Cecil, my trout came from Aqua springs in Big Rapids Mi the first two times. We are currently putting a order in with the fish farm in Harrison Mi. The first year we aerated 24/7 with no dye and lost all the fish. This year we are aerating just 4 hours a day and have added dye. The fish are doing well and seemed to have survived the summer heat. Our pond sides are quite steep. We get weeds around the edges of the pond (Out to 6 foot or so) but the rest of the pond seems to be weed free. I wish I had some scuba gear to actually see what it looks like down there. Of course with the dye, maybe I wouldnt see far anyways.
[quote]Not sure if you're aware of this but if you feed the trout it's not unusual to produce 10 lb. rainbows, 10 pound browns, and 3 to 4 pound brook trout in only a few years. Sometimes you'll get a few that will get even bigger if water temps and oxygen are good.
Wow Cecil, I love the thought of that. But I have put 4 pound test on all the fishing poles.
Cecil, my trout came from Aqua springs in Big Rapids Mi the first two times.
That's one of Bob Baldwin's farms isn't it? He and I graduated from the same college with a fisheries degree with him a year a head of me. He's a wealth of information and he's patiently answered many questions I've had.
I'm always on the look out for sources of trout in case my present source has problems, although I'm taking a break on trout for now. Besides my well died the other day for some reason. However even though Michigan is blessed with trout farms, many don't do the testing required for out of state stocking as it's too expensive. Some have gotten out of the trout stocking business all together and only raise trout for the table which requires no health testing.
Originally Posted By: timberframe
We are currently putting a order in with the fish farm in Harrison Mi. The first year we aerated 24/7 with no dye and lost all the fish. This year we are aerating just 4 hours a day and have added dye. The fish are doing well and seemed to have survived the summer heat.
That's a very good sign as this summer was one of the hottest on record in the Midwest and elsewhere. It set all time records down here in Indiana.
Originally Posted By: timberframe
Our pond sides are quite steep. We get weeds around the edges of the pond (Out to 6 foot or so) but the rest of the pond seems to be weed free. I wish I had some scuba gear to actually see what it looks like down there. Of course with the dye, maybe I wouldnt see far anyways.
Any underwater camera may be an option.
If pigs could fly bacon would be harder to come by and there would be a lot of damaged trees.
Took picture of pond today. It is roughly 150x350 in size. Zipline for the kids run most of its length. Quite a few pussywillows growing along the edge this year. Hope the pic comes through Ok cause this is my first time attaching picture. We caught rainbows today that were 14" long. They were planted in April at 7" long.
We lost 20 cherry trees after we built the pond. Even though they were back aways from the pond, the water must of saturated the roots. Also we are finding that growing grass around the pond is hard to do when using dirt that was gathered from the digging of the pond.
Nice pond and place! Watch those cattails, they can get out of hand along your shoreline and the next thing you know they are all the way around the pond!
If pigs could fly bacon would be harder to come by and there would be a lot of damaged trees.
We lost 20 cherry trees after we built the pond. Even though they were back aways from the pond, the water must of saturated the roots. Also we are finding that growing grass around the pond is hard to do when using dirt that was gathered from the digging of the pond.
You need to seed, throw on some topsoil, and then roll burlap over that and stake it. You can buy 300 feet X six feet wide rolls from Dayton Burlap for about $100.00 on the Internet.
Straw is cheaper but if you don't keep it wet it has a tendency to blow into the pond.
Last edited by Cecil Baird1; 10/17/1008:18 PM.
If pigs could fly bacon would be harder to come by and there would be a lot of damaged trees.
We lost 20 cherry trees after we built the pond. Even though they were back aways from the pond, the water must of saturated the roots. Also we are finding that growing grass around the pond is hard to do when using dirt that was gathered from the digging of the pond.
Sorry to hear that - I bet it would have been absolutely beautiful to have those blooming around that nice looking pond. Surprising that they died if they were set back far enough. I don't know much about cherry trees (other than if you chop one down, you are overcome with guilt and can't lie about having done it), but that seems odd.
We lost 20 cherry trees after we built the pond. Even though they were back aways from the pond, the water must of saturated the roots. Also we are finding that growing grass around the pond is hard to do when using dirt that was gathered from the digging of the pond.
You need to seed, throw on some topsoil, and then roll burlap over that and stake it. You can buy 300 feet X six feet wide rolls from Dayton Burlap for about $100.00 on the Internet.
Straw is cheaper but if you don't keep it wet it has a tendency to blow into the pond.
Don't forget to get a soil test done to see what's needed.
Can anyone tell me if I need to establish structure in my pond for trout? The pond bottom is flat with 10 to 12 foot of water, depending on the time of year.
I figured if the trout never spawned because there is no inlet or outlet, maybe I didnt need structure. Anyways it seems to me that all the trout that were delivered were females.
I think the stream trout prefer structure for various reasons and I've seen lake and pond fish hang in weedbeds. However trout are very happy being pelagic too as long as they get something to eat.
If pigs could fly bacon would be harder to come by and there would be a lot of damaged trees.
I believe trout like structure just like other fish, but prefer differences in water movement over anything else.
HIJACK ALERT
So, Omaha, what the heck is with the UT logo on your signature now? Have you switched allegiance after the 'Horns put it on Nebraska so badly last weekend?
Lost a bet man. Have to wear it for a month. Disgusting isn't it?
Scandalous! Just try to avoid reading your own posts during that time, and remember that when you change back to your own colors, all of these hideous UT cow heads will disappear and it will be like it never happened!
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