Ok, guys, here is my story. I didn't want to split it in parts like "How did I make the dam", "What kind of fish are there", so I made one story. Enjoy.
Part I
My first adventure connected to ponds started ~15 years ago. A relative of mine had a land property and made first pond on it by simple digging by excavator. After that 2 other ponds were made in the same way. They weren’t large and they weren’t deep enough too. Our winters can be very cold and long (last winter ice was ~0,5-0,6 m (~2 feet) thick on some lakes). Without proper aeration fish usually can’t survive in a pond with max. depth ~2m (7 feet). Probably the crucian carp is the only one that can tolerate water with such low oxygen level...
Some years ago we decided to make a bit more serious pond in a valley. It’s a pity that I don’t have any pictures from the first works – how did we cut trees, how top soil was removed and how the dam was created by bulldozer. After these great earth works we let it rest for a year. Dam would get greater density and plants would appear. Stocking fish in a brand new pond isn’t a very smart idea. Probably they would starve or even die because of lack of food.
So, area of the new pond is planned to be 1 hectare or a bit more (that’s about 2,5+ acres). It will be made of 2 similar area parts – the deep one (max. depth could be even 5 m; 16-17 feet) and the shallow one (max. depth could be ~3 m; 10 feet). Now the deepest part is partly filled with water. We can’t raise the water level higher because there is additional work to be done. Some trees have to be cut and dam isn’t finished yet. It’s expected that year 2012 winter fish won’t need aerator any more
I don’t give much about large ponds without proper water level control system. Usual spillway works only if there is too much water. But if there are unwanted fish and you don’t see any way how to get rid of them? So, we decided to make such system as in further pictures (well, it’s hard to describe it in details because my English isn’t that good). Watch them and if you got any questions, feel free to ask. I’ll try to explain.
[Sorry about picture quality – some of them are taken by a bit damaged camera].
Just a view to a dry pond (that little water amount doesn’t count). Picture taken from the dam. As you see, some birch-trees and bushes have to be cut. On the left side you see a place where dam has to be improved.
Pipe for spillway.
The same but this time concrete base is done.
Steel reinforcement is supported by 3 wooden planks.
The same but from another viewpoint.
Conreting works are continued.
After a rain. Water level can’t raise higher because it reaches pipe and flows away.
Ok, I think that a little explanation about that kind of spillway is needed. In most cases here they are made like concrete chimneys with one side open. Wooden planks are put there to regulate the water level. If you wish to lower it then take one plank out and otherwise. When water reaches level of top plank, it flows in the chimney and gets to the pipe. There is one disadvantage – top layer of water is full with oxygen and it’s better for fish. This time it is a bit more advanced. There are 2 layers of wooden planks and water is taken away from the depth. I made 2 fast sketches just in case.
October: So, when everything was done, we put the planks and started waiting for rain. Another water source is a little brook from other pond but its water amount is dependent on rain too…
Now the most interesting part... Of course, fish! Lots of tench (some little ones, some bigger), carps (common carps and mirror carps), grass carps and several Russian sturgeons. The last ones are like an experiment but I hope that they would survive.
8th November, some pictures. Water level has raised but anyway there should be more.
18th November, some pictures. After some rainy days…
Soon it started to snow and cold days came. In winter no pictures were made. None are made this year… I hope that fish feel OK because aerator was used during the winter and that little brook didn’t stop flowing.
Welcome to the forum Grundulis great job on your posting skills with all your info and pictures. Nice pond and surroundings. What's your water level like now? How bigs the water shed? How much precipitation annually in that area? Do you live close to the pond ?
Water level now is a bit more than in the last picture. We are not planning to raise its level this year because of these trees and bushes. This winter they will be down. Then next spring/summer we have to remove top soil in same places and improve dam in one places (that's visible in pictures).
I'm not sure that I understand the term "water shed"... maybe you could explain it? Does it mean area that give water to pond?
About precipitation. Average rain rate for Latvia is 600-700 mm per year. I guess that my region doesn't differ much from it. But I have to add that melting snow is another water source.
Sad but usually I'm very far from this pond but I try to to visit it each time it's possible. Soon I'm having a vacation and I'm going to be there again My relatives live quite close to the pond and they watch after the fish and son on.
Yes that is what I was talking about when we say watershed how big of an area does the water funnel to your pond from.
We only get around 300 - 400 mm in including snow here. Almost all the runoff comes from snow and our rains mostly just soak into the soil and don't flow much.
It's a very hard question actually. Look at this sketch:
The bottom one is another pond. It gets water from rain and probably from ground too. Unnecessary water flows to another smaller pond. It's connected to the largest one. So - 2 ponds, rain, snow... who can calculate something?
I haven't even tried to go fishing. They aren't ready for it. Mostly they are little ones but I don't want to harm the larger ones because I hope they would breed this spring/summer(larger tenches). If not this year then next year it will happen.
I really don't understand why such or similar system isn't often used by forum members. I watched numerous reports here but mostly I found simple spillway with pipe to avoid too much water. Nothing more.
I understand that it costs more but I'm sure it might be useful sometimes. Advantages: 1)drain the pond if you want to clean it; 2)drain the pond to get rid of unnecessary fish, animals and reptiles; 3)raise or lower water level to make better places for fish to spawn roe.
We installed an agri-drain system on one of our ponds. They are plastic, but much like the concrete one you constructed. We placed the unit on a concrete pad and anchored it down with rebar (otherwise it would float).
We are in South Dakota, and so we will get up to 1 meter of ice in the winter. This has wreaked havoc with the unit over time, pulling the unit away from the tube that is attached at the base. We've also had the ice distort the shape of the unit. Thus I am going to take it out and replace with a vertical tube, and then fill around the tube with clay, essentially making an addition to the front side of the dam.
With your system I would be cautious about having ice moving in the spring. If your pond is very big, you might have ice slabs moving with the wind during spring melt. This could easily bend over or even destroy the structure. If you are in this situation, I would be tempted to fill around the lower part of your structure with clay or rocks. You'd give up some ability to drop water levels to the very bottom, but if it's either that or having the entire structure destroyed, I'd pick the former.
BillSD, my pond isn't a see or even a lake. When ice is melting, I haven't seen drifting ice slabs. Everything happens slowly. So, it's not a danger. By the way, we don't have such thick ice as you. Like I said, ~0,50 - 0,60 m is considered to be a thick ice. There are only 2 things to worry about: 1)ice could lift the whole system - I hope that concrete base is big and heavy enough to provide stability. The weight of it should be sufficient to avoid that. 2)concrete will start crumbling in water level. You know how does it happen. Water gets into concrete in autumn and after freezing its molecules increase their size, ruining concrete. But this happens slowly and concrete chimney can be repaired.
I love the pond. The thing that sticks out most in my mind is if you didn't say it was Latvia, I'd have thought it was anywhere in the US. I love your water control system.
The sturgeon are going to be awesome? What is the temperature range you could expect your pond to experience over the season? As in what would be the high for the year in particular as I would guess the pond will freeze over for at least a portion of the winter. Sturgeon are not quite as sensitive to water temperature and dissolved oxygen levels, but they do require fairly cool water and higher DO's, especially when larger. Not as familiar with Russian sturgeon, so I am not sure if they are more or less sensitive. A quick research on them shows they will reach 6' and 250 pounds but are slow growers... From what I understand, sterlets are one of the most tolerant of warmer waters and lower DO's. All species require moving water to reproduce so you can expect them to not multiply in the pond.
I have heard tench are very good fighters when caught on light tackle and you can't have a European pond without different varieties of carp! The one thing that seems to be missing are higher end predatory fish... Is there plans to stock any? Zander, pike, European perch, or another species I am not familiar with? Would the water stay cool enough and oxygenated enough year round for trout?
The sturgeon are going to be awesome? What is the temperature range you could expect your pond to experience over the season? As in what would be the high for the year in particular as I would guess the pond will freeze over for at least a portion of the winter. Sturgeon are not quite as sensitive to water temperature and dissolved oxygen levels, but they do require fairly cool water and higher DO's, especially when larger. Not as familiar with Russian sturgeon, so I am not sure if they are more or less sensitive.
I can't tell you much about water temperature because it may vary a lot. Last 2 winters were very cold and summers hot but some years before winters were like late autumn. This year spring isn't as warm as is should be... Giving the max. and min. temperature wouldn't tell us much. The purchase of these sturgeons was inspired by some private pond owners. Somehow their fish survive... Right now, when pond is only with 1/3 of it's possible water amount, sturgeon might feel not comfortable but probably 4-5 m depth would provide good living condition. But, as I said, it's only an experiment
Originally Posted By: CJBS2003
A quick research on them shows they will reach 6' and 250 pounds but are slow growers... From what I understand, sterlets are one of the most tolerant of warmer waters and lower DO's.
What I don't like about sterlets - their max. possible size is tiny compared to sturgeon and that means they probably would grow slower... And I don't think that Russian sturgeon is such a slow grower. Theoretically it may reach 10 kg weight in 4-6 years (in good living conditions). Fishkeeper that sold our these baby sturgeons told that his fish grew from 0,2 to 2 kg during one year (Of course, he fed them). In fact, it can be true as Russian sturgeon is the second biggest fish from sturgeon family (1st place - beluga). By the way, sturgeon is only gaining popularity right now and only few fishkeepers offer to buy their fry. I've never seen and ad offering sterlets. But I think that it's only a matter of time.
Originally Posted By: CJBS2003
Grundulis, All species require moving water to reproduce so you can expect them to not multiply in the pond.
I know that...:(
Originally Posted By: CJBS2003
I have heard tench are very good fighters when caught on light tackle
Yeah, it's so. Tench is one very good fish even from other points of view. It tolerates water with low oxygen level, no problems with reproduction, it's very tasty and beautiful fish. But... it grows slow
Originally Posted By: CJBS2003
The one thing that seems to be missing are higher end predatory fish... Is there plans to stock any? Zander, pike, European perch, or another species I am not familiar with? Would the water stay cool enough and oxygenated enough year round for trout?
You are right. Actually there is no need for them now but I will stock some. The only problem is that I can't decide what species should be the best ones. Pike - works well but grows very fast and eats much. If they manage to spawn eggs then goodbye carps Zander - would be better but it's very wayward fish. Probably won't live together with carps because very clear water is a must. Perch - they won't grow big (1 kg fish is considered large; Latvian record perch ~2,1kg) and they spawn like hell. There are other not so popular fish that can also be used as predators - wels catfish (grows very big and eats much), burbot (doesn't spawn in such ponds), eel (slow grower), chub (don't know where to get it - nobody sells them. The only way is to catch them by myself). About trout. Here in Latvia only rainbow trout is used as pond fish (golden trout is a subspecies of rainbow trout). There are no problems with getting them but I'm not sure how they would act in summer. Now it's pointless to buy them because of low water amount but after full construction of pond it could be more realistic. But there is another BUT. I'm worried about different animal predators. We have caught at least 2 otters, 2-3 minks and one heron is seen sometimes. Thanks god, there are no gannets here... Rainbow trouts from upper water are easy catch even for hawks.
Many pond members will measure their pond temp at different depth daily or at least a couple times weekly. If done over an entire year, you can a good temperature range over the seasons. Although you may have an unusually cool or warm year, you start to see what your temps run and can decide which species may or may not do well in your pond.
I think of wels catfish as the European equivalent to our blue cats but maybe even more aggressive and they get a bit bigger. Seems like predatory fish are really lacking in Europe? Not many options to pick from... Maybe just a couple of pike of the same sex to control them but to prevent reproduction may work? There is a forum member from Austria on here who occasionally posts. He was able to source some North American largemouth bass for his pond. I wonder if they would be legal for you to stock if you could find some?
I would assume carp spawn just as successfully in Europe as they do here and if so, you're gonna have a pile of carp in a hurry. Tench are prolific spawners as well.
Originally Posted By: esshup
Of the animal predators listed, the otters are the worst of the bunch.
Agreed! Are you able to trap or shoot otters in Latvia? The others will take a few fish, but the otters really can wipe a pond out.
I like your approach of measuring temperatures and making charts and reports but here our actions are based mostly on experience. It's not hard to say whether carp or pike would live in such pond (most of lake fish would live there without problems). Temperature measurements can be useful when sensitive fish like trout. It might be useful to predict when fish would spawn. But even if you know possible temperature range in pond, you can't be sure about future. What if summer comes hot as hell?
About carp spawning. Latvia is a bit too cold for them and in wildlife they spawn only in several lakes where they can find a shallow places with warm water and lots of plants. But it's possible to stimulate their spawning in this pond by raising water level and flooding a part of meadow. They like such places
Seems like our wels catfish is much bigger that your blue catfish. As I looked in Wikipedia, world record for that fish is 130 lbs. It's about 60 kg only. I have heard rumours about wels weighing more than 100 kg. Anyway this fish can't be really used as succesful fish capacity controller in such small pond. I can't say that we don't have other predators here. Lets think... Pike; Eel; Chub; Ide; Burbot; Perch; Zander; Asp; Rainbow trout. I didn't mention salmon, sea trout, brown trout, grayling and some more that wouldn't live in a pond like this.
So, there is a list to choose from. Of course, not all of them can be obtained easily. I haven't heard about any fish farm that could offer ide, chub or asp. Probably the only way to get these is by usual fishing rod (it's not prohibited to transport fish to your pond. Just don't release them to other lake in wildlife). Never heard about largemouth basses here but even if I wanted some, I wouldn't be able to get them... Once I thought about same sex pikes as the only suitable solution but I have to learn a bit about their gender differences. Imagine a little mistake and full pond of small pikes
Otters are protected by law but I hope that this law will be changed soon. Even hunters admit that their capacity allows them to be taken out of endangered animal list. But anyway I don't care about these stupid laws and at least 2 otters have been killed with traps during some last years. Traps are the only way to get rid of them - I have never seen an otter near the pond. They are careful.... You can't shoot animal that you don't see
Traps are the only way to get rid of them - I have never seen an otter near the pond. They are careful.... You can't shoot animal that you don't see
Unless you have traps and nightvision snipers 24-7 the best way to keep otters out is an electric fence, they don't appreciate 8000 volts. The only drawback is during winter when heavy snow covers the fence. There's always a chance a Heron could airdrop an otter into the pond.
But how much such fence could cost? And what about use of electricity? This year electricity rates raised a lot.... By the way, 8000 volts - are you kidding?
Uh, almost forgot to tell you about beavers. Latvia is overpopulated by these oversized rats... they don't eat fish but they ruin ponds by building dams, dragging trees into pond and so on... some of them are caught by traps but they multiply faster than can be killed. Now they aren't under any protection (except time when they have young ones) but it doesn't help.
Grundulis the fence charger, wire and plastic pipe cost me less than $200 dollars to do the pond, It uses almost no electricity, just a couple of watts to keep the fence charged, and maybe a few when a critter decides to test it. The 8000 volts is low amperage, it won't hurt you but sure will get your attention. You can also get fence chargers that are battery operated with a solar charger. The fence should also keep out beavers.
If you want to see how effective they are look on you tube, there are videos of fences repelling grizzly bears, but the best videos are of DUMB people peeing on an electric fence.
Speaking of dancing, my wife tried to help me return a neighbor's dog over an electric fence one time by holding the wire down. "Funky dancing" is pretty accurate, but what followed was hardly music...
BillSD, I installed an AgriDrain system as my spillway when the pond was dug in 2009. I've had two Minnesota winters now and haven't noticed anything amiss. I've actually seen the Agridrain conducting the heat from 8' down up to the surface and melting the snow. Your experience has me a little worried though. It looks like you had yours installed in open water, rather than buried within your dam. Is that correct?
Your experience has me a little worried though. It looks like you had yours installed in open water, rather than buried within your dam. Is that correct?
Yeah, it's not in the dam but in open water but I don't see any reason why yours could be considered worse. If it does what it's supposed to do then it's OK. My spillway can be outside the dam because of it's great weight. Plastic AgriDrain has no significant weight and that's why it needs additional weight.
I have a plastic Agridrain flash-board unit on the inlet of my pond's outlet tube and it has been OK through 2 Indiana winters, but I do worry about the ice even though its nothing like MN. I used it to raise the pond level 1 foot. It is under a dock which at least cuts down on UV damage.
Now I've got vacation and I had possibility to visit it more. Some grass carps and mirror carps are visible on the water surface. Just stay still and don't make much noise and you see them
So, winter is coming but I'm worried about low level of water...I hope to see some rainy days or even weeks. But I found out that perch have had successful spawn - found a lot of small ones near shoreline. I put ~10 of them last autumn and seems like they managed to do this. Hard to say how this will affect the life of other fish but that will be visible in future.
This weekend we almost made another spillway in another pond. As the days now are so short, we didn't finish it but only a little part is left. I hope that my relatives will finish it in a smaller team. Next year we'll see how many crucian carps are there
A little picture of it. I hope to get other pictures and then I'll post some pictures of the whole construction.
Hi to all, i do appreciate the work you people are carrying out on the other hand helping nature. The ponds, construction, fencing all things are commendable, this is the thing which every individual should realize his or her duty towards nature. Good work guys keep it up.
Your water level is looking like a lot of the ponds in this area.
You don't have such cold winters as we have here. Last winter ice was even 50 cm thick on the lake!!! That might make some trouble...
Seems like it would be a smart idea to empty the pond which has the newest spillway built. I could get some good fish (if there are any ) and all water would flow to the largest pond, raising its level. I like this idea only some dirt work has to be done.
Lately they haven't been as cold, but I remember when I was a kid, we had winters where 60 cm of ice was common, and I think one winter there was almost 90 cm of ice on the lake.
Seems like this year winter will be late or there won't be serious winter at all. It isn't very cold - at least the temperature is higher than it should be in the end of November. No snow at all. Pikes still live in the shoreline (they should be deeper) and every day new molehills appear. Not bad actually
You all were talking about future plans so I wanted to tell more about my future plans.
At first you can take a look at a simple scheme.
You will see 3 ponds:
1) Let's call it Fish pond (it was the first fish pond; it doesn't mean there are no fish in others). Max. depth
~2m. Fish mostly crucian carp (the ancestor of well known goldfish). Otter has done great job here and it's hard to
say how much fish are left. Significant damage is done by beavers too (holes, trees under water and so on). In the end of the pond is a concrete spillway. It doesn't allow to drain the pond.
PLANS: to rent an excavator and to dig a ditch around this spillway. After connecting Fish pond with Ditch (1),
draining will be possible using the next spillway (between Ditch (1) and Ditch (2)). This is going to happen this
year in April or May. Then we'll see what fish we got there. Some trees and bushes should be removed but it's not a big deal.
2) Triangle pond. Smaller pond but also a very nice one Max. depth ~2m. Fish mostly crucian carps but not only.
There are also some carps, grass carps (one of them should be quite a big one - 4 or 5 kg) and some other fish.
Almost forgot, perch should be there in significant quantity.
PLANS: at first lots of trees and bushes must be removed. Certain area is already cleared (that map is a bit
outdated) but a lot of work is going to happen this and maybe next year. Ditch (3) now exists as a small brook but
in future it will be a real ditch. Blue circle shows the place where another spillway will be built.
3) The new pond. Look the first posts in this thread to find out more about it. NOw it's only 50% full because it
has two depth levels.
Summary:
The main idea is to create system of 3 ponds connected with ditches. Every pond should have possibility to be drained. If everything goes as planned, then everything could be finished in ~2014.
Approximate schedule:
2012 - improving Ditch (1). Draining Fish pond. Clearing as much area around Ditch (3) as possible; 2013, 2014 - Clearing the rest of area around Ditch (3). Some additional earth works for New pond. Improving Ditch
(3) and building spillway for Triangle pond.
That's all for now. I hope I'll be able to post some pictures from draining Fish pond.
At first, this winter wasn't brutal at all. It started a month later than the previous one and the average temperature was higher. Now we still got ice because last 2 weeks somehow weren't as warm as we expected but I hope that it will melt in ~2 weeks. Some sunny days could do a lot.
Average annual rainfall is ~634 mm per year but nobody here calculated possible water amount from rain/snow. Every idea was based on experience. Anyway, first 2 smallest ponds every spring are full. During very hot summer they dry a bit but it isn't that important. I have got no trouts The largest pond is in a valley and it can get much from meadows around. Every spring/autumn that small brook provides extra water from first two ponds. In the future this brook (believe me, it isn't a big one) will turn into a wide and deep ditch that will connect Triangle and New pond. Actually it will be be a part of a pond.
About stocking. Actually none of them is empty. Open the first page and you'll find some pictures from a stocking last autumn (tench, carp, grass carp, some sturgeons - all that in the New pond). Ide is one of the species that certainly will be added this year. I have thought about zander too. Triangle pond isn't big enough for serious stocking - maybe some carps could be put there. Fish pond probably will be a pond for some predators. Maybe pike, maybe wels catfish. It has to be partly drained before to see how much fish are there. Predators should have something to eat
I have never heard of anyone in the US stocking sturgeon. Is that common in Latvia/Europe?
Stocking sturgeons is something new for us and such thing is going on only for some years. But even more fishkeepers think about getting some sturgeons.
As far as I know, they don't need much. They can easily live together with carps... Of course, they won't live in a tiny pond or in a swamp with no oxygen but, in general, many ponds can be suitable for sturgeons. Mostly they are grown for eating. Many of them can be found in ponds for fee - you catch some fish, pay for them and take them home.
I added a video from one such fee pond (that lucky guy isn't me). Usually jigging isn't the right technique (better try corn or a shrimp on the hook) but this guy wanted to do it in a different way
All the ice is gone and I could say that annual problems have occured. What kind of problems? Birds, of course. Yesterday I saw a heron and a nasty cormorant. Lets hope that my relative (he lives there all the time) will find some time to shoot them down. OK, a heron couldn't be that bad but that cormorant isn't an option for this pond.
Finally we managed to get ides! It wasn't easy to find any hatchery that would sell them but finally we got lucky. Actually not much of them were sold - only 19 little ones (if 150-300g sized fish can be called a little one :D) and bigger mom (~1,5 kg) and dad (like a half of mom). This couple has a possibilty to spawn in the pond even this year. Let's hope that these creatures will eliminate all those annoying minnows...
We didn't make much photos because of dark and they had to be released as fast as possible after ~200 km journey from hatchery. But ide can be found with Google picture finder:
Like I said before, they are semi predators. Some fish like pike are complete predators that feed only on fish, frogs etc. Ide eats small minnows but it loves other food too - different bugs, snails, worms, grasshoppers and similar creatures.
It's mouth isn't designed for predatory behavior and that means it can't eat large fish.
Almost 2 years have gone since the first fish were stocked. Now it's the right time to eat some of them, isn't it? Largest caught carps were about 2kg in weight. Not bad (about ~0,3 kg when stocked). Many other fish were witnessed and everthing seems quite OK. But... the story isn't about that. Who likes to read such stories without any pictures? Nobody actually...
I received a message from my brother. After visiting this pond he found a dead sturgeon and sent message to me. The prime suspect was blue heron (there are some of them left despite our plans to eliminate all of them around the pond). But then I asked about the size of this fish. Theoretically it should be at least 1-2 kg in weight and it's too much for a heron. This fish was like 30 cm in length only! After that I received a better report and a picture too. Seems like this fish has been sick for some while (maybe some parasitic worms inside). It looks like it hasn't eaten for a long time. Too bad that nobody tried to look inside it...
The CZ550 carbine in 9.3x62mm sounds like a supreme beaver killer to me. A 286 grain pill slipping out of the 20" barrel at around 2700fps.
That's some serious medicine right there. I would go as far to say that it doesn't even really matter where you hit 'em with that. Any torso hit with result in the beaver's demise.
You can hunt them little buggers from August through March. I wish that I had the time and the funds to come out and visit. I would take care of all of those beavers for you.
The MSRP on that guy is $911 USD. It could be the best money you ever spend in pond management LOL.
It was too shallow and beavers had done a great job to ruin it. No possibility to drain it too.
At first a ditch was dug around the concrete dam to drain all water. After that all the turf is going to be removed. Seems like this might be a deep one. There is a deep hole that could reach even 4,5 m depth. We didn't expect it to be that deep but sometimes such things happen Probably this week everything will be done and then there will be time to wait until it fills itself. Of course, there will be time to think about stocking something too.
It's good for a garden but not for a pond. I enjoy swimming better in ponds with sand or clay bottom. Another disadvantage of it is that this soil isn't predictable. What does it mean? Some part of it can simply rise to surface - such things happened in the past and that's why it has to been removed until the clay is reached.
An advantage - usually it can be found in very wet places - it's doubtful that such pond could dry.
It's porous. Pay attention to the first picture. Probably you see a "duck house", don't you? On the left side of it there's a bit higher place than average. Once it was such floating island... Why it happens and how? I'm not sure but maybe it's caused some gas (most probably methane) pressure from the bottom. Methane is charasteristic to such swampy areas.
By the way, look at the last picture too. Do you see some black stuff in that hole? These are pieces of that soil.
Probably old peat moss full of methane and soil. Great for gardens, not so great for ponds. Looks like you have a lot of work to do to get the pond "clean".
Everything should be finished till Thursday (approximately). The rest of works to be done can be seen in the 4th picture. Other parts of the pond have been finished - clay has been reached. Banks will remain of this soil but I can't do anything to improve that. The swamp is large enough to make it impossible to dig it all out if you aren't Rockefeller
After several rainy days water level has raised and we expect our pond to be filled till the winter. This year isn't dry and it shouldn't be a big problem.
In posts above you can look in the past and see how it was before. Now:
These little fellows will live there:
(Wels catfish. Like 10 of them).
Some trouts have been added to another pond:
Lets see if they are able to survive during a hot summer.
I wanted to add some perch to the pond. As I was ice fishing this weekend, I managed to get 27 of them. Not much but other fish species were more active on the lake Why in the winter? I wanted them to be ready to spawn in the pond this spring but I'm not sure about my possibilities to get them in the spring before spawning time.
kenc,pretty sure it was a 5 or 7 liter bottle that mineral water comes in from the store.They have tons of uses,in Bulgaria I use them to bring wine and brandy home from the in laws and also have one with a bubbler to keep bait fish in.
It's not any kind of trap. Robert-NJ is right - it's plastic 5 liter bottle used for transporting (in this case there was a little problem. These fish didn't come out as easy as in :D). I caught these perch at local lake using simple winter fishing technique.
Originally Posted By: kenc
Please post some pict. of your catfish wnen they get bigger.
Gr,I am a patience soul(been waiting 42 yrs. for my wife to do some of the things she said she would whenI agreed to marry her),so post them when you have them.
This weekend we added some additional perch. Here is video from 7day - 52 fish. Now there are ~97 perch. Some may die and some are too young to spawn this year but anyway that number is big enough
Transporting fish in winter isn't a big deal. It's not that simple in summer when you have to change water all the time They don't suffer from injuries that much too.
I remember some talking about crucian carps in one thread. I simply wanted to add a picture of fish caught by myself. Nothing special actually but this fishing was just for fun
Don't expect to see any trophy sized ones.
By the way, they were a bit larger than they looked in the picture.
Finally it was possible to add come common carp to the pond. Actually not some but ~10 kg of them:)
These little fellows have hatched this spring. Sure, many of them can die but as there are lots of small fish in 10 kg, probably I'll get some nice ones after a few years.
Well... It's not easy to find a hatchery not far that could offer the right size fish for reasonable price. Then you have to drive after those fish but there's always lack of time... This time my route included a hatchery and everything ended with a nice purchase.
Actually there are carps in this pond (take a look at the 1st page of the thread to see pictures) in much greater size than these but it's smart to stock additional fish after some while, isn't it
Well, the end of December, isn't it? Should be winter, shouldn't it? What happens in Latvia? There was ice a week a go but look at the picture:
Actually there is some ice only on the one part of the pond
This "winter" I (with a help, of course) did a lot of woodcutting work and now it's possible to enlarge the size of the pond. Now it's approx. 0,5 ha (~1,23 acre) and in the future is should be 3x as big
I don't have photos right now, but we've basically been iced-over since early December. That is unusual for us. We've also had about 12 inches /30 CM of snow so far, which is also somewhat unusual.
I need some smoked trout for New Year's Eve. Our ice isn't thick enough to walk on, but it covers the pond. I'm thinking about driving the tractor to the edge of the pond in the next day or two, and dropping the front-end loader bucket on the ice to open a hole in the ice so I can try and catch some of the trout.
I don't have photos right now, but we've basically been iced-over since early December. That is unusual for us. We've also had about 12 inches /30 CM of snow so far, which is also somewhat unusual.
I need some smoked trout for New Year's Eve. Our ice isn't thick enough to walk on, but it covers the pond. I'm thinking about driving the tractor to the edge of the pond in the next day or two, and dropping the front-end loader bucket on the ice to open a hole in the ice so I can try and catch some of the trout.
That idea will work out great. We do it sometimes with our loader tractor to open ice up for the cattle.
Raised water level a bit to create better spawning spots for fish:
I thought that northern pike have been spwned already but I was wrong. Anyway, I caught a few of them. Gill net was one of the way to check what's happening there.
Some fish caught with different methods (the largest NP is approx. 50 cm).
Somehow there will be another pond but before that there some (OK, a lot of :D) trees have to been cut. Did a bit but there's more to go. View from the top of the dam:
The existing one (the one with water) has some improvements to increase it's area 3 times but there's still a lot of work to do. If everything goes fine then this autumn I'll be able to show pictures of a greater size pond.
The dam in the last picture is quite old one. It was made several years ago mostly as a road over swampy area but even than there was an idea of a pond. Now we have started to cut down wood. Seems like this might take several years but there's no need to hurry Why so long? Well, every year there is need for some firewood and this way it's possible to achive 2 goals - get firewood and clear area. The target fish for this one is NORTHERN PIKE. Other pond is mostly for COMMOND CARP, TENCH and similar fish but there is a great disadvantage - thse fish are inactive during winter. Pike bites almost all year. Almost forgot to say that this one could be 4-5 m deep in the deepest spot.
Well, I had some free weeks and I spent some of time around my pond. Some pics if somebody is interested:
A perch:
Crucian carps:
Here is one of them with weird mouth. The red circle shows it's mouth. It shouldn't be that way ( take a look at previous picture). Probably this one once was hooked and damaged badly.
Two pics with common carp visible:
Yeah, this year is weird. Perch should bite but it doesn't show any activity. I tried various lure for some while but with only little success... all those crucian carps bite well but they love warm water. Last weeks there is quite a heat (about 27-30 degrees (C)).
Your water level control method with the concrete structure and water level boards allows you to work on and expand the pond in steps over a period of time. Quite an interesting and different concept than is usual here, where once the pond is started it is a rush to do all the dirt work and have it completely finished in a short period of time.
As you get more area of the pond or dam completed, just add boards to raise water level up to the portion completed.
Thanks for support! Well, I have no idea how large could they grow in a pond. I don't see any reason why they couldn't reach several kilograms in weight but... everything takes time and some of these might be eaten till that. You see, I don't keep fish for pleasure fishing only. They are eaten as well. If you are interested in possible zander size in Latvia then I can tell you that the official record is approx. 12 kg. There are a few lakes and rivers where this fish grow that large. Here is the picture of that record fish:
Well, there are even heavier ones. This one has been caught in my neighbouring country Estonia by fishermen. 17 kg:
Sure, it's hard to think about such fish in a pond.
I mentioned some dirt works before. How it looked in 2012:
And now:
For better understanding I've added a scheme (sorry for the poor quality - done in a hurry):
1 - existing pond; 3 - that new pond you can see in the pictures; 2 - there used to be a swamp. Now that place has been used for storing the dirt; 4 - if everything goes right, this area could be flooded (a bit of it next year and everything after some years). After some improvements of existing dam, at least 2 additional metres of water level can be raised.
Nice plan. I'm assuming the water level control structure is already of sufficient height to allow for this entire process.
I was just looking at my old pond yesterday now that recent rains have filled it after going through a dry spell for a year and a half. It appears I could raise its level another foot ( one third meter) fairly easily.
I see plans like yours and gives me the itch to do things myself. Hope your long term plan goes well.
Thanks The water level control structure has been already built for the max. level (about 5m). It has been located in the deepest spot and the level right now there is ~3m or a bit less. So there's no problems with that (I'll try to re-post a pic later. seems like all links to the pictures on the 1st page are dead). Right now the weakest part is the dam itself. One layer managed to slip away so it's a bit thinner than it should be(maybe it would be strong enough but nobody wants to take such risk).
It may look so but it isn't so. Dam is at the exact size. At least the most of it - there are a few places where improvements have to be done (can't be seen in the picture).
The only drawback is during winter when heavy snow covers the fence. There's always a chance a Heron could airdrop an otter into the pond. 
- that's the water level control structure.
