I appreciate all your advice and willingness to help. I've been starting to read some of your past posts and it seems I always learn something new.
I do plan to spend a lot of time around the pond. I'm very interested in hand feeding my fish, especially different feed sizes. This past year I fed the fish with a fish feeder and though the bluegill that ate the feed showed great RW. I didn't have very many that would come to the feeder. I know you have an aeration system in your main pond John so you could possibly have twice the biomass in your pond as normal helping explain the major feeding frenzy everytime you feed the fish. That's more of what I'm looking for and I'm hoping starting with starter pellets will help get the YOY bluegill to become feed trained.
After looking back at your ponds John, you're right, you don't have a very large watershed either. I was just impressed with how full your ponds were at that time compared to my own.
Actually increasing my watershed is going to be my biggest challenge in managing my pond I believe. So far I have a few ideas.
1. I have plans to adjust my bank in a few spots to increase the flow of rain water into the pit. Also have all rainwater from my roof to flow into the pit.
2. Attempt to trap the occasional muskrats I see with 110 conibear traps. I rarely see them, but I definitely see there holes in the bank of the pit especially with the low water level.
3. My pit being surrounded by large trees, I am curious as to how much water they could possibly be consuming from my pit and thus lowering the water level. But I don't plan to go cutting down all my trees either just to have a fuller pit.
4. And talk to neighbor who is a crop farmer who I could possibly work out a deal with to increase my watershed. How you did with your neighbor John.
