Some background I am sure will be needed, so here goes.
The lake is 210 acres, spring-fed,mostly 4-10 feet deep and the deepest part is 35 feet deep. The water is very clear to where you can see 8-10 feet deep and the PH is Currently 6.3. We are in the process of adding Christmas Trees and Pallets as the structure and cover is limited right now.
There are Largemouth Bass, Bluegill, Shellcracker, a small number of Hybrid Crappie, Chain Pickerel, Grass Carp,and Blue Catfish.
The Beavers are being trapped, Slider turtles seem fine, we have a pair of Bald Eagles as well as a few Ospreys.
Only 10-15 people fish this private lake and most bass are 1-2.5-3# fish.
Some fish between 4# and 8# are caught (but not often) and a 12# 12 ounce and a few 10#rs were caught last year.
We see a large amount of 3-5 inch bass and bluegill around most of the docks- they seem plentiful.
The HOA does not want to electro-shock to see exactly the balance of the lake and I cannot convince them, so it's a dead issue.
- How much Lime would need to be added to increase the PH from 6.3 to a healthier PH amount?
- Are Fat Head minnows better in this case than Mosquito Fish?
- Any other suggestions?
Thank You for any guidance and thoughts.
I wholeheartedly agree with the professional help suggestion.
You are dealing with a body 30x what I am presently dealing with. What my research has led me to understand is that the #1 order of business you should be attending to is water chemistry. Figure out your alkalinity and PH at a specific time and do the lime thing first.
It's hard to say how much lime for sure, but 1 ton per acre would be a good starting point. I would guess it will take much more than that. The water will lose some clarity. Hopefully the HOA understands this. Clear water for swimming is not the best for growing fish.
Christmas trees are great structure for spawning yellow perch. Not sure beyond that. Pallets should be good for FHM which would be my next course of action in your case.
I kind of went off assumptions with my project. 7 acres low PH super clear water and presumed low alkalinity. Water sample taken for verification and in process. I did 3 ton per acre simply because the trucking was the major cost in my case. I added 15 gallons of FHM and 200 YP even though I probably should have waited. I got in a rush as I want to have the YP spawn in spring.
Not an expert (far from it) but I take things seriously when I want to learn...
