Pond Boss Forums GENERAL QUESTIONS Property Projects & Construction What did you do at your pond today?

We had a big rain here overnight, so I went out this morning to see what things looked like at the pond.
Got at least 4" new water. Before the rain it was starting to clear up. Now it's murky again and running a good stream over the spillway.

But that's not really the interesting part.

I noticed a swirl in the water that just kept going around in a circle. Looked closer and saw it was a GSH about 6"-7" sized.
It was just out there doing donuts at the surface. I stood and watched and it just kept on making circle after circle - about 3' circumference,
each circle bringing it a bit closer to the shore. Eventually it wound up laying on its side in the APW maybe six inches from dry land.

I tried to grab it for inspection, but when I got almost close enough to reach it that thing took off like it was shot from a cannon and was gone.

Any idea what that was all about?

Mine do that late in the evening..... spawning maneuver I think

I've been googling it all afternoon. Haven't found a thing that describes the actual egg-laying behavior, but I would bet that you're right.

Found this by the pond last night. Can any tell me what it is? Kids think it might be a salamander.

Looks like a salamander, but not a good enough picture to tell the species. They are a sign of good environmental conditions.

Salamanders are cool.

Been catching and cleaning a lot of fish to try and thin the herd before hot weather. Moving some SMB from the SMB/RES pond to the main pond as we reduce the numbers of HBG and CC out of the main pond.

Wife found a good way to process fish. The small pin bones in the BG after filleting she always just tried to pick them out before frying. Since she has been canning some fish, now she just cuts that skirt of the fillet off. That leaves what I would describe as the tenderloin if it were a hog. A perfect boneless fish stick. Then she takes the skirt of the fillet and instead of picking or cutting the bones out, just puts them in the canning jars and cans that portion. The bones come out soft and edible after the pressure canning process just like sardine bones.

Canned BG is really delicious. One of our favorite ways is to take a pint jar of our canned BG, add one tin of sardines in olive oil, add one tine of Kipper Snacks smoked herring, dill pickle relish, mustard and some times some mayo and capers. Fish salad (think tuna salad). Sometimes chop up a couple boiled eggs in it too.

Along with a bag of pork rinds makes a great keto/low carb lunch for two. Very tasty. The little bit of smoke taste from the Kippers and the oily sardines really adds to the taste of the otherwise very mild canned BG.

Tried canning some CC but will not do that again. The CC just breaks down into kind of mush. Not enough structure of the meat. But the canned BG turns out very much like the consistency of canned tuna. We will continue to just freeze the CC for fresh consumption.

I figure with the cost of feed, pond construction, aeration and maintenance we have estimated about a thousand dollars a pound in our delicious fish. But hey, who's counting.

Interesting.

I had never thought about canning BG.

Heck, I never thought about how much they were costing me per pound!

Don't look at the cost per pound Bob Lusk talks of the cost for having a pond verses a bass boat and a new truck to pull it for cost comparison. I might argue that I could buy two trucks for what has been spent on the pond when comparing the cost lol

Same here Tracy. I was tongue in cheek when I estimated the cost per pound It is likely a lot higher than I even said.

It is a hobby. A place to throw money down a hole that makes no sense other than it makes us happy. Something to keep us out of the bars and drinking ourselves to death. We have to occupy our time with something. Better it be something that is non-self-destructive.

John

Did six more loads of "leg day" in the Ranger, about halfway through a second ring of rock around the pond

Surprised but pleased to catch a Lone Star Legacy Florida bass with the trademark blue-green splotch near the head. It was about 13-14 inches long, solidly built, right on the edge of being harvested until I saw the color.

Haven't stocked any LSL bass since 2016, not sure how they were doing. So glad some have flourished & are reproducing. Will see how many more there are in electrosurvey on Tuesday.

Lots of large CNBG around 1 lb. Had a setback in fall of 2017 when my bigger CNBG died after a severe cold snap, but they've made a comeback. Buddy saw a RBT near the feeder, so I guess a few are still alive.

By the way, I've noticed that since my water viz went down below 2 feet (usually around 4 feet), the HSB have gone crazy at the feeders & on lures. Could be just a coincidence, could be warmer water. Anybody else notice something similar?

Hope everyone is having as peaceful evening as this. I love this time of year. 65 degrees at 8:00. The wife has named our pond "LAKE STRINGER". Gotta say i like it. Lol

That’s a lot of rock to haul with that Ranger. Are you loading it by hand? Hope not. You’re a tougher man than I.

Yes...I dunno about tougher, cheaper perhaps :-)

Triaxle delivered 22.5T, not sure how much we're putting in the bed of the Ranger each load but it has a pretty healthy squat before we go dump it and place the rock by hand.

Thankfully for me, wife and young boys are onboard with helping...loading the Ranger only takes about 5 minutes with unloading and setting another 5-7.

Where did you get the rock Paul? I have a couple of ditches I need to slow the runoff in but cant seem to find large rock anywhere near me in central Texas.

I've got two limestone quarries within 15 miles of my property.

22.5T of 6-9" rip-rap was $370 delivered.

Thanks Paul

Cisco! I live in Cisco and the pond is in Mortin Valley. Would love to show you my place and see yours. Vulcan south of Eastland has rock. I know a couple people who can haul it. Know anyone who can get bulk river gravel out here?
Tonight I caught some pond record BG I stocked 1.5 yrs ago and a 12in LMB that clearly washed in. Pond is getting fun! The water has 30in visibility which means the BH are getting managed by the CC and everything else!!!! 2000+ YOY and 100+ 8-15in BH removed in the last year. I've stopped counting.

We had very heavy rains this spring on top of already saturated ground a high water table. A dam burst in Midland, MI, and the whole downtown is under 6-8' of water! Our pond overflowed into the woods again. Last night I saw this thrashing in the water near the overflow area. Turns out the largest spotfin shiners are thrashing in the 2" water and trying to get into the 1" water and wriggle through the grass to get over to the other puddle of remaining overflow water. They keep trying and trying. They must have strong instinct to swim 'upstream' or to keep moving.

The thrashing and splashing of course attracted not one but 2 GBH this morning and the kingfisher has been chattering away and swooping for breakfast.

If I get close the ball of fish breaksup and they go back to safety. I had to use my super zoom camera from an upstairs bedroom to video this and where you can kind of see the thrashing. I noticed when I walked closer that it is only the largest sized shiners doing this. Have not seen this before but somehow they knew that this was the 'exit' to the pond..

I love these evenings. I hope it stays like this all Memorial weekend.

Great video. Are spotfin shiners native to your part of the country?

Rusto, that's a wonderful pic. Sometimes I need reminding that it's not just about raising & catching fish.

We all need reminded from time to time...

Off and on rain this Memorial Day weekend.

#1. Caught another otter in a trap.
#2. Saw an Eastern Yellow Belly Racer Snake....never seen a snake move that fast thru grass.
#3. Caught a snapping turtle, a black bass and several catfish on hot dogs.