Pond Boss Forums GENERAL QUESTIONS Muddy water muddy water in the spring

There is a problem with a pond I fish. From about January till late April the water is extremely muddy. Any suggestions on how to correct

do you own the pond if not don't do anything to it unles you get permision.

It is my uncles pond

Is there water flowing into the pond from somewhere? If so, is that water muddy?

I think we need a little more imfo what fish are in the pond how warm is it, how much runoff does the pond get. i'd love to know whats making it muddy im stumped.

water shed is about 8 acres. the pond is about 1.5 acres
There is about 30 yard perimeter around the pond in grass. Pond is in Mississippi. It has bass, channel catfish and bream. There is not a flowing creek or spring. The pond is 60 years old. It was dug out about 18 years ago. Grass is established around the pond. It has a CRP field on the north side.

sorry but im completly clueless.

How is the water after a windy day?

The water stays muddy till late spring. Doesn't matter if it is windy or not. The damn runs north and south and is about 150 yards long. I think I am going to plant some type of trees on the north side to slow the wind coming across the pond.

i don't think wind is doing anything also you want to be carfull about planting trees on the dam some have invasive roots and will cause leaks and many problems down the road.

So it clears up after late spring, when does it get muddy again? Fall, winter, early spring?

Could it have anything to do with the crops being planted. By late spring, crops are in and start to control more of the run-off.? Does this CRP field even drain into the pond? A 30' grass barrier don't seem like much to me.



Edit- my mistake it's 30 yards of grass. But if it's a big field that isn't much to stop muddy water. Have you seen the water running off into the pond and what does it look like?

I will not be planting trees on the dam. The dam runs north and south. I would be planting trees on the north side of the pond. It is normally late April before the water clears up. Normally it is late December/January when it start to get muddy again.

No crops are planted on the land anymore. I have not viewed the water running into the pond. Will try and do that the next time it rains. Since our normal rainy season is the winter this maybe where I need to start looking.

If this is the cause should I set haybales in the drainages to prevent the muddy water?

If the water clears, and it is a cooler season "muddiness", it has to be some form of mechanical action, (wind or fish) or it is a brown algae and not "mud" at all. A wind stirred muddy pond can often take several days to clear.

I think the rain man is onto something its probably a mechanical action making the pond muddy, or a brown algea bloom. this summer i got brown algae bloom and it looked just like the pond was muddy. could you posibly take a few pics that would help alot in determining what the problem is . if your rainy season is the winter and spring it might be a runoff problem you could try haybails but i might make a small ditch to redirect the runoff. but once again its hard to tell without knowing what the pond and area around the pond looks like. rex how can wind make a pond muddy i know it will happen with a larger lake that has lots of surface acerage to make waves witch stir up the bank. how will wind make a small pond muddy also wouldn't his pond be muddy almost all of the time when the wind picks up not just in the spring time?

wind/wave action mixes, churns and erodes the bank the waves break on. depending on the ionics of the water and soild, clay can easily suspend. Like you mentioned, I doubt it is wind/wave or it would be a more common occurance.....I would almost bet it is brown algae and not mud at all. Maybe wild Bill will chime in with some info on southern winter climate brown species.

IF, repeat IF it is a brown algae, breaking a chain in it's life cycle needs will stop it, but "something" will replace it...nothing in a pond goes unutilzed for long.

what is brown algae? how do you tell the difference between muddy water and brown algae

I have seen people spread hay from a boat to help clean up water. Seems like I remember them using like 10 square bales per acre. Just remember that decaying materials can also cause other issues in a pond. Also not e clearing up the water does not fix the cause of the problem which needs to be determined.

Pere is some info from TAMU on muddy water.
https://srac.tamu.edu/index.cfm/event/getFactSheet/whichfactsheet/108/

Take a water sample and look at it under a microscope if you know what to look for.....or.....Send it to Bill Cody.

Could he take a jar of the water add "something to it" to see if it was suspended muddy water? I seem to recall people talking about drywall clearing up water. Could he put a little bit of that in the jar to see if it helped, or would that also kill/settle brown algae?

Alum/H Lime takes both out of the water, but the question answered was how to tell the difference between brown algae and "mud".

I just thought there may be some "easy" way to tell the difference between brown algae and mud besides using a microscope. Like adding something to a sample of water that may tell a person the difference.

I think you may be underestimating the amount of dirt being carried in from your surrounding land. If your water source is runoff from rain you are getting more dirt than you would expect. Rain is a very powerful erosive force. Especially in the winter and spring when the soil is softened and plants are not as actively sponging up water.

Have you tried a clarifier or product like "Blue Bayou?"


I have a 2 acre pond, very muddy in the spring, and I only use a half or third of a bottle because I don't want the artificial blue. It clears up the water fairly well within a week. I have to wait until most of the spring rains are over (June here) or I'll just be sending my money downstream.

Yes normally I apply some dye in the spring. When the water clears I start to fertilize