Pond Boss
Posted By: hersh Southern Naiad - Good, Bad, Ugly? - 11/30/10 03:41 AM
Hi all. I have a 2 yr old 1.75 acre pond with LMB, BG, RES, and FHM. It had the beginings of a moss problem in the spring so I killed it off with Copper Sulfate. At the time I had small clumps of Southern Naiad, but after killing off the moss the Naiad really took off. It completely circles the pond and grows out to about 4 or 5 foot in depth. The fish seem to be growing very well (I think due to the large volume of FHM which I'm sure now are being eaten like popcorn by the LMB). LMB stocked at 2 inches this spring are up to 11 inches already.

Is this weed a good thing or a bad thing? It's a bit of a pain for shore fishing but I would like to know your opinions on it. Will the cover allow a FHM population to sustain without annual restocking? Considering just killing off a few areas to allow the kids to fish easier from shore.
Posted By: hersh Re: Southern Naiad - Good, Bad, Ugly? - 11/30/10 03:47 AM
A couple other things I thought I'd mention. The Naiad grows out about 6-12' off the bank as the pond deepens to 9-13' depth pretty quickly in most areas. Ducks also seem to love to eat this stuff and having the ducks around has been a nice side benefit.
Posted By: Greg Grimes Re: Southern Naiad - Good, Bad, Ugly? - 11/30/10 12:19 PM
Not much way of maintaing the FHM they move too slowly. I Love the naiad species it is not too dense as with exotic species. However you can quickly get too much of a good thing. I like to see less than 30% coverage and 15% ideal. Easy to kill with reward. I suggest spot treating areas where you do not want it. IF too much hazzle adding a few grass carp might do the trick but keep in mind they can eliminate all of it as well highly preffered by them as well.
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