Evaluate My Fishery- TJ's Pond.

When was the pond built? 2008

How big is the pond? 2.5 acres

How deep was it then? 16' max

How deep is it now? 16' max

Average depths? 8'

How long did it take to fill up? 60 days

Does the water level fluctuate much? 2-3' max, supplement with 50 gph well

What is the primary soil type? clay

What type of land is the watershed drainage into the pond?
Virgin tallgrass prairie
What is the typical water clarity? 70-80" Winter, 36-48" balance of year

Have you ever had the water quality analyzed? Results? No

What is predominant vegetation growing in and around the pond? Submergent: American and either Sago, Horned or other similar pondweed. Emergent: Arrowroot I several light planktonic algae blooms annually
Do you do anything about the vegetation, explain?

5 Grass Carp keep vegetation coverage limited to 15-20% pond. I spray all Cattails once they reach 6-12" height


Aeration?

No

What fish were stocked initially, what sizes, and when?

Summer 2008
100 Adult GSH
500 FHM
50 Papershell Crayfish
400 YOY CSBG

Fall 2008
380 3-4" YP
700 4-6" RES

Spring 2009
1500 Grass Shrimp
250 GSH
10# FHM

Fall 2009
300 Pellet trained SMB
120 6-8" HSB

Spring 2010
Stock 3 14" WE

Summer 2010
HBC [blackstripe] escape from experimental pond to main pond - estimate 150 HBC stocked during Summer during several flow through events.


Fall 2011

100 4-6" WE

Summer 2012

50 4-6" HSB

What fish have been stocked since initial stocking?

See above

What fish have been removed since initial stocking?

Harvested two 23" HSB, 40 YP, Removed hundreds of CSBG

Whats the biggest fish of each species caught to date and when?

HSB - 25.5"
YP - 13.25"
HBC - 15"
BG - 9.5"
RES - 9.75"
WE - 22" advanced fish, 14" stocked fish
SMB - 17.25"

Whats the average size of each species in the pond currently?

HSB - Range from 22 - 25" with some smaller fish coming up from last year's stocking

YP 10-13" but seeing recruitment in cage and throw nets

SMB 14-17"

HBC 12-13"

BG 3-6"

RES 4-7"

WE 11-14"

Do you feel you have all age classes of fish represented in the adequately in the pond? Explain...

No, most HSB are age 4-6. Am beginning to ladder stock annually with smaller numbers.

I stock top 1% of SMB recruitment in pond annually from reproduction pond - 15-20 fish annually. Many age classes present

I have YP recruitment, but catch frequency continues to decrease

HBC are all original stocking, not catching any apparent age 2 or 3 fish

RES and BG recruitment, but fish are on small size range

How do you feel about the fish habitat in the pond?

Very little artificial habitat. Natural habitat through timber and vegetation covers 15% pond. Helps BG management with less cover

Do you feel the fish have enough to eat year round?

Predators WR is strong with steady pellet program, BG, and GSH

Do you supplementally feed, what kind food, how often?

Yes, AM 400, 500, 600 March-October 8 seconds/day

What was the best year you can remember for fishing in the pond?

2012/2013

Why do you think that was?

HBC, SMB, HSB, YP all at peak sizes

What was the worst year of fishing?

First year of stocking

Again Why do you think that was?

low population of small fish

What fish size/species would you like to see less of in the pond?

BG and small RES

What fish species/size would you like to see more of or introduced in the pond?

More large YP, more large RES

Would you like to harvest more or less fish annually?

More

What are your future plans for the pond in regards to human interaction/management?

Continue to manually remove BG and supplementally stock SMB, HSB, and YP as necessary

What decisions have you made that now in hindsight you would do differently?

No BG stocking. More deliberate forage stocking to avoid BH introduction. More careful with HBC management - prevent escape fish from main pond introduction.

Overall what is the ultimate goal for your fishery and how close are you to obtaining it?

I wanted a predator heavy pond with good sized fish and am there. I'd love to have an opportunity to frequently catch good RES, BG and YP. Starting micro fishery [.4 acre] dedicated to Male BG, RES and female YP to provide that opportunity.

Once you obtain that original goal, then what?

Keep it going - help others emulate/create their own fisheries

What else do you feel is important to know about your pond and the land that surrounds it?

Many men go fishing all of their lives without knowing that it is not fish they are after. ~ Henry David Thoreau

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