Thread: What a difference in my pond between 2012 and today

I had the pond dug years ago and planted trees, introduced lily pads and fish. Here's what it looked like in 2012 and now:




(Some of the trees died.)

In the last few years, deer (sometimes 10 at a time), geese and ducks visit. Heron I scare off because they might eat the bass (up to 2 lbs), crappy, yellow perch and sunfish. I feed the sunnies and 3-4 painted turtles bits of bread almost daily a few feet away from where I'm standing. There are many fingerlings from annual spawns and sizes range from 1" to full size.
(note: one of the turtles has a tumor on its head that interferes with the vision of one eye. It still has no problem fighting with one of the other turtles when bread is dropped nearby.)
For the first time I saw a huge snapping turtle on the bottom looking up at me. I have no idea where it crawled from. Hope it doesn't eat too many fish.

One thing I was told was that adding fish from a lake is illegal in N.Y. Good to know if approached by a DEC officer and asked: what are you going to do with those fish? Answer: haven't decided. The odds of that happening is less than winning the lotto! At least I have stocking permits for fish I introduced years ago before the law took affect.

Originally Posted by BuckeyeCrappie

Beautiful! Why the law?

Supposedly transporting fish between waters might introduce a fish disease such as the LMBV or largemouth bass virus. LMBV has been found in bass that show no signs of disease, which suggests that some fish might be infected but not ever become ill though some kills in different states have been linked to it. No evidence exist that LMBV has caused a long-term problem on any fishery or will have a long-term impact. Pollution kills far more fish than the virus. One hatchery stock was found to have infected fish but no fish ever died.

My pond connects to no other water being completely contained. The first fish introduced were from a hatchery. In 12 yrs. no fish has ever been found floating nor in any lake or river in N.Y.S. So why the law? Your guess is as good as mine.