Pond Boss Forums STOCKING A NEW POND Raising Forage and Bait How to eliminate fish from a pond?

after constructing my one acre pond, i knew that i wasnt going to pay much attention to my old pond. it is probably 1/8th of an acre. it has alot of sunfish and minnows. i would like to eliminate all of the fish and make it a pond that i can raise FH. i would like to take the FH and stock my acre pond when they are eliminated or short. so my question is how can i eliminate all of the fish?? other than seining what can i do? thanks for any advice.

Lower the water as much as possible (to reduce the volume) and have it rotenoned.

hey theo thanks. another question! where can i buy rotenone? i tried searching online but not much luck. then again im not a computer wiz. thanks

To purchase rotenone for pond use one needs a USDA pesticide license. Several years ago rotenone was placed on a pesticide restircted use basis. You most likely will need to hire someone with a license to do the job for you.

Possibly another option for you is to drain the small pond in the fall or prior to a dry season and let the bottom dry out. Refill and you are back in business. Sometimes draining also helps temporarily reduce underwater weed growths. While you have it drained you may want to reshape the bottom to make it easier to seine for fish removal.

Most (maybe all) states require that rotenone be applied by a licensed person (fishery/lake management types).

I know Greg Grimes in Georgia handles it; I am sure there are a number of licensed applicators in Texas. If it was me, I'd start checking with the fish guys listed in PB Mag or the Pondboss.com Resource Guide.

Or you can study for and take the test to get your license when it comes up annually. However I looked into it for my state, and the fee of I believe $200.00 wasn't really feasible for the limited use I would get. I also know someone that will do it for me that has a license.

Not sure about Texas. Could be cheaper.

You don't have to use rotenone. If you draw the water down enough then you can use hydrated lime .

True! I've done that in my 1/10th acre ponds! It also kills predacious insects if you are going to produce fry.

thanks guys. after looking and thinking about the smaller pond i have, i was wondering is there any better use that i could have?? maybe someone has a better idea on how to best utilize this pond? once again in my acre pond i have hsb,res,bg,black crappie thanks again guys

Possibilities:

1. HSB grow-out pond

2. Male-only BG pond

3. CC pond

4+. ???

To an extent, these could be combined.

What's your dream pond wish list? If you could have any number of ponds, what would you want to use them for? Decide which of these use(s) can best be accomplished in 1/8 acre. We'll help; speculation with your $ is free!

well theo, at first i thought why not make it a forage pond?? that way i could always have plenty of minnows to feed my hsb, sunfish, and black crappie. but then i was also thinking of making it bigger and having catfish and bluegill. but i started to think even more and thought if i invest more into a pond i want to add to my one acre and make it two acres!! lol oh what we get for thinking. im not 100 percent sure what i want!! i really want my hsb and sunfish to strive and catch quality size in my acre pond. does that help!!! lol thanks again

ok, is there a system for using the hydrated lime? or how many pounds/1000gallons?

It depends on how much water is in the pond after reducing its level and on your alkalinity. You are raising the ph to lethal levels.

If you are going to be seining it to get the FH out, sein it a few times now and get out what is in it. Then stock your FH in and sein it to transfer to other pond. If you do not want the sunfish in your 1 acre pond then get rid of them when you sein. From what I know of HSB, they eat everything that swims. Of course I am a little biased since I am a bass tournament fisherman and I blame alot of poor LMB fisheries on wipers and HSB. If the 1\8 pond is close to the 1 acre pond, won't you have sunfish and minnows in the 1 acre anyways? I may be way off base, but I would think it would be easier and cheaper to leave the pond full and stock your FH. If there are no predator fish in the pond to eat the FH then you should be fine.