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Originally Posted By: John Fitzgerald
We have had 4.93" since this rain event started yesterday evening. Looks like some more coming. The ponds are all over the e spillways, even the leaker is about 3/4 inch over the overflow, up over 18 inches since yesterday. I hope all the fresh water doesn't cause any problems. The water still feels warm to my hand. Lots of crawdads are moving on land around the ponds.
John and Jeff, the rich keep getting richer. lol! I did get about 1.80" over the last 3 days, almost all of it was over the first 2 days. I think that was the first good rain I've had in about a month.


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Bob, It's still raining, and we are well over 5 inches now. Every drop now is water down the creeks and over the spillway; the ground is absolutely saturated and "pumping" when walked upon.

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In the past four and a half years I have run the water well to keep the pond full during our serious droughts, so I am not going to complain about all the rain I have had in the past 7 months. My son may complain about it because of his commercial bee business but not me. It's nice to see the pond full at or on the upcoming 4th of July.

And we removed another small gator from the pond, that's three so far. They have all been small gators and not looking forward to finding any large ones in the future. The good thing about the gators is I have not seen any otters or beavers lately and my turtle population looks to be down from where it was. Funny thing is, I would have thought I would see them in the drought years where they were looking for water but instead we have them when it's wet all over.

Last edited by TGW1; 06/24/19 05:47 AM.

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Originally Posted By: roundy
Took a road trip to pickup a pontoon to make into a floating dock. Almost lost one wheel when lug bolts worked loose, but things worked out. Look at the size of the pontoons on it, they are huge, like the better part of three foot across. Aluminum parts are fine but everything else is trash, thinking about putting Trex on it for decking. When new it was very deluxe with power folding canopy, solar panels to charge batteries, microwave, small fridge, and fresh water system with some type of privy setup. This will probably end up a indoor winter project for use next year.


Pontoon Dock and Walkway

Roundy, this is what we did. We thought Trex would be too heavy for the boat. We put carpet on it but I would advise against doing that as it just traps moisture.

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Trex is a bit over 2X as heavy as 3/4 marine plywood when both are dry. Trex doesn't absorb water but plywood tends to get much heavier if continuously exposed to moisture. Add carpet and I don't think there would be a huge difference after a few seasons. That aside, for dock usage, the removal of the motor and the old furniture would more than make up the difference. I bought an old 14 ft flatboat that had a plywood, foam, and aluminum subfloor in it. The continuous moisture caused the aluminum to corrode and leak in multiple spots. When I took it to the salvage yard to scrap it, a boat that should have weighed under 200 pounds crossed the scale at 541 pounds. That made up the price difference between dirty and clean aluminum prices.

I plan to do a pictorial of the conversion process if there is any interest.

Last edited by roundy; 06/24/19 09:37 AM.
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Dock construction crew got a visit from our fake alligator today....



Fishing has never been about the fish....

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Last week, Wife and I spent 5 days at our place. She got on a tractor and mowed the 4 or 5 acre front pasture while I used chain saw, limb saw and sweat to clean up old dead junk around the house. Hauled off 2 16 ft trailer loads to make brush piles. Took 2 days to get it all done and I still need to put in another day around the house. Getting HOT!!

Did some fishing and got some surprises. After the cormorants hit me, I've done some restocking of 3-4 inch BG, 15 pounds of FHM and a dozen 6 inch HSB's. But what they left behind is a mystery. I knew I had some larger BG left because they come to feed. I generally only use Stubby Steves for BG. Decided to try a small feathered jig instead. I caught 4 bass about 8 inches long and tossed them back. That surprised me because I've seen no bass action. But, the big surprise was a channel cat of about 3 pounds. I don't recall stocking them in the last 20+ years but it was a healthy fish and I released it. Also hung what I figure was some larger HSB's that got hung up in structure. I would like to get them out but that might take some effort.


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Set a minnow trap in the current of the spillway overflow and caught probably 50 shiners about2-1/2” long so I guess the shiners are still spawning. Another happening was right at dark I noticed fish circling on the surface in several places along the dam..... could this be shad doing a mating dance?

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I shut down my deep aerator and put it on a timer to run at night only today, temps are warming up quick here. I sat on the dock and dangled my legs in the water for a bit, I had 2" to 3" GSH nibbling on my leg hair within a few minutes. While I was sitting there I noticed a male FHM in spawning colors dancing around underneath a submerged smartweed leaf.



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Stopped by the property today and seen the contractor had set out flags for the second pond. It should be about an acre or so.

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Even with three days of cloud cover, nighttime temps in the 70s and rain, the pond is still hanging around 80 on top. With the installation of my DIY fountain in place, I've decided to turn my bottom aeration off for the summer and try using surface aeration only. It has done an amazing job of controlling PA blooms so far and I hope the to be able to maintain some decent DO as well as cooler temps in the mid depths. As soon as daytime temps reach the mid 80s again, and stay there or cooler, I'll be switching back to the diffuser and let it run 24/7.


.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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Planted some japanese millet around the edge today.

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I was walking around the pond this evening and found a swarm of BH fry. First swarm I've seen in two years and definitely the freshest hatch I've found. They were hold up right against the bank in the middle of all my BG beds. Grabbed my dip sein net and was able to remove about 3/4 of the swarm in one fell swoop.

As small as these suckers are, it's amazing how much fire those spines still carry when they poke you.

Think I'll spend part of the 4th catching catfish.

[img]https://photos.app.goo.gl/inrQmaoLAPWHQWbXA[/img]

Last edited by Mike Whatley; 07/02/19 06:43 PM.

.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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That is some first-rate trotline bait right there.

I'd put those suckers in a tank and size em up.

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Originally Posted By: Augie
That is some first-rate trotline bait right there.

I'd put those suckers in a tank and size em up.


I got plenty big enough for that already. As soon as I get my gatortail tuned up, I'll be setting a line or two in search of a couple of big flathead.


.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 morning I was looking over the pond and noticed an area where I saw some flashing and disturbance on the ponds surface. After more investigation and using the boat for scouting, I believe I have had a TFS spawn a short time back. I did manage to get close enough to see a small fry or two (about an inch long) so I am guessing they were small TFS. As I approached the schooling fish they would dive deeper so I did not get a real good look at them. I don't know of any other fish in the pond that would school up like that unless it would be Golden shiners and I am not sure the GSH would act the way these fry acted? Needless to say, I was pleased to see the new fry and hoping these were TFS.


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About an hour after feeding this afternoon, I went back out to the pond to try a new dry fly on my flyrod. As I stepped onto the dock I saw another swarm of BH fry, even bigger than the swarm from yesterday. I netted out a big bunch of them again and disposed of them.

I'm curious if the smell of pellets is drawing these fry up into shallow water. Both days, about an hour after feeding, is when the swarms showed up. Both were in the area where I feed, and right up against the bank.

Looks like the cloverleaf traps are gonna be getting a workout as soon as these fry get a bit bigger. They're small enough now to wiggle thru the 1/4" mesh.


.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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It rained all day here so I spent some time in the shop welding up the corner braces for the last section of walkway for my dock.


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Ordered a pond water test kit the other day. Took it to the pond yesterday.
PH is neutral, (7.0 to 7.5) 0 ammonia, nitrite is 0, Phosphates are 0 too.

Then I fished for a while.. whistle
Had six SMB on, but only got one to the boat. Boy are they a blast.


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.
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We doubt that you will ever regret stocking and raising those smallies to be the great fish they are known as. They can be a really great fish in a warm water pond when provided the right forage species and good management.

Last edited by Bill Cody; 07/05/19 08:54 AM.

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Originally Posted By: SetterGuy

Then I fished for a while.. whistle
Had six SMB on, but only got one to the boat. Boy are they a blast.


Two tips I learned from a professional SMB guide in SEMO:

1) When bottom-dragging for SMB, the first tap is often for stunning prey. Pause on the first, swing hard on the second.

2) Gear up -- use a higher gear ratio reel when fishing for SMB in relatively shallow water. When they race toward the deep water (and towards the boat), if you don't crank fast enough to keep up with them the slack in the line will allow them to throw the hook. I use a 6.3:1 but 7:1 may be better.

Last edited by Bocomo; 07/05/19 11:20 AM.
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Originally Posted By: Bill Cody
We doubt that you will ever regret stocking and raising those smallies to be the great fish they are known as. They can be a really great fish in a warm water pond when provided the right forage species and good management.


They are fun. Had a day like that last year too. They were hitting anything that went near them. I am not sure I lost any that day. Maybe they’re getting too fast for me.
They are in another aggressive state. Seeing big swirls and splashes all around the pond edge. Last year I was catching a lot of golden shiners, this year not so many. I used to think I’d never run out of FHM too. Now they are completely gone.
Went for a quick swim today after more mowing. Lots of small HBG attacking me. I’m thinking the SMB are working them over too.


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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Originally Posted By: Bocomo


Two tips I learned from a professional SMB guide in SEMO:

1) When bottom-dragging for SMB, the first tap is often for stunning prey. Pause on the first, swing hard on the second.

2) Gear up -- use a higher gear ratio reel when fishing for SMB in relatively shallow water. When they race toward the deep water (and towards the boat), if you don't crank fast enough to keep up with them the slack in the line will allow them to throw the hook. I use a 6.3:1 but 7:1 may be better.


I’ll see if I can determine my reel ratio. If I remember right they were pretty high speed. All the hits I had were taken right at the edge of the water.

Edit. I was going to fish this morning, but the water is a little warmer. Don’t want to stress the fish, or make the SMB any more hook shy. So, no fishing for now.

Last edited by SetterGuy; 07/06/19 06:08 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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I know if I could get SMB down here in the swamp, I'd have a pond full! Very special fish!! I'll take 1 over 10 LMB ANY DAY!!


.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 got tired of hand loading/unloading the little pond boat on/off the trailer to tool around the pond (and did not want it just sitting at the bank), so I built a trailer to do the job. I had to spend about 40$ at the hardware store for the hitch and some hardware. It has an extension for the hitch (not shown in picture) that keeps the tractor from having to get so close to the bank.

It's not too pretty, but matches the condition of the boat...bent up, beat up, and the trailer may hold water better than the boat!


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Last edited by Quarter Acre; 07/07/19 12:27 PM.

Fish on!,
Noel
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