Hey canyoncreek….when building our pea gravel beds, I was making the assumption that pond temps would follow the similar pattern as larger lakes. I do believe that water temps generally do warm faster on the north side of large water bodies, but I’m not sure whether the volume of water in a 1 acre pond is enough to make as big of a difference. I’m only one season in on our pond to have actual data. Most of my strategy when placing structure was on my assumptions from other experience.
What I actually witnessed in our first spring in the pond was that the perch spawned on the west side of the pond on the dam where we had sunken brush. They used the wood structure to hang ribbons on in about 5 ft of water. It’s my guess that the perch are prioritizing the best structure for them and then waiting for the water temp to be ideal in that spot. I didn’t expect the perch to use the gravel beds for spawning. The bluegill however did use the gravel beds on both the north and south.
My only explanation is that I bet each pond environment is a little different. What do the perch use to hang ribbons on in your pond in the south end?
