My 60 y.o 1 acre pond is surrounded by many trees, including mostly cedar, growing at water's edge, oak and pine. I estimate at least 3 feet of sediment, rotten leaves, muck are due to the dense coverage of trees.

As I drain and dredge the pond, I am wondering, are there any trees that should simply NOT be close to the water because of adverse impact on the fish? Stated another way, should I focus on removing cedars over, say, maples if trying to reduce density around the pond's edge?

I have included photos below to show the dense coverage over the upper part (entrance) of the pond. I have drained that area.

Thanks in advance for all replies.

Great question Tanner - and hey welcome to the forum!

Thinking this over, the cedars and pines won't drop much in the way of leaves [needles] to impact your water quality in comparison to maples or oaks, obviously. From that perspective, doesn't seem to present much of an issue growing around the perimeter of the pond. Of course the needles that do fall could impact your ph level if there were enough falling - guessing it would impact the acid levels of the water. Again though I doubt what you have there will have much of an impact but I'm not an expert.

In regards to your deciduous trees while they do drop leaves and add to the organic mass on the pond bottom, they also benefit your pond from an ecological and aesthetic standpoint. I see photos of Ewests' bows and they are all seemingly cut out of a MS forest, and I don't recall him relating any issues due to accumulating leaf matter in the BOW.

One way to help combat leaf matter is to speed up decomposition using aeration. Not sure if that's within the budget for you, but I believe it would help address some of your concerns due to falling leaves.

Others will chime in with better direction - but if it were my pond I'd keep as many trees in place as possible and deal with the leaves via aeration or manual removal in the Fall.

Good luck on your project can't wait to see your progress. Please keep us apprised!

Thanks for the reply teejhaeh. I just learned about pond aeration yesterday and e-mailed a company to learn more about those systems. I agree with the amount of leaves and runoff, an aeration system might be exactly what I need.

I am quickly learning how little I know about this subject, but the more I am reading on this site, the more I am getting excited about renovating my pond the right way, for years of good fishing!!

Thanks again..

Tanner - don't rely on my response as more than a hunch on what to do...just what I would consider in your place. A water analysis is cheap and very helpful in determining the condition of your water - and it's ability to sustain your fishery. If you find the water very acidic maybe it would be a good idea to fell a few of the conifers, or buffer with some lime, etc. Might be a good place to start. Of course you're right on track with your plans for aeration. This will work wonders on your pond.

What are your plans for your fishery? Will you drain or rotenone and begin completely anew? Or will you be assessing your current fishery and make attempts to amend to reach your goals, if any are needed? Let us know, lots of experts here can help direct you on the path to a completed project!

Keep us apprised, research the forum till your eyes burn, and ask tons of questions!

PS: Where are you located in NC? We have lots of fellow Pond Boss forum members from NC that would be great resources for you.

Aeration will be your biggest ally in controlling issues related to leaves building up and creating a mess. Pines and cedars although not deciduous, do drop a substantial amount of needles so there really is no difference IMO.

Much of your decision can be based on aesthetics, and you can also take into account the value each species presents to the wildlife on your property as well if that is something of importance to you.

Thanks for the additional information. I was planning to contact someone with the NC Dept of Natural Resources/Pond Management, or County, to discuss stocking and the rotenone question. I am draining it now, planning to start with new stock after sediment/muck is removed, and trees are thinned out and banks repaired.

The pond surface has been covered for many years in algae and shows very few signs of life, just a few small credit card size white perch, and draining is almost complete, we have siphoned down to the last foot of depth. I don't know if rotenone (vs other methods)would be needed for such a small area about 1 foot deep. I haven't observed any movement at all in that last bit of water which covers an area about the size of a swimming pool...but all tips on this question are appreciated.

I think the water analysis is a very good idea and could impact the decision on leaving vs taking out some of the larger cedars that are on the banks.

I am in Yadkin County, with is in the Northwestern region of NC, so it will be good to know if there are others in the area who can share similar experiences. Thanks again for your replies.

Tanner

Is your goal to do a total reset on your fishery - meaning, eliminating total population of fish? I would consider it and definitely get rid of those white perch!

Few ideas for you:

You could seine the pond several times if your pond is conducive to seining to remove existing fish population.

If you lack seine or choose not to seine, you could just allow it to dry out or pump it dry to eliminate the fishery.

An alternative to rotenone I've read about on the forum is using lime to eliminate the fishery. It's far cheaper than rotenone, you don't need a license or permit to use it, either. You can get lime from your local COOP pretty cheaply. I'd post the lime question on the forum to ask for more direction from experienced users.

Just some ideas...hey, how the heck did white perch get in your pond, anyhow?

After looking at some web photos, I think they were probably bream. They didn't have the colors I normally see in larger bream, so I assumed they were something else. As you can already see, my fish ID capabilities are very limited due to years of being away from any fishing at all.

I like the lime idea and exemption from permit so I will explore that option. Seine is not an option due to sediment.

Thanks for the input. I look forward to learning more as things progress..

Hey Tanner,
I'm in Mocksville. This forum is simply the best for pond info. I have learned a ton of info. here. Who you gettin to clean your pond up?
TJ- white perch are common, and pest in the big lakes around here. Someone prob. put some in there.

Tanner we'll have your fish ID abilities honed inside of a month, guaranteed! If you can catch a few and post their photos we can certainly help you ID them.

Sounds like you want a fresh start, so I'd encourage you to post lime application for fish kill topic on the forum and see who's got some direction for you. Can't wait to see your project progress.