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Very sorry to hear that Dave. Kind of strange on the big pond kill vs not the small or creek. Does the creek feed the small pond? Maybe it created a higher DO saturation in the moving creek water, and that fed the small pond?
I've heard the phrase 'misery loves company'. What a load of horse pucky. I wouldn't wish anyone joined the 'kill club'. It takes a while to get perspective on what you control (which isn't near as much as we like to think) when it comes to our ponds. Don't spend too much time worrying about it, and start planning for the next generation of big fish you'll grow.
Hang in there pard.

Congrats Augie...Happy Happy B-day!

HBD, Augie!!

I can't absolutely prove it either, but I'm nearly certain redear would get pellets that have settled to the bottom.

Excellent work with the area calculation.

Minnows in forage pond are not feeding hardly at all
the ones in 1 acre pond are feeding like crazy
Minnow pond dimensions
18 yards. 54 feet
10 yards. 30 feet
Average depth
2.5 feet
Deepest 4ft
Thursday April 15.
Added 15 pounds shiners 15 pounds rosy red each in minnow pond and 1 acre pond

1acre pond water samples sent off ph was 7.4
Did not check my minnow pond but it is murky
It eventually drains into pond through a 6” overflow pipe. Visibility 5”

1acre visibility 22”

Curious if adding pellet lime might clear
And have them feed like the 1acre pond?

Good info, Ross. Thanks!

Awesome! Bet you're glad you got your dock built before lumber prices soared!

FireIsHot,
I’m going to show my friends this. Absolutely amazing job!

Mike,
I’m guessing that the 3 inch HBG were lunch for the 8-10 inch LMB and the 20 hand sized HBG haven’t started spawning yet because the water temperature is 54 degrees. I have neither fish but there is a rule to follow that LMB can eat other fish up to 2/3 their body length I believe. Someone can correct me on that if I’m wrong. I’m curious of the size perch (Yellow Perch)? If I understand correctly you hit the 10:1 ratio of HBG (or maybe it’s BG) to LMB on the money. An expert will let you know how to proceed. This is a great site with people willing to help! Good luck!

Topwater opportunity? I've seen fish go nuts on ponds where mowing sent grasshoppers fleeing into the water.

Went fishing today, harvested about ten. Nothing huge, but fun. Saw one dirty nasty cormorant. For whatever reason, hummingbirds have stopped visiting our feeders, a real disappointment.

Water still tinged green, but not nearly enough despite 75 lb of fertilizer so far. Even saw a few RBT at the feeder, but LMB, CNBG, and HSB dominated. Extensive CNBG beds now clearly visible around the pond in the usual places.

Is it a big deal if it rains a day or two after spraying Cutrine Plus? Do I need to make sure there is no rain in the forecast?

That’s helpful Quarter Acre, thank you. I like the idea of putting a small layer to below the waterline, and then get grass growing before it fills. That way hopefully the grass goes down right to the waterline, but the topsoil doesn’t go too much past it. Let me try that. Thank you for the advice.

Depends. What size cooler do you consider to be "big"? What's the water temp? What's the air temp? What size are the fish?

If the water or air temp is >80° F I'd rather wait until things cool down in the fall. If I absolutely had to haul them in hot weather I'd use
my 275 gallon transport tank and aerate with industrial oxygen.

Getting bait to the river alive is one thing. Getting fish to your pond without overly stressing them is something else entirely.
You might get them there alive only to have them croak after you turn them loose in your pond.

Any new YP fry videos ?

Our lake is too big to use twine or such. I run them off the roost at dusk as often at possible, shoot at them, etc. I wish I could afford the Harris hawk crew we used at work to run off the grackles. Those hawks could clear them out and they wouldn't come back.

The deed is done. 150 4-5" BG released into the pond this morning plus 3 lbs of FHM. Will start hand tossing tomorrow. I suspect it will be at least a day or two before they get acclimated and back on their feed.

I also dropped a total of five 6-7' scrub cedar trees into the pond which previously didn't have much structure. The pond is only 2/3 acres on the surface but remarkedly deep throughout. From most banks the water is 6-8' deep within three feet of the bank. The pond is 11' at the deepest. I placed the cedars in 9 to 6 foot of water toward the "shallower" end of the pond.

I'm very curious to see how this all plays out!

Well, I have observed the Cormorants for a few days, and I have not seen them catch any fish, bass or trout. I am not sure what they are eating. The trout are cruising near the surface waiting for pellets, while the bass are way down out of sight. I have not seen a bass in weeks, as it has been way too cold for them. We have had a very cold spring. I am not sure if the cormorants can dive 14ft or not in order to catch a bass.

Either way, I am trying to deter the birds as much as I can without breaking the law here. I will keep watching to see what they are eating.

We have to worry about summer kills though.

Just called the fish farm and the supplier said his bass wouldn’t be ready before late July. He says they’ll be around 2” by July so I’ll be stocking fingerlings. My pond is creek fed and stays a cooler than a lot of ponds in my area so I guess they won’t get overly stressed. Plus the farm is only 2hrs away so not a long transport.

That is the link to my channel. When the stream is live, it's at the top left.

Wood duck box stream channel

All in the 2-4" range.

The max flow is what that pump will put out without anything hooked up to it. You are currently running your pump very close to the rated performance...that's a good place to be. Moving the diffusers deeper will cause it to dip below the Rated Performance and add stress to the pump which will likely shorten it's life. How much, who knows. I'd leave them at the 5 foot depths, but you could move them elsewhere in the pond if you'd like, just keep them in 5 foot of water or a bit shallower. I have found that my diffusers can sit 3 foot off the bottom (on home-made stands) in 7 foot of water and still circulate the 10 foot deep water that is 40 to 50 foot away. Your diffusers have a good chance of pulling water up from the deepest part of your pond while sitting in the 5 foot depths. So long as you tested temps at all depths and found that minor temp difference, I'd say your system is turning the water over well. My only concern is that it is early in the year and ground temps and air temps in your area may be equal (on average) and this may be giving you a false sense of security. eg. The ground temps are 55° F and the average air temps are 55° F (or close)...whos to say of the water IS getting turned over and not just staying consistent because of the surrounding earth and air temps ??? The temp testing needs to be periodically performed as summer air temps increase. When you turn off your aeration, you are looking for cooler bottom temps and warmer temps towards the surface. The bigger the difference between bottom to near (~18") top (without air), the more confidence you can put into the temp testing once the air is turned back on. You may find little to no temp difference without aeration this time of the year and have to wait until it warms up a fair amount.

There is always dissolved oxygen testing that you can do, but I have not mastered that at my pond and cannot offer much assistance other than how to get the water samples. Even with aeration at my pond, the DO seems to differ from top to bottom in the water column and does not seem to be as reliable as temp testing. We will have to rely on some other PB members to help determine what DO levels are considered good from top to bottom.

EDIT: And, without Lift-rates for the diffusers, you will have to rely on testing at the pond to know for sure. The diffuser specs sure seem to mimic what I have seen for other 9" Matala's and are close to the Vertex brand that I am familiar with.

Good to hear from you Ranger

Thanks. Tiny guys really seem to hang around it, figured something must be going on.