Help on existing pond! - 04/28/08 06:07 PM
Hello everyone! this is my first post on here but I have read alot of good information already and I need some input on what to do with a old pond we just aquired.
The pond is about 1 acre in size and varys in depth from 2feet at the shallow end to 12feet off of the dam, I have cought several bass that are 12" in length and are pretty skinny, I have seen several more swimming around that are about the same size, the bluegill and bream vary in size from 3in to the size of your hand.
The water is very clear I can see about 4feet to the bottom I think it needs to be fertilized because right now there is no plankton in the water column I dont think, there is alot of algae on the bottom of the pond, from what I have read so far if I fertilize it right the algae on the bottom will not be able to get sunlight and it will be better for the food chain.
I have the video from Ray Scott called GREAT SMALL WATERS and it tells you so much information about the food chain and fertilizing and fish ratios for ponds, I also have dropped 3 big trees into the pond 4 weeks ago for structure and I plan on putting some pallet structure in this week if I can find some time, I would like to put a water fall of some tipe with a pvc syphon to aerate the pond in the near future,
anyway the fish truck is coming to town this thursday and I am thinking about buying some type of feeder fish and maybe a few carp to keep the algae down.
I need some direction on what kind of feeder fish and what size I need to buy?
I have been fishing since I could hold a rod in my hand and I love to fish, it is so relaxing and SOOO much fun, I have been around ponds and fish all my life so I am not a newbie to ponds or fish.
I hope this is enough information and I am open to any advice you all might have, My goal is to have bass in the 3-8pound range in the future and some good size bream. I just need to know what kind of fish do you think I need in this pond to get it balanced? because right now I think the bass that are in there are stunted and from what I have read they will not get much bigger so I will start removing them a few at a time. Sorry for such a long post but I want to make sure you have enough information on what I have and the future plans!
The pond is about 1 acre in size and varys in depth from 2feet at the shallow end to 12feet off of the dam, I have cought several bass that are 12" in length and are pretty skinny, I have seen several more swimming around that are about the same size, the bluegill and bream vary in size from 3in to the size of your hand.
The water is very clear I can see about 4feet to the bottom I think it needs to be fertilized because right now there is no plankton in the water column I dont think, there is alot of algae on the bottom of the pond, from what I have read so far if I fertilize it right the algae on the bottom will not be able to get sunlight and it will be better for the food chain.
I have the video from Ray Scott called GREAT SMALL WATERS and it tells you so much information about the food chain and fertilizing and fish ratios for ponds, I also have dropped 3 big trees into the pond 4 weeks ago for structure and I plan on putting some pallet structure in this week if I can find some time, I would like to put a water fall of some tipe with a pvc syphon to aerate the pond in the near future,
anyway the fish truck is coming to town this thursday and I am thinking about buying some type of feeder fish and maybe a few carp to keep the algae down.
I need some direction on what kind of feeder fish and what size I need to buy?
I have been fishing since I could hold a rod in my hand and I love to fish, it is so relaxing and SOOO much fun, I have been around ponds and fish all my life so I am not a newbie to ponds or fish.
I hope this is enough information and I am open to any advice you all might have, My goal is to have bass in the 3-8pound range in the future and some good size bream. I just need to know what kind of fish do you think I need in this pond to get it balanced? because right now I think the bass that are in there are stunted and from what I have read they will not get much bigger so I will start removing them a few at a time. Sorry for such a long post but I want to make sure you have enough information on what I have and the future plans!