Bill C., thanks for the info on the trout. Plan called for stocking 10-12" every fall from Freshwater Farms so still in scope which is nice. I have every intention of keeping any LMB and BG I catch and have done so to date. No intentions at this point to stock SMB, plan called for HSB and WE. Yellow Perch will be pellet trained from Jim Brehm, hopefully he has larger sizes I can buy. I owe him a call tomorrow for stocking in early to mid Oct. If I stock SMB, they will be in the 5-7" range unless you know a source that has larger ones.
TJ, Lots of info there, thanks for taking the time.
Watershed
Watershed is 27 acres, estimated the runoff coefficient to be .43 based on landscape. There are 2 ponds upstream within the 27 acres. My understanding was they stocked catfish and that was it, however, the owners do not fish and ponds were there prior to them. The one guy I talked to that occasionally fishes the ponds has only caught catfish but if he is using chicken liver (or whatever) as bait which may explain the catfish only. Note to self, KNOW your watershed, not guesses, know it. Note 2, be KING OF THE HILL!!!!! Sprk good update on the homesteading thread.
Inflow
The inflow is currently a ditch. It enters my property a hair above the 1009' elevation mark and travels 50 feet where it starts to enter the pond at the 1008' elevation mark, normal pool is at 1006.5'. This fall we are going to widen the inflow ditch to 8 feet and make sure it has a nice even grade to it. Prior to my property there is 1000' of overgrown grass/weeds as part of a waterway. The sides slope up on both sides so the only way to divert water would be via drain tile, which was discussed with the county during planning stages to prevent too much turnover. If I were to take drain tile out and around the pond from the watershed, a 30" pipe would be needed for a 100-year rain event which is really what I am worried about. I know I can't afford 400 feet of 30" pipe. Again I am not a dirt guy, surveyor, or pond professional so maybe I am missing something. Going to get the topo maps back out and take a gander to make sure I didn't miss something.
Pond Level/Water Sources
Pond level is an entirely different issue/problem. Prior to digging the pond, I spent time with Soil and Water digging test holes and looking for a clay tile they swore ran through the property. We never found it, so fully expected to find it while digging the pond but we didn't. Sure enough 1.1 million gallons of water found that damn clay tile. We are presently down 2.5 feet with no significant rainfall in 6-8 weeks so I am not really sure how much water is needed. Another fall project is to dig up/find the tile and pack with clay which should fix the water loss. If not, need to have a long conversation with you about SoilFloc. Note that a core trench was dug around 60% of the pond beyond where the dam starts/stops, the few spots of sand were removed and packed with 2 feet of clay in 6-8" lifts, everything was compacted, to include the sides, with a vibrating sheepsfoot, and my outlet pipe has 2 anti-seep collars. I explain all this to answer the few questions. As of right now the pond cannot stay full w/o that water but that may change after applying said fixes. I have looked for other ways to tap into other watersheds by adding drain tile but either there is not one or I am not experienced enough to recognize one. Right now there is no well, or power for that matter, and would not keep up with the loss if there was one, hopefully that will change.
A pond is like a child, it worries you, keeps you up at night, takes lots of money, and is a pain in the ass but you still love having one and wouldn't trade it for anything.
Vegetation
We have planted vegetation but that stuff is stupid expensive. We bought some of each and planted in groups around the pond hoping for natural spread. All species are native to Ohio which was one of our requirements. Here is what we planted:
Water Celery (Vallisneria americana)
Pickerelweed (Pontederia cordata)
Arrowhead (Sagittaria latifolia)
White Turtlehead (Chelone glabra)
Blue Flag Iris (Iris virginica)
Cardinal Flower (Lobelia cardinalis)
Monkeyflower (Mimulus ringens)
Button bush (Cephalanthus occidentalis)
It is growing and will be a while before it provides adequate protection for fish. Thinking about getting some seeds of each variety next spring to see if we cannot expedite this process. With the pond down, even if it was established, it would not be very effective.
Fish
Before I make any major decisions need to continue fishing and sampling the pond. I am not convinced there is a lot of BG in the pond. I was a little shocked when I pulled out the one, still have not fished anymore out. I know there are more bass in there and still working on getting as many of them as I can. I have the ability to draw the pond down 5' via a gate valve so preventing a spawn may be the best option to stop successful recruitment. Do you recall what issue the article was in? If I cannot get all the LMB out (likely scenario) will I need to stock BG as instructed by Omaha? (Thanks Omaha, it never crossed my mind)
I will have to disagree on the too loose regarding friends and fish. I offended one friend regarding the subject and told another one I would shoot him in the leg if he took a fish near the pond. No live bait (fish) has been used (minus FHM, sourced from fish farm, hand sorted by me, and used by me) to fish. There are also signs posted around the pond stating "ABSOLUTELY NO FISH FROM OUTSIDE SOURCES, (This is a manged fishery)." If there is something I missed or could do better PLEASE let me know so I can adjust. We have potentially lost $75 in LCS, $200 in Papershell Crayfish, and $50 in FHM. The worst part, all the forage they would have created to get the YP a wonderful jump start is now a pipe dream!
Thanks again TJ and everyone else for all the advice!
