I've done some digging on past threads about keeping trout in small ponds and I gather a well is probably necessary. My pond is about an 1/8 acre and the deepest point is about 8.5 ft deep. I've been using black dye and took bottom temps yesterday and it was 66.7 degrees while air temps were about 90. Is it at all possible to aerator this enough to make the pond inhabitable for trout year round? I was also looking at possibly constructing a pond chiller and putting in a water fall. I'm guessing that drilling a well and upgrading my aeration would be the best route. Does anyone with experience have recommendations?
Good read on trout and water temp:
https://www.hatchmag.com/articles/trout-and-water-temperature-how-hot-too-hot/771553They don't go species by species, but around here Brown trout stay active longest into summer followed by rainbows, so I wouldn't be surprised if there is some difference in the temperatures for those 2. Brook trout are almost impossible to catch once we get into summer, so I assume they deal with warm water worse than the other 2 species.
Good article. Thanks. I've always heard that about Brown's as well. the big brook trout in my pond started dying off a couple of days ago, and now everything else is dying as well. I knew this day would come but it's a little disappointing to see after catching trout all fall, winter, and spring. looking at options on how to avoid this next year. I grew some really big trout in just a few months.
It would be really fun if we had a way of keeping trout alive over the summer. Top sizes could get well in excess of 5 lb, a delight to catch!
No kidding. I weighed one of my dead brook trout and it came in right between 4.75 and 5 lb. The state record here is 4.75 lbs. I'm really trying to explore my options of keeping them growing next year!
There is just so much water in the pond ... so much energy from the sun hitting the pond ... so much plant and bacterial respiration at night in a fed (eutrophic) pond that this is a very hard row to hoe. Rather than trying to keep them alive in the pond ... may you could make a smaller tank ... say like 10x5x3 ... where you could keep the temp low and the oxygen up ... using just enough water exchange to keep ammonia and other toxics at acceptable levels. Maybe you could try this year to head start some stocker brook trout through the summer so they have larger weights in the fall. Next year you could try to partitioning so that a few overwintered fish and next falls crop can be grown simultaneously?
If you have a place where the excess water can go, running a well into the pond to keep the water below 70°F is one way to keep trout alive through the summer. You might have to run the water through a packed column first to offgas it and to make sure it is well oxygenated.
One ex member here raises trout for taxidermists for skin mount competition, and he uses a 50 gpm well. It takes him 2 - 3 years to get Brooks up to 7-8 pounds IIRC.