Pond Boss Forums INTRO Questions & Observations Weeping willows, My water keeps going down Help !!

I have a 2 acre pond that has weeping willows all around it. From what I understand they take up a ton of water expecially in numbers. Is this true and if so does any one have a good suggestion on how to get rid of them? I have a very large and long dam. The willows are all along the dam ,but down along the water not on the dam. I am pretty sure the roots dont go through the dam to the other side because it is very thick. Every mid- summer my water level goes way down and I would hate to lose my fish. The pond is around 10-15 years old and is well established ,but as I mentioned above the water level goes down several feet in the summer, enough to cause my coves to completely dry up that normally would be around 5-8 foot deep. This also causes the underwater grass to really grow and makes it impossible to fish for my wonderful Bass without getting grass all tangled in my hook. I have several 13-15 pound LMB and would like to keep them alive along with my 5-10 pound channel cats and others. Please Help!!!!!!

A chainsaw and Tordon RTU are pretty effective on getting rid of trees especially if you've got a month or more for it to soak in if the cut line is below the normal waterline. BTW your bass would bust the current Kansas LMB record of 11 pounds 2 ounces.

I am in no way qualified to give advise to a guy who raises 13 to 15 lb bass.

Got any pictures of those bass?

I would be concerned about killing or cutting the trees down. When you do that you leave the roots in place. When they start to rot, they will leave nice holes/underground creeks for the water to move through. Thus if you do kill the trees you might need to re-seal the pond where the root was getting the water from.

I have a similar situation with lots of trees all around my pond and seeing tons of water (more than other ponds around my area) just go into the trees and out of my pond. I am still working through how to fix the problem. My heart goes out to you!!!

welcome to PB john. FWIW, i have some comments about willows on a dam.

willows consume huge amounts of water. willow roots are shallow. willows do not have large invasive tap roots. i had about a dozen 40 ft tall willows on my dam (inside face). i used a large trackhoe with a thumb and plucked them out whole. the roots came out like a big round plate not more than a couple feet deep. used a dozer to re-groom dam face.

if you have other species, particularly oaks or cedars, then it is much more possible you could leave root rotted pathways into yer dam, i wouldnt be concerned with removing the willows from that point of view. you will decrease the amount of organic crap going in pond, but you will also lose shade and habitat for birds and insects........theres always trade-offs and it depends on yer goals.

pics of 13-15lb bass? yes, please do post.

Several rambling thoughts (I know, JHAP has rambling thoughts - nothing new there)....

First off - 13 to 15 lb bass and 5 to 10 lb cats??? You sir make me sick. - just kidding but dang, I'm hoping to grow a 3 lb bass.

Second related to the vegetation on the damn - you and I have very similar situations. My pond is 2.5 to 3 acres (depends upon the season) and is old enough to be eligible for the senior citizens discount at Dennys. As DIED can testify I have lots of trees along my damn. Based upon their size they have been there for years. So far (knock on wood) they have not caused a problem. Like you my damn is fairly large and it seems as though no roots have penetrated the damn. I say ifn it ain't broke don't fix it. But that's just my opinion.

I wonder how much of your water loss is due just to evaporation versus the willow water consumption? Have you checked into evaporation rates in your area? Heck my pond and DIEDs both drop several feet (5 feet is not unusual) between spring and the end of summer.

Anyway, welcome to Pond Boss - glad you found us.

Thanks for the input guys. I think I will look into the Tordon RTU. My water line is now way below the trees and keeps going down. I need to do something quickly. As for the fish pictures i have a few ,but I am not sure how to load them into the forum. I will provide a picture of my pond problem also if I can figure it out. Yes, the state bass record is only 11 something which I didn't know untill recently or I would have turned in my fish. I put them back so one day I am sure I will catch one of them again. I feed the Channel cats from a feeder and there are tons of shad and hybrid bluegill for the bass to feed on. I imagine this contributes to the bass size quite a bit. I have only owned it for one year and am trying to bring the pond back to a healthy water level. The spring rains brought it way up almost over its banks. Since then the shoreline has receeded at least 10 foot in places. It sure is beautiful when it's full ,but downright depressing when it goes down. As for evaporation rates Im not sure what they are, but there are several ponds even bigger than mine and some smaller all around me ,but they stay full. They do not have hardly any trees around them which was what brought me to think the trees were a problem. I had a conservation officer come out and look at my pond and he thought it was very possible the willows were the problem. There is probably at least 50 large willows and many small ones lining the pond. If you guys have any more ideas please let me know. Thanks