Hello everyone
You may remember me from this post:
http://forums.pondboss.com/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Main=31309&Number=405192#Post405192A lot has changed since march, i got home yesterday from a trip up there and i have seen improvements in my family's lake, back in April i made a trip and put 1 newly fallen Christmas tree in the lake and then in June, i cut down 3, i will add a picture. #1 was back in april and is 12ft deep, #2 was june and is 16ft, #3 and #4 were cut down with #2 but were set just deep enough to soak, 3 days ago i moved #3 (12ft) to where it is now and i never got to moving #4. after spending some time up there this summer i know a lot more about this lake. the depths are about true, deepest part was 23 ft with the narrow averages 14 ft and the lagoon is averaged at 10 with 8ft in the middle. all perch, i actually haven't seen any of those white suckers only perch, i have bucket stocked minnows in probably 100 - 120 in the last 6 months i got pretty lucky considering the stream on the property has fathead minnows, along with that i have caughten i would say 160-200 small perch and thrown them out. in april i caught one of good size i would say 6 or 7 inch in june we caught two and then this past weekend i caught 6 large ones and one must have been 8 inches they were all caught within 30 ft of trees 1 and 2 and it was like a switch flipped within 1 to 2 hours before sunset and i caught them all within about 20 minutes with the hour before that catching about 25 small ones.
Now this past weekend has also worked out in another way, my uncle that spends a lot of time on the property managing the woodlands for deer has decided to put me in charge of managing the lake with him financing it. you guys suggested it may have the winter-kill debacle, i also believe there is not enough forage for the perch along with the water being so clear that there arnt many nutrients. i would like to keep the water clear but it is not necessary.
As for fish, i would definitely like to add minnows most likely fatheads and my uncle suggested smb or trout and even said we could consider building an artifical creek with a pump to run during spawn so they reproduce(i think i have seen someone else do it on here). down the line i would like to even add something like a dozen pike but that may never happen so im not focused on it now.
My short game plan for now is to keep killing the stunted perch, along with that my uncle and i talked about having a pro come out to look at the lake sometime soon (if you guys have a friend or know a good guy in the northern michigan area id love to get in contact) i also plan on taking water samples the next times im there (end of october, middle november and then probably january or february) and either testing myself or sending off to lab. i guess the main thing i would be looking for is D.O. in the winter, any tips on that would be appreciated. im going to start looking into a supplier with minnows that will tolerate the cold weather. my uncle also used to have an aerator which the pump is long gone but there is a 1 inch hose running from the garage in cabin to somewhere in the middle of the lake which he said im welcome to get a pump and hook it up which may be beneficial to run in winter months?
I would like to hear your guys advise on this, any help is appreciated and thank you for taking the time to read.
