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#519250 04/11/20 10:41 PM
Joined: Sep 2019
Posts: 7
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Greetings pond people. First post. I bought a piece of ground in the mountains here in Virginia about a year ago. It has a 1/2 acre pond fed from a spring branch that comes down off the mountain and runs all year, or at least all last year. It is about 10' deep in the middle and averages around 4' deep 20' off the banks. It hasn't been tended to in years and has accumulated about 2' of muck and leaves around the perimeter, however the central part of the pond has a hard bottom. When I bought the place last March it was crystal clear out to about 4' in depth, but by June it was completely covered with water meal.
I didn't have much time to work on the pond over the year but I did accomplish some things.
I had a friend of mine rework and repair the dam with a dozer and put in a new, larger culvert. Then while we had the mini-excavator there I had him clear all the trees and shrubs and stumps that had grown up around the pond over the years.
Then I ran electric service down there and installed an air pump and diffuser and spread some MuckAway around. In September I finally treated the water meal with Clipper. Once at the beginning of the month and then again at the end of the month. Using a 15 gallon spray tank in a little jon boat. It put a big dent in the stuff, but a couple weeks later it all went into it's resting stage and sank so it's hard to say how successful.
We've had some warm days already this spring and the meal has started showing up, and when a breeze blew it all into one 30' strip of shoreline I couldn't resist but mixing up some Clipper in a 2 gallon sprayer and hitting it again even though the water is still pretty cold.
I thought the pond had no fish left even though neighbors have told me they used to catch big bass out of it years ago. However I have been seeing a lot of small bluegills this spring and caught a few in a minnow trap.
There may be some kind of minnows present but haven't caught any yet. I saw a shoal about ten feet around break the surface all at once like something was chasing them. The pond is full of newts which leads me to believe there are no sizable fish in there. I haven't had any luck fishing. Also lots of frogs and turtles. I've seen a couple big snappers in there.
I'm thinking maybe the bluegills are stunted from the water meal which has been covering the pond for at least 15 years. Which probably also explains the water clarity and lack of algae. If I'm successful in holding the water meal at bay this spring can I expect an explosion of FA?
I am not planning on stocking any fish now, but thought I might put some minnows in there this spring. I'm not far from Zetts Hatchery and they have bull minnows, fathead minnows, rosey red minnows, and silver shiners. I don't know how accurate their nomenclature is, but any suggestions or advice would be appreciated. I don't want to put something in there that turns out to be a mistake. I was thinking about trapping or seining some minnows out of the local creeks around here.
Zetts also sells several types of snails, daphnia, and several types of crayfish (Red and "common").
So in the coming weeks I was thinking I would add another diffuser to the existing air pump.
Maybe get another pump and sink standard soaker hose around the perimeter using it to get more air into the muck, in conjunction with more MuckAway or something similar.
I also have built a floating deck with 55 gal drums that I was thinking of using for a trash pump to pump out some of that muck and leaves.
So that's where I'm at. Any advice or suggestions would be appreciated, unless your going to advise me to drain the pond and excavate, which I can't afford.
This pond is like a little gem in the mountains, and I think it was once a great little pond. When we cleared around it we found benches, a picnic table, a fire pit. All covered by overgrowth. Someone had one time planted flowers all around and they are coming up now. It has a dock that's usable and sturdy. I'm hoping to rejuvenate this pond and restock it maybe next year. This forum has taught me everything I know about ponds so far, and I appreciate all y'all do. Sorry about the long post and thanks in advance for any thoughts or advice.
Steve

Joined: Jan 2006
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Welcome to PB.


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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