Mid central Indiana....We checked our pond today and it is 33/34 at the bottom (20' deep) and 39 degrees on the surface. We threw a few lines out to no avail.

I had 70 degrees on the surface last week. We had several days in a row that were above 80 degrees ambient and very sunny. That was a week after we had a record snow of 7" and the water was pretty muddy for a few days with the sun on it.

It's cooled back off here for the last week or so - I doubt my water temp is more than about 50 today but it poured rain for the last 2 days so, I haven't been out there.

Low 60s last week - no change due to cold spell and 3 inches + of cold rain. BG are feeding like pigs in anticipation of spawning . My guess is first spawn will be on the full moon of April (9th) maybe a few early spawners on the new moon in March (26 th).

Central Indiana. 46 degrees at 24". Caught the first bass of the season. First Bass dinner of the season. I was feeling bad because it was a female full of eggs. She was a bleeder (gill hooked) so I keep telling myself that she wouldn't have made it anyway. Also caught 4 small LMB 5-7".

Dinner was yummy!

48.1 2 FEET DOWN, 47.7 AT THE SURFACE YESTERDAY.

we've been culling all the LMB under 14" and several had big egg sacs in them. I only felt a little bit bad since we actually don't want a great spawn all that much this year - other than the fact that my other bass and crappie will eat most of the fry anyway.

But, not to get off topic - the point is that they are getting very close to spawn - I'd say we're in the pre-spawn pattern as the fish we've been catching are very aggressive.

Interesting temperature differences close to me. Guess my geo is playing a couple of degrees with it in my pond. I'm just SO anxious for fishing and nice warm weather.

Very nice warm day yesterday; pond surface temperature at 44 degrees--going to throw a couple of hand full of feed out this afternooon and see if anything is happening. Wat to make sure I get that feeder setup for when they start feeding.

Any luck with the feeding Dot?

Surface temp 54.9*F here, although I expect it to go down for a bit, highs tomorrow in the 40's. I threw in some pellets by hand but no takers.

Here we are in the middle of April, and my water is still darn cold. Tonight, at the end of my dock, about 3-feet down, it was 52 degrees. Very little feeding just yet. I've not seen a single catfish swimming. No big bass, only lots of small sluggish ones. Very few small to medium bluegill, just occasional really big ones that I don't want to keep (females over 9-inches, males 10 to 11 inches). Almost no color to the bluegills -- real pale.

I think the crappie may have spawned, as I saw a school of fish about 1-inch long swimming in the grass last night.

Usually my water is at, or near, 60 degrees by now.

Other observations?

I have heard we are good bit below average for this time of year here in the east. So that may be putting things a bit behind. I am betting the crappie did spawn.

Surface temp was in the upper 50's here over the weekend, but should have cooled down now with clouds and rain. LMB & GC are the only species feeding in my big pond; I saw a few CC and BG taking feed 2-3 weeks ago when the water temp went above 60 for a few days.

Same problem here. It's just too cold outside and we're breaking records for low temperatures for this time of the year. I'm waiting for 65 degrees at 12 inches of water to buy my Tilapia, but it might be another month until that happens. We were at 41 degrees this morning!!!!

Eddie

So much for Global Warming!

I was out looking for Crappie in the shallows yesterday. The warmest surface water temp I could find was 52. That was after a day of bright sunshine. Water temps are pretty far behind schedule here too. The ten day forecast has more normal temperatures so water temps should rise rapidly.

Mine have been hitting the feed for a couple of weeks now and day before yesterday I saw a few CC coming up and nibbling.Fed this morning but didnt have time to watch.If I get time,Ill ck water temp tonite and make another decchi disc,as I broke mine last weekend.Dwight,hope you dont mind,cause Im gonna copy yours this time.

46.9 F. in the trout pond. The trout love these temps but the bluegills and bass in the other pond (probably same temp) are a little slow. The big perch feed O.K. every couple of days.

There is an upside to low stable temps up here. No tornadoes that come with the extreme temp changes and warmer weather!

Welcome to the Dwecchi disk club.

Do I have to pay dues?

Somebody thinks it's spring. Another bird collided with his reflection in the big windows in front. Must be the photo period as it sure isn't the air temps!

Surface temps are only in the 40's, our first 60 degree day in a month is supposed to come tomorrow. Very little feeding, and the only thing I can catch with a pole are the YP, no surprise

rex - aren't YP great, they bite every day of the year.

Yeah Bill, I had the family over for Easter and if it hadnt been for the YP I would have had some really bored kids on my hands lol.

Once the BG kick in though, its a fish every minute.

I once had a fish out with some friends on my .62 pond to remove all the big perch we could to sell them. They are so easy to catch with fathead minnows we removed them all but two! I found this out as I drained the pond after the fishathon.

It used to be that way in the Saginaw Bay, I remember coming back from days of fishing with anywhere from 50-200 YP every trip out it seemed like. We didnt even bother with walleye since the YP were so easy to catch and tasted better.

Nowadays a YP caught while trolling for walleye is a nice bonus, and we dont even bother going perch fishing unless I have the kids in the boat. I am gonna try a couple perch trips this year to see how the fishery is doing, but I dont expect to hammer 'em like the good old days.

64 degree water here in cental OK and cnbg feeding like crazy.

Temp. two feet down still at 55 degrees in south central Illinois.

Bing

Temp. at 5ft. 46 degrees, upstate NY.

Any sign of trout yet AP?

Nothing for sure, but I see streaks in the water like when fish would rush to the feeder when it use to go off.
Got 2 small BT from the stream, so they are starting to get active now that the Glaciers are receding, they are now pond BT.

I was working on my electric fence and hope to finish when I go up there on Wed., gonna see if otters can dance.

I think I have an otter issue... If I do, I will wage an unfair war!

I guess you have to secretly trap him, with other property owners around you don't need the Bambi police giving you a hard time.

Have you seen sign that show you may have some after all?

I know your fish and game said your state has none but I find that hard to believe since your neighboring states do. They were introduced here a few years ago by our DNr and are as common as flies now. In no time they were issuing permits to trap them if they are a problem.

Adironack Pond I have trout issues right now too. Not sure what it is but my brook trout are stressed after I cranked up the well this spring. Either iron or a PH change or both. Some are off feed (feeding less) and hanging along the edges of the pond. I think this has happened before when I exclusively had brook trout, and if so they will adapt but I may lose a few. I'm feeding them a broad spectrum antibiotic known as romet for five days to see if it helps. If it's iron it's irritating their gills and may cause a bacterial infection.

My brown trout never gave me problems like this. The brookies are apparently more sensitive or have finer gill filaments.

Cecil, hope your trout problem is only temporary, I guess it would be hard to filter the iron out with the amount of water you are pumping.
Never a dull moment.

Yes, there is a big slide where what I think of otters squeezing under the fence and then sliding into the pond. There is a wetland area behind the dam and the overflow runs into it and then through the wetland into a creek about 400 yards away. The creek is about 5 miles upstream from the Potomac River where there are plenty of otters. So I know there are otters in the area. Just not sure what is attracting them to the pond... All it has in it right now are forage fish? Nothing bigger than about 6"...

Yes 41 to 45 gpms would be difficult to filter. I could run it through some filter mesh or a sand filter but it would clog in no time. At least that is what I was told by some experts.

The easiest way would be to run it into another pond and get it to settle first, however, that won't work in summer as by the time the iron settled the water would be too warm.

What's interesting it the iron level in the pond drops to only 0.4 mg/l later in the spring to summer even though inflowing iron level is about 2.4. Not sure why that is, but my guess is the iron settles better and more quickly in warmer less dense water or iron bacteria eats it up? Not sure just a guess. By that time the Chara takes hold so I'm wondering if that is a factor. Chara being an algae uses the iron?

Do you see any orange red colored deposits or film around the edge of your pond? That's usually a sign of the iron bacteria at work...

Cecil, don't want to wander too far off the temp subject so am wondering if I'm still on your acceptable e-mail list, if not would you pm me?

No not yet. Just off colored hazy brown water.

Of course you're on my acceptable e-mail list. Did you try and email me with no response? If so, it's the Spam Arrest program I have. It blocks even non spam items at times. I really helps alot but at times it can be annoying.

I'll PM you now.

I just replied to your pm so we'll see if it works. Of course I forgot to ask THE ? which I was writing to you about. I'll re e later.

Just sent you P.M. Bob. 7:45 P.M.