Back on another note ..... This makes me want 2 dig a small forage pond. But also you both make it sound really complicated for us rookies. Not tryin to offend anyone there just being honest. You throwing around a whole lot of numbers on a pretty simple design. He dosnt seem to care about catching a wall hanger. Iv been reading and posting for a couple years now but my head also hurts after reading this.
No reason for head pain, because productive forage pond's truly require only 3 things, juvenile fish of your choice, water, and a hole in the ground. I've had mine for years now and would be lost without it.
If I was prioritizing the important issues to consider, it would be how do I get them out of the pond and into the primary pond first, water quality, water quality, water quality a very close second, pond shape third, keeping the pond free of obstructions(brush for cover, fallen limbs, water weeds, etc. forth, and location fifth.
If you google hatchery ponds, you'll see that the vast majority are shaped like a shoe box. That rectangular shape allows fish to be pulled with a single net pull without dragging unneeded netting on the ground, or being too narrow and fish go around the ends of the net requiring multiple pulls. The depth only needs to be 4-5' deep, and that can keep net costs down. 25'-30' wide is plenty, and you can make it as long as you want if more water volume is needed. I used sown together cheap Cabelas minnow seines for several years. They weren't the best, but they did work. "IF" you decide to get a better net, then be sure and go with a Raschel knotless weave, as it if far better for small fish in that net, and could be beat up, or even killed, by heavier duty knotted nets. When dealing with fingerling sized fish, go with 5 gallon buckets instead of fishing nets to take them out of the hatchery pond water. Fishing nets do work fine with larger fish, but don't overload the net. If the hatchery pond is very close to the pond, then they can be moved in the buckets. If the pond is a good distance from the primary pond, then a way to transport them will also be needed. I use a 120 quart Igloo cooler with O2, but a spray bar will also work for short periods.
All the above covers the shape of the pond and location also.
The water numbers I keep track of are hardness, ph(tested at daylight, and mid afternoon), and alkalinity. All 3 greatly help the growth of small fish if kept within the recommended parameters. Lots of good test kits out there, and I use LaMotte products.
Obstructions of any kind complicate dragging a weighted net. Sticks, weeds etc. are like velcro to nets, so keep the pond free of those if possible. Having said that, I keep pallets and water primrose at the top end of my hatchery pond to provide protection for fry. I did my last seine of the year a month or so ago, and just dropped the pond a couple of feet to force the fry into general population. So I seined the pond, drained it, and will treat it with hydrated lime, also called type 2 lime, then refill it and add Sonar to control weeds.
A few other things that I do, but it may just be me, are having an emergency aerator attachment for one of my 2" water pumps, and not using a feeder on my hatchery pond. Several years ago, I raised juvenile tilapia to numbers that were dangerous to the fish. Highflyer did the heavy mental lifting for me, but the quick lock venturi pvc outlet dumps tons of air into the pond when needed. I've gotten tons of usage out of it over the last year or two. I raise a lot of sunfish(CNBG and juvenile LMB) in my hatchery pond, and they shut down completely after a rapid temp drop. I hand feed daily based on the aggressiveness of the fish, and a feeder will dump food in the water that won't be eaten, and I don't want that. It's a waste of money, and it certainly doesn't do the pond any good.
Doing do diligence before you ever put fish in a hole in the ground will make raising fish exponentially easier down the road.
Hope this helps
