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Bob,

I am like you, and was a "creek" kid growing up. 3/4 of my children also love the creek.

The bridge at the county road is 10' above the normal creek level. We had two floods last spring that went over the bridge. The second went over the signs on the bridge - that are 6' tall.

I had several burn piles of invasive trees that I had cleared washed away by the flood.

The good news is that the floods blew out a huge pool in the creek that was about 5' deep and 150' long. When the waters went down it was absolutely full of fish. The kids had a great time, and we even caught 30" gar using only frayed out nylon rope as the lure.

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Creek kid lol... That's still me and I'm 44. We go on canoe trips and im the guy walking the banks flipping over rocks.


The people who say I can't do it can just sit the @^#% down and watch me. Friends call me Rusto I also subscribe to pond boss mag. http://forums.pondboss.com/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=504716#Post504716
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I used to flip over the rocks too.

I kept finding fossils and geodes to go along with all of the critters.

Who could have predicted that I would wind up as a geologist!

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Originally Posted by FishinRod
anthropic,

Thank you so much for the generous offer! I am coming down south of Dallas to see some Texas friends this fall. However, since it is Texas, that could still be a looooong way from you. (I won't have kids that trip, but I may PM you to see if it would be OK just to walk around your place and get advice on what worked for you.)

You'd be more than welcome, FR. Our pond is pretty near Longview in east Texas. We have a small home on the pond where you could stay a night or two, if you'd like. I've made plenty of mistakes, large & small, which may help you avoid some of them. Cormorant deterrence in particular is a big issue on smaller waters, like my forage pond, so by then we should know if the twine idea worked. And if you have any luck fishing, maybe we could put up some fillets for your family to enjoy when you get home. Just PM me when appropriate.

Last edited by anthropic; 03/12/21 04:06 PM.

7ac 2015 CNBG RES FHM 2016 TP FLMB 2017 NLMB GSH L 2018 TP & 70 HSB PK 2019 TP RBT 2020 TFS TP 25 HSB 250 F1,L,RBT -206 2021 TFS TP GSH L,-312 2022 GSH TP CR TFS RBT -234, 2023 BG TP TFS NLMB, -160




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I still flip a few rocks but my back only let's me do so many and not as big as I used to. Lol!


Bob


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Originally Posted by Bobbss
I still flip a few rocks but my back only let's me do so many and not as big as I used to. Lol!

I thought that is what the bucket on your tractor or skid steer is for! laugh

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In my last visits to the pond I have seen the cnbg dying off and the ones I see swimming are all under stress or at least that is what it looks like to me. Guess from the ice storm. No other reason why I am seeing them die off. They are mostly black in coloring and have some white spots on them along with maybe some fungus on them. I have not tested the water lately so maybe I need to test it but I see no reason why the water would change from it's baseline other than the ice storm. I did catch a lmb in the two-pound range and it looked perfectly healthy with good weight. I saw some other lmb that seemed to look good but the water is a little cloudy due to the snow and ice along with the recent rains. It has been tough on the fish the past 6 or 7 months.


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Caught the first bass from my pond after stocking on 12 Sept 2020....the 50 LMB were "4-5 inches" according to the fish truck.

This fish was about 7.25" long and hit a 1/8oz white VibraRoosterTail in an area where I have a pallet stack and two Mossback RootWads in about 4' of water.

[Linked Image from i.imgur.com]

There still appear to be tens of thousands of FHM in the water near the bank riprap...

Up soon: resetting my aerator disc in the pond, placing four more Mossback Trophy Trees and four more Root Wads, having more riprap put around the water line, throwing some pea gravel into shallow areas.

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Had an old fishing partner and his 13 year old daughter come visit and fish my pond. I CAN CATCH my LMB!! We landed 6 fish and had about a dozen more "boil" on the bait or swipe at it. They were all on the bank in 0ne foot of water spawning!! Couldn't see them because of water clarity but we could see them moving water on the banks. Largest was a 6 pounder and 20 inch long!! Fat full of eggs!! Caught 2 more over 3 pounds and 2 about 2 1/2 pounds. Also caught only one that was about 12 inch long. All were fat and healthy!! Caught every one of them on a big CHATTERBAIT. Also caught some huge 9-9 1/2 inch CNBG!! Best BASS catching day on my pond EVER!!


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Paul, that is a good looking bass.

"There still appear to be tens of thousands of FHM in the water near the bank riprap..."

I believe as your water continues to warm, the bass are going to "get faster" at a greater rate than the FHMs are going to "get faster".

Bad news for your FHM population, but good news for your bass - which appear to be already growing nicely!

Good luck on your pond!

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Flame,

I agree with Rusto on the big "thumbs up" for your post.

I love reading posts from people on Pond Boss that include the words, "best day ever"!

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Originally Posted by TGW1
In my last visits to the pond I have seen the cnbg dying off and the ones I see swimming are all under stress or at least that is what it looks like to me. Guess from the ice storm. No other reason why I am seeing them die off. They are mostly black in coloring and have some white spots on them along with maybe some fungus on them. I have not tested the water lately so maybe I need to test it but I see no reason why the water would change from it's baseline other than the ice storm. I did catch a lmb in the two-pound range and it looked perfectly healthy with good weight. I saw some other lmb that seemed to look good but the water is a little cloudy due to the snow and ice along with the recent rains. It has been tough on the fish the past 6 or 7 months.

I went through the white spot fungus on my larger CNBG after a cold snap in Oct 2017. So far as I could tell, they all died, though no other fish did. Chalked it up to spawning in shallow water that was hit with sudden chill.

Have you thought about adding some salt, or maybe antibiotic in the feed?


7ac 2015 CNBG RES FHM 2016 TP FLMB 2017 NLMB GSH L 2018 TP & 70 HSB PK 2019 TP RBT 2020 TFS TP 25 HSB 250 F1,L,RBT -206 2021 TFS TP GSH L,-312 2022 GSH TP CR TFS RBT -234, 2023 BG TP TFS NLMB, -160




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I have just started reading about fungus problems in other threads.

Does the white spot fungus become prodigious in a pond after a big chill event, or is there always a little fungus in the pond and it becomes an opportunistic infection on the fish only after they are severely stressed?

I ask the question because the most recent "big chill" was clearly predicted with several days of warning.

Is there anything to do for fungus protection in our ponds that falls into the "an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure" category?

(Not counting the typical efforts made for year-round water quality management.)

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Originally Posted by FishinRod
Is there anything to do for fungus protection in our ponds that falls into the "an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure" category?

(Not counting the typical efforts made for year-round water quality management.)

After witnessing a massive fish kill due to a low O2 event at a fish farm where he was testing (IIRC 7) different brands of fish food I noticed that 2 cages of fish only had less than 10% mortality. Upon questioning the owner those 2 cages of fish were being fed Optimal Fish Food, but he had stopped about a month prior due to the difference in price.

I called the guys there at Optimal and while they wouldn't divulge the ingredients, they said they put a micro-nutrient package in the feed that helped fish get through stress events.

Read into that whatever you want, but that's one of the reasons why I use Optimal Fish Food and recommend to all my clients that feed their fish to use it too.

There is always fungus in the pond and it manifests itself when fish get weak. Same with us, the germs/bacteria/virus are in the air all around us and when out immunity system gets compromised, that's when we get sick.


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3/4 to 1 1/4 ac pond LMB, SMB, PS, BG, RES, CC, YP, Bardello BG, (RBT & Blue Tilapia - seasonal).
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"There is always fungus in the pond and it manifests itself when fish get weak."

That is what I suspected, thanks for the confirmation.

Is it also true that fish coming out of their winter low-activity period are weaker compared to the same fish after a few weeks of spring activity? (Not counting the stress as they move into spawning.)

I ask that question to evaluate some possible scenarios regarding ways to minimize the next "big chill" stress event.

Consider a scenario where a pond owner could warm up their pond a little earlier. (For example, strategic aeration to reduce ice, putting some leftover black pond liner scraps on the ice, or pumping in some 50F well water, etc.)

If you could move your fish a week or two forward in terms of pond temperatures, would that make them a little stronger to survive X amount of stress, or would it be worse because a subsequent big chill would be an even bigger shock to their "current" environment?

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Well water is a good idea, but usually has little O2 so bear that in mind. As for melting ice, that would cause faster warming of water under warm weather conditions. However, it may also make the pond more vulnerable to another really brutal freeze, as the ice actually insulates the water from the very coldest temps.

Cold adapted fish also lower risk, such as northern strain LMB, BG, etc.

Last edited by anthropic; 03/14/21 05:39 PM.

7ac 2015 CNBG RES FHM 2016 TP FLMB 2017 NLMB GSH L 2018 TP & 70 HSB PK 2019 TP RBT 2020 TFS TP 25 HSB 250 F1,L,RBT -206 2021 TFS TP GSH L,-312 2022 GSH TP CR TFS RBT -234, 2023 BG TP TFS NLMB, -160




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Aaargh!

I was trying to ask about the level of stress on fish coming out of winter.

Instead, I added extraneous examples which "muddied the waters". It is very hard to express "tone" over the internet!

To rephrase: Are there any small actions we can take coming out of winter that can have a significant benefit to the health of our fish?


As regards the pond temperature issues:

I agree that ice over the pond is a good insulating blanket when the air temperatures are lower than the water temperatures.

Then there is the point where you have 39F water at the bottom of the pond and 35F at the top. 37F air would heat the pond without aeration, but with aeration you might actually cool the pond.


P.S. Thanks for your suggestion to add some cold-adapted fish.

In southern Kansas, I have managed to miss the sweet spot for warm water fish AND miss the sweet spot for cold water fish.

However, both Teehjaeh and Snipe have been giving me a bunch of recommendations to at least attempt a deep, cold-adapted fish pond at our farm!

Thanks,
Rod

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After giving it some thought, I think the die-off of the large CNBG was due to the extreme cold spell we had just a few weeks back. These are Florida strain BG and do not do well in a pond that was completely frozen over for days and days. It was so extreme weather here in Texas that I remember hearing that some 28 people also died in this storm. One was found in his recliner at home where there was no heat because of lack of electricity. We learned that windmills and solar here in Texas did not work. So if the storm was so bad to kill Humans, then I find it not so unusual to kill my Florida stained bg. My plans are to restock some cnbg when I pick up the Tp order.


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TGW1 where did your CNBG stock come from ? I have found that the Ark. based CNBG hatcheries' fish are more cold tolerant than fish directly from Fla or deep south -- local adaptation IMO over years of Ark cold winters.
















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Originally Posted by TGW1
After giving it some thought, I think the die-off of the large CNBG was due to the extreme cold spell we had just a few weeks back. These are Florida strain BG and do not do well in a pond that was completely frozen over for days and days. It was so extreme weather here in Texas that I remember hearing that some 28 people also died in this storm. One was found in his recliner at home where there was no heat because of lack of electricity. We learned that windmills and solar here in Texas did not work. So if the storm was so bad to kill Humans, then I find it not so unusual to kill my Florida stained bg. My plans are to restock some cnbg when I pick up the Tp order.
Them might have been Florida strain humans that perished in the cold snap as well.


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The Texas solar/windmill thing was fake news. The vast majority of electric issues occurred due to fossil fuel plants that did not have contingency for the freak cold spell. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2021_Texas_power_crisis

Last edited by RAH; 03/16/21 03:09 PM. Reason: added link
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Originally Posted by TGW1
After giving it some thought, I think the die-off of the large CNBG was due to the extreme cold spell we had just a few weeks back. These are Florida strain BG and do not do well in a pond that was completely frozen over for days and days. It was so extreme weather here in Texas that I remember hearing that some 28 people also died in this storm. One was found in his recliner at home where there was no heat because of lack of electricity. We learned that windmills and solar here in Texas did not work. So if the storm was so bad to kill Humans, then I find it not so unusual to kill my Florida stained bg. My plans are to restock some cnbg when I pick up the Tp order.

My CNBG did not experience a die off, even in the forage pond where I fully expected the worst. Just found that good news today. I suspect mine must have come from Arkansas. If you can't find any from Arkansas, you are welcome to some of my cold-adapted breeders, they are just beginning to come shallow in pre-spawn now.

Last edited by anthropic; 03/16/21 10:18 PM.

7ac 2015 CNBG RES FHM 2016 TP FLMB 2017 NLMB GSH L 2018 TP & 70 HSB PK 2019 TP RBT 2020 TFS TP 25 HSB 250 F1,L,RBT -206 2021 TFS TP GSH L,-312 2022 GSH TP CR TFS RBT -234, 2023 BG TP TFS NLMB, -160




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Don’t believe everything on Wikipedia - it has become political and its editors are not to be trusted on things like politics . Actual experience with that on clients and business matters.

Last edited by ewest; 03/16/21 10:18 PM.















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Sad but true.


7ac 2015 CNBG RES FHM 2016 TP FLMB 2017 NLMB GSH L 2018 TP & 70 HSB PK 2019 TP RBT 2020 TFS TP 25 HSB 250 F1,L,RBT -206 2021 TFS TP GSH L,-312 2022 GSH TP CR TFS RBT -234, 2023 BG TP TFS NLMB, -160




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Good news today -- My forage pond CNBG survived the Big Chill! Really surprised me, but the little pond is chock full of small CNBG, ranging from 1.5 to about 4 inches. Also, the criss-crossed twine seems to have discouraged the cormorants from raiding the little guys, though the geese aren't impressed.

Today is the first day of 2021 in which we caught CNBG in the main BOW. Large fish caught in fairly deep water close to shallow spawning areas. I'm betting that if the CNBG in the forage pond survived, then the main pond fish did as well.

Harvested two beautiful rainbow trout, one in excess of three pounds. Not bad for being in there for only three months! But the clock is ticking down on them, so harvest is the name of game now. Gonna try smoking them to see how it goes.

Had on a big momma LMB, unfortunately on ultralight tackle near wood cover. Got a good look at her when she jumped, had to be 7 plus, full of eggs. Ultimately she got into the cover and that was that. Still, it was a great fight & encouraging to see something that large.

Last but not least, several trees felled into the water, trying to create instant cover. We'll see. I did notice that fish seemed to congregate around the branches of one tree only a couple of hours afterward.

Last edited by anthropic; 03/16/21 10:36 PM.

7ac 2015 CNBG RES FHM 2016 TP FLMB 2017 NLMB GSH L 2018 TP & 70 HSB PK 2019 TP RBT 2020 TFS TP 25 HSB 250 F1,L,RBT -206 2021 TFS TP GSH L,-312 2022 GSH TP CR TFS RBT -234, 2023 BG TP TFS NLMB, -160




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