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Joined: Mar 2005
Posts: 21,499 Likes: 267
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Especially for SMB who do better in clear water and without sediment dumping on their nest.
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Joined: Mar 2009
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Lunker
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Do remember that in the deepest parts of your pond the bottom is going to rise (sediment) so plan accordingly.
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Joined: Sep 2011
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Joined: Sep 2011
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Considering your planned species, I would rip-rap at least two complete shorelines. One or two shorelines with no or minimal concrete or some isolated large piles on the slope will add some habitat diversity and will allow some natural submerged weed growth in the future - more habitat diversity. Start with down wind shore first. Start concrete at high water line and then down to at least to what you expect to be the low water line level or a downward linear distance of 6-10ft. In some areas it would not hurt, anything that I can perceive, to have some areas where concrete goes clear to the bottom of the side slope. You could make these areas only 10-30 ft wide and then fish (jig) along the downward edges to minimize hook loss. Fish will mostly 'hang' out and travel along the edges anyway - transitions. Using a slip bobber over rip-rap shorelines is also a good way to fish with fewer snag ups. Other good ways to fish rip-rap shorelines is to fish from the corners or ends and pull the lure along the base of the rip-rap. I like to fish from a small boat and 'work' lures along the base of the rip-rap ledge.
Maybe use the larger concrete pieces to hold down (anchor)the bases of some small or medium sized entire trees placed vertical and or horizontal.
Wow, That seems like a lot of stone. Is this because of a 3/4 acre pond? Would this also stay in proportion as ponds get bigger? Anybody out there that having SMB success with a smaller amount? I'm talking about habitat area, not spawning areas.
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Joined: Sep 2011
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Joined: Sep 2011
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Another question in regards to Crayfish and rock habitat... I willingly plead my ignorance of not knowing anything about them. Do crayfish just live among the rocks or do they also burrow down into the mud next to the rocks? Do they only burrow into the ground above the water line? What I'm getting at is my pond bottom is softer(sandy), and rocks tend to sink into the mud. I'm considering placing some kind of stiff sheeting down first to help suspend the rocks. But...does this hurt the crayfish abilities to live there?
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Joined: Feb 2011
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Joined: Feb 2011
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FC I dont know the answer to your questions above but I had the same problem in areas of my pond and what I did was throw in a bunch of baseball+ sized rocks along the bottom then distributed larger rocks on top of them. The multiple layers took alot of rocks but It firmed up the soft bottom and kept the larger rocks exposed above the bottom.
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Joined: Apr 2002
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SMB can do okay, not great but okay, without a lot of rocky shoreline as long as there are a few good spawning areas. The big thing for SMB to thrive is KEEP the LMB OUT and smallies will live in most ponds.
Last edited by Bill Cody; 08/01/12 09:18 PM.
aka Pond Doctor & Dr. Perca Read Pond Boss Magazine -
America's Journal of Pond Management
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Joined: Jan 2009
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Moderator Ambassador Field Correspondent Lunker
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fish n chips. The answer to most of the questions is yes. There are many different types of crayfish. Not all are burrowers. If you can source Papershell Crayfish (Orconectes immunis), those are the best ones to have.
Instead of putting sheeting, look into getting some geotextile fabric to place the rocks on. It'll allow them to partially sink into the sand and most likely will hold them in place better than the sheeting.
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