Greetings. Brand new magazine subscriber and new to posting. I have a pond 3/4 acre I dug 4 years ago south suburb Chicago. I have it stocked with largemouth, smallmouth, perch, bluegil, some walley and pumpkinseed. I dug it with various ridges and steep sides just like Ray Scott's video said. Nate Herman from Herman Bros pond management has been very helpful and stocked all my fish. I have 2 aerators which I run from early May thru October typically. The pond is 25 foot deep with a secondary 20 foot hole. I had heron problems until I got two outdoor dogs to chase them away. Now I never see a heron. I have 4 smaller cat tail clusters. I have put pallets in the north side of the pond for fathead spawning. I put 10 lbs fatheads in each fall and each early spring. The bluegills are spawning and thriving. As well as all the other species in the clay pond. The bass were feed trained "footballs" when I put them in about 8 inches long. Today they are about 5 lbs. I have trouble catching small bass, although I have some. The bluegills are all different sizes, so I think good balance there. My goal is to have a successful balance of all species( walleye just for fun I don't think they will spawn but have been tasty- I took out 10 this spring they were 16 inches long and were 6 inches when stocked 4 years ago) but primary goal is big bass. That's basically what I have going on in my pond, my question I struggle with is will copper sulphate HARM my fish, if I use it. The algae only grows 3-4 feet from the edge and almost makes it around the pond. It starts to show up usually in early April. I think some algae is good, but I don't want it in there as it gets tangled in fish lines etc. I have heard I should only treat 1 side of the pond if I use the copper sulphate at a time. Then wait another week then do another side.
