Found Pond Boss via Google searching not long ago. Have read through many of the archives and learned much. What a great resource!

Here is our pond. Some work has been done in the past 2 years, work is ongoing, and of course will continue for the next 2 years by the progress indicator.

This is our hideaway where we fish, hunt, shoot, climb, swim, yak, dive, camp, and play. We chose Team Bass because we love to fish for ... wait ... wait for it ... BASS!

The property (including the pond) hadn't been maintained in 15+ years. The old camping sites were overgrown, the road in was underwater and blocked by fallen trees here and there, the swales were clogged/blocked/filled with debris, and rain water runoff had seriously eroded one stretch of the road to the point of careful navigation an absolute must else you end up with a broken axle, bottomed out, etc.

Showing what 15 years of neglect can lead to, the remains of the original dock - missing decking, seriously splintered and rotted decking, sagging support, etc.

Given our spawn and their new interest in the outdoors and this pond I opted to tangle with the old dock first. (Well okay, after digging runoff trenches for the standing water to exit standing pools on the access road allowing passage for non-lifted vehicles and after removing the fallen trees so I could just get to the pond!)

Started with this:




Dismantled the original walkway:




And built a new walkway - for those who notice the decking is not uniform - all part of the handsaw and eying it! :




So at least we could walk out onto the water on a safe platform. More to come.

With the old walk out removed and a new one installed next on the list was removing the old angular section of the dock and installing a new section.




Little Giant Ladders were utilized throughout the dock rebuild process. The ability to configure as a staircase ladder was the best as the pond bottom sloped and this made for a stable work platform.




Mom liked the new dock at this point - no sagging, no missing boards, etc.

Those two sections of the dock were completed in 2013. Was nice to have a sturdy bit of dock to enjoy, but the space was cramped for the kids.

So in 2014 I built the missing section. Say missing because it used to exist but long ago was removed from the pilings.

Utilized a yak to move back and forth between the completed dock section and the new work area. Note the use of Gorilla tape to temporarily secure the board to the pilings.




The yak moved about a bit, just enough to be irritating at times. Then one of the ladders opted to stage dive to the bottom of the pond just as I made the decision to switch from my swim trunks to shorts.




But it was an enjoyable experience - and seeing the progress as it was made was good stuff.

The dock rebuild was a one man show, a bit of study and some elbow grease. Although a cordless drill was used to screw in the decking screws.




The new 10x12 section was a good investment. Much more room for us to move around, fish, swim, sleep, etc. This section was originally going to be a floating section that we could remove from the pilings and move to the opposite end of the pond via electric trolling motor (to haul lumber back to the dock area), but ultimately I opted to keep this dock all stationary (and plan to build a second dock at the opposite end that will have a removable floating section that can act like a barge.

Nice job basslover. That's a heck of a before and after project.

Thanks, FireIsHot! I've spent many man hours laboring to get the property more accessible, back to camping status, stocking fish, etc. More pics to come when time permits.

I am seeing a repeating pattern of guns in photos. Problems around!?

Great job. Always satisfying when a project is completed and works like planned.

Might want to invest in one of these before your next dock build. You will be glad you did. We have thousands of dollars worth of these tools that employees use, we keep in service trucks, and I have around the house. The big batteries are a wonderful addition also. We use the heck out of these.

Ryobi 6 peice tool

They make a 12 volt car charger that we keep in all the service vehicles also.

Nah, no problems. Just an ounce of prevention. We have plenty of turkeys, deer, coyotes, and fox about. 3 years back before I began the work on the property there were tracks attributable to a Mountain Lion. Never saw it (expected), and the tracks disappeared (also expected) never to return.

This year 3 coyotes were chasing a deer through the woods and the deer stopped on the other side of the pond opposite of the dock. I was sitting there with a Remy 870 watching, heard some more noise coming through the woods, deer looked at me, then took off. I counted 23 seconds and 3 coyotes appeared. They stopped where the deer stopped, didn't even recognize they weren't alone. So I "coughed" to get their attention, they startled and looked across at me, I racked the 870, they backed up a bit, I sent a few shells through the barrel and the coyotes took off the opposite way of the deer.

So given the the game trails, the tracks, and the daytime sightings I opt to be prepared best I can. I hadn't even noticed the wheel gun in one picture but I know the shotgun was in a picture. .41magnum revolver and 12ga shotgun are usually close by.

Thanks for the tip and link. That 12v one in one picture is 6 or 7 years old. Batteries are pretty well run through. I have looked at the 18v models but no decision on a make yet.

A recurring theme here is manual labor. Handsaw, hammer, socket set and wrench, and even a T-25 torx screwdriver. There is that power drill though. Used to drill a starter hole. The torx screwdriver was used to screw in the decking screws. I did some hand drilling with my Gramps' old hand drill, but eventually felt the pressure from the family to get the decking laid faster for the fun to begin sooner. LOL

I do wonder the time savings if power tools had been used. I mean I know there would have been considerable time saved, but I am curious to the actual count in minutes.

The new brushless technology in cordless hand tools is supposed to make the time between battery changes a LOT less. I recently went with 20v DeWalt. We'll see how it holds up. They make a 5.0Ah lithum battery pack.

If you like to deer hunt, get rid of as many 'yotes as possible. Here in Indiana, a single den was monitored by a trail cam. Before the pups moved out of the den, 80 fawns were brought in to feed 'em.

Scenic view.

Happy Hump Day from The Hideaway!

One of two snapping turtles. Look close at how long his claws are. Originally he and the other were in my sights. One day I had a clean line on him with my 870, pumped it, aimed, but shot past him to the far bank instead. Decided to let them be.

A few days later his thanks in return was grabbing my worm and giving me one heck of a tow around in my yak.

In May of 2014 I stocked eight (8) bass that were 6" in length. I also stocked some Redears, Bluegills, and Channel Catfish. I had no prior experience or education in fish or pond management. Just a little bit of cash and a pond. LOL Note, I did drop about a dozen wild caught bluegill in the pond 3 years prior, back in 2011.

Here are the bass about to be released into the pond back in May 2014:







Fast forward to February 2015. Took my youngest boy fishing today and landed two of these bass. They've grown.

Found this little guy hugging some weeds the other day.

Was a gorgeous afternoon the other day:

Basslover

Awsome view and beautiful pond


Pat W

Landed this little bass yesterday in 33 degree weather. Dropped a shiner in and he inhaled it in less than 10 seconds.

I sure wouldn't mind waking up to that view every morning. Beautiful pond.

Thanks, Pat and Al.

That really is the thing about our pond - it is scenic. We love camping and playing out here. Sometimes it makes laboring out here tough, because ya just want to sit or lie down and bask in Mother Nature.

Enjoyed some snow and cool temperatures yesterday.

Some of our bass cruisin' the pond. Water clarity is about 10'. What is wonderful about this clarity is that you can watch bass approach, attack, nudge, investigate, etc. the lures and bait. It is challenging at times to get them to strike because of the clarity of the water.

From 5" to 14" and to 1.74 lbs in just under 1 year.

Also from 5" to 14" and to 1.96 lbs in under 1 year.




Nice lil belly.

Possibly egg laden females. Great growth - you are feeding them correctly - doin' it right. Great example of what can be done when you use the right technique. In what part of the country and growing season was this growth made possible so other members can better relate to your seccess ??

Bill -

North Georgia 1 acre pond. Rainwater runoff fed from surrounding mountains/hills 6 runoff streams feed the pond.

Pond has coppernose bluegills and redears. I supplement feeding with trout, shiners, and prawns periodically throughout the year.

I stocked 16 largemouth bass last end of May beginning of June 2014. There are at least 11 LMB still in the pond. One confirmed death. The other 4 LMB may be in the pond, or they may have moved on. I have yet to identify them this year.

These LMB are tough. The peel off line and run even with the drag set tight. I've got some fun video of them breaking the water and flipping and head shaking.

I think the large amount of forage compared to the small head count of predators has allowed for strong growth. These two are the runts of the litter. You can see in the picture on the previous page LMB substantially larger than these two.

I take it you have fin clipped or tagged these fish?

sprkplug -

I have not, but as I introduce more bass it is on the must do task list.

With so few bass introduced last year I have kept a visual journal of my landings for each fish, and each fish is unique. I can pick them out by shape, color, markings, and personality. Seriously

I have a plan to introduce more bass this Summer, and so the new ones will have tags attached (or so that is the plan).

Update:

RW looks promising. 14.25 inches and 1.94 pounds.

Does anyone have a spreadsheet or data they would be willing to share that charts growth of LMB for 3 or more years? I'm looking to learn where the growth rate slows, and ideally I'd like also to learn the forage base for the LMB that were charted.

Update 21 July 2015:

Camelot Bell largemouth bass fingerlings introduced into Team Bass' pond this morning. Pictures to follow. But first, just from curiosity I dropped in 3 small minnows into the container holding these bass and instantly the minnows were attacked and swallowed. It was great to see the action from such small bass. Other interesting notes include the jumping characteristics of these bass and the light coloration almost with a blue hue (I'm colorblind so to me it appeared almost light blueish but to non-colorblind it might be different coloration). These fingerlings were jumping all over the place!

Container with the fingerlings:



Beautiful markings and coloration. Note that the post processing darkened the tone of the bass, they were lighter in color than these pics present them as.






Releasing the fingerlings to their new playground.



In addition to dropping fingerlings into our pond I also populated our water garden pond at our home with a number of Camelot Bells. I plan on rearing a number of them at home, controlling the feeding schedule and diet, and then transplanting to destinations as they reach sizes that lend themselves most likely to survive predation from larger bass.



Closeup of bass introduced into home pond.

Bass lover thanks for the pictures. You have a lovely pond and area. I love the clarity and grasses growing in your pond. That clarity with grasses along with the verity of fish that no doubt have plenty to eat is hard to get.

The wood dock you just rebuilt is something you may want to maintain with a sealer. I originally built mine of treated wood and put a sealer on it but didn't maintain it over the years. What happens is the wood over a dozen years starts to check and splinter.

I'm 81 now but I see a lot of you in me. I sailed, kayaked and built a lot of water related stuff and now take picture of my pond area that I enter in photographs shows. You take great pictures. Good luck in your future.

Here are some pictures.
This is my favorite kayak I built for all around use and sailing.


Same boat, different use.


Of all the ponds I have seen on pond boss yours is the one I would like to have.

Thank you for the kind words!

At first I wasn't sold on the clarity, solely because fishing was tough. But I have since decided that I love the clarity and hope that we continue to have such wonderful level of clarity. Snorkeling is fun, shooting video underwater is fun, and seeing all the wildlife is nice.

LOVE your yak. Very nice, very sleek. Feel free to send that down to Georgia on Santa's sleigh

I am working on data like this in my pond thread. Click below in my signature for the data.

Update 12 November 2015
In May of 2015 I landed a bass that measured 14" and weighed in at 1.96 lbs.

Today 11th November 2015 I landed the same bass, now it measured 17.25" and weighed in at 3.70 lbs.

So this bass grew 3.25" in length and 1.74 lbs in weight in the past 6 months.

If Mother Nature keeps this butterball healthy it may be my football of the original crew I stocked in 2 years time. lol

Awesome post bass lover!! Thanks for all the updates and the pics!! I'm stuck over seas but can't wait to get back home and stick my new pond. Hope I get the growth you are getting with your bass

Amazing growth.

Good luck with your pond. Loads of forage fish, healthy water, structure and cover, and small number of bass have resulted in our bass growth.

Thanks, Dave. See my next post for more info.

For the butterball bass I landed in May and November 2015 here is the growth history:

6" May 2014 (didn't record weight, initial stocking)
14" May 2015 1.96 lbs landed on golden shiner
17.25" November 2015 3.70 lbs landed on trout

Quick math shows an approx 50% weight gain in about 6 months. That's amazing. Have you stocked trout during Georgia summers or is that from other forage? It has a huge gut for it's length so your forage base is paying off.

No trout after early March. I could certainly stock trout but the local bait shop where I get them from stop stocking them in March and start offering them again in October. I'd have to hit up one of the trout hatcheries in North Georgia or Western North Carolina. I plan to do that in 2016 to see how they fair in the deep end of the pond in the warmer months. If nothing else they will be forage for the bass right quick in the Summer. A nice supplemental treat high in protein.

I did coppernose bluegill as main forage base at a ratio of 22 to 1 back in May 2014. I offer supplemental stockings of shiners here and there, probably an average of 4 dozen medium to large shiners tossed in per the months of June, July, August and September. Now in Nov, Dec, Jan and Feb I will offer supplemental feedings of trout on average 3 dozen per month. They can't possibly add to the growth of a bass of this size, but there are now plenty of minnows thriving in our pond as I introduced 2 dozen in August of this year. The shore offers some cover and they breed like rodents.

But the mainstay are bluegill. There are a crapton of them and the bass just eat them. But, throw in a shiner, shad or trout next to a bluegill and the bass will zero in on the shiner, shad or trout and ignore the bluegill.

When I landed this butterball before release I dropped another trout in its mouth headfirst, and the bass just gulped it down as I released it back into the water.

PS, maybe this bass has been dining on all the Camelot Bell fingerlings I stocked ...

Really Amazing growth, I am very excited about your next post. Thanks

Thank you!

Supplemental stocking of trout will continue throughout this Winter.

I am looking forward to next July and August 2016. Some of the bass I stocked in May of 2014 may be near the 5lb mark.

Update 5 December 2015:

Water temperatures are dropping although the coppernose bluegill are still actively feeding when we toss in feed.

Largemouth bass are still spotted in shallows hanging out and cruising around.

I watched this bass just hanging out near one bank in about 2 feet of water. Bluegill within easy striking distance but never saw one inhaled. Tossed in a trout and BAM that bass immediately bee lined for it.

I didn't get the length measurement, but the weight is 4.05 lbs. I'm certain the RW ration is above 100%. Nice thickness to it. Beautiful green coloration.

Nice fish, healthy for sure, Did u sneak up on her with the camo on Good colors on both the fish and the camo. Sorry about being a S A, I am just messen with you. Again nice fish

Tracy

Basslover, I understand from your post here that your water is pretty clear. With the clear water, have you seen any of the CBLMB fingerlings that you added to the pond? if so, how have they grown for you? My water is pretty heavy fertilized and now has around 16" of visibility so I never see any swimming around.

Tracy

Tracy -

Yeah thus far the LMB I stocked in May of 2014 seem to be healthy, or show healthy appetites.

The camo helps.

I have not, Tracy. I think they became yummy feed for the LMB. Admittedly though I haven't really looked for them. Free time has been quite limited so I haven't been able to spend the time I need to looking for them. I also have not fished for them. I will let ya know if I find any of them though for sure.

You caught that bass with a live trout? Or a trout pattern swim bait?

Live trout.

UPDATE 29 December 2015:

Pond level high due to much rain, overflow pipe is doing what it's designed to do, but amazingly with all the rain the water clarity was almost 3 feet. A week or so back and the clarity was much less, very muddy appearance from the run off.

Was able to watch a few of my largemouth bass cruise about. Tossed in some trout and as always the dinner bell rung!

Landed this little one on a trout, had another larger all the way to the bank but didn't even realize it was on the line as it swam toward me and no resistance on the line so I failed to set the hook as I was taken by surprise, and watched a group of 5 cruising about and by far these 5 were the largest I've seen in quite some time. I tried to land the largest as I felt it was easily 6+ lbs but the darn trout wrapped up in submerged brush and the bass spooked once I stood up to work the line free.

This one was 18", 3.63 lbs, so a RW ratio of 113%.

Forgot to mention - the abundance of coppernose bluegill spawn. Was incredible to see. From the smallest with their sacks to those one half inch to those one inch to those larger. The CNBG are breeding machines.

Along every bank were young bluegill. Two sides of our pond are essentially steep drops into 6 feet of water, and then the two other sides are much more gradual slope. There is also a gradual slope where I've been building a beach, and the grass grows here so the bluegill congregate.

A goal for 2016 is to sink all of the structure I've assembled to provide more habitat as well as fishing zones.

Thanks for the report/update. There are some good ideas in the Structure archive on structure/cover and how to get certain goals accomplished by doing so. http://forums.pondboss.com/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=92463#Post92463

Also info on habituation to increase small stocker fish survival.
http://forums.pondboss.com/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=169568#Post169568

Update 8 January 2016:

Pic deep end near to shallow end far. Water level full pool.

Funny how the 87 trees/saplings I've hand sawed don't even look like a dent around the water's edge in this picture.

Wow, absolutely stunning!

Do you have a home or cabin near that BOW?

Old camper?

Tent?

At least a lawn chair?

beautiful pond with all the trees...so peaceful/tranquil looking.

NICE !

Tracy

When I look at that picture first thought is, better get camp setup and catch a few fish for dinner before it gets dark. Awesome setting!

Keith -

Thank you. It is very serene and peaceful. You hear only the wild things - no leaf blowers, no cars, no voices, nada. Turkey, deer, coyote, birds of prey, and the sound of our lures hitting the water.

So I have worked my arse off out here the past 3 years and some of that work includes clearing three areas for camping. We've got an overlook about 50 feet above the pond that I clear cut minus a few strategic trees utilized for hanging camping items and it's a nice view down to the water. I need to build the planned pulley system so that we can send stuff down and up instead of walking back and forth.

At the deep end I cut down some trees near a large natural rock area and this year I hope to build the platform we can lay out on, sit on, set camping chairs or sleeping bags or even a tent, etc. I'm a fan of Mother Nature so I don't want to build anything monstrous or too human like that will detract from the scenery. The view looking down to the pond and across it is spectacular though so I know other family members will enjoy a simple flat platform.

I have cut two trails around the pond - one high and one water's edge. This year I hope to do at least one of three controlled burns to help regenerate some forest growth and remove too many years of leaf litter.

On the shallow end I have also cleared out a campsite / sitting area so again you can look across the pond and enjoy the view.

We have kicked around ideas for an A-frame cabin above the pond and a bunker dug into the hillside. I have cleared much of the area for the cabin but no work has been done on the actual cabin.

And remember, ALL of this has been human horsepower, Keith. Handsaw, ax, rake, etc. No gas or battery powered tools have been used aside from screwing in the decking screws on the dock (used battery powered drill for deck, but socket wrench for the spax bolts used in supports).

Thank you. It is most relaxing. Not catching any fish matters less when you're surrounded with this nature. lol

Thank you, Tracy. I think the fish also like it

Bill -

Thank you. We do enjoy camping here. Thus far we've eaten just one bluegill (swallowed a hook and died during removal and didn't want to waste it). This year we will eat more though as the bluegill are of good eating size.

In go some trout ... they are so happy to swim free into the pond ... until ... *cue theme from JAWS*

Look toward the shallow side of the pond.

So it is always exciting to find the road blocked when you've got bagged trout to feed your bass ...

This roadblock were two pine trees that took a bit of time with my handsaw to cut through. Cutting was the easy part, though. Moving the heavy arse trunks out of the way was the real work.

From the shallow end looking across to the deep end of our pond.

Basslover, without me going back over all this thread, I seem to remember your water clarity is pretty clear with some water having 36 or so inches of visibility. If so, do you not fertilize your water? The only time I have ever had 36" of visibility was when the surface water temp dropped last Feb in a cold snap. Surface water temp dropped to 42 for 2 days and the water went really clear. when the water temp went back to 51 the phytoplankton came back which reduced the visibility. I did fertilize again several times looking for 18" for fertile water. Just wondering here.

Tracy

Tracy -

Visibility can be 6'. Yes, 6 feet!

It is easily 3' now, and now through early Spring it is very much like a swimming pool.

We have not fertilized. Have looked into it, but have not done so yet.

All fish seen and landed appear healthy and not hungry. All forage fish fend for themselves except hand feeding when we choose to. There are a crapton of dragon and damsel flies here and I know those larvae are food sources for the forage fish.

Fertilization is on the radar this year, but it may or may not happen. I am certain catching bass would be significantly easier if visibility dropped. But the flip side is the clear water makes for great filming underwater as well as seeing what is in the water.

FWIW our pond is very fertile. As soon as the water warms in the spring to when it cools in the fall, we have about 16 to 24 inches visibility. Seems easier to catch fish to me when the visibility is the 24 inches. Maybe it's because the game fish feed mostly by sight?

That is truly what makes all the effort even that much more rewarding, satisfying and enjoyable! Including the aches and pains that go along with it!

Great job, basslover and I'm guessing it's only going to get better in so many ways!

Between very visible and very murky/muddy I choose very visible.

Between very visible and somewhat visible (say 1.5' to 2' vis) I again choose very visible. It is so nice to see the fish swim by, or to spot a fish, tadpole, dragon or damsel fly larvae, etc. It is also easier to retrieve lures from snags. And the already mentioned filming underwater is great!

But I am convinced that this highly visible water makes it more difficult to fish, or at least for our LMB. If they spot me 9 out of 10 times they will not hit a lure or live bait.

The flipside is that it has become "fun", a bit of a game, to sneak up on them. Spot a bass from above along the ridge, come down around using tree cover, and then military crawl to a casting position, and make the cast without spooking the bass. And then BAM game on!

I've been assembling some dummies to stake out around the pond soon. Think scarecrow but with dummy heads, hats, and even a lame fishing rod to boot. I want to find out if having a half dozen props placed all the time around the water helps lessen the fish skittish factor.

Next is batteries and motors to make them move.

Think Mojo Duck, but for fish!

Cool! Wonder if they would help keep water fowl, such as cormorants and GBH, away as well.

I read an article by Bill C. in PBM a couple issues back that mentions sitting down when fishing if you want to minimize spooking the fish.

Bill D -

I don't have water fowl issues. There were 2 ducks a year back, but they left right quick. Loud noises in their direction seems to inspire them to seek quieter water. Same with a Canadian goose pair a year before that.

Yeah I don't stand when fishing unless I have to. I've climbed trees to cast out. I've laid flat on the ground and flipped the lure out. I've crawled along high grass and flipped the lure over having it appear like the frog just jumped in. LOL I've even set the lure on the bank, opened the bail and walked around the edge to a spot across the way, closed the bail to take in most slack, waited until I spotted a bass or a couple cruising near the lure on the bank, and then gently maneuvered the lure into the water. I even use real short rods in certain places.

Update 18 January 2016

Water clarity ...

Anyone gander what the depth here is?



You're standing on the bank and you're looking straight into 6 feet of clear water. Just on the other edge of those weeds is a drop off to 14 feet of water.

I don't have the official 8-inch Secchi disk but I spent a few hours today staring at the display of a depth finder and the pond. The water is clear. I decided to take a white filet board and tie it to para cord. Anyone guess the clarity from the pic below?



9 FEET!

Here's the thing - I bet if I had the disk it would be greater than 9 feet. The edge of that board is thin and nowhere near 8 inches.

So when is water TOO CLEAR?

This water _is_ clear.

I previously thought the average depth was around 8 to 10 feet. Just based on swimming, diving, and fishing.

Yesterday I used an inexpensive depth finder and now am going to invest in one that offers more features such as mapping. But until then, my surprise was that the average depth is around 12 feet, with many areas in the 14-16 feet range.

Poor boy sechi disk is the top of a white paint bucket.

basslover,"when is water to clear" it depends lol. I am sure you are aware of me being 1+ year pond guy. No guru here. So "it depends" on ones goals with or for his pond. But it has been suggested to me by a pond master and others to keep water visibility in the 18 to 22" range by using fertilizer (A fertilized pond). For my goals, I try to keep the visibility @ 18". On one or two occasions visibility has dropped to 12" due to blooms and also after doing some work around the pond this past Nov., I have had some cloudy water with 12" visibility, due to combination of green water mixed with some runoff from rain. Once when the weather dropped to a snow period I had 36" or more of visibility. So it depends on ones goals I think.

Tracy

Dave -

Yeah I have a white frisbee I could use, or grab a white 5 gallon bucket lid as you noted. The only white object I had that day was the filet board.

Tracy -

I've read a lot about desired visibility 18-24" range. I can see where that could help forage and predator fish - relax and prey. As well as the photo plankton and organisms. I know that the clarity that our pond is makes fishing more challenging.

But aside from fishing, the very clear water is wonderful. Seeing the fish in their natural habitat, watching them and shooting underwater video and stills - all of the very clear water is perfect for these activities! Snorkeling and seeing a 5 lb LMB in 5 feet of water beside or beneath you is cool. LOL

That is easy to say when you are young and in good shape. Give it a few years or maybe some back problems, then a gas powered chain saw or other powered equipment looks pretty good. But as long as you can do it, go for it. Cheaper and makes more sense than a gym fee or tread mill.

In winter time like this my pond becomes really clear also! 7 feet easy. Gin clear as they call it. I do not Fert. though. Once you start to Fert you need to keep doing it so they say. I have managed to grow 10 plus inch BG / 4 lbs HSB and 4 lbs LMB without Fertilizing and that's fine for me. I know in my 1 acre pond I am not gonna break any records this way but I have gotten a nice overall situation that is fun to fish!!

RC

P.S. And your right about the clear water and fishing, I have a 14 foot flat bottom boat and they can see it coming for a mile!! LOL! Cloudy days work best for me in the boat and I have a large bench at the edge of the shoreline to sit on when I am fishing from shore!

The water clarity will change depending on water temp, available sunlight, and wave action or lack of it. Clarity here will bounce from 24" to 96" depending on the time of year and amount of plants growing in the pond.

Up here, we don't usually have to fertilize, only *maybe* once to get a bloom going. Also, if you are feeding your fish, that is a form of fertilizer, so I wouldn't be that concerned about adding it if you were feeding heavily.

There is a difference between a bloom and turbidity due to suspended particles. A bloom is the bottom of the food pyramid in a pond, turbidity cuts off the bottom of that food pyramid. Also, in ponds with very clear water, there isn't much there food wise for YOY fish to get a good jump start on life.

I try to shoot for 24" to 36" visibility with a secchi disk, I start to get nervous when it starts to drop below 18", especially if the pond doesn't have aeration.

Just the few granules of zero phosphorous spring time fertilizer that the crew put down on my lawn that hit the pond will set off a spring time bloom for me. I'm sure if we got a rain soon after the fertilizer application that some run off took more fertilizer into the pond as well. My bloom lasted about 10 days last spring and then it seemed like there may have been a mid to late summer bloom again, but again, i couldnt' rule out a correlation with the mid summer fertilizer application as well to the lawn.

Depending on the levels of N and P in the pond, N could be the bloom limiting factor, not P.

esshup, I have also gotten a little nervous when the green water went to 12". I started the water well up to dilute it back and so far that has worked. And after I did some ground work around the pond this past Nov. I have had some cloudy green water. Not muddy bud cloudy. I have been thinking about turning the water well back on. It will clear the water up in about 4 days.

Tracy

Young? Ha! Definitely not young. In spirit, sure. But in age? No way.

Not a fan of the 2-stroke. The noise of a chainsaw in a beautiful forest is at odds with my love of nature. Now a handsaw, it's quiet, and like non-power assist in vehicles, it allows one to feel everything that's going in. In other words, I'm a glutton for punishment

RC -

That is exactly why I haven't fertilized - because then I've got to keep up with it. It isn't about cost in so much it's about doing something that doesn't occur naturally in my pond and having to maintain it. I've resigned to allow nature to attempt to balance the life in and around the pond. Sure, I stocked the fish, but I'm hoping that a natural balance is achieved, or with minimal intervention. Which is also why I haven't invested in an automatic feeder. The benefits are larger fish faster for the forage fish that dine on the feed, but do they then rely on it and starve or unhealthy if the feed disappears one day and they have to hunt for themselves?

I built a couple of fish blinds that I can creep up to, squat, sit, kneel, or lay behind and cast over. But I've also been mastering the art of the long, accurate cast. The todo list for February and March is to finish setting in my habitats I've assembled that hopefully will help create specific areas to fish.

I wish I had greener algae, rather than the brown I get. I wonder if it's from the feeder? I only feed 4 seconds a day, but it's a long 4 seconds with my feeder. I usually have very calm water in the woods, so not a lot of wave action. Every now and then I would get a whiff of a sulphur smell. In the canoe, on a very calm day. I have not fertilized the water, but I have put down fertilizer on the new fescue around the pond, and I know the alfalfa fields above the pond get nutrients. I know the oak leaves that fall into the pond every fall by the millions add to brownish color also.

Wait until you are tasked with dropping and removing 100+ dead Oak and Maple trees that are up to 40" diameter at the base in a relatively short amount of time. You will soon learn to love the way the chips fly off of the chain.....

I agree with you about the peace and quiet of the woods, but sometimes when you gotta get 'er done, there's no substitution for power equipment.

I'm probably as close to my outdoor environment as anyone here, but ain't no way I'm felling trees and cutting wood with a handsaw. A well tuned saw with a good chisel chain speaks to my soul in the same manner as does the quiet of the forest. A different language undoubtedly, but I hear and understand it nonetheless.

Which leads me to a question about something I read on another web site just yesterday. If I can find it again I will post the link. You say you wish you had the green algae rather than brown. I have thought the same thing at times when my green pond turns brown for no seemingly good reason. Then I read that a green bloom is likely algae and a brownish water afterwords is likely an animal bloom, zooplankton, that is feeding on the algae. Which said article was a good thing because the larval fish eat the animals. Wish I could remember the names but will try to look the article up. But at any rate, if the article was correct, maybe the brown following the green was not a bad thing after all, but natural food production for the fish population.

I tested garden netting this Autumn. Caught a lot of leaves as they blew down toward the water. Some wood stakes, some netting, and a few minutes of time. Might consider it for next Autumn at your pond. Easy install, easy removal, and inexpensive.

Ha! I hope not. I've had some deadlines to meet and it was burning the midnight oil for sure. Handsaw goes along with hand rake, loppers, pushreel mower, and the garden that starts from seed inside the home under the light in a peat ball on a heat mat. Our 3 and 7 year olds are getting ready to plant their second garden in a couple of weeks.

I keep thinking there would be a heck of a lot less deforestation if hand saws had to be used ...

sprkplug - made me laugh with your "ain't no way I'm felling trees ... with a handsaw "!

I'm working on a dugout canoe. We'll see how long this project takes.

Dugout, what type of tree u using? I was thinking of the big oaks are sometimes hollow in the middle, but those are some really big oaks. Would be a really big dugout

Tracy

Update 30 January 2016:

Began using the Deeper Fishfinder in our pond. I've been using this device in bodies of water I'm unfamiliar with to essentially map the water and identify structure, cover, and fish. You're limited only by the BlueTooth range of roughly 120 feet I think.

For the price point (roughly $200) it offers quite a bit of usefulness. A portable wireless sonar in a round shape perfect for launching like a baseball (or tie it to your yak etc.). Uses Bluetooth to communicate to smart phone or tablet.

Some things I find useful;
- water temperature
- depth finder (duh! LOL)
- fish finder (also shows in small, medium and large fish)
- identify structure and cover in water
- tow it, mount it, sling it, cast it
- records history of data you can playback later
- use location services to map the body of water
- allows you to use the camera to take pictures of the body of water (great for remembering exactly where that target was)

Snap of some fish in 7-10 feet of water. The green shows vegetation. The number above the fish indicates depth fish was.




Showing exactly what our pond has a lot of in the deep areas - NOTHING. No structure, no cover, just deep water with some vegetation on the bottom. No fish LOL




A lot of the medium to larger fish were holding yesterday in the 8-10 foot range.

Update 30 January 2016:

Update on water clarity. The water is SO clear that it is prime time for mapping the pond and identifying places to sink more habitat structure. Also a good time to use the GoPro on a PVC pipe to shoot underwater video. Here are some pictures.

Looking down under the dock into 9 plus feet of water. You literally can see the bottom - sticks, stones, vegetation, everything.




Snapped through a polarized lens looking into 11 plus feet of water. Cinderblocks were not intentionally placed there.




Looking down toward the pond the vegetation from shore toward middle goes from inches to over 6 feet deep right where the glare reflection ends. If you look close you will see a log running from shore left into the water (in the green non-reflective water). You can follow it from the vantage point into 13 feet of water. THAT is how clear the water is.




Now, who wants to come snorkel or scuba with big bass?

That's pretty cool basslover.

Really like the bluetooth smart-phone/i-pad feature.

Zep -

Yes the bluetooth comm means no more cords

Pair it with a tablet for a larger view or your smart phone. A waterproof container makes sense...

I've been using it to map out where I fish. In the yak it is easier to use than a higher end finder that requires a mount and battery juice. Oh so when fully charged you get about 3.5 hours of usage with Deeper.

There are plenty of independent reviews of Deeper that compare it to mounted fish finders that cost $500 and up, and reviews are favorable that Deeper is accurate on depth, fish, and structure.

Note that I had "Fish Icons" selected, so the fish icons are just that - icons. You can change the settings to show the actual size of the fish instead of the icons which breaks fish into one of three size categories. I'll try to upload a shot with the size of the fish instead of the icon.

The app has the lunar calendar, weather reports, etc. So you really have a lot of information available to you. And the app doesn't require Deeper to give you that info. You can run the app without Deeper.

Also the app supports multiple units.

Anyways, if you fish and want a pocket size fish finder and water identifier or you want to check out what lies beneath the surface of your pond Deeper might be a good tool.

That is pretty cool! I love gadgets like that, but I don't fish enough to get much use out of it. If I stumble into some money, perhaps I will pick one up.

It is a really cool tool. From a fishing perspective you can finally see beneath the surface. Is it worth it to cast over there, what about that spot, etc.? My primary use has been water depth and structure. It is cool to see fish, but when you look out over a body of water you're fishing blind often. Always said you can have the right bait / lure but if no fish where you cast you wouldn't know it.

Another cool feature is the fish alarm. You can put the device where you're fishing, and then just sit back and listen for the audible alarm. Catfishing is great for this. Set your line, set the device, and do whatever. The audible alert can let you know hey pay attention to your line now.

From a non-fishing perspective I like it for water temp, depth and structure. Especially in my pond that I acquired and didn't build. I also like taking it on holiday because it is so small unlike many of the boat mounted options.

basslover....I wonder in the future when some of these devices come down in price if someone could attach these units to or drop them down from buoys strategically located in their pond and be sitting inside their lake side cottage in their recliner reading temps and where the fish are in their pond, etc...? Do you know how often the batteries have to be changed out?



https://buydeeper.com/

Zep -

There is no battery in factory design to replace. It is recharge only. Lasts 4 hours then recharge via USB cable. You can't charge it safely as you unscrew it into two halves (thereby breaking the waterproof seal). But you can buy replacement covers (top half of unit) in colors visible for nighttime fishing/study. I'm going to drill a hole in replacement cover, run USB cable, seal it with silicone, and then build a float that will contain an external battery pack that the USB cable will plug into. All small enough that my remote controlled boat will be able to pull around the pond. I want to test if I can have a Deeper always be on essentially. Although it will shorten the battery lifespan I'm sure.

But you could have two or more Deepers, one in the water and one set aside charged ready to be deployed. A remote controlled boat helps move it to where you want it. You also could set up a remote desktop connection to a tablet with WiFi enabled so the tablet is within Bluetooth range and the laptop within range of your homestead so you can sit and monitor the unit(s) remotely.

There is a lot of good equipment out there but not inexpensive.

UPDATE: 29 Feb 2016

Weather has been cold, warm, cold, warm. Have spotted plenty of newborn CNBG. And of course have spotted the predatory LMB.

Water is clear. Can see straight to the bottom at 14 feet with sun overhead. Crazy clear.

Here's a nice bass circled hanging around some downed trees.




And a much easier to spot bass cruising in 6 feet of water. Where the grass "ends" is a drop down to between 10 to 16 feet depth.

Very cool pics, Basslover!

I know clear water has it's pros and cons, but man I'd much rather have that than 8"-12" of clarity!

Very cool, and the setting is just beautiful!

I've gone back and forth about clear water many times. It is not ideal for easy fishing by any means. But it forces one to fish smarter for sure.

Take out the fishing angle and clear water is great! The kids like seeing everything - the turtles, snakes, fish, frogs, etc. And for those who are afraid to swim in anything but swimming pools having this clear water allows them to see and relax.

I didn't get a good photo but I came up on a 8lb bass the other day and in that clear water - WOW! It was big, fat, and it took off.

I've thought about tossing in some yaks/floats tied to runner lines and let the wind blow them around, along with the dummies on shore, to have the fish not spook so easy when there is movement water side.

Here is a pic that is more scenic.

Very good idea about the dummies. I've got one I could rent ya. He's 18 years old.

That's great! LOL

I've got a couple I'd like to stand out there at times.

Basslover, you mentioned time to take underwater video with a PVC pipe. Were you successful? Can you post some?

Okay I'm going to try to share some video. I hope it shows for those interested in watching it.

This short clip is beneath the dock I rebuilt, showing the young CNBG. Maybe 10 seconds in length, shot with a GoPro Hero 3 tied to fishing line off my fishing rod. So there is wobble/shake. But the fish look cool. The camera is at a depth of 4 feet from the water surface for this clip.

CNBG

Another video clip, slightly longer and showing more CNBG.

Depth of over 7 feet. The water is ... CLEAR.


Fish

So all these videos were shot using GoPro Hero 3 tied to fishing line. I used my fishing rod to move the camera around. So you'll get some wobble and quick turns. You should see the unedited footage - the fast spinning of the camera dangling off the rod! LOL

This clip is about 1 minute in duration. Dropping the camera to pond floor off the dock. Depth of around 11 feet. No fish in the beginning of this video, just the pond bottom and objects, but then the bluegill come into view and I think you get a nice shot of under the dock.

Fish

CNBG beneath felled trees in the deeper end of the pond. Anywhere 4 to 7 feet of water.

Fish

Last clip. Fish in a pond. Woohoo! LOL

Fish

Excellent videos, basslover!

I was just waiting for a Bass to drop in for a meal!

Were you feeding at the time as well? I saw what looked like pellets they were going after in the last video.

It's so cool seeing what you have down there and what goes on in the world of fish .

Thanks for sharing those!!!

basslover those are really cool

I've got some bass feeding videos but I have to find them. They were feeding on trout.

We (our 3 year old boy) were dropping fish pellets and worms in to feed the CNBG for some of the videos yes.

This pond is basically rectangular in shape. And it is pretty much devoid of any structure or cover in the middle of the rectangle. The Deeper Fish Finder and the GoPro Hero have really shown us what lies beneath the surface of the water.

I'm going to try to get some more video of the bass and share it.

I'm also dropping in a lot more fish habitats I've made in the coming weeks.

Thank you.

I really like the clear water. Angling is not easy but snorkeling/diving/shooting underwater video is better for the clarity of the water. Oh and I'm sure the bass enjoy the clarity - from a feeding perspective. LOL

Here is one more amateur video of CNBG. You all get the idea of them underwater now for sure. In our pond they love the grass beds and skirt about the blades. All but one of these videos were shot around the dock. This scene of young CNBG could be repeated in several other areas of our pond.

Boy I wish I had the GoPro mounted under the yak the other day when the bass were in the shallows. Y'all would have seen a nice 8lber cruise from beside a fallen log to deeper water right quick in very clear water.

CNBG

Just remember the clearer the water the less food there is for YOY fish. Which will mean less recruitment of the forage fish in the pond. With very clear water ponds, to keep a fish population growing you will have to rely more heavily on feeding the fish, like an aquarium.

when i was a kid some of my best fishing days were in an
old abandoned rock quarry that had pretty clear water.
but we had to jump a fence so I doubt it got hardly any
pressure.

Some pics:

Short video of yellow perch swimming free. Though the cobalt blue coloration was dominant in this batch!

[video:youtube]https://youtu.be/qMcfSOICu7A[/video]

Sorry for the link - I don't know how to enable the video in a post. But vid shows a basket full of YP swimming free into the pond!

SMALLMOUTH BASS ! ! ! ! ! ! !

Part of the new lineup:



The markings on these smallies are striking!





Watching a school of smallies head out into the water was nothing short of amazing!

Wow those SMB do have some great patterns

+1

Those are some beautiful Smallies!

Loved the video of the YP as well!

incredible!

Can anything be better than this short video of smallmouth bass swimming free?!?! Check out the markings!

[video:youtube]https://youtu.be/9WHv_TsA5Ck[/video]

Thank you everyone for the good words!

I have to thank 2 PBF members because with their help and generosity they made this happen! So thank you two PBF members you know who you are - my family and I really appreciate everything you did!


Beautiful cobalt blue yellow perch, hybrid striped bass, and SMALLIES!!! And those smallies ranged in size from 6 inches to 15 inches!!!! I cannot wait to catch a glimpse of some of these "tiger striped" smallies in our crystal clear water.

Beautiful! What a great fishery you are building. Cmm

Is this the same pond your LMB are in?

Yes the smallies joined the same pond that has LMB.

It will be interesting to see how the YP and SMB do with LMB in the pond as time goes by.

Agreed. Looking forward to seeing how things shape up.

Today I saw two large largemouth cruising together. There were CNBG near them cruising as well, and one hybrid striped bass and two smallies.

I saw a few of the smallies as well. Posting under the dock and in some of the grass.

Here is a pic of a largemouth and a hybrid striped bass fingerling on a collision course with a pair of CNBG in the background!

The large log lying flat on the pond bottom is at a depth of 9 feet. To provide an indication of water clarity.

The 6" HSB fingerling gives indication of the size of the LMB. (The HSB swam on past the LMB without a second look)

Two LMB cruising close to shore in about 6 feet of water.

A fav snap of mine - a LMB cruising past the dock near the pond bottom in 10 feet of water. Had the wind not been blowing the picture would have been even better. That is a nice sized LMB.

I pieced together some various clips of this LMB hanging out under the dock.

Anyone want to guess the weight of this bass?

About a 1 minute video here:
[video:youtube]https://youtu.be/ZnSWEFLfDOo[/video]


Pic:

Before having seen this pond in person, and it's incredible water clarity, I had serious doubts that YP would last very long at all in Basslover's pond. The extensive, EXCELLENT submerged plant cover quickly changed my mind! I saw open, rocky places for smallmouth to nest and spawn, outstanding cover for fry, along with countless places for YP to spawn and also seek cover. I think these fish will do amazingly well! There were at least 20 gravid females released, so hopefully, they will spawn right away. Some of the SMB were gravid also, so hopefully some nests will be built right away and those will pull off a spawn this spring, as well!

I could have done without the cracked rib, tow bill, mangled trailer light, but it was still a true pleasure to help make a long time dream come together for you! Basslover, You are creating a real gem on that mountain!

Rex, What the heck? You starting this year off on another "year to experience" note??

Really awesome BL - I love the addition of the YP and SMB. Keep pressure on the LMB and hope your YP and SMB fishery flourishes. Amazing looking pond and great photos. Congrats and welcome to the SMB club!

A resounding YES is the answer! Given everything that transpired for this one, I can only imagine if let's just say one out of 10 trips has as much shenanigans and buffoonery then WOW what a memoir Rex could author!

Thank you! If NE wasn't so far away some of your smallies would be challenging my LMB right now, too! lol

I've seen a few of the smallies posting up near structure and swimming about. So far so good. Head count is now twice as many smallies as LMB.

broken ribs REX? towbill? I think we need to hear (think a famous deceased radio broadcaster here..) '...The REST of the story...'

Ditto, AND pictures of the delivery truck!!!!

Here is a 47 second clip of CNBG and a LMB cruising in around the 20 second marker. Video is a little shaky as the GoPro was tied to end of fishing line. I need to secure mount it again to pole so it doesn't flutter/shake.

[video:youtube]https://youtu.be/CJwGVU9nzBo[/video]

About a minute of LMB video. Got the camera on a rod and down to the bass for close up viewing. Again, it is a little shaky so I will try to mount the camera again on a pole so it doesn't flutter back and forth.

But for those wanting some clear video of a bass in natural environment this might be a decent vid.

[video:youtube]https://youtu.be/1eB-ucpneVU[/video]

Keep pressure on the LMB and your SMB and YP have a chance to make it. Remember the article on drawdown to limit LMB reproduction when they are on beds? It enabled SMB to remain dominant species in a fishery...very unique situation. Something to consider when you get LMB on beds, draw down 3-4' to help manage LMB population long term. Definitely something I'd do if I had both species present. Let us know what you end up doing and keep the photos coming.

I've read lots of times that SMB will eventually disappear in BOWs with LMB. What is the cause(s)? LMB eat SMB fingerlings, SMB denied spawning sites, etc?? I'm thinking if we understand why the SMB disappear, we might stand a better chance of preventing it.

Plenty has been posted on LMB/SMB relationship on forum and scientific studies on why LMB dominate shared fisheries. Mark Cornwell's article on SMB dominance in LMB/SMB fishery is the only information I've ever encountered where the balance was skewed in favor of SMB. My post highlights the article's hypothesis.

Thanks TJ. As you know (and only you know why), I also ended up with LMB in my SMB, WE, YP pond. I'm also heavy on the SMB numbers vs LMB numbers. I will continue on plan to remove LMB when I get a chance.

Until I met Rex, I never thought I'd need a tractor that had more than 70hp on a farm of less than 50 acres....just didn't seem possible. But we're 0/2 getting him unstuck with the 5610S.

Yolk, I'll try hard not to make it 0/3!

As for all that happened, well, you'd just have to see the places I had to get to and what it took to get to them. Sort of like trying to maneuver a Mack truck through a 12' pipe half full of logs, trees and mud, turn around, and not scratch anything...lol Bottom line, it got done with the fish both happy and healthy! Delivering fish is always an adventure!

CanyonCreek, this is the rig I used for this run. The trailer, with 6 of 8 tanks filled, weighed in at 18,073 pounds...

Rex, I've learned from your mistakes and practice "no off pavement or off gravel travel" unless walked on foot first. Even then I'm really, really careful. Got stuck once, and that was enough.

Thanks Rex! That is QUITE THE LOAD!!!

By us, if you pull a trailer with that much weight behind a truck of any type you need to have registered with the DOT and have your DOT numbers plastered on the side of the truck.

Scary going down a hill with all that weight sloshing around behind you!

esshup, I did walk it, but it was at dusk and I didn't see that an upper pond was draining and spreading out further into the field I was turning around in. I'd walked out about 40 feet and it was reasonably solid....mush at 45 feet..lol

Well, I don't feel quite so guilty now. I thought I was the only one who got my fish guy stuck. Of course, it was mid December, pitch black, pouring rain, on a neglected lane full of recently trenched water and electrical lines. Funny thing was I was also stuck and hoping he would pull me out!!

Rex, hope you don't go near a military base or government building with those green missiles all strapped to the front of your trailer tongue

I can see that fish haulers are very a very dedicated crew. Thanks for all you do to get fish safely in our ponds!

Brook, I wanted to, but as I recall, we didn't have enough straps and chains to reach, and I thought your neighbor had it covered.

Used to spend nights with my kids in base housing at Little Rock Air Force Base weekly...They meet regs for transport.

A fish eye perspective. Look up on the bank and you can see why the fish scatter when there's movement.

[video:youtube]https://youtu.be/On5SoJNgH2s[/video]





Presuming fish eyesight is similar to human eyesight then these bass can see a person on the bank fishing quite easily.

Some minnows were schooling about and caught some video.

[video:youtube]https://youtu.be/iQi6fEM4_ek[/video]

Two largemouth bass and a mess of coppernose bluegills.

[video:youtube]https://youtu.be/x9M8SALjBuE[/video]

Perch have been laying eggs everywhere. Caught this one on accident when fishing for CNBG. Landed a second YP after this one that was clearly a gravid female, so I stopped fishing as dusk was approaching and I got the feeling the perch were laying strands.




Oddly enough same outing landed this trout. One that the LMB haven't dined on yet!

Hi basslover
First of all congratulations for the fantastic pond and fish.
I would like to ask you if you know which kind of weed is the one you see growing on the bottom under and around the dock.
Thank you in advance

Your pictures and videos are great what's the size of your pond it's beautiful

As Rex indicated, the yellow perch have taken to the weeds. You may see a lone perch swimming about, but ring the dinner bell and they emerge seemingly from nowhere! I enjoy watching them emerge from between blades, dine, and then disappear again.

Video has coppernose bluegill and yellow perch feeding.

[video:youtube]https://youtu.be/s5dyzayn7ho[/video]

Anyone identify the fish that darts in around the 14 second marker? Has a lateral line, doesn't look like a perch or bluegill. I've added shiners, minnows, and trout. Could it be one of these 3 that has escaped predation? Or a small bass?

[video:youtube]https://youtu.be/BwrRkVhUcUg[/video]

Resembles juvenile shiner or a young lake chub sucker.

Thanks, Snakebite. I will presume shiner because I have supplemental stocked shiners. Lake chub sucker would be a stowaway.

Video showing yellow perch and coppernose bluegill dining together. With a largemouth bass hanging around ...

The white eye CNBG took a hook through its mouth and out that eye a few months back. Looks like it is doing well though.

[video:youtube]https://youtu.be/3C9bhc3RO0k[/video]

Very Cool! What is the vegetation on the bottom?

3 minute in duration video of a smallie and a couple largemouth (plus a ton of CNBG). Smallie was stocked couple weeks back, looks like it did when stocked (wasn't a fat smallie, but a beauty color thinner smallie). One fat hawg LMB in the background and a smaller LMB as well.

BTW, to me this is one of the coolest vids - having both a smallmouth and a largemouth under the dock with a crapton of forage fish around them. I'd like to look inside the belly of the fat bass and identify what she is eating - perch or bluegill. Thank you again to 2 PBF members for making the smallies possible!

[video:youtube]https://youtu.be/i1umH-c4JSw[/video]

Bill -

I do not know the vegetation. I know the yellow perch love it - egg laying and swimming about within it. They scatter and disappear pretty quick in that vegetation for sure.

IF ANYONE KNOWS THIS VEGETATION please pipe in. I can take close up pics, pull up a club to show bulb/roots, etc.

Basslover in the small mouth video, what appears to be the white knot on the lower jaw of the SMB?

I don't know what that is. When I received that smallie it had that knot. It doesn't appear to have grown any larger when I compare pictures of the day I got it and the most recent video.

That is cool!
I would say that SMB has a sore on the tip of its jaw from rubbing on the edges of the holding tank it was in. It might feed better once it totally heals up. It did look thin.

It looks like the YP and SMB acclimated well to the pond! Basslover, you have one beautiful body of water!

Basslover, your videos are amazing!

It surprises me that they're not more skittish around the camera, if maybe not even the opposite as it appears many of them are curious about it.

To see all the different species swimming together is so cool! Although I'm still waiting for an ambush to be caught on camera!

Thanks for sharing!

Im sure it may have been asked already but what type of camera are you using...

thx,
RC

Is that eel grass growing in the pond?

Keith -

Thank you. Yes the fish are definitely curious. Or at least some of them are. Others swim away quickly but most hang where they are and some approach.

The LMB are well fed. I'm waiting for the ambush as well, but when I look at their bellies they are bulging so I doubt I'm going to capture it on video on a short trip. So I'm going to try to camp out and run a couple of cameras 24/7 from different angles to see if I can capture anything. Have the clarity and the fish and equipment, just need time to camp out for a couple of days and nights.

RC

GoPro Hero3. This time for less wavy spinning around footage I electrical taped the housing to a PVC pipe.

I really don't know. I will take some snaps of its root system and close ups of it. It looks similar to eelgrass. It grows tall - 5 feet tall by end of Summer.

Cool thx I gotta get one!!

do it grow out of the water too or only under the water?

They're very cool, RC! I have a Hero4 that I got for our trip and have used it several times underwater to film the fish feeding, but my water clarity is so poor that you only see a flash of the fish attacking the food. My LMB hang out under the dock ambushing the BG as they feed but I've yet to capture one in the act.

I'll wait for basslover to provide that footage!

Yeah I have water just like BL very clear! I can see 5 to 7 feet easy.... It would be cool to do some of that.


RC

It can and does grow out of the water, but mostly in the shallower 4' and less areas. Due to clarity it will grow to 5' or more but that is usually end of Summer and so the process reboots.

It is pretty easy to pull - grab the club near the base and pull up. Comes up pretty easy - most clumps do.

The yellow perch decorated it like crazy with egg ribbons.

I love it! That grass is cool because its not to thick but thick enough to keep fish and not so hard to chunk certain baits through... Plus some serious frog action over it would be sweet!!

RC

Caught a few CNBG this size last weekend. Stocked almost 2 years ago. Not the largest spotted but a nice non-fed (feeder) CNBG specimen.

Two years ago when I did initial stocking of LMB, RES, and CNBG I also dropped in 40 pounds of crawfish. For the first month or so I would see them along the banks in shallow water. But then no more sightings. Fast forward almost 2 years and while removing some leaf debris in the shallows I saw a large crawfish - a big un so much so I enjoyed watching and left the pinchers be. Then I got these two fellers. Definitely surprised me to find crawfish still around. Good stuff.

Nice! SMB morsels!

See how the LMBs respond to gizzard shad ... dropped some in and saw the LMBs beeline for them.

are you concerned about the gizzard shad becoming to big and abundant in your pond?

I'm not concerned about these gizzards becoming too big or too abundant because;
- I stocked only 2 dozen with all but 2 being 6" and smaller
- The LMBs are large enough to eat all 2 dozen gizzards

True it is a risk because maybe the LMBs won't find the gizzards or the gizzards will super reproduce or something, but I think the gizzards if not gone already will be gone before Summer is up. The water clarity makes it difficult for their bright shiny scales to hide in our pond.

I dropped the gizzards in to give the bass a different type of meal - shape and taste.

We'll see what happens ...

you could do like I do with the mullet I add, cut the tail fins off to make them nearly wriggling target rather than an evasive one.

I don't know of any Northern ponds that have LMB enough to keep Gizzard Shad under control. All it takes is 2 to survive.

I'm interested in how this goes.... All I know is what you may think is a small change can end up having a big impact on your pond!! I found that out.... I hope it works out for ya I guess will see in a couple years.... I've heard ugly story after ugly story on them shad and how they got so big and took over it was crazy...

Now I heard Threadfin Shad are ok as they don't get quite as big as GS I guess? Good luck man.....

RC

P.S. I guess if all else fails you could always go Fly Rod fishing for GS!!!

Correct but Threadfin Shad don't live year to year in the North.

That's what the problem is when people only list "USA" as their location. They can't receive correct information for their area as the correct recommendations will vary depending where in the "USA" they live.

A state is all that is really necessary, not an exact address.

Texas is so big, and so varied in climate/soil conditions that East Texas is different from West Texas, and North Texas could be different than the Galveston, Texas area.

Even in Northern States, there are differences. Here in Indiana, LMB are spawning down south, but it's still too cold up here in the North...

Yeah we'll see the outcome in a couple of years. Obviously I couldn't know for certain, but everything considered I bet we'll not see schools of gizzards in a couple of years. Given our pond layout, clarity, and LMB population I feel pretty good that the gizzards won't last long enough to reproduce.

The main reason the gizzards were added were due to their larger size over threadfin, wanting the large LMB to have a meal that may promote further growth more so than the smaller forage.

Basslover, with your water clarity and lack of phytoplankton for gizzards to live on, I think you will be safe from an explosion of oily, nasty fish...lol

I doubt Threadfin would survive there either, unless getting LOTS of Ag Lime in the watershed and starting a bloom. Given the size and health of your fish, the almost perfect plant life and distribution that provides areas for the base of the food chain to grow in, I don't think I'd want a bloom starting in your pond, unless it was a very slight bloom.

Was on the dock and heard some movement across the pond down a ways in the leaf litter. Eventually found a little movement with the naked eye, enough to warrant walking around to see what I could see (knowing likely would be gone by the time I made it over there).

Found these two black racers doing the wild thing - yup mating season in full swing!



Also spotted this anole.

basslover, thank you for sharing so much. Your pictures, videos, and story have been very interesting and educational. I wish my ponds were as clear, I'd love to scuba dive in your pond and watch for fish.

Awesome pond basslover. I really hope to have just a portion of the success that you have had. That type of success would be so gratifying and make it all so worth it. I am very envious of your pond as I bet most are. I started will a clean slate meaning I dug my 1 acre but have no trees, grass or anything else there besides the few things I have made artificially.

Our pond is about gin clear again. Level has come up almost to full pool. Did a short bit of fishing recently and landed this 4.11 lb bass.

Here are 2 perch we landed as well;

man oh man those are some purty YP!! Let us know when/where/depth and water temps when you see ribbons!

are you still seeing crayfish?

What kind of Perch are those?

Nvm. Just looked them up.

Crayfish are in the leaf litter still.

The yellow perch ribbons I haven't seen, but I didn't go looking for them, I just didn't see any in the obvious places in front of my face the couple of minutes I fished. Water temp was 59.5.

Cody Note: At a water temp of 59F most of the YP eggs have been laid and some probably hatched by now.

These perch are the RAINMAN PERCH variety.

Or Yellow Perch as commonly known.

You're so blessed to have your water clarity and the near perfect plant life for those YO to survive all the monster predators that would love to munch on them!!!