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Welcome, Ron.

Re crawfish, probably the best time to stock is near Easter. That's when commercial catch is at maximum and prices about as cheap as they'll get.

One warning: If you are trying to get some special plants growing in your BOW, stocking lots of crawfish might not be a great idea. They like to eat plants. That's why I did not stock them this year, along with the fact that I already have naturally occurring craws.

Also, if you don't have some rock for them to hide in, they won't last long.


7ac 2015 CNBG RES FHM 2016 TP FLMB 2017 NLMB GSH L 2018 TP & 70 HSB PK 2019 TP RBT 2020 TFS TP 25 HSB 250 F1,L,RBT -206 2021 TFS TP GSH L,-312 2022 GSH TP CR TFS RBT -234, 2023 BG TP TFS NLMB, -160




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Welcome aboard.
















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Hi all,
My name is Joe, from central Wisconsin. Great site!
Recently purchased a property with a 1 acre pond, looking to learn everything about it for a complete ecosystem. The previous owners had a fish die off after a long freeze a couple years ago. Aerator going in this weekend.

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Welcome! An aerator will do a lot to enhance the ecosystem bottom to top. Amount of organic accumulation over the years will determine how well the pond responds to the complete mixing of the water column. If the pond is deeper than 7ft then start - run the aerator about 30min to 1 hr first day then double the run time each day thereafter. You will tell the deeper water was without oxygen if the upwelling water smells like sulfur.

Last edited by Bill Cody; 08/10/17 11:24 AM.

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Joe, welcome to the forum.


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Welcome from Texas Joe
Read read read , there is so much information to be had for the reading. Join in the family
And pass on info to others when ya can.

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Hey everyone! My name is Mark Dumas. I live in Brownwood, Texas.
I have loved fishing since 1978. I was 8 years old and received a Zebco 202 with pole for Christmas. I have never stopped since. I fish mostly ponds and small lakes around Central Texas. Mainly I fish our local country club lake which is around 22 acres. I love the big bass as well as big giant bluegills and crappie. Recently I have gotten into the catfishing a little more. I will be building my first pond soon and can't wait to own my very own. I moonlight as a consultant in the Central Texas area for Clearwater Consulting. A fishery and lake management company my friend owns in Magnolia Texas. I look forward to the forums and fishing news, tips, shares and all that happens. Thanks

Mark

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Welcome Mark to PB
Lots to read here and some good folks . Ask lots of questions and read read read!

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Howdy y'all.


I closed on a 132 acre timber ranch on the edge of Livingston Texas August 1st. My dirt guy moved right in with a dozer and large track hoe and cleared about 5 acres of jungle in a drainage.

As of August 24th they had added a 2nd track hoe, had built a 30 foot dam out of red east Texas clay, and were rushing to tie down large log piles over canals. Also found what looks like a small spring.

August 25th Hurricane Harvey hit. It really hit.

My dirt guy has been in Houston with his boat doing rescues.

We are hunkered down in Kingwood with all roads out of here deep under water.

So...

In a few days we'll see how the pond is doing. Livingston is currently flooding along with the rest of southeast Texas. Could be ordering some fhm as soon as the water seasons a bit and some plankton gets started.

I might have a 4 1/2 acre lake way ahead of my original schedule.


4 acre pond 32 ft deep within East Texas (Livingston) timber ranch. Filled (to the top of an almost finished dam) by Hurricane Harvey 9/17. Stocked with FHM, CNBG, RES 10/17. Added 35lbs RSC 3/18. 400 N LMB fingerlings 6/18
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Great forum guys.

I have a 1.3 acre pond that was 50 yrs ago, a great bass and bluegill producer. A termite treatment gone bad about 25 years ago resulted in a massive fish kill. All that survived were the grass carp and a few Israeli carp. They are still there. Muskrats took out one bank and the Spring that fed the pond bypassed. It sat like that for 20 years.

I wish I had studied the situation prior to renovation but I needed fencing and decided to let them fix the pond. Knowing what I know now, I might have done things differently but I'm satisfied with the result.

The pond is back to being Spring fed from a Spring about 80 yards away and by some internal springs. During rainy spells 10 k gallons flow out per day. The flow slowed but never stopped with 25 days without rain. Mid summer water temperatures approached but never hit 80. PH seems constant at 6.5 or so. The pond is shallow, 18 inches at the feed end and near banks and 5 ft +\- at the deepest with little variation. It was muddy for years, I think due to the carp digging for vegetation as I could see them doing it. There was no vegetation visible. Since renovation, the water has cleared considerably and taken on a greenish brown tint with about 12 inches visibility.

There is very little watershed, mostly the springs, no livestock at all. I use 2, 6 inch standpipes for drainage and currently NO spillway. 2 inches of rain the other day, one inch in an hr did not stress the drain.

I have contracted for stocking. The numbers are proprietary but heavy BG, FHM, some RESF and not many LMB. I'll provide some habitat and nesting gravel but no feeding.

I look forward to a lot of reading here and a bit of posting as my pond ( I suppose it is technically a Lake) teaches me.

Advice, criticism, name calling, disaster predictions are all welcome; I have very thick skin.


1.3 A, 80 yr old, renovation summer 2017, SW VA, 2000' elevation, Shallow, Spring Fed, Little Watershed, Stock Fall '17 with LMB, BG, RESF, FHM. Indigenous: Triploid Grass Carp, Israeli Carp, GSH
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the "numbers are proprietary?" Really..? a fish stocking outfit sold you a package and said they weren't allowed to tell you what was in the package? I can't imagine any advantage to that company to try to keep that a secret... hmm... Did they not think that some enterprising customer would simply count the fish as they put them in?

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Oh no, they told me the numbers but advice is their bread and butter. I don't like it...... but I understand.

The numbers sounded a bit unusual to me but they had what sounded like good reasons for heavy BG and light LMB.

Last edited by Mal; 10/11/17 09:09 AM.

1.3 A, 80 yr old, renovation summer 2017, SW VA, 2000' elevation, Shallow, Spring Fed, Little Watershed, Stock Fall '17 with LMB, BG, RESF, FHM. Indigenous: Triploid Grass Carp, Israeli Carp, GSH
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For a renovated 1.3 ac and you say the stocking numbers from a fish farm are held as proprietary? My advice is stay away from them. They are self serving and not interested in your best interest. The place is paranoid with a unnatural fear and very likely they do not want others to know how way out of normal their stocking numbers and advice are compared to good sound fishery advice. I suspect their stocking philosophy is to annually sell forage fish or predators to unbalanced situations.

Heavy BG with few bass is stocking plan for producing large bass. The same thing can be accomplished with first stocking a balanced number of BG-minnows allow then to reproduce then their high numbers will feed bass and allow them to grow quickly. Proper management then keeps those bass growing to large size. High numbers of Large panfish are usually rare in these situations.

You will get all sorts of stocking advice numbers from too low to too high. I would search for 2nd opinion advice from someone not selling you fish. However to get good 2nd & 3rd stocking and management opinions the adviser needs to know your goals for the fishery. Are your goals to get back to a decent panfish-bass fishery? Are extra large panfish and trophies desired or is a general size, active catch fishery acceptable?.

Are the grass carp and Israeli carp still there? Were all fish and water removed from the pond when it was renovated?. IMO 5ft max depth with a significant portion with less depth will always 'want' be a weed and algae factory. From the new start, due to pond basin average and low maximum depth you will have difficulty producing a high quality fishery for the long term of 10-30 yrs. An initial stocking could result in a decent fishery for the next 3-8yrs. By then over popuation and out of balance will likely gradually or the next years degrade the fishery. However, the pond is ideal as a hatchery and young of year pond where fish are grown for retail market. These ponds are drained and allowed to dry each year for weed and muck control and newly restocked each spring.

The pond could also be managed primarily as a quality catfish(CC) pond where the CC thrive in turbid water. Pellet feeding would enhance the production and how fast the fish are growing. See next section.

The flow through situation means you will have difficulty growing, developing a persistent green bloom on a regular basis due to nutrients constantly flushing out. Green blooms can help control filamentous algae and rooted vegetation do to reduced sunlight penetration. I think the current bloom is a result of renovation from newly exposed soils and leaching of nutrients will likely not persist for the next few years as the pond ages. As a standard clear water situation returns and nuisance weeds, algae regrow you will likely have to return to the turbid, muddy condition to keep vegetation in the ample shallow water from overtaking the pond. Pond dye will not stay for long in the pond due to almost constant flushing.

Last edited by Bill Cody; 10/11/17 11:17 AM.

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Bad stocking plans can set you back 10 years.
















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How hard is it for you to break your stocking contract ethically? Also, you said you know the stocking numbers, can you share them with us?

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Thanks Bill, I appreciate the advice. The grass and Israeli carp are still there practically fighting over the tiny amount of duckweed at the entrance. Unfortunately the neighbors admit to,"throwing in a few catfish and LMB". My stocking may well be expensive fish food but I see numbers of small fish surviving since the rebuild and have fished heavily with nothing caught..

Draining or poisoning are both impractical.

I fully expected the pond to muddy up again due to the carp but it hasn't. My hope is that the carp will control the weeds and algae either through consuming it or reducing the viz trying to. The grass carp are about 20 yrs old yet only about 12 inches. I caught an Israeli carp years ago that was 30 lbs. Tasted like mud. His brother(s) have been seen recently at about the same size.

The stocking is paid for so their numbers it will be. I did get several opinions but theirs seemed more educated and they expressed more interest in my specific situation. Having said that, I totally understand your suspicions. 5 to 8 yrs sounds great to me then let the kids join Pond Boss. My goal is a few bass for fishing friends and family and panfish no matter how small for the kids. I mostly just love the view out the window and walking around it. It's not like waking up on a sailboat 200 mi out.... but it's as good or better in its own right.

Again, thank you so much, the forum has been a great help already, I wish I had found it sooner.

Last edited by Mal; 10/11/17 12:30 PM.

1.3 A, 80 yr old, renovation summer 2017, SW VA, 2000' elevation, Shallow, Spring Fed, Little Watershed, Stock Fall '17 with LMB, BG, RESF, FHM. Indigenous: Triploid Grass Carp, Israeli Carp, GSH
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A specific question. On several occasions since renovation I have seen a fish jump. It just clears the water, about 10 inches, light from 1/4 down, dark green above, very flat, long and thin. Looks like the shad my son catches in New Jersey.

I also see a school of maybe a dozen very small fish at the shallow end. They stay together but spook as I approach.

Any ideas on what either or both might be never seen them before renovation.

An observation. When I was a kid 60 years ago, weeds grew thick in the Spring fed end of the Lake only. I now assume due to the clear water flowing in there. It annoyed me but as I remember it always teemed with tiny bream and bass. I would sneak down at first light and cast from beyond where I could be seen to just outside those weeds. On several occasions, I would catch a large bass. I know why now and would welcome those weeds if they only grew there.

Canyon Creek, I agreed not to share the numbers so I will honor that other than my vague description earlier.

Last edited by Mal; 10/11/17 01:46 PM.

1.3 A, 80 yr old, renovation summer 2017, SW VA, 2000' elevation, Shallow, Spring Fed, Little Watershed, Stock Fall '17 with LMB, BG, RESF, FHM. Indigenous: Triploid Grass Carp, Israeli Carp, GSH
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I think my son identified the fish. He has seen golden shiners in the pond years ago and believes they get that big though he has never seen them jump. He also thinks the small schooling fish I see are the same.

Sounds like I might have a small head start on forage.....


1.3 A, 80 yr old, renovation summer 2017, SW VA, 2000' elevation, Shallow, Spring Fed, Little Watershed, Stock Fall '17 with LMB, BG, RESF, FHM. Indigenous: Triploid Grass Carp, Israeli Carp, GSH
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Hi, My name is Nolan . I've been lurking around this forum for the last 6 months (when my wife suggested that she would like a pond) It appears that I would build a ground water pond, My 5 acres is sand and when I was moving dirt I hit water at 3 feet. I staked out a 1/3 acre area and had some dirt guys give me a bid to dig it to 12'. Since the pond has to be dug and the sand hauled off (I do not have any where to put it on the property) . I was quoted 35 to 40 thousand dollars (I am not spending that kind of money on just dirt work). Then came Hurricane Harvey and the pond was put on the back burner. Then I got a call from the highest bidder and he needs my sand and will dig the hole for no cost if he can have the sand ( and he needs it now and wants to start on Monday)When I look at my neighbors ponds it looks like it will need to have sloped banks, I would like to aerate, I have a good well(since it will be a ground water pond if I add water with a well will it help low water levels if there is a drought)I have a million questions and I am not really ready but a free hole in is hard to resist. Would you take advantage of this opportunity,They are not "pond" guys. The pond guy I've contacted does not have the equipment to dig wet sand.

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Welcome to the forum.

I see you have started a separate thread on your potential pond. That is a good idea.

Something to help you keep track of the threads you are interested in is under the heading "My Stuff". You can look up the threads you have replied to and also mark threads on your "watch list". I would suggest you mark your "Pond is being dug soon" thread to your watch list.

If the forum gets really active, the threads pass by into history and I have found it extremely hard to find an old thread I was interested in. That is where the "Watch List" works great.

Again, welcome to the forum and good luck with your pond.


John

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Hey guys and gals,

Not my first post here but I haven't really introduced myself. I'm a husband and father of three who has to work too many hours to support my outdoor activities. My wife and all three kids love fishing and I love taking them. Nothing better than to see all the smiles of them sitting a cast away from a bream bed!
I've just recently been asked to manage a 66 acre lake that needs a lot of work to get it ready for fishing fun. I'm thankful to all who have already helped point me in the right direction. Looking forward to learning more and hopefully one day sharing some info with you all.

I hope everyone has a Merry Christmas and wonderful New Year!

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Hi there. I haven't posted before, but have studied a lot of good information on this site. Great job! I have a question to ask about Tilapia for algae control. I'll try to post it in the correct forum also. I have a pond about 5 acre feet. Bass and bluegill. Managing for large bluegill. Algae, FA is tough to keep under control by mid-summer. I am raising Tilapia and plan to stock about one thousand. My QUESTION is this. When these die in fall (I'm in Wis.) will the bass clean them up? Or are they going to rot and cause a winterkill? Thanks for any advice or experience.

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Hello, Danny McWhirter, posting as DannyMac. We live in northwest Bexar county, Texas, northwest of San Antonio. We put in a small pond in February 2017, damming a ravine. Stocked with CNBG and a few of each of RES, CC, HBC and LMB. We feed everyday.
I earlier posted in Introductions under the topic, a Balcones Escarpment pond. Just subscribed to Pond Boss magazine. The Facebook Live shows are great! So happy to have finally searched for and find this pond and lake forum.


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Welcome all - glad your here posting.
















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I first bought Pond Boss circa 1992. There was a study about cormorant and raccoon depredation in four ponds.
1 Was left to nature.
2 Had some protection like noisemakers
3 Had more protection including "Mr. Scary", a solar PV panel charged a battery. When the battery was charged, Mr. Scary was powered up to blow up a doll that makes noises every 20 minutes or so.
4 Had total fencing.

1 Was eaten up.
2, 3 did better but even Mr. Scary failed after several months.
4 Worked.

I may have some details wrong.

I now live on a 40-acre lake with bass and bream west of Auburn, Alabama.


Every day on the green side of the grass since I had Cancer surgery is a gift from my Creator and is not to be wasted.
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