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We fished this weekend. Well, the grandkids and daughter and Son in Law fished. Found out my SMB have pullled off a spawn! Not sure how old this one is. Then my granddaughter caught one of our original stockers from 4/15, so we have now kept three of the original 60.




Last edited by SetterGuy; 09/17/18 06:18 AM.

9 yr old pond, 1 ac, 15' deep.
RES, YP, GS, FHM (no longer), HBG (going away), SMB, and HSB (only one seen in 5 yrs) Restocked HSB (2020) Have seen one of these.
I think that's about all I should put in my little pond.
Otter attack in 2023
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Excellent! One happy camper there! When the weather cools down, I really need to see what's biting in my SMB pond.

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That smile is worth a lot. Big smiles and nice fish, well done.


Do not judge me by the politicians in my City, State or Federal Government.


Tracy
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She’s a twin. Her brother likes catching them too, but he’s not so happy to hold them. Has to get used to slime.. Ha! They both like eating them, that’s for sure. YP especially.

Last edited by SetterGuy; 09/17/18 08:31 AM.

9 yr old pond, 1 ac, 15' deep.
RES, YP, GS, FHM (no longer), HBG (going away), SMB, and HSB (only one seen in 5 yrs) Restocked HSB (2020) Have seen one of these.
I think that's about all I should put in my little pond.
Otter attack in 2023
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It's amazing how fast things change in a small pond. Just three days ago, the water was nice and green with a visibility of about 16". Today it's much clearer, close to 30", and has turned tannic brown. Fish fed well and seem to be doing fine tho. As much as we needed the rain, sometimes I wish we could get a happy medium. Hopefully we're in a bit drier cycle now and the pond will return to its former green self.


.10 surface acre pond, 10.5 foot deep. SW LA. The epitome of a mutt pond. BG, LMB, GSF, RES, BH, Warmouth, Longear Sunfish, Gambusia,Mud Minnows, Crappie, and now shiners!!...I subscribe!!
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Today I cleaned out my wood duck house to prepare it for Fall. I counted 12 half membranes so I had at least 6 hatched and left the nest. I had 4 others that were in various stages of hatching but did not survive.2 complete eggs and 2 with baby birds in broken shells. sooo...I had a clutch of at least 10. I am happy with that. This is the second year in a row to have ducks in my homemade box!!


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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Flame, I'm not handy with wood so can you suggest a good online source to get a box that hopefully the wood ducks will like? I'm eager to try it this season.

We had a pair for a few days at our pond this spring, and then it looked like this past Sunday a female wood duck was paddling around for an hour in the morning and then took off.

What steps do you take in the fall or is it too late and the wood ducks already scouted my pond and decided there were no boxes up yet and we should move on?

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Canyon, I live on my property and pond is only 150 ft from my back porch. I visit the pond at least twice a day during feeding times and I keep a written log of everything including dates I clean the duck house and get ready for fall. Last year was October 1st and this year was Sept. 18th. You have time to get your duck house up for this year. Just get one on the way asap.There are plenty online sources and most run about $40-$50 each. I would purchase wood. I have heard negative results from the plastic ones on the market but I have no personell experience with them. Go to Ducks Unlimited website for proper size and location of your house. I believe that is where I got the dimensions to build mine. Make sure it is some type of solid wood and not any type of plywood. My first I built out of very good waterproof plywood decking and it came apart in one year. I believe cedar may be the best. Also I chose to use Aspen wood shaving for nesting material. DO NOT use saw dust. It is bad for the birds. Also you must install some type of predator guard on your pole below your box to keep snakes and racoons out of nest. I made a sheet metal "cone" below mine. I placed mine at the ponds edge and about 6 ft. high to the hole opening in the box.Hope this helps


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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Canyon, I just researched a few houses on the web and it appears they are going up in price!! Most are showing around $75. I found one for $62 and free shipping on Amazon. Wow...I need to start mass producing those things!!


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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I would characterize building a wood duck box as a beginner level woodworking project. Do others agree?

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Yup, I noticed prices mostly north of $60!
I have a 12" diameter smooth fiberglass light pole by my pond that I'm thinking of using as the mount for the wood duck box. No predator can shimmy up it unless it is one of those anaconda/boa constrictors. I don't want to screw into the pole so I'll be using some large zip ties to hold it in place.

I certainly want a solid cedar one.

Do the ducks pick their nest in the fall or in the spring?

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They will check them out in the fall. Build nest in the spring. RAH it is a pretty simple project. 3 main points... make entrance hole 4 inch wide and 3 inch tall oval shape. Make a "door" of somekind for easy access to clean and refill with shavings. Install screen on inside of front for baby birds to get traction to climb out.


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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Screech owls are the only residents I got in my houses, but the wood ducks found tree holes so we had babies anyway.

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Sat for 2 hours last night, in the dark with a flashlight and dog, and watched "steamnadoes" come up off the water in the cold. It is mesmerizing and relaxing!

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What we would do for some cool!

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Went out to feed the BG the other day and had this green film after heavy rains and corn field runoff - which tends to act as natural fertilizer. The pond was overflowing a week earlier and the bottom of the dock was in the water. It's currently down 30" from that level in 10 days and will drop another 2+ feet to the water table if we don't get more rain.

Went from 18" visibility after the rain to 10" or less once everything bloomed. Had this on the surface a couple of days ago and now the FA is growing like mad on the weeds that are under water. Will have to rake things out once the weekend hits.

Other than knowing what's coming in the way of a FA outbreak it actually looks nice in the right light.



With the hot weather the aeration system is running for 6 hours from 1 am to 7 am.

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Disassembled a TH fish feeder that took an extended bath several years ago. Time for a new motor...and then I sat...and sat...and sat some more. Isn't that what you are supposed to do at the pond?

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Fed the fish a couple times. Watched the SMB hit pellets for a while but mainly mowed the pond dam and did a little weed eating around the pond getting ready for this Saturday. Pond Boss Forum SE Kansas informal get together. Bob Lusk will be in attendance so any PBF members within driving distance come spend a day getting to know other PBF members, talk some pond stuff, do some fishing and just have a good time around our ponds. Everything is prepared, the ponds are in good shape and the weather forecast looks good. Come join the fun.


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The last few nights I've been stepping out with my spotlight and shining the pond, just to see if there are any "univited" guests. Last night, no sooner as I turned the lamp on, a GBH swoops in from the side of the house and lites on the edge of the pond with what looked like a small snake in his beak. He casually swallowed it and flew off. I had no idea herons hunted at night.

Last edited by Mike Whatley; 09/21/18 04:45 AM.

.10 surface acre pond, 10.5 foot deep. SW LA. The epitome of a mutt pond. BG, LMB, GSF, RES, BH, Warmouth, Longear Sunfish, Gambusia,Mud Minnows, Crappie, and now shiners!!...I subscribe!!
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Yesterday afternoon I went out to feed. As soon as the first handful of pellets hit the water and the gills started their frenzy, my biggest of 3 LMB busted somebody's hind end, right in the middle of the spread. Needless to say, the frenzy was knocked back a notch or two.


.10 surface acre pond, 10.5 foot deep. SW LA. The epitome of a mutt pond. BG, LMB, GSF, RES, BH, Warmouth, Longear Sunfish, Gambusia,Mud Minnows, Crappie, and now shiners!!...I subscribe!!
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I watched a 3 to 4" fish knocked out of the water yesterday when I was feeding the HSB/LMB the Aquamax lmb food. I think he might have been lucky but maybe not. smile


Do not judge me by the politicians in my City, State or Federal Government.


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Originally Posted By: Mike Whatley
The last few nights I've been stepping out with my spotlight and shining the pond, just to see if there are any "univited" guests. Last night, no sooner as I turned the lamp on, a GBH swoops in from the side of the house and lites on the edge of the pond with what looked like a small snake in his beak. He casually swallowed it and flew off. I had no idea herons hunted at night.


I can look out our bedroom window and see the pond. I see the GBH sometimes on a moonlit night fishing.

SE Ks Pond Boss forum get together Sept 22, 2018


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Originally Posted By: snrub
Originally Posted By: Mike Whatley
The last few nights I've been stepping out with my spotlight and shining the pond, just to see if there are any "univited" guests. Last night, no sooner as I turned the lamp on, a GBH swoops in from the side of the house and lites on the edge of the pond with what looked like a small snake in his beak. He casually swallowed it and flew off. I had no idea herons hunted at night.


I can look out our bedroom window and see the pond. I see the GBH sometimes on a moonlit night fishing.

I've seen GBH decoys but dont know how effective they are at deterring other birds.

I occasionally also have a great white heron and a small stork visit during the day, along with a couple egrets. I've watched them closely to see how successful they are. So far I've only seen them catch minnows or grass hoppers. up But when the BG/GSF get on beds right against the bank, they could be easy prey. Haven't noticed any spear marks tho.

SE Ks Pond Boss forum get together Sept 22, 2018


.10 surface acre pond, 10.5 foot deep. SW LA. The epitome of a mutt pond. BG, LMB, GSF, RES, BH, Warmouth, Longear Sunfish, Gambusia,Mud Minnows, Crappie, and now shiners!!...I subscribe!!
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We get a Great White egret on occasion also but it seems to come for a few days and then gone. Then might be back later. We have had white herons also. The GBH have rookeries around Cow Creek which runs through our place. One or two of them are regulars. Some years they will bring the young-uns. The first couple years we just marveled at them. But then one got to being way too friendly to the point I could hardly run it off. Plus about three were showing up. So I set up a "discouragement" program and now any time they see me they leave.

I really do not mind them getting a few fish if they would stick with the BG or GSF. Got plenty they can have. But then I find a nice LMB with a poke hole in it floating along the bank (of which I have not enough) and they are no longer endeared to me.

I get Green Herons every year but they can only get the small fish and I leave them pretty much alone. They are kind of funny and squawk in defiance of me when I approach as if to tell me it is their pond. Lots of killdeers which get tiny fish that I also leave alone. About accidentally run over a newly hatched clutch once by the edge of the pond. The tiny little hairballs jumped into the water, swam a few feet out from the bank, then promptly back out of the water and ran off. Did not know the little things could even swim. Always end up with at least one new family each year. Sometimes several.

Have seen some sort of sandpiper several times. Small bird with long curved beak that loves to pick off small shiners or tiny BG (I assume that is what they ear) along the edge of ponds.

I really like all the wildlife unless it gets to the point they are a nuisance. That happens really fast with cormorants and geese. Snow geese in the winter and Canadas in the spring and fall.

Last edited by snrub; 09/21/18 10:26 AM.

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I'm surprised we don't have more visitors than we do. My place is just off gum slough and swamp bottom of pine ridge on the Sabine. Every morning and evening there are literally hundreds of different species of waders flying over the house. An occasional mottled duck, squealer or wood duck.

Being in a residential area, most don't dare take a chance I guess. Geese definitely won't.


.10 surface acre pond, 10.5 foot deep. SW LA. The epitome of a mutt pond. BG, LMB, GSF, RES, BH, Warmouth, Longear Sunfish, Gambusia,Mud Minnows, Crappie, and now shiners!!...I subscribe!!
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