Pond Boss Forums POND CONSTRUCTION Creating habitat Culverts As Structure

I have some old 18” concrete culverts that I need do something with.

Can you make structure out of them? If so, how?

Configuration?
Water depth?
Around the dock or not?

I have CNBG, BC, LMB, RES and TP.

I think they would be great structure just dumped into an area.

How would you get them into the water? I"m guessing the sections are over 100 lbs each.

Thanks. Any idea what depth?

Tbar can you float them on something and into place? How deep is water at end of your pier?

Fill with brush and give them a big roll off the end or sides if it’s deep enough

Tbar,

I've often thought culverts would make great structure, especially when building a pond.

I assume it might be difficult to place heavy culverts into the pond once it is full of water.

Last year I purchased some various "homemade" type structure on Facebook Marketplace from guys in my area and they were relatively easy to place in our pond.

As you can see from the picture it might not be practical to place heavy concrete culverts where I placed the "homemade" structure.

I don't know about floating them. In parts of the pond the bottom drops away pretty fast. I figured I would get them out as far as I could with the tractor forks and heave ho. Water at the end of the pier is in the 12'-14' range.


Filling with brush is an idea.

Thanks for the info Mark. Can you PM me your guys info...if he is still making them.

Will do.

One of them is a fishing guide on Cedar Creek, and the other is nice young man with a family.

I will find their info and send it to you.

I have a couple of large culverts out in my biggest pond. No idea whether or how they are used.

I waited until it was frozen enough to push them out. Actually didn't push them out as much as role them out like a game of shuffleboard... no way I was getting out on that ice with them!

Sliding them out on the ice was a great idea. Looks great!

What species of fish would utilize the culverts?

I have CNBG, BC, LMB, RES and TP.

I honestly have caught very few fish over them. A couple of guys that fish our pond say the catch the occasional bass there.

Probably better to break them up and make a pile of debris

How deep is the water where those will sink? I am betting with the way you have them all together that's going to be an excellent fish attractor for all species. Especially since it appears to be off of a point.

Any kind of debris, something different, attracts all life forms.

The point is made of stone and concrete rubble, I didn't add any soil to it. It angles down through the water at around 30 degrees towards the culverts.

The culverts are around around 20 feet past the point.

Coontail grows to 8 feet deep on this pond. The culverts set about 10 feet past the coontail, in 10 feet of water.

I sunk brush between the end of the point and the culverts.

Catschratch - Do you do anything to manage the coontail?

Not really. I do some herbicide around the dock.

The best I can measure, the coontail compromises about 15% of the acreage in the summer. I read that is about right. As long as it doesn't start to go deeper than 8ft I'm pretty much ok with it. Plus it's a fairly large pond so expenses to do anything about it would likely be out of my tax bracket.

Around the dock depending on which side the water is 10'-14' of water.

If I roll them off the dam they would probably 8'-10'. Anywhere else on the pond it would be shallower.

I like cedars and have plenty. I cut down 10 to 12 ft ones, drag them to the pond, wire a cinder block to the base and get them out in about 8 to 10 ft of water. Great structure.

Right or wrong I got three of the four of culverts in today.


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lol....Lance love the videos! I was worried watching the tractor one, but what a great finish. You got all the "toys" to make it happen. Well done!

The only reason why I don't recommend culverts is that they make great catfish spawning habitat and that doesn't align with most pond owners goals. The culverts in 10'-14' water probably won't be utilized in the summer unless you have bottom aeration due to low O2 levels that deep in un aerated ponds.