Pond Boss Forums INTRO New Forum Member Introduction Hey everyone!

My name is Chad. I've lurked around for a little bit and I finally bit the bullet and signed up. There is a wealth of information around here and I'm addicted! I live just north of Austin and was recently given the "go ahead" on managing the 2.5-3 acre pond on our family farm. I look forward to incorporating some knowledge from you guys!

LT, welcome aboard. Good luck with your management challenge. Do not be shy about asking, there are NO dumb ?s. Bob-O

Your beginning tasks are to:
1. Measure maximum and average depths.
2. Determine water clarity several times during the year. Learn about a Secchi disk and how to use it. Water clarity is often the best in late winter.
http://forums.pondboss.com/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=92624#Post92624
3. Determine the composition of the fish community.
A. Learn to identify the sunfishes (TX perch) mostly bluegill (BG), redear sunfish (RES), coppernose bluegill (CNBG), green sunfish (GSF), hybrid bluegill (HBG).
B. Do some fishing several ways using lures and most importantly some live bait on small hooks under small bobbers. Keep records of all fish species caught and the length of each. Weigh many of the bass so you can determine the relative weight of those fish ( fish wt / standard wt X 100).
C. It also helps to record how many fish of each species that you catch per hour of fishing.
D. The above info will be needed to give you good advice for managing your fishery.

Sounds good! I just bought a depth finder for my little boat. I'll be checking on that stat! I appreciate the point in the right direction.

Verify the accuracy of the depth finder with a rope/cord and weight.

That's a great idea with the string and weight. And I saw your edit, even more great info. I like the log book idea. Logistics go far! Are there any templates to this record keeping on here? If not, it's okay! I'll figure something out.