EDIT: At the time of this editing I've built the corral and I'm testing it by collecting WM for Mr. H's small pond. On June 26th I was at 8 total WM in the corral, which was the result of adding 11 fish, with 3 fish dying.

At that time the corral seemed to be holding fish. In addition there were several dozens of yoy brim congregating in the enclosure. These small fish where able to easily pass through the 5/8" netting. On the 26th I pulled the corral partially to shore and lifted the netting to confirm fish numbers. When I repositioned the unit I apparently failed to seat the netting properly because the next day only 1 WM was in the corral. I lifted the netting again to confirm the loss of fish and found no holes in the net. The reason I believe the net wasn't seated properly is that when I lifted it I caught a few 2 - 2 1/2 inch brim which were far too large to pass through the net. The most likely reason for them to have been in the corral is an opening along the bottom.

Today, June 29th, I caught and added 2 WM bringing the total back to 3. One of these spent time on the ground so I will be watching it for signs of infection.

_______________________________________________

Original post:


I'm trying to design a containment device that I can make cheap and quick, to hold GSF for 3 or 4 weeks. I would like to start feed training wild Greenies in the unit while I get their new home ready.

There's a few reasons I haven't considered a fish cage like in PB magazine.

1. I won't have a good dock to work from.

2. I would like to give them as much space as possible.

3. I would like them to have some natural bottom to hang out on.

Here's what I've got so far:

Construct a 5 sided "C" shape using 3/4 inch pvc and 45 degree fittings. It should be about 24 feet across and 17 feet off the bank.

Attach netting to the pvc that will hang down to the bottom, and attach chain along the bottom to "seal" the net.

Stake the pvc to the bank and use "noodles" to float the rig.




This is deer netting that I grabbed on sale at Home Despot for about $10. It is 7' X 100' and has a 5/8" mesh. It's about as strong as 4 - 6 lb test monofiliment.



Whatcha think?