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Joined: May 2014
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OP
Joined: May 2014
Posts: 3,864 Likes: 298 |
Today the EZ Dock folks came out and extended my dock ten feet further into the pond. Pond is the lowest I've ever seen it, close to 2' below normal, and gangway was resting on the bottom. Good work, they finished early to beat the worst of the heat.
Anybody else doing dock work to deal with low water? How about placing artificial or natural habitat under the dock? I haven't seen much here on the subject of shade & how it impacts water temps & fish, especially in summer.
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Joined: Mar 2017
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Joined: Mar 2017
Posts: 342 Likes: 85 |
Been trying to figure out how to extend my dock. It's a floater and I'm considering extending the walkway by mounting the hing over the water instead of on the bank. Would take some pipe, cement, and welding. If I had pipe on hand would probably already be working on it.
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Joined: May 2014
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OP
Joined: May 2014
Posts: 3,864 Likes: 298 |
Cat, I have a floating dock as well. I put some brush under it five years ago, but not much of it still exists. Have you placed any structure under the dock? I know lots of people do that to attract crappie, but in my experience it's a huge draw for LMB too.
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Joined: Jan 2011
Posts: 534 Likes: 76
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Joined: Jan 2011
Posts: 534 Likes: 76 |
Our dock is not a floating one. Our pond drops several feet each winter. I shove christmas trees and other stuff under the dock each year when the water is low. It's easy to see the degeneration of the trees from year to year when the water is low. The fines are gone in a year. The larger branches last a few years then decompose. The main trunks are still around after many years.
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1 member likes this:
anthropic |
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Joined: Mar 2017
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Joined: Mar 2017
Posts: 342 Likes: 85 |
Cat, I have a floating dock as well. I put some brush under it five years ago, but not much of it still exists. Have you placed any structure under the dock? I know lots of people do that to attract crappie, but in my experience it's a huge draw for LMB too. No brush under the dock. It's for swimming too so the wife said no. What I have done is anchored a bouy a little ways to the side and tell everyone that swimming beyond it is off limits. That's where I sink brush. It's within easy casting distance. I still get a fair amount of crappie, bass, bluegills, and shiners from under the dock though.
Last edited by catscratch; 07/08/22 08:43 PM.
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1 member likes this:
anthropic |
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Joined: May 2014
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OP
Joined: May 2014
Posts: 3,864 Likes: 298 |
No swimming off our dock, so that's not an issue. However, we've had a lot of broken lines on sunken brush. Plastic habitat should be better in that respect, though admittedly imperfect. No matter what the marketing folks tell us, hang ups are always possible, even if less frequent.
I'd love to see some research into the impact of shallow water shade in summer heat. Not sure I believe theory that sunlight hurts fish eyes, but I do believe shade offers them a kind of visual cover, plus a thermal refuge when things get really hot.
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1 member likes this:
catscratch |
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Joined: Mar 2017
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Joined: Mar 2017
Posts: 342 Likes: 85 |
I too would like to see some research or hear from knowledgeable people here about it. I assume it's somewhat individualistic as I catch fish that are really dark, and some that are really pale. Maybe some individuals are ok with some sun and maybe some aren't. Or maybe the most dominant fish get the best habitat and the others have to live on the fringes?
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Joined: Apr 2002
Posts: 477 Likes: 27
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I am fortunate to have a well that I can feed my pond with so I keep it level during the heat of summer
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Joined: May 2014
Posts: 3,864 Likes: 298
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OP
Joined: May 2014
Posts: 3,864 Likes: 298 |
I am fortunate to have a well that I can feed my pond with so I keep it level during the heat of summer I'll bet that also helps mitigate heat somewhat. Do you have to oxygenate or treat the well water?
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
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Joined: Jul 2015
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Joined: Jul 2015
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I have a dock in the middle of my lake. If you want to catch a fish, that is the first place to go. It is about a foot off the water so you can get a bait under it. With the dock, don't know if it is shade, protection from birds or water temp but the fish are there. 60% of my lake is so thick with timber you really have to work to get a boat into it.
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anthropic, catscratch |
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Joined: May 2014
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OP
Joined: May 2014
Posts: 3,864 Likes: 298 |
I have a dock in the middle of my lake. If you want to catch a fish, that is the first place to go. It is about a foot off the water so you can get a bait under it. With the dock, don't know if it is shade, protection from birds or water temp but the fish are there. 60% of my lake is so thick with timber you really have to work to get a boat into it. I hadn't really considered protection from bird predators, but that makes perfect sense. Probably doesn't help much against cormorants, but herons, eagles, kingfishers would be hampered.
Last edited by anthropic; 07/10/22 06:34 PM.
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
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Joined: Jan 2009
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Moderator Ambassador Field Correspondent Lunker
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Moderator Ambassador Field Correspondent Lunker
Joined: Jan 2009
Posts: 28,541 Likes: 845 |
Been trying to figure out how to extend my dock. It's a floater and I'm considering extending the walkway by mounting the hing over the water instead of on the bank. Would take some pipe, cement, and welding. If I had pipe on hand would probably already be working on it. https://www.dockbuilders.com/shop-by-category/floating-docks/floating-dock-framing-hardware.htmlUse male and female "T" connectors and back up plates, or use outside and inside corner male/females with the inside corner bracket. Use the 3/4" connector pin set to mate them together.
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Joined: Apr 2002
Posts: 477 Likes: 27
Member
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Member
Joined: Apr 2002
Posts: 477 Likes: 27 |
I am fortunate to have a well that I can feed my pond with so I keep it level during the heat of summer I'll bet that also helps mitigate heat somewhat. Do you have to oxygenate or treat the well water? No I do not - we use the well water in our home - had it tested and was told it is better than municipal water - only issue is it is hard but our softener takes care of that
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Joined: Mar 2017
Posts: 342 Likes: 85
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Joined: Mar 2017
Posts: 342 Likes: 85 |
Been trying to figure out how to extend my dock. It's a floater and I'm considering extending the walkway by mounting the hing over the water instead of on the bank. Would take some pipe, cement, and welding. If I had pipe on hand would probably already be working on it. https://www.dockbuilders.com/shop-by-category/floating-docks/floating-dock-framing-hardware.htmlUse male and female "T" connectors and back up plates, or use outside and inside corner male/females with the inside corner bracket. Use the 3/4" connector pin set to mate them together. Thanks for the link. Those aren't bad prices! I already have the dock and hing built though, just thinking of moving it further out into the water which would require new anchoring to the bank (not new hinges). I do like those though!
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Joined: May 2011
Posts: 1,752 Likes: 33
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Joined: May 2011
Posts: 1,752 Likes: 33 |
We have 40 feet of walkway to our dock. One 20 foot section is fixed to bank and fixed in height. We have a giant rod that connects the sections. The other 20 foot section along with the dock is allowed to pivot with the variations in water level. Here's pictures: https://forums.pondboss.com/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=269335
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Joined: Mar 2017
Posts: 342 Likes: 85
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Joined: Mar 2017
Posts: 342 Likes: 85 |
Wow, that's exactly what I want to do. Right now my pivot is mounted to bank. Want to extend a solid walkway out like you did to put the pivoting section further out into the lake. Nice work! I was just in Edmond last night and this morning...
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1 member likes this:
jludwig |
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Joined: Apr 2020
Posts: 126 Likes: 28
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Joined: Apr 2020
Posts: 126 Likes: 28 |
My docks are on pilings, 6x6 posts. When I had them redecked last year, we extended the T dock 4 feet by cantelevering, extending the floor joists out 4 feet beyond the rim joist and back 6 feet to the back of the T. It's quite solid and provides extra seating and standing area, and it provides a bigger shade area under. I already had several trees at the end of the dock so they are now under the extension.
Ross Canant
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2 members like this:
anthropic, catscratch |
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Joined: May 2011
Posts: 1,752 Likes: 33
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Joined: May 2011
Posts: 1,752 Likes: 33 |
Wow, that's exactly what I want to do. Right now my pivot is mounted to bank. Want to extend a solid walkway out like you did to put the pivoting section further out into the lake. Nice work! I was just in Edmond last night and this morning... Hit me up the next time if you are in Edmond regularly. This is only about 40 minutes away from Edmond.
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Joined: Mar 2017
Posts: 342 Likes: 85
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Joined: Mar 2017
Posts: 342 Likes: 85 |
Wow, that's exactly what I want to do. Right now my pivot is mounted to bank. Want to extend a solid walkway out like you did to put the pivoting section further out into the lake. Nice work! I was just in Edmond last night and this morning... Hit me up the next time if you are in Edmond regularly. This is only about 40 minutes away from Edmond. Will do, but I'm not there often and when I am it's to see a buddy I grew up with. Usually have plans and no idle time.
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Joined: May 2011
Posts: 1,752 Likes: 33
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Joined: May 2011
Posts: 1,752 Likes: 33 |
Wow, that's exactly what I want to do. Right now my pivot is mounted to bank. Want to extend a solid walkway out like you did to put the pivoting section further out into the lake. Nice work! I was just in Edmond last night and this morning... Hit me up the next time if you are in Edmond regularly. This is only about 40 minutes away from Edmond. Will do, but I'm not there often and when I am it's to see a buddy I grew up with. Usually have plans and no idle time. Understand that.
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1 member likes this:
catscratch |
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