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#530480 02/11/21 09:49 AM
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My forage pond is full of CNBG, which normally have no problem overwintering. But not when temps get down to 5 F next week. Unfortunately, CNBG are more vulnerable to cold than BG, so...

Think I'm gonna drain the forage pond tomorrow. Fish won't be handled, but of course the sudden change in location will stress them. I'm betting that, despite the extra stress, they will still be better off in the main BOW where they can find much better thermal refuge.

Not happy about this, but I see no good choice.


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




anthropic #530487 02/11/21 10:21 AM
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It's a tough call.


Excerpt from Robert Crais' "The Monkey's Raincoat:"
"She took another microscopic bite of her sandwich, then pushed it away. Maybe she absorbed nutrients from her surroundings."

anthropic #530488 02/11/21 10:30 AM
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We will have snow over ice for quite a while here in central Indiana. I expect this will result in a partial fish kill in at least one of my three ponds with fish in them. No aeration, so that is how things go. Not brave enough to venture out to try and clean off some of the ice. Its been cold, but the snow fell on weak ice and I know that it acts as an insulator.

anthropic #530491 02/11/21 10:43 AM
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anthropic, what are the surface water temps for both ponds?

We've had the hatchery pond temporarily freeze over thick enough to bounce a brick off of, and I don't recall losing any CNBG, or if we did, the numbers were minimal. This round of cold weather will last longer though. As Sunil said, it's a tough call.


AL

anthropic #530492 02/11/21 10:44 AM
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If it makes y'all feel any better I will have ice cover and snow for 3 more months.......


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anthropic #530496 02/11/21 11:17 AM
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The ice cover is the key.. No ice=super cooling water (possible disaster).. Iced over=uniform temps (best case).
anthropic, did you decide not to pump water slowly from bottom of main pond into forage pond??

Snipe #530500 02/11/21 12:57 PM
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We don’t get ice except out of the freezer..we probably will Monday though. Its29 our and raining! Go figure

anthropic #530504 02/11/21 03:12 PM
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Did I read about a 100 car pile up with deaths? Was it icy or snowy? in Texas? Wow sounds terrible. Every year even Michigan drivers have to relearn how to stay at a safe distance, keep a safe speed and how to maneuver on snow and ice. It takes a little to get your snow driving skills again

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Originally Posted by canyoncreek
Did I read about a 100 car pile up with deaths? Was it icy or snowy? in Texas? Wow sounds terrible. Every year even Michigan drivers have to relearn how to stay at a safe distance, keep a safe speed and how to maneuver on snow and ice. It takes a little to get your snow driving skills again

That wreck was about 10 miles from me in Fort Worth. Icy roads. I think be it started near the bottom of the hill and when people crested the hill and saw it they couldn't stop. Wrecks went on for 1.5 miles. 5 deaths last i saw.

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Looks like we're about 120 miles south, Boerne TX, but on this north side of a hill it's stuck at 30 with sleet and freezing rain, the trees and wood decks are already heavily coated in ice, and I don't trust any of the forecast highs for the next several days (after all, it's now 30, not the forecast 38). Forecast 40 tomorrow, I'll take the under. Our little pond would make its own cloud of fog but the wind blows it away at twenty mph. I thought I had until Saturday morning to disconnect hoses and run faucets, but there I was slipping about this morning on accumulated sleet. I think the forecasts are chasing this arctic blast (like in 1983 and 1989), we now have more freezing rain forecast for tonight and again Saturday and then twenty-four hours of "occasional" snow starting Sunday noon...and more damn freezing rain next Wednesday morning (end of forecast! Is this endless?!) I just hope the forecasts are wrong about spending hours in the teens mid-morning Monday (what a norther blow) and eleven hours in the teens starting Monday evening (whereat all the heat of the earth escapes to space).


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DannyMac #530509 02/11/21 03:59 PM
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Ice is hard to deal with even when you're accustomed to it. You folks down south have my sympathies.

anthropic #530512 02/11/21 04:19 PM
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I've seen Houston come to a complete stand still over a dusting of snow. Kinda like a snow-day without the snow. lol But, I guess the northerners think it's silly to stay home with 4-6" of snow like we do here in the mid-west. Augie said it...it's what "you're accustomed to". Like now, we have been with highs in the teens or a bit lower for days and I'm thinking of moving to Texas where its a balmy 30° F.

39 days till spring!


Fish on!,
Noel
anthropic #530515 02/11/21 04:47 PM
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anthropic, it seems like a real gamble to relocate those fish for an event that is uncertain to begin with.

Is there any ways to maybe improve the water quality in the next few days to help the fish make it through in the same pond? Maybe add some salt, lightly?


Excerpt from Robert Crais' "The Monkey's Raincoat:"
"She took another microscopic bite of her sandwich, then pushed it away. Maybe she absorbed nutrients from her surroundings."

anthropic #530527 02/11/21 11:19 PM
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Frank,
If you think you can drain your pond and all the fish will go through the pipe (not likely, unless the pipe is at least 10" in diameter), go ahead. Odds are high they will perish. Not to belabor a point...those fish should have been harvested and relocated back in November. But, who knew, right?


Teach a man to grow fish...
He can teach to catch fish...
Bob Lusk #530529 02/12/21 02:39 AM
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We lost power at dark and looks like it won’t be restored till late tomorrow. Glad to have a Miller bobcat welding /generator to supply some power to the house and blower in fireplace.... otherwise it be a bit chilly... no clue what going to happen when temps drop to 4 degrees. Having carb icing on machine and it’s only 29-30 degrees.

anthropic #530531 02/12/21 06:31 AM
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Thanks for the many constructive comments. Especially from Mr Pondmeister himself!

I guess the road to Hell is paved with good intentions. I originally planned to transfer the CNBG into the main BOW and replace them with fingerling trout, which I would feed & fatten up, then release in February to fatten spawning LMB. But the trout arrived a couple of weeks late and had already grown to the point where they were good eating size for bass, so I had them put directly in main pond. We've not had a winter since the pond filled where CNBG couldn't survive in the forage place, so I thought it was pretty safe to keep them there. A bad assumption, as Bob Lusk points out.

Given that I'm in a damned if I do, damned if I don't situation, I think I'll leave things be. Maybe ice will form quickly enough on the forage pond to buffer the worst temp extremes. Unlikely, but I can always hope. It takes a while to refill the forage pond naturally, usually at least six months, so if things don't work out it is probably best to just let them die & get eaten by coons, turtles, water birds, etc. The water will still be there for stocking when it warms.

I've read several articles about sunspot cycles that predicted the 2020s/2030s would be colder. Maybe I should have paid more attention & stocked accordingly. Even in my main BOW, Florida LMB might not make it. Hopefully the F1s and NLMB will be okay.

Last edited by anthropic; 02/12/21 06:38 AM.

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




anthropic #530534 02/12/21 07:51 AM
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Why not drain the forage pond and the fish into the lake and after this is all over with go back and pump water back into the forage pond? Pump at least enough water into the forage pond to start the next plan. I would not think it would be necessary to pump the forage pond full considering we are coming up on our rainy season.


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


Tracy
anthropic #530536 02/12/21 08:19 AM
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The last time I saw it get this cold was back in or around 82 when the Red River froze over around Shreveport all the way up to the dam at Lake Texhoma and huge chunks of ice were floating down the river a few days after the freeze.


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


Tracy
anthropic #530541 02/12/21 09:47 AM
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Originally Posted by anthropic
Thanks for the many constructive comments. Especially from Mr Pondmeister himself!

I guess the road to Hell is paved with good intentions. I originally planned to transfer the CNBG into the main BOW and replace them with fingerling trout, which I would feed & fatten up, then release in February to fatten spawning LMB. But the trout arrived a couple of weeks late and had already grown to the point where they were good eating size for bass, so I had them put directly in main pond. We've not had a winter since the pond filled where CNBG couldn't survive in the forage place, so I thought it was pretty safe to keep them there. A bad assumption, as Bob Lusk points out.

Given that I'm in a damned if I do, damned if I don't situation, I think I'll leave things be. Maybe ice will form quickly enough on the forage pond to buffer the worst temp extremes. Unlikely, but I can always hope. It takes a while to refill the forage pond naturally, usually at least six months, so if things don't work out it is probably best to just let them die & get eaten by coons, turtles, water birds, etc. The water will still be there for stocking when it warms.

I've read several articles about sunspot cycles that predicted the 2020s/2030s would be colder. Maybe I should have paid more attention & stocked accordingly. Even in my main BOW, Florida LMB might not make it. Hopefully the F1s and NLMB will be okay.


IMO, You're over thinking this. Fish live under ice just fine. Stressing them during that period is as hard on you, as it is on the fish ; )

anthropic #530543 02/12/21 10:16 AM
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The GBH aren't happy as the coves in the big pond are already frozen over, and it's spreading out from the banks. We're supposed to hit -2 degrees Tuesday morning, so we've got that to look forward to.

We've got the house and hydrants ready for the cold, and spent yesterday afternoon getting the chicken coop and goat shed ready. We have carbon fiber heaters for them, so they should be fine.


AL

anthropic #530544 02/12/21 10:46 AM
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I saw this morning that the wind chills in Texas are the same as in Ohio. I feel for you guys.


"Live like you'll die tomorrow, but manage your grass like you'll live forever."
-S. M. Stirling
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anthropic #530545 02/12/21 10:51 AM
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Thanks for the reminder. It has been a long time since we have had such a long span of no thaws. My garden pond is locked solid, and the aeration line froze shut from icy condensation inside. I need to toss the electric pond water heater in there to open it up.

anthropic #530564 02/13/21 06:35 AM
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Twenty inches over four days is current prediction. Sheesh.


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




anthropic #530567 02/13/21 11:22 AM
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Going to break the record for low temp here on Monday - projected 9 degrees crazy with 77% chance of snow. eek

Last edited by ewest; 02/13/21 11:26 AM.















anthropic #530570 02/13/21 12:27 PM
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We haven't been above 13 in 10 days, low single digits at night with exception of last 2 nights at -4 and -6.. Forecast is -20 for low tomorrow night with -4 as the high.

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