Pond Boss Forums INTRO Questions & Observations HSB escaping

The ever changing stocking plan of my one acre pond now includes adding HSB next spring. Last fall I put in 250 HBG and the same of RES along with 5 lbs fatheads. This spring I'm adding another 5 lbs fatheads and another 250 HBG. I've got pallets staked all around for the fatheads to breed on--if it ever warms up--and I do plan on feeding. This fall I've ordered 50 walleyes. The plan is to skip LMB and add 50 HSB next spring. Since the pond is new, I thought this would be the perfect opportunity to experiment, and I've always loved wipers. However, I also know of their proclivity to escape. My pond is fed by runoff and has some flow through it. What do I need to do to keep my fish--especially the wipers in. Obviously, it will take some type of screen at the overflow, but I'm looking for ideas as to what specifically to use and how to design it. Thanks.

Never thought about that.

I wouldn't be too concerned if the overflow is in shallower water. It'll be impossible to design an overflow screen that will keep fish from escaping and not plug up with debris just when you need it to be clean to let water out.

At least I don't know how to design one that'll be self cleaning.

My pond is essentially connected to a decent sized year round stream. Any fish can come and go as they please.

While that's not my desired situation, I think most fish stay in the pond 'cause it has all that they need.

Thanks. I was just wondering as our local river is now home to some quality wipers that escaped from two reservoirs upstream. In fact, some of the finest HSB fishing is usually located at the spillways where the wipers were stocked. Knowing their wandering ways, I was just concerned about keeping them in--especially during a flood situation. Muskies are also notorious for escaping, and certain lakes have constructed barriers to keep them in. I thought maybe there was a design out there someone knew about.

One issue with mechanisms to keep fish in or out is that they also get clogged and can cause other problems in high water situations.

Definitely true that screens clog and can cause a problem. However in my trout pond where I have two outlets and continuous flowing water, I make screens out of plastic cage mesh like the following. My trout are quite small right now, and they have even more of a penchant to find running water and swim with it than other species.





They're made as a tube slightly bigger than the outlet drainage pipe and put together with zip ties. They slide on and off of the drainage pipe.I usually make two of them and just pull one off and put a clean one on while I spray off the algae and debris from the dirty one with a garden hose. Then that one's ready for the next change over.

I can get them them to clog less frequently by placing a floating boom of sorts in front of the drain. Not pictured, but I make a u shape with three pieces of 1 1/2 inch PVC pipe and two elbows. The ends are sealed with caps and of course the closed end faces the inflow. Floating debris such as leaves and floating algae gets stopped before it gets to the drain pipe screening.

It's also a good idea to extend the screening as far away as possible from the end of the drain pipe. That is, lots more surface area to slow down complete blockage. I run a drywall screw through the screen into the drainage pipe to hold the screen in place. It can be removed by hand and isn't screwed in very far.

More pictures:

Brook,
That is one heck of a lot of apex predators all competing for a few scarce forage fish. I think the cupboards are going to be bare and the HBG will struggle at best to keep up with recruitment. Just sayin.
Why not native BG?