Pond Boss Forums INTRO Questions & Observations Winter Drawdown Questions

I plan to do a drawdown on my pond this winter. It is an old pond, but I had to rotenone and start it over last winter. I began stocking about 1 year ago with coppernose/redear, around the 1st of december. Bass were put in this summer. I'm in the Middle Mississippi.

How will it affect my newly stocked fish population VS an existing population into its 2nd year or later?

Would it be better to wait another year, and if so why?

If not, what should the water temperature be before starting?

Anything else I need to keep in mind?

Thanks

You must have a good reason to suck water out of your pond. What is it's problem?

I agree with dave if it ain't broke don't mess with it

A winter drawdown for the southern regions is one of the most useful and inexpensive procedures to help control aquatic weeds, without using lots of herbicide, and can be used to perform repairs, redesign, and liming. It also can be invaluable in manipulating fish populations.

I have worked that isn't pressing but somethings I'd like to work on in the pond.

The only answer I had been unable to find is how it will affect a "newly stocked" fish populations and if there is a specified temperature that should be reached before starting.

I'm not a pro but have a couple of thoughts and personal observations. In North Central Texas nature does a pretty good job of drawing down water levels but it is usually in the summer. I have never seen it help the aquatic weed situation. They come back with a vengeance when the water level returns. My observation is that they only go dormant.

Right now, my 1 acre stock tank is down 6 feet and is considerably less than 1 acre. The small forage ponds have dried up. I have, I believe, seen a significant predation on small to mid sized forage fish by the catfish and bass. I just don't see the 1 to 4 inch bluegill that I had. However, that could also be due to lack of vegetation that provides hiding places for the invertebrates and other small stuff that are at the low end of the food chain. Hard to tell.

Although I don't like to use aquatic herbicides, I would trade the occasional plant problem for a full water hole. In my area, a drawdown would not make any sense. But then, you may be in an area that gets consistent rains.

I agree with above. There should be good reason for drawing down the level.

Last year I did a large drawdown on my pond for several reasons. Cleanup, fish population control, and creation of structure. Mine was in deperate need for new management and had done wonders for the fishing already.

I pulled all my information from the site:

Msu Cares Wildlife and Fisheries: Farm Pond Drawdowns

They just don't go in depth enough to answer my specific question. It looks like no one really knows the answer.

The questions you asked cannot be answered on this screen but can be answered on the banks of your pond with a local pond advisor. After taking water and soil samples and a walk around the deck can answer your questions and point you in the right path towards your goals. Sometimes our heads get clogged up with to much info. on the computer and the answer can be had by taking a closer look at the situation and common sense.

PS. It's all in the minerals

For a newly stocked pond, why are weeds a problem? They provide much needed cover for newly hatched fish. Remember this...you stocked the food chain so it could increase. Then, you waited to stock the bass so they won't overeat the food chain. In theory, your food chain should be expanding as the bass grow.
A drawdown on a newly stocked pond concentrates all fish, with the risk of allowing bass to grow at a faster rate than they should.
It may sound contradictory to common opinion, but you don't want your bass growing too fast. If they do, the food chain suffers over the long term.
Think about this...aquatic plants become a problem when? When you can't fish it...when more than 50% of the pond stays covered for a long period of time...and when there's too much moss to fertilize.
Those three key reasons to eliminate moss have been eliminated...you aren't fishing a newly stocked pond...even if more than 50% is covered right now, those plants will die back during winter anyway, and you won't be fertilizing until spring.
If you can reasonably expect cold enough water temperatures to cause plants to die between now and spring, there's really not a good reason to draw your pond down.

Scott, your response must have been meant for another post it makes no sense in regards to my question of how a drawdown would affect the fish in a newly stocked pond. Hehe looks like you did a cut and paste of a generic answer like some computer support group would do, that was definitely funny.

Thanks Bob for simply answering the question, though I never said weeds were a problem in my newly stocked pond, I was only pointing out that there were legitimate reasons for implementing a drawdown, not just when there is a problem as some suggested.

So a drawdown would negatively affect my newly stocked fish. Therefore I'll wait another year or two before performing one to do any other work inside the pond. Thats what I needed to know.

Sometimes getting a straight answer is like pulling teeth. ;-)