Pond Boss Forums POND CONSTRUCTION Creating habitat Blue Gill Nursery

After reading this months article on deviding your pond with netting to create a nursery, I had an idea. I have always intended on creating a shallow 2' gravel area with some cover to foster a healthy spawn for my forage fish. Could a person place a barrier that would devide the spawn area from the main pond that would allow the BG through, but keep the larger LMB at bay? (I was thinking fencing that is basically rows of vertical rectangles that are about 1"x 4" and a few boulders)

Would this hender the spawn? Would the areation still be effective in this area with the boulders acting as a partial wall? Am I creating a Heron picnic table?

Thanks,

Joe

Hey Joe the rigid plastic fencing or nets like I use are cheap . The net can double as a seine. How big is the area you want to isolate?

I have blocked off one 2000 sq ft and one 750 sq ft cove by placing the nets across the mouth. One is about 60 ft across the other 35 ft. In both cases I have created BG beds inside the nursery area. After the fish are driven out I lower the net. What the Article did not say was that I also will catch about 20 -30 BG mixed male and female and put them behind the net about 3 weeks before a spawn. They spawn and then there are many thousands of yoy BG in the nursery along with those I buy and put back there to grow out. Feed them for a while and then let them out about 1/3 at a time over a 3 mth period. I have no problem with the water as it circulates through the nets. The nets are 1/4 in seine material as per the article.

Another way to do this if you don't have a cove is with 3 pieces of rigid plastic fencing. Pick the area. The shore will be the back side, place the fencing out perpendicular from the shore as far as you want and then place the third piece across the opening. Place the feeder on the shore so it shoots feed into the enclosure. This was in the article originally but it had to be removed as the article was to long.

That is easier if you attach small posts to the fencing first at each end and the middle leaving about a foot of the post below the bottom of the fencing to drive into the pond bottom. Also you can use the last piece of fencing to drive out any fish by using it as a reverse seine when you attach it last. Start at the shore and move it while inside the enclosure out toward the opening slowly and when it is in place fix it to the bottom. With some help you can assemble it all on shore and walk it out and stake it down. That is the easiest way. Attach the corners (seams) of the 3 pieces together with cable ties.

I have had good success with these methods.

Good luck.

ewest,

Thanks for the reply and the interesting article. What I am envisioning is something that is left in place(no eye sores) and would allow the BG to come and go, or stay and hide. I am picturing an area about 100-200 sqft that is planted with lillies/iris and has a gravel bed. This area would then be seperated from the main pond by the barrier.

I have always said that I wanted to keep the pond simple and self sufficent, so I am not interested in starting a feeding program...hence the ability for the BG to come and go.

The pond is still on the drawing board, so I do have the luxary of flexibility in design.

Thanks,

Joe