Pond Boss Forums POND CONSTRUCTION Creating habitat Pea gravel for BG and LMB spawn bed

I just called a local gravel pit and it is $30/ton for pea gravel. I need some exercise. When I get more ice I am making me some spawn beds. Can't wait for my first spring with da fishes!

Mike:

Did you call Stockberger in Plymouth?

(574) 936-2238

Yes. They were the ones. It was only going to be for a p/u truck load, the price changed alittle with larger volumes, I believe?

WOW! I just paid $32 for 1/4 yard, basically one skidsteer scoop of gravel, just a little larger than pea.

rw, you have 70-80 degree weather year around. I have been to Maui once, and Kaui 10 months ago, we loved them both. We saw brochures for bass fishing on Kaui, but only so much time....anyways I put dozens of 4 gallon bucket fulls of pea gravel out yesterday afternoon at multiple depths, 2-6 ft. What do BT's spawn on anyways?? I did this for the BG.

Lots of threads here on the science and craft of how and why to add spawning structure ( gravel , spawning mats , sand , benches , nest sites etc).

I originally put a dump truck load of crushed limestone about the size of pea gravel and spaced about every 50 feet and about 5 feet diameters around my pond The bluegill really used it for spawning. Even when it silted over they would fan it off and spawn. I would think limestone would be a lot cheaper then pea gravel. It's been 15 years but it seems like I got around 12 tons of crushed limestone for what you would pay for two tons of pea gravel. And I thought the limestone would help keep the pond PH more neutral since I have pine and spruce trees planted around my pond. In the picture you can see where the limestone was dumped and then two of the spawn beds I wheel barrowed the gravel to.

Great idea. One thing I learned yeasterday was the power of ice and wind. Where I put the pea gravel beds, the recent warm weather and high winds caused the ice to melt and shift which moved the "lite" gravel beds to different locals. Some a little deeper,and some more shallow to feed those flying white fish harvesters(herons).
I do like the limestone idea though.
I am having a problem with pictures not going through, any suggestions?

I've been paying $11.50/ton for #53 crushed limestone and the same for the larger #2's the last few months.

Put in a long driveway with the #2's as base and have been adding #53's a couple tri-axles at a time as needed.

Using Shelby Materials in Shelbyville, and they have been great!

I haven't inquired about pea gravel prices there yet, but I had planned on using it for spawning base when I build my pond as well.

Larger gravel (.25 to 2 inch) is a better and cheaper option than pea gravel. Limestone will work just try to get some without all the sharp edges.

Wouldn't limestone be better as it would raise the ph of the water as it breaks down. I prefer cinder blocks for cover but they tend to break down in 7-10 years.

kinda my question, do you notice the fish getting more tore up with the limestone?


also in the areas you dump your gravel (size I guess) how many beds do you seem to get, do they stack up or stay spaced out, and you ever see LMB nest right next to BG??

Around here LMB nest a month before BG.

You might ask the supplier what other aggregates similar in approximate size to pea gravel they offer. They may have something not quite as "popular" that is less processed and therefore less expensive. I'm still a ways away from that step, so I haven't investigated it myself. I think the pea gravel is typically washed...so getting an unwashed aggregate (less processing) sould bring the cost down.

Just thinking out loud
Good luck!

See this thread for good info on BG spawning beds with pics of beds and rock size.

http://forums.pondboss.com/ubbthreads.ph...true#Post199269

Our HBG pond was a former swimming-only pond. As such, it has a large shallow wading area complete with a pea gravel bottom. The BG love it.

If you want something bigger than pea gravel, take a look at 5L gravel...they nest readily on that in our other ponds also. It runs aroung 1-1.5" in diameter.