Pond Boss Forums GENERAL QUESTIONS Help Pond Depth? - Next Steps?

Hi Folks,

I have a pond located on the KS, MO border just South of Kansas City. It's one acre of surface area when full. This year, it filled with some big spring rains ( did last year as well ) but is now down two feet. It's been a dry year for us with the storms tracking either North or South but we're way below normal.

I've owned the place for two years. I wanted to watch it before planning any moves. I have stocked fat heads and believe it to be void of fish.

This evening, I did good depth check. Much of the pond is currently 2-4'. I do have a deep spot by the dam which is currently 8'. I'd guess the deep hole to be 15-20 feet wide and 30-40' long. The rest of the pond is in the 2-4' range. Add 2' when full.

Is this a viable pond for stocking? There is no cover / weeds currently. Thought on my next steps?

Thanks,

LB

A shallow pond is going to have a higher percentage of water that supports weed growth. Not optimal, but you can work with that.

A shallow pond is also going to be hotter in the summer. Hotter water is less capable of holding dissolved oxygen. This puts your fish at risk of a fish kill. Once again, not optimal, but you can work with that.

Do you have AC electricity available at/near the pond? Reliable aeration would probably be a big plus for your pond.

If you stocked fatheads two years ago, it should be packed with them. Are you seeing minnows in the pond?

I do not have AC Power available. I did see minnows this spring / early summer and did have a what I believe was a spawning session where I could see them churning under some leaves but I haven't seen any latey. I put in three pallets to help the spawn but they have sank into the shallow water.

I do have a large number of crawfish and turtles. I'm not sure how hard these predators would be on the fatheads.

Interestingly, there is not a single weed in the pond. No surface scum, nothing?

If you have crawfish and no predators for them, those guys can clear a lot of vegetation.

You can still do aeration without AC electricity, but it becomes more expensive.

I would recommend a small to moderate stocking plan that matches your goals for the pond. If you have 3-4 good years before some extreme weather causes a fish kill, then you still had a pretty good run. Just start over again with whatever your budget allows.

I am definitely NOT an expert on what fish might do well in your shallow pond. Having a full acre to work with definitely does work in your advantage. (There are some threads about fish management in shallow AND tiny ponds.) I think a typical BG/LMB pond would probably work for you. Especially, if your pond already has a large population of fathead minnows and crayfish!

Why don't you post some of your goals or wishes for your pond, and then maybe some actual experts will drop into your thread and give you some good advice.

Thanks for the feedback.

My goal is to have fish for my Grandkids, currently almost 3 and 1.5 years of age ( time to start the stocking ). While I like big fish as much as the next guy, my primary goal will be to have the Boys be able to see the bobber go down.

I am overrun with crawfish. I'm guessing knocking this population down some would wise. I even had one grab my weight I was using to check the depth. He held on till I practically pulled him in.

I think a BG/LMB would work just fine for your goals. The little guys will soon be able to catch BG in your pond. As the Boys get bigger, the BG and LMB will also be getting bigger. Your timing should be almost perfect!

You actually need both the BG and LMB together to keep each other in check.

A channel catfish only pond (or with redear sunfish) should also work for you. If you feed the catfish commercial food, then they will gain weight rapidly and the kids will have quite a workout in short order.

Do not try to eliminate the crayfish. If you introduce LMB, they will feast on your crayfish!

I'd go the BG/LMB (with 25% of the BG population being RES) for the boys. After the LMB get to 14"-16" and pull off a spawn, remove any LMB that you catch that is over 14". Only remove some of the female BG. The boys will be kept busy catching the BG and small LMB.

Larry Bud - You still visit the forum. esshup has good fish mgmt information. Removing the larger LMB of 14"+ provides more room for smaller more aggressive less hook shy bass. This lets the kids catch more bass for more exciting fishing experiences. Learn how to recognize male and female bluegill and teach this information to the kids so they feel more like they are helping manage the fishery. Usually BG need to be around 7.5"-8" before the male female characters are easily recognized. More males present than females helps trend the pond toward bigger BG that again makes angling more fun for angers.

For some information about recognizing the difference between male and female BG, read, study and learn from this thread:
http://forums.pondboss.com/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=286856&page=1

Many times the healthy fast growing BG needs to be a full 7" or 8" long to usually determine the sex as male - female.
Keep in mind that the overall body hue or darkness of colors can vary widely from pond to pond due to water color and bottom composition. BG tend to have most vivid body colors and markings tend to be darkest during spawning season. Gill flap or ear lob does not change shape during the seasons. Thus the gill flap will be the same size and shape in winter as summer. As the BG gets larger the gill flap size increases in size proportional to an increase in body size. I can almost always recognize a male BG by the size & shape of the gill flap and the dark tipped scales of the nape (forehead). Sometimes these dark tipped scales extend back and down across the male's body as in the 1st picture by B.Condello in the link above. Compare the dark tipped scale pattern of fish in the 1st and last BG picture in the thread. Sometimes the overall body hue of the male with be so dark that the dark tipped scales are not readily apparent. This usually occurs in clear, brown or tannin stained water.

The Secret Sex Life of Bluegill. Why removing females is beneficial. It was reprinted from Pond Boss Magazine.
http://www.sdstate.edu/nrm/outreach/pond/upload/The-Secret-Life-of-Bluegill-Jul-Aug-2005.pdf