Pond Boss Forums MANAGING AN EXISTING POND Evaluating and adjusting fish populations Creating Bluegill Spawning Beds

Would like to create some areas for bluegill to spawn - so

1) depth spawning areas should be placed ?
2) use gravel ? if so, size preferred ?
3) Should it be placed on the pond bottom or should I build some sort of large wooden boxes and fill them with rocks ?
4) How do you minimize predation by Osprey ? Bluegill now spawn in about 18" of water in my pond and the Osprey are continually picking them off their beds.

Looking forward to input

1) BG spawn very shallow, I'd say around 6" to 2', give or take.
2) You can use gravel, but plenty of people on here said their BG spawned perfectly fine on just a plain ol' clay bottom. I'm not sure if adding sand or gravel helps (I'm sure it would help, but I'm thinking about cost vs return)
3) Definitely on the pond bottom. BG spawn by fanning out depressions on the pond bottom.
4) Not sure how to keep birds from getting your fish, but I think there's some good threads around here on that specifically. I found one here, that has some suggestions for you: https://forums.pondboss.com/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=285412

When I built my pond, I had about 13T of 3/8" pea gravel spread to form a beach of sorts, an area for easy access in and out of the pond by either jon boat or by foot for swimming. The pea gravel is about 30-40' along the bank, and goes into about 2.5-3' depth of water.

The BG and HBG I stocked in mid March VERY clearly prefer this habitat, and I can see beds all throughout the pea gravel in as little as 12" of water.

I have heard on here that pea gravel is the best but I used what was readily available in our area by the truck load and that is crushed limestone. It is varying sizes down to the fines of lime all the way up to about an inch in diameter. I just used my tractor loader and dumped piles along the shore line.

If a person is making the beds by hand and carrying the rock by hand something like pea gravel in a container (so it does not just work down into the mud and be lost) would be preferable. Round plastic containers work or if you go to a home improvement store to the concrete section they make concrete hand mixing plastic tubs that are very durable and would work very well.

BG will figure out a way to spawn with or without pre-made bedding areas. The gravel beds just give the eggs a higher percentage of survival potential compared to mud.

I know of no way to "Legally" minimize osprey predation.

I've often said that if a chicken hawk was eating my chickens I would probably take care of the problem.

I have had an Osprey at my pond for months at a time. I have only seem it carry off some nice sized bg. But when the B. Eagle shows up I am pretty sure he will carry of some larger sized hsb and lmb along with some nice sized bg. I would take an Osprey over a Bald Eagle any day. Over the past years alot of my fish culling has been done by River Otters, Osprey and B. Eagles. I can control the Otters but only after i see them in the pond. Not much control available when it come to Osprey and Eagles. And to be honest I do enjoy watching them but after months of viewing it becomes something I am not all that happy with. All of the above show up for long periods of time each and every year.