New to this forum...We have a 3/4 ac brook trout pond. The brookies are between 16-21". We don't know how many we have. Very few or no little fish - the brookies have eaten them all. Did have tiger salamanders, but the brooks probably ate them, also. We do not what to put any chemicals or even natural weed control. Bought 3 8" sterile grass carp, last August...but the Brooks probably ate them, also. Need to clean up the grasses. the water is clear, but there seems to be nothing but surface water bugs to eat. We tried find stock, but due to COVID no Brooks anywhere near Colorado. I was told I'd need at least 10" new fish to stock so the Brooks don't eat them. Would 10" Rainbows be ok?
Was told for spawning we would have to clear the creek where the water comes in, cement it to provide a clean area for the Brooks to spawn. Just found a dead fish today. hope we are not too late.
We believe the grass needs to be cleaned. Buying a weed Razor.
We think we may need to feed them, but not sure with what and don't want to disrupt the ecosystem or add invasive species.
We also want to use the pond to irrigate our new garden, orchard and yard. How?
Also would like a pump for fire suppression if need be. Best quality? Solar (350 days of sun)?
Any help, suggestions would be appreciated. Thanks, T

Beautiful setting I think you would be fine mixing rainbows with your brook trout. Use the weed razor when the wind is blowing towards the area that is easiest to pull the weeds out

So you are evidently not feeding the trout pellets? How many brookies did you originally stock? Overloading the natural carrying of the pond will resort in fish not growing very well and probably loosing body weight. I doubt the brookies ate the 8" grass carp. GC until as older individuals can be shy. If you are feeding pellets the GC will eventually be coming to the surface when the welfare food if provided.

Beautiful setting. Know the I.D. of the "grass" that you want to use the mower on. Some types of underwater weeds will reproduce from fragments of the parent plant, so cutting them will do no good unless you remove EVERY fragment that is generated. I agree with Bill in regards to the Grass Carp.

My reply is on use of your pond for fire suppression. I suggest that you install a dry sump so that in the event of a serious fire water tank trucks could fill from your pond. We have two dry sumps installed in our ponds. Several years ago we had a fire approaching and water was used from our ponds to get the fire under control. Cost of materials is minimal and benefit can be large.

I sure would like to take a few of those brookies off your hands. All of our brookies are naturally reproducing, never stocked, and could use some genetic diversity.

Thank you! Since we did not originally stock the pond, we have no idea how many Brookies and when they were put into the pond. We have caught and released 10+ different Brookies since last year. If I understood how to import a pic, I would... Anyway, I will chat with some trout suppliers and had some rainbows to the pond this Fall. Thank you for your reply.

On the pond grass, we have much more than last year. The grass carp were maybe 8" each and we only got 3. Speaking with trout people earlier this year, many told me that Brookies are actually char and are love to eat and since ours are so big they will eat anything below 10". Where we can see the bottom, there is no signs of smaller fish. Last year we found a tiger salamander and hoping that the Brookies didn't eat them.
We were told that if the grass carp are still alive, the grass would have been more controlled this year compared to last year.
Thank you for your replies on the grass carp. I do hope they are still alive since there are none available near us.

"My reply is on use of your pond for fire suppression. I suggest that you install a dry sump so that in the event of a serious fire water tank trucks could fill from your pond. We have two dry sumps installed in our ponds. Several years ago we had a fire approaching and water was used from our ponds to get the fire under control. Cost of materials is minimal and benefit can be large.

I sure would like to take a few of those brookies off your hands. All of our brookies are naturally reproducing, never stocked, and could use some genetic diversity."

Thank you Old Man Bo on the information on fire suppression. We are looking into several things. I will discuss it with my family. We are also looking into using our pond for watering our orchard and garden, so there are some pumps which can be used for fire suppression.

Our plan, hopefully this fall is to clean off the input of the pond and provide the brookies with a better spawning area. We were told they don't like muck, they like clean, running water. Our creek is clean and clear, but at the moment goes through short grassy area before actually forming the pond.

Thank you again!

I hear trout are good to eat.

Brook trout are delicious and my preferred trout for eating. I am a catch and release fisherman but every so often will keep a brookie or two to throw in the pan with fried potatoes. That has been a tradition in elk hunting camp for one meal for many years.

I am just happy to know there is another Brook Trout pond on the forum!! If you stock more rainbows there will be even less food to go around for the Brookies. 21" Brookies are a BIG deal. Not many people will EVER catch a 21" Brook Trout. I do not know any trout person that would want to mess that up with Rainbows, especially stocker Rainbows. Why not stock some fathead minnows and add some structure for them to hide/spawn in?? That would feed the Brookies instead of compete with them for food. I've had fatheads in my pond for over a decade. If crayfish somehow migrated into your pond they would eat the weeds AND feed the Brookies.

If you are new to pond ownership I would recommend NOT running out and making changes too fast. Read up on this forum. Study. Ask questions. Then you can make a well informed decision that doesn't backfire on you.

wbuffetjr,
Thank you very much for the advice. Yes, it is unreal to see these guys. We don't know how old they are...Actually found one floating the other day. We really have done much to the pond, working on the rest of the ranch, but want to keep the Brookies fat and happy. We were not sure what to do with them...we know they need more food, but didn't want to upset the cart. It was by accident I found this forum and we are going to study it and find out the best ways to keep our pond healthy and thriving! Once I have the time to figure out how to post some pics of our brookies, I will! In the fall when they are spawning they look like salmon - beautiful orange color and a big hump...very cool!

We are going to do some grass cutting - just bought a razor. we were told "do only a 1/3 at a time" slow and steady!

So is it legal to add crawfish? Our stream has a diversion into our pond and right outside our property the stream goes underground, so anything we do is just to our pond/stream. We live near one of the states fisheries...When I'm close to town I will stop by to talk with them.

Thank you again!

We have had a trout or two early on...then we were worry about the numbers. We barely ever see them near the surface. a week or so ago we heard them feasting on these beetles which were hatching just a dark and would end up on the surface...then gone! The brookies are not easy to catch either. this year no one has been able to get them on their hooks.

We are being very conservative with allowing catch and eat since we really have no idea how many we have and how big. Hopefully we can get them fed and breeding soon!

Any help or suggestions are welcome & thank you all for your replies!

I don't know if you can feed train adult trout, but if you can, feeding them a good quality floating fish food like Optimal Bass food will help them, I know a guy that raises Brookies from egg to LARGE adults and he uses Optimal feed to do it.

I echo wbuffetjr's sentiments, always good to have another Brookie on the forum. You'll soon learn, there aren't many fish more fickle than a wild brookie. You have a great body of water and I am glad to read you do no want to use chemicals and prefer to maintain the natural balance. That is the best way to raise brook trout.

Feeding your Brookies will disrupt your ecosystem and increase your weed issues. Besides, hand fed brook trout aren't really brook trout,their pets. Bass, carp, bluegills etc make good pets. Brook trout are born to be wild and free, just like you and wbuffetjr are, on your beautiful properties.

Let nature decide how many brook trout can live in your body of water. Learn as much as you can about your water. Bass, carp, bluegills etc. can live in Poor water quality, brook trout need clean, cool, cool water.

There are a lot of people on here who can answer questions about maintaining water quality. The more you know about your water, the better your Brookies will survive and flourish.

Please do come back and post some pics! Not many trout folks on here and even less Brook Trout folks. It would be super refreshing to read up on some other folks Brook Trout efforts!!!