Like so many pondowners in this region, I fretted as water levels fell...and fell... and fell. At worst, down 3 feet. Even in my comparatively deep pond, max depth around 20 feet near the dam, that was a lot of water gone. Pond weeds grew where they normally didn't, my forage pond basically went dry, much of the shoreline was exposed. I had to extend my dock out another ten feet. Ugly scene.
But did it really do long term harm to my fishery?
I ask because we all know about the new lake (pond?) effect, an explosion of fish following the inundation of land. Bob Lusk talks about the first generation of LMB being the best chance for lunkers. Ivie Lake, nearly dried up at one time, now offers the best trophy LMB fishing in Texas. Heck, I was considering drawing down my own little piece of heaven deliberately, until nature did it for me.
Two things I notice now that my place is at full pool. One, the 3 to 5 inch panfish are a heck of a lot scarcer than they used to be. YOY and bigguns doing fine, just that size group missing. Were they forced out of their shallow safe haunts to where bass could devour them? Two, bass seem to have gained girth, and not just the females carrying eggs. Relative weight definitely up compared with same time last year.
Obviously it's been a stressful time for pondowners, including me. But maybe there's a bright side. What do you think?
