I left my ice rig with you when we were at Nate's, and Sprkplug has the sharpest auger blades in the world. You'd think he would bring it down here for me. Depending on how tonight goes, I may try to ice fish for a CNBG tomorrow morning. That would be a first and last for me.
Wow. It hit 40 degrees now and I can see about half of my lawn. In a couple of days i will head to the country to see what kind of issues have developed there. Although I winterize everything it is impossible to blow all the water out of the lines on my poor white trash trailer house. That means go under it and start finding busted water lines. I just hope the well house is OK. I drain everything there and put in a small electric heater but sometimes we get a power outage that can get expensive.
It's not about the fish. It's about the pond. Take care of the pond and the fish will be fine. PB subscriber since before it was in color.
Without a sense of urgency, Nothing ever gets done.
Boy, if I say "sic em", you'd better look for something to bite. Sam Shelley Rancher and Farmer Muleshoe Texas 1892-1985 RIP
I do not know what will become of my fish. My farm ponds were frozen over and my grass lessor was coming over daily to break ice for the cattle.
Back home during this winter storm we would get power for 1-2 hours then be down for 9-12 hours.
I have one Honda EU2000i here at the house and it was working well but I needed just a little bit more power. The wife and I ran out to the farm and picked up the Honda 2k companion genset and cabled the two together. We had lights, two HVAC units, TV's, internet, fridge, freezer, microwave, toaster, etc.
One hiccup in my emergency planning was my 1 y/o diesel truck that didn't want to start at 0 degrees. After waiting until afternoon temps rose to a balmy 19 degrees and giving the fuel tank a good shot of diesel 911 it kicked off. I have owned diesel trucks for 20 years and never had a problem with gelling.
Second thing I could improve is having a way to cook inside and not on the outdoor grill.....Burrrr. I have a plan for that going forward.
I left my ice rig with you when we were at Nate's, and Sprkplug has the sharpest auger blades in the world. You'd think he would bring it down here for me. Depending on how tonight goes, I may try to ice fish for a CNBG tomorrow morning. That would be a first and last for me.
6"+ ice.
A new set of blades on the Laser Augers will make shaved ice. Watch it if the HSB are still swimming, a neighbor had a rod n reel go down the hole faster than he could grab it and it was in a rod holder on the ice next to where he was sitting.
Excerpt from Robert Crais' "The Monkey's Raincoat:" "She took another microscopic bite of her sandwich, then pushed it away. Maybe she absorbed nutrients from her surroundings."
It was reported yesterday that the Texas windmills produced 40% less energy than they were supposed to do after installation. In other words, we paid for something that did almost half of what they were supposed to do. This was not in the storm but shortly after they were installed. It is like buying a truck that is supposed to get 20 mpg but after driving it you get 12 mpg. This came from Governor Perry. He also reported if we went with GreenNew Deal we would be in worse shape. Not only was he Governer of Texas but also was over the US dept of energy. So I am guessing he knows his stuff.
Do not judge me by the politicians in my City, State or Federal Government.
All the outside Topias froze over solid. More than half of the big pond froze over. Little pond mostly froze over. I haven't seen that much ice since College.
The real question is what should we expect going forward this season? Should we expect a die-off? How about our vegetation, any issues to expect there?
Finally, what about the Biotics on the bottom and in the water column. Anything we should be looking for with them?
Brian
The one thing is the one thing A dry fly catches no fish Try not to be THAT 10%
You guys may be sweating it for nothing, up north here we have ice for weeks every yr, actually weve had less this yr then most, sure we have a fish kill every once in a while but if there are a few left over for breeding stock, remember the yoy will have less predators in this scenario, granted your Florida strain LMB and your coppernose BG may have had a harder time surviving but I think you will be ok. sadly tho ya'll did get a taste of what some of us go thru on a pretty regular bases, sans the power outages and such, that's like adding insult to injury, salt on a wound if you will. Good Luck everybody! Our fearless leader has declared Texas a disastor area so maybe you will be able to get the gubmint to restock your lakes.
All the really good ideas I've ever had came to me while I was milking a cow.
Frank, I have flown over, but this time it was the drone's turn.
Bill, I do not aerate in the winter here. The only temps I got were on the surface. Both mornings, there was a skin on nearly all of the big pond. 0C or really close to it. In the afternoon, the warn side, NW exposures, added a few degrees and that was it. Next morning, an ice skin was back, it was gone after several hours of sunlight. Where the springs enter the pond did not freeze as expected. The ducks were happy to find the spring water and rafted up there by the hundreds. Several geese were walking on the ice Sunday morning.
No threadfin.
I am really not worried, I just thought it might be a great time to talk about events like these and what we can expect good and bad. I expect some plans to die-off and others to take advantage of the nutrients. I doubt my fish had any issues as there is a large deep section for refuge.
BTW, I was going to get grass carp delivered Saturday, but that was put on hold due to weather.
Oh, and no to flip flops, ice augers, and fishing where I can't cast with both hands.
Brian
The one thing is the one thing A dry fly catches no fish Try not to be THAT 10%
Brian, I remember an interesting PB article about climate change, warning of torrid summer temps ahead and advising pondmeisters how to prepare. What I don't remember seeing is an article about the possibility of cooling, warning of bitter cold winters and advising pondmeisters how to prepare.
Some of the preparation for extreme weather, hot or cold, wet or dry, could be standardized. For instance, deeper is better in most cases. But stocking plans should also be scrutinized. I myself got caught thinking my CNBG in the forage pond would overwinter just fine...
If you left your CNBG is the forage pond, it will be interesting to see how many die-off. I bet it's less than you think. I'm even willing to guess way less than you think.
I agree there is certain things we can count on, but with the variety of our ponds, the answer is going to be " It Depends".
Brian
The one thing is the one thing A dry fly catches no fish Try not to be THAT 10%
Not that it matters, but I fed the CNBG in my hatchery pond this afternoon. They seemed to have cared less about Snowvid. Either that, or they have a very short memory.
Not that it matters, but I fed the CNBG in my hatchery pond this afternoon. They seemed to have cared less about Snowvid. Either that, or they have a very short memory.
They were probably just glad to get the masks off.....
Excerpt from Robert Crais' "The Monkey's Raincoat:" "She took another microscopic bite of her sandwich, then pushed it away. Maybe she absorbed nutrients from her surroundings."
If you left your CNBG is the forage pond, it will be interesting to see how many die-off. I bet it's less than you think. I'm even willing to guess way less than you think.
I agree there is certain things we can count on, but with the variety of our ponds, the answer is going to be " It Depends".
From your mouth to God's ear, Brian. I'm not optimistic, but until I can get down to the forage pond there's no way to know for sure. At least I didn't see any vultures, which I definitely did see the last time we had a fish kill.
Not that it matters, but I fed the CNBG in my hatchery pond this afternoon. They seemed to have cared less about Snowvid. Either that, or they have a very short memory.
Anthropic, and others. I went out again today, and my CNBG were coming to the surface and eating at near summer numbers. I hand fed in 2 different locations in my hatchery pond, and both groups ate aggressively. FHM's were out and about near the shoreline. I also hand fed at both feeder locations on our big pond, and the results were the same. I left the feeder on the dam with large CNBG still feeding. As the food disappeared, they starting coming to the dock for more handouts. In short, I think we're all ok.
I will not be stocking native BG or non-Florida LMB. Magic 8 ball says we will have 90+ degree water temps every year, but we're not likely to have another Snowvid event like last week in our lifetime. I'm not recommending any plan, or giving advice, I'm just saying that I'm personally staying on the course I'm already on.
Anthropic, and others. I went out again today, and my CNBG were coming to the surface and eating at near summer numbers. I hand fed in 2 different locations in my hatchery pond, and both groups ate aggressively. FHM's were out and about near the shoreline. I also hand fed at both feeder locations on our big pond, and the results were the same. I left the feeder on the dam with large CNBG still feeding. As the food disappeared, they starting coming to the dock for more handouts. In short, I think we're all ok.
I will not be stocking native BG or non-Florida LMB. Magic 8 ball says we will have 90+ degree water temps every year, but we're not likely to have another Snowvid event like last week in our lifetime. I'm not recommending any plan, or giving advice, I'm just saying that I'm personally staying on the course I'm already on.
So glad to hear your fish weathered the Big Chill! I suspect some of my CNBG and Florida LMB in the main pond survived, though that's not proven. Forage pond CNBG are a different matter due to lack of thermal refuge, but who knows.
Hope your strategy pays off, and I admire your determination.