I use a ring made out of two 10' lengths of 3/4" grey plastic electrical conduit glued together. It doesn't stand out like a sore thumb like white pvc would. I have it tied to my dock and manually throw the food into it. The feeding frenzy that results makes me wonder why I even bother having the ring.

Regards, Tom Parker

Theo, what keeps the fish segregated? CC outside of the ring and BG inside. Hard to believe the CC don't go inside the ring.

DD, I think the 5' ring is just too close to shore, therefore in water too shallow, for CC comfort. Maybe one or two will swim in close enough to feed out of it, but they seem more tentative that close to shore than farther out. But if I didn't throw the CC their own feed out in deeper water, I'm sure many more would come closer to shore and eat from the ring.

Since posting this question, I have decided that 1) the new ring will be in the 12'-15' diameter range (to fit into the storage space I have for it off-season) and 2) to place it just to the left of the current ring location, directly over the deep hole for the dry hydrant. The bigger fish that come to feed (BG especially) seem to like the deeper water and always approach the small ring from the side next to the deep hole.

I have also found that if I feed the CC their pellets in the first afternoon feeding, none of them show up to eat during a late P.M. feeding intended (and sized and placed) for BG only. The behavior patterns of all these fish is pretty fascinating, you know?

Theo, my feeding ring is made of 3" PVC 10 feet square tied at the end of my dock. Stren Aquapro is setting where it throws game fish chow straight out over the ring. A nice amount lands inside the ring, where the bluegill seem to come out from under dock to feed and my CC feed in a frenzy on the outside of the ring.