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Most Online3,612 Jan 10th, 2023
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Joined: Jan 2006
Posts: 16,055 Likes: 277
Moderator Lunker
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Moderator Lunker
Joined: Jan 2006
Posts: 16,055 Likes: 277 |
Yeah, I'd have thrown that one back in before it was seen.
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
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Joined: May 2009
Posts: 5,722 Likes: 282
Lunker
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Lunker
Joined: May 2009
Posts: 5,722 Likes: 282 |
Last edited by RAH; 08/07/16 10:19 AM.
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Joined: Jun 2012
Posts: 2,058 Likes: 7
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Joined: Jun 2012
Posts: 2,058 Likes: 7 |
WOW RAH looking great. What a wonderful spot you have.
Filled the feeder with a second 50# bag of feed for the year. The bio mass must be growing.
Water level is low so I might touch up the water fall and see what cracks are in the bottom part today.
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Joined: Jul 2010
Posts: 3,795 Likes: 71
Hall of Fame 2014
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Hall of Fame 2014
Joined: Jul 2010
Posts: 3,795 Likes: 71 |
Really nice RAH....those pictures bleed tranquility
Fishing has never been about the fish....
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Joined: Jun 2008
Posts: 6,980 Likes: 14
Ambassador Lunker
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Ambassador Lunker
Joined: Jun 2008
Posts: 6,980 Likes: 14 |
Beautiful spot, RAH. I admire what you've done there, but I'm glad it's you and not me. I would probably have a nervous breakdown thinking about the tractor and bushhog, walk behind brush cutter, hand held brushcutter, chainsaw, loppers, weed razor, landscape rake, and a tank car full of aquatic herbicide that I would deem necessary.
I'm betting that your vision is just as much work, if not more, than mine. Very nice work.
"Forget pounds and ounces, I'm figuring displacement!"
If we accept that: MBG(+)FGSF(=)HBG(F1) And we surmise that: BG(>)HBG(F1) while GSF(<)HBG(F1) Would it hold true that: HBG(F1)(+)AM500(x)q.d.(=)1.5lbGRWT? PB answer: It depends.
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Joined: May 2009
Posts: 5,722 Likes: 282
Lunker
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Lunker
Joined: May 2009
Posts: 5,722 Likes: 282 |
It actually takes less maintenance, but controlling invasives early is the key. We wiped some phragmites and willow this morning. I just got done digging a very small vernal wetland in the woods, and my wife is on the dozer as I type. She decided she would rather have me pick the tomatoes. She is better at it than me anyway. Update: Moved the dirt from the vernal pool to a low stretch in one of the woodland roads and spread it out. We are real dry right now, so its a good time to do dirt work.
Last edited by RAH; 08/07/16 02:26 PM.
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Joined: Jun 2013
Posts: 40
Hall of Fame 2014
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Hall of Fame 2014
Joined: Jun 2013
Posts: 40 |
Looks awesome RAH. You have done a great job
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Joined: Oct 2014
Posts: 6,080 Likes: 1
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Joined: Oct 2014
Posts: 6,080 Likes: 1 |
Be Brave Enough to Suck at Something New!
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Joined: May 2009
Posts: 5,722 Likes: 282
Lunker
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Lunker
Joined: May 2009
Posts: 5,722 Likes: 282 |
Thanks for the nice words.
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Joined: Mar 2007
Posts: 1,012
Hall of Fame
Junior Member
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Hall of Fame
Junior Member
Joined: Mar 2007
Posts: 1,012 |
RAH, Very nice!
What is the purpose of the rock wall extending into the pond?
1 ac pond LMB, BG, RES, CC
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Joined: May 2009
Posts: 5,722 Likes: 282
Lunker
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Lunker
Joined: May 2009
Posts: 5,722 Likes: 282 |
Jetty is cover for crayfish and scuds. This pond has SMB as the top predator (only added 10 last year). It also has FHM, GSH, RES, and YP.
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Joined: May 2013
Posts: 2,898 Likes: 146
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OP
Joined: May 2013
Posts: 2,898 Likes: 146 |
I had left over soilfloc from my first episode of pond bottom sealing dating back to fall of 2015. My goal was to retreat in the early spring when water had warmed but before vegetation came in. Well, as you all know, life happens quickly and you blink and it is August 20 something!! So I asked my dad to stop by again and now that we have the system down from last time, we made short work of treating the pond again. This time we didn't fuss with marking out the shoreline as we knew from experience last time that when we apply the product with a hand crank grass spreader that you get a very even plume on the water that spreads out to about 8' wide before settling. We just made sure that the men, one on each side of the pond with ropes, moved the boat into the leading edge of the plume to apply the next 'lane' of product and were sure to have a overlapping section. I don't know if the product covers more area with a spreader verses tossing cups of products in one place, but I know we ordered enough product to 'treat' the pond according to TJs directions last fall and seemed to have about half of it left after the first treatment. We had overlapped the pond heavy and really treated it twice last fall. I treated the whole pond again last night and even went back and redid about 1/3 of it the 3rd time where we feel the leak might be. I still have a 5 gallon bucket of part A and B left (I think 1 unit) Conditions were perfect, not a breath of wind. As before, the water cleared up very nicely. The aerator is off for a few days to let things settle. We had a tornado come through Grand Rapids on Saturday and it brought an inch of rain. The pond is at record levels so we treated the edges heavily and the hydraulic pressure pushing the product down should be ideal as well. Grand Rapids is not used to the prairie style tornados with a tornado on the ground on/off for 2 hours! Spending some scary moments in our basement on Saturday hearing the live street by street path of the tornado be broadcast over the local stations as it barreled toward us. Fortunately, very little structural damage to houses, just damage where big trees were pushed on to them. Mostly just tons of mature trees pushed over and lots of limbs torn off and debris. It had a direct hit at my work but the building weather it well with only a few aluminum roof panels loose or torn off. The crews were out yesterday with skid steers and tow straps tipping the young maple trees back straight and staking them back up in the upright position. I took the chance while out in the pond in a boat to pull the diffuser and clean it. I thought it was producing a fair amount of bubbles, but the diffuser we completely caked with a clay-soilfloc mix from earlier this year. Clay usually just rubs off with a little water. This mixture however was like concrete and about 1/2" thick. How bubbles even got through that is amazing. I used my nails to gently scrape the rubber membrane and repeated washing attempts finally got it clean. I'd like to run it right away to see how much better it works but better let the soilfloc seal and settle first. The aerator disks are on the standard vertex base and that base is screwed to a plastic tote that is 6" high. Yet it must still somehow stir up some sediment as everything down there was coated with clay/soilfloc mix. In the bottom of the picture you can make out my plastic coke bottle that also has a heavy layer of green/brown slime on it.
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Joined: Mar 2007
Posts: 1,012
Hall of Fame
Junior Member
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Hall of Fame
Junior Member
Joined: Mar 2007
Posts: 1,012 |
Fixed the Husqvarna mower to mow grass that hasn't been cut in 5-6 weeks (yikes!). Got about 1/4 through before belt broke. That's what I'll be doing next weekend.
1 ac pond LMB, BG, RES, CC
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Joined: Oct 2015
Posts: 2,424 Likes: 19
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Joined: Oct 2015
Posts: 2,424 Likes: 19 |
I mowed around my pond again today. Week before last I seeded annual rye along the wet exposed banks from the water dropping. Today I saw a nice thick crop of seedlings. When or if the pond fills back up there will be a nice layer of grass for cover and plankton growth for the smallest fish. I did the same thing along the lower banks for erosion control as the pond first filled.
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Joined: Aug 2014
Posts: 977 Likes: 1
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Joined: Aug 2014
Posts: 977 Likes: 1 |
Didn't do much at the pond, but I did drive up to Overtons and picked up 300# of much needed Cargill 4512 in the 1/8" and 1/4" pellet size. I also picked up some Cargill 4818 (48% protein, 18% fat) in the 3/16" pellet size. Then, had coffee and breakfast with my podnuh, Pat W. in Buffalo, TX. Hope to load the feeder later this week when my helper from LA shows up.
...when in doubt...set the hook...
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Joined: May 2012
Posts: 1,511
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Joined: May 2012
Posts: 1,511 |
Took the long weekend to paint the fish house and pull the aeration system out of the pond. I'll be moving within the next 6 months so I wanted to get it done before Fall. Some pics: My idea of pulling the weighted tubing through PVC to clean it as it came out of the pond seemed good in theory but didn't work. So I tied one end to the UTV and while my buddy pulled it out I used a soaked towel to wipe it clean, and that worked much better! 700' Cleaned and coiled up! (that stuff IS heavy!!!) On the diffusers, I used a tack hook to grab the tubing near the diffuser and was able to pull each of them up, and they weren't as bad as I had expected. I cleaned 3 of them last year but even the deep one I haven't cleaned in 4 1/2 years wasn't too bad. And clean! Lastly I got the compressor cabinet cleaned up and repainted as well. And even got to spend some time fishing with my brother and his Grandson who had a ball catching frogs and a lot of BG including this RES. Capping off the weekend was frying up some fish for my folks, along with my niece and her family. So all in all a productive weekend although, working with 700' of weighted tubing certainly tested the 'ol back!
Keith - Still Lovin Livin https://youtu.be/o-R41Rfx0k0(a short video tribute to the PB members we met on our 5 week fishing adventure) Formerly: 2ac LMB,HSB,BG,HBG,RES
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Joined: May 2012
Posts: 1,511
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Joined: May 2012
Posts: 1,511 |
Non-working day at the pond, just took some time to reflect. Tranquility (And pretty cool when it's hard to tell which picture is upside down)
Keith - Still Lovin Livin https://youtu.be/o-R41Rfx0k0(a short video tribute to the PB members we met on our 5 week fishing adventure) Formerly: 2ac LMB,HSB,BG,HBG,RES
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Joined: May 2013
Posts: 2,898 Likes: 146
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OP
Joined: May 2013
Posts: 2,898 Likes: 146 |
Keith, Love your posts and your paint job on the shed! Looks great. Too bad you can't take that shed with you!
What size weighted tubing was that did you say? It looks heavy!
I see one of your diffusers has the 2 disks right on top of each other. That must be for a shallow water application? My diffuser is posted in a picture a few up from yours in this post. Mine had quite a thick layer of almost cemented grime on it, but it also endured some soil floc sealant. Yours cleaned up very nicely.
Your pond is beauteous, you will certainly have a hard time finding another place to live that is like this one!
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Joined: May 2012
Posts: 1,511
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Joined: May 2012
Posts: 1,511 |
Thank you, Canyoncreek! On the shed, I don't know if you've seen the inside from previous posts, but I have a cleaning station inside (tapping into the on-demand well for water), cabinetry and wired with lights and outlets. Hence, the "fish house" . And it is NOT staying, it is for sure going with me! And I built it as such that the porch roof can be removed and the shed itself is on skids of sorts so it can be lifted onto a flatbed. No way it's staying here! The tubing is Bottomline 5/8" ID weighted tubing, and yep it's heavy! IIRC it's 1/2 lb per foot, 50 lb per 100'. On the diffusers I'm sure glad mine didn't look like yours and luckily mine cleaned up without any scraping. Of my 4, 3 of them are shallow which is why the disks are closer together, which appears to just be a matter of the length of PVC between them. I'm selling the system so if someone needs deep diffusers I'm guessing I could just lengthen the PVC on the shallow ones. CC, it's beyond beautiful out here and I'm truly blessed to have had nearly 5 years to be here, learn what I've learned from the great folks on this forum (with the privilege of meeting several), and done what I've done. It was a new chapter when I moved here and it will be a new chapter when I leave. Yet someday I will again have a pond, one I can call my own! Thanks again!
Keith - Still Lovin Livin https://youtu.be/o-R41Rfx0k0(a short video tribute to the PB members we met on our 5 week fishing adventure) Formerly: 2ac LMB,HSB,BG,HBG,RES
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Joined: Mar 2007
Posts: 1,012
Hall of Fame
Junior Member
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Hall of Fame
Junior Member
Joined: Mar 2007
Posts: 1,012 |
I noticed way too many 8-12" actively feeding LMB while cutting grass around the pond. So, Jodi and I went down and caught a dozen in about an hour. Caught one nearly two pounds that normally would be released but was gill hooked. 5 pounds total... I've been lax since last summer keeping up with LMB harvest (at least) 10 more lbs this fall.
1 ac pond LMB, BG, RES, CC
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Joined: Sep 2014
Posts: 1,596 Likes: 28
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Joined: Sep 2014
Posts: 1,596 Likes: 28 |
Wife and I fished for 4 hours to catch enough cnbg to get a good average relative weight idea. Have been noticing a reduction in size and a overpopulation of bluegill. Caught,weighed,and measured 55 fish from 4 and 1/2 inch to 7 1/2 inch. Average relative weight was 99.842% The last time was average 112%. We did catch 3 of the 50 florida lmb we just stocked and they were all approx. 10 inch long and right where they need to be. I guess soon enough the lmb will start lowering the numbers of the cnbg. I must have close to a ton of cnbg in a 2 acre pond and only 50 10 inch bass.We released everything we caught. Still see small fry bluegill all around the bank in certain areas.
Dear Alcohol, We had a deal where you would make me funnier, smarter, and a better dancer... I saw the video... We need to talk.
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Joined: Oct 2015
Posts: 2,424 Likes: 19
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Joined: Oct 2015
Posts: 2,424 Likes: 19 |
I took advantage of the low water to add an extension to my small dock.
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Joined: Sep 2014
Posts: 1,596 Likes: 28
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Joined: Sep 2014
Posts: 1,596 Likes: 28 |
John, how low is your water? We are getting close to the 2 foot low mark!! we have only had 1/2 inch rain since Sept. 1st. Yikes!!
Dear Alcohol, We had a deal where you would make me funnier, smarter, and a better dancer... I saw the video... We need to talk.
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Joined: Oct 2015
Posts: 2,424 Likes: 19
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Joined: Oct 2015
Posts: 2,424 Likes: 19 |
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Joined: Oct 2015
Posts: 2,424 Likes: 19
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Joined: Oct 2015
Posts: 2,424 Likes: 19 |
The last "significant" rain we have had here locally was on July 26. Nothing since then that created any runoff at all.
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