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I got some pond water test kits I'm going to use this weekend. The cheap ones off amazon.

Ive found my Craw supplier- Toledo Goldfish. Ill be getting 300 and oredering for delivery later this month.

Minnows and shiners i'm ordering from Andersons minnows.
Chose them because thjey also sell shiner FRY so I'm looking to get
10 lbs FHM
8lbs Rosie Minnows
10 lbs brooder sized Shiners
250k shiner fry
All for around 1k, delivered in march as the water warms up for spawning.
If I have the time I'm going to set up a grow out tank for ~ half those shiners.

Before the fish are delivered I want a minimum of another 30lbs of bass out of the pond, and to build out the "fish hacthery" area better with xmas trees and such after the holidays.

Other project is a pier or two... If buying the wood doesnt bankrupt me


Im going to ask a lot of questions, but only because I'm clueless


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Have a good supply of "green water" for those fry in the tank.


www.hoosierpondpros.com


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3/4 to 1 1/4 ac pond LMB, SMB, PS, BG, RES, CC, YP, Bardello BG, (RBT & Blue Tilapia - seasonal).
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Originally Posted by CityDad
Before the fish are delivered I want a minimum of another 30lbs of bass out of the pond

Sounds like the CityDad bass fishing adventure is about to get fired up again.

Good luck!

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CityDad Offline OP
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Esshup- Do you mean fertilized water?

Yea ive been carving out more time lately but the darned fish moved *again* so Sunday I have a buddy coming and we're gonna figure out where they are together.

Now that my pig set up is relatively stable I can focus more on the relaxing fun stuff vs hard work fun stuff.

I found a YUGE Tilapia (3ish lbs) that something dragged out of the pond and left on the trail. Damn turtles need to be told to stop wasting fish!


Im going to ask a lot of questions, but only because I'm clueless


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Originally Posted by CityDad
Esshup- Do you mean fertilized water?

Yes, but the color of the water is green and the clarity isn't much more than a foot.


www.hoosierpondpros.com


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Yea in February Ill have my work cut out for myself setting it up, but Ithink its a worthwhile investment.
You think I'm crazy?


Got some fishing time in. Saw a bunch of bass chasing bait but wouldnt nibble my hook.
Except one. Culled a 1lber. If I can do 2 of those a week from here till march Ill get where I want to be before teh swimmers go in I guess. haha..... (im really bad at this)

Most impressive thing today was seeing ~2lber jump a clean foot out of the water.

Dipped my minnow net in and caught a bunch of gams including some baby gams. Glad to see they are still doing well. I think I saw (but didnt catch) some 2" bluegill.

A few Large Tilapia gave me a friendly wave, maybe they were looking for their friend I saw on the bank before.

Have yall shipped live fish this time of year? I'm worried about holiday postal delays killing them


Im going to ask a lot of questions, but only because I'm clueless


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Originally Posted by CityDad
Yea in February Ill have my work cut out for myself setting it up, but Ithink its a worthwhile investment.
You think I'm crazy?


Got some fishing time in. Saw a bunch of bass chasing bait but wouldnt nibble my hook.
Except one. Culled a 1lber. If I can do 2 of those a week from here till march Ill get where I want to be before teh swimmers go in I guess. haha..... (im really bad at this)

Most impressive thing today was seeing ~2lber jump a clean foot out of the water.

Dipped my minnow net in and caught a bunch of gams including some baby gams. Glad to see they are still doing well. I think I saw (but didnt catch) some 2" bluegill.




A few Large Tilapia gave me a friendly wave, maybe they were looking for their friend I saw on the bank before.

Have yall shipped live fish this time of year? I'm worried about holiday postal delays killing them

City of course your crazy….. just like the rest of us! Lol

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It warmed up a bunch today and yesterday. I had to wear shorts!

The warmer weather had the bass out and prowling, I only had a few minutes and got some nibbles, but saw a school of ~8 14-16" bass patrolling, and a few large tilapia chilling.

Also the plecos... oh the plecos... Darn you aquarium owners...

Had someone notpick up 5 lbs of dog food i had from my last pig butchered so I threw a frozen ball of pork into an area where there are lots of minnows. I assume they will eat it... I'm sure something will.

Had a few nibbles in the 20 minutes I had between chores and working from the hotspot but no strong bites/hooksets.

I'm worried that the water leevls are so darn low! Someone send us a few good day long storms eh?


Im going to ask a lot of questions, but only because I'm clueless


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I had a few hours to fish the other day. Lots of bass activity but again I'm awful at this frown

Had 2 on the line and got them to the canoe before they got off. Both looked 16-19 inches and kinda skinny definitely needed culling. They were feeding liek crazy up against some grasses.

Got my hands on some scrap PVC, I'm gonna work on it this week and drop it in a spot I always think bass *should* be but havent found them. A drop off right next to an island that has baitfish around it near the outlet that my 'hatchery' area is going to be when I grab xmas trees


I saw on IG a pond biologist recomended adding gizzard shad when bass start getting bigger.

Anyone have success with this? MIght be something to consider in my spring stocking plan. Thoughts?


Im going to ask a lot of questions, but only because I'm clueless


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Originally Posted by CityDad
I had a few hours to fish the other day. Lots of bass activity but again I'm awful at this frown

Had 2 on the line and got them to the canoe before they got off. Both looked 16-19 inches and kinda skinny definitely needed culling. They were feeding liek crazy up against some grasses.

Got my hands on some scrap PVC, I'm gonna work on it this week and drop it in a spot I always think bass *should* be but havent found them. A drop off right next to an island that has baitfish around it near the outlet that my 'hatchery' area is going to be when I grab xmas trees


I saw on IG a pond biologist recomended adding gizzard shad when bass start getting bigger.

Anyone have success with this? MIght be something to consider in my spring stocking plan. Thoughts?

Unless your bass are all big (as in 5# or so) don't do it. There are many threads on here about them. Go back to that biologist and read what his definition of "bigger" is and what other forage fish are in that particular BOW he was talking about.


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Roger that.

Im gonna stick to current plan- Craws, minnows, Shiners, bluegill

Last edited by CityDad; 12/21/21 03:45 PM.

Im going to ask a lot of questions, but only because I'm clueless


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Bite was on the other day. Got a few hours in the canoe. Lost 2, caught one that was nice and chonky but my battery was dead in the scale so I couldnt weigh him.
Well over 3 pounds, maybe over 4.
I have a few pictures ill post later.
Also caught one that was cullable.

Managed to get crazy sick afterwards. Maybe poseidon is mad at me for culling fish? Its not covid at least...


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Question for braintrust- if i wanted to fertilize to help baitish out, What test do i do to see if thats a good idea


Im going to ask a lot of questions, but only because I'm clueless


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Originally Posted by CityDad
Question for braintrust- if i wanted to fertilize to help baitish out, What test do i do to see if thats a good idea

You need a Secchi disk and a swimming pool test kit to test Alkalinity. Don't fertilize if the secchi disk reading is less than 36" and do not fertilize if your alkalinity reading is less than 40, although I'd prefer it to be higher than that. (mine is 180).


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esshup,

Are there any seasonal considerations when using a Secchi disk reading as a proxy for the algae and plankton density?

If so, what are the modifications to these considerations for ponds in Florida, versus Indiana, versus northern Minnesota?

Finally, is there any value in fertilizing when your pond has a Secchi disk reading of less than 36", but there are bottom feeding fish that are stirring up the sediments as a major contributor of the water murkiness? (Or is the lack of available sunlight in the water column probably already the limiting factor for the growth of photosynthesizing organisms?)

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Is that 36" rule hard and fast? I've got one of them florida brown water ponds, it's clearing up right now but I'm not sure if itll get to 36"


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FishingRod:

The seasonal considerations are the same as when you fertilize the lawns. If the water temp is too cool to grow planktonic algae, then there is no need to fertilize. In other words, don't fertilize if the plants aren't growing because the phytoplankton won't be growing that fast either. If you DO fertilize then, and the water warms up, you could have too dense of a bloom and create a fish kill. That is all dependent on the alkalinity of the water too.

No, I don't believe there is any benefit to fertilizing the pond if the clarity is less than 36" due to suspended sediment from bottom feeders. The bloom won't receive enough sunlight to really grow - diminished returns for the $$ spent.

CityDad, there are no hard and fast rules for ponds, i.e. "if the clarity is 35" don't fertilize", but without checking the alkalinity first and making sure it is high enough that it allows the fertilizer to be used, it's a waste of $$. Sort of like fertilizing your crops without getting a soil test done. You can pour a ton of it on them, but if the pH isn't right the crops cannot utilize the nutrients.


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Makes sense esshup
I got a bunch of the cheap pond testers Im planning on using. this week. Planning on rowing around and dropping in a few.
Getting that stomach bug over xmas set me back a hair frown Didn't finish my new barn which shoulda been done last week.
but I did get a garmin so I can map my pond and a real bump board so I can measure better. So... theres that?

The co I was going to use for craws website says they are out. Hopefully they tell me next week they have em ins tock. Grr

Managed to collect 2 xmas trees, unfortunately all the yards sold out so couldnt get more than that.

Think I'll also invest ina pile of rocks, but dont tell my wife or she will eyeroll so hard they might fall out of their sockets.


Im going to ask a lot of questions, but only because I'm clueless


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Random question....

Yall have a good reference page for trying to ID fish when they are in the water?

Right now the best I can do is assume pale fish are tilapia and dark fish are bass.


Im going to ask a lot of questions, but only because I'm clueless


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Originally Posted by CityDad
Random question....

Yall have a good reference page for trying to ID fish when they are in the water?

Right now the best I can do is assume pale fish are tilapia and dark fish are bass.

There is so much to ID'ing fish in the water that it would be difficult to put to print. Then there is the difference in colors of fish due to their habitat which also throws a level of difficulty in ID'ing the fish in the water. It can be done, but not with 100% certainty, and it just takes time and eperience to do it.


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I agree with esshup that experience will definitely help with your ID ability.

I will add that human brains have an amazing capacity for "pattern recognition". If you watch the fish off your dock or shoreline for 10-15 minutes, then I expect your ID ability will improve even during that short time window.

I was recently at a friend's pond watching the tilapia hanging out among his other fish. I said that they looked like SMB in the water to me. However, after 10 minutes of observing them at many different angles, and motions through the water, and the way they held themselves when they were just hanging in the water, my brain began readily identifying the tilapia. It became so clear what they were, that I kind of couldn't believe that I couldn't see it before!

I think our brains can easily take hundreds or thousands of "snapshots" of the fish in the water and then integrate that data into a whole, easily identified fish that gets plugged into our memory.

In the future, you will probably be able to glance down at your shallow water and your eyes will send your brain a "snapshot" view of three fish in the water, and your brain will instantly go - LMB, LMB, tilapia.

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Had a little time to fish yesterday and found a 1lb to cull. Also had either baby bass or bluegill play with some worms for a while which was fun to watch (they'd pull the tail around and then let go).
What do they think they are going to accomplish? Bite off a piece and run before whatever it is turns around? Silly fishies...

Then I just canoed around for a bit and enjoyed scenery. Cause.... its beautiful here smile

Toledo Goldfish doesn't know when theyll have more craws frown anyone else have a supplier that ships? I wanted to get them in for jan/feb spawning season... Oh well I guess

Waiting for my Xmas trees to shed their greenery before adding them is the best move, right?


Im going to ask a lot of questions, but only because I'm clueless


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Originally Posted by CityDad
Waiting for my Xmas trees to shed their greenery before adding them is the best move, right?

One of our Boy Scout fund raisers was to offer curb-side pick up of Christmas trees. We would take them to the City drop-off sites. (The City mulched the trees.)

If there is a similar situation in your area, you could pick up a trailer load of trees in a single location.


P.S. I threw our 2020 Christmas tree into a burn pile at our farm, that I didn't burn due to dry conditions last year. I noticed the tree when I drove by last week - because it still had greenish needles on it and everything else at the farm was brown or gray!

Hopefully, you don't have to slap your trees on the ground a few times before you can put them in your pond!

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Most of my fishing lately has been with my 4y/o in the canoe.

And it's magical. He talks and laughs the whole time. My canoe is sketch as heck though, gonna need to upgrade it.

We havent caught a real fish together, but I dropped the net in the water to scoop up minnows for him to look at and found something I expected/didnt expect

A solitary TFS fry chillin with the Gams

I assumed I had a small number of those in here somewhere based on Bass activity but hadn't actually seen them yet.

I think I've also seen 2" bluegill schooling but they may have been tilapia (pale with stripes could be either in my pond, out of reach of my net).


Wish craws would get restocked.....


Im going to ask a lot of questions, but only because I'm clueless


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Really wanted to have craws in for mating season, but it looks like that isn't panning out frown I can't find anyone who has them in stock.

Best I can do is have a local seafood wholesaler get me some craws from louisianna next month.

Sunday my buddy and I are going to put in a full day of fishing though smile That will be nice


Im going to ask a lot of questions, but only because I'm clueless


5-20 Acres in Florida. Bass/Tilapia/Bowfin/Gator
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