Small private pond

[spritemaster]

I have a small private pond that I fish and am pretty good friends with the owners. I'm pretty sure they would not mind me putting in some type of condo or habitat. The pond is very small though. Only about a half acre. The main reason I want to put something in is because last year the pond was invaded by muskrats. They have since eaten most of the vegitation which leaves little room for alot of the panfish to hide. Therefore, I think, the population is decreasing. I notice that I rarely see schooling gills in the shallows anymore. So I would like to try and provide a little bit of shelter for them that cannot be damaged by the muskrats. Any help is appreciated.

[smashdn]

put a few #110 body grips in there that will be the best structure in a muskrat infested pond.

[spritemaster]

haha I have already tried on of them and I haven't reset it since one of the bigger bass of the pond swam into it. Anything else?

[smashdn]

muskrats don't chew on pvc to my knowledge. I would try that. Anything wood or woodlike in nature would just be a buffet for the little goomers.

[spritemaster]

Ya thats what I was thinking. But wat type of shape is usually good for bluegills and redear? I know this site is mainly devoted to crappie but I haven't introduced them to the population yet so right now thats all we got.

[smashdn]

How deep are we talking? I would go with either little bushes. Or with small trees. The bushes are easier to make than the trees. Depending on the depth and the bottom you can just poke them into the bottom and forego the concrete mess.

[spritemaster]

Where I would like to put it is roughly 8 ft. There are some deeper points and naturally there are more shallow points but the area I would like to have the panfish "coralled" in is about 8ft.

[cityboy]

have you tried killing all the muskrats ?

[spritemaster]

Well I don't really have time to sit out there with a gun waitin on them to come up for air. I have set out a trap though. Ever since it caught and killed that bass though I haven't reset it.

[skeeter]

try some snares...they work great for my dad... he has one about every morning..