So I took the day off yesterday and met with David Beasley from SOLitude Lake Management at the pond. We stocked 100 RES, installed a new 125lb texas hunter feeder, and he took some water samples that he is sending to the lab. The feeder came with a bad timer but David returned first thing this morning to install a new one. The RES looked very healthy and took off into their new home. David commented that we had a very good zooplankton bloom and that the forage plan was especially good!

I planted 50 new corkscrew eel grass plants three weeks ago, my Dad had told me that he didn't notice them last weekend so I wanted to check to see if they were gone. I found most of the plants where I planted them but none had spread yet and many looked like they had a brown leaf or two. I was worried that maybe my crayfish had been eating them but that did not appear to be the case. David said they looked stressed but that I shouldn't panic. The water temps were in the mid-70s which is cooler than I expected and might have something to do with the reluctance of the eel grass to take off. If the eelgrass doesn't start to rally by the 30th I will make an order of Valisneria Spiralis and see if that works better than the Valisneria Americana I had planted.

Fathead minnows are everywhere. I did not see much shiner, killifish, bluntnose, or darter activity but I did see enough to let me know they are in there. I suspect my golden shiners never spawned as they were only 2.5-4" when stocked and I have not seen any fry other than the fatheads. I will wait until at least next summer to add the yellow perch and smallmouth as I want to be sure the other species get established and I am just not seeing enough from them at this point.

After David left I skinny dipped off the dock as there was nobody in sight and it was very hot out. I don't think there is a more refreshing activity on a hot day than diving into your own pond! My dog loved the pond as well and swam many a lap!

Here is David testing the water:



Here is my dog having a blast: