Thread: Pond Mgmt 101

Great thread, Cricket George!! I've really enjoyed reading through it! I'm about to start revamping my pond so this is great help.

Thanks again!

Penny - I am glad that I have been able to help you. If you have any questions just drop me a line and i will help in any way I can.

CG

Recently I visited my original minnow pond to trap some rosie reds to use. I had been worried about a virus that I had seen present earlier in the year in the pond. My fears were confirmed the virus got them

The pond is used heavily by cattle for watering and cooling off. It appears that the water quality is ssssssoooooooo bad that they could not survive. Beware if you stock a pond with minnows for breeding and personal use that the pond has plenty of breeze across it and no cattle watering in it.

Rule of thumb,if the fish can survive in the pond then so can the minnows. This sounds like a dumb statement I know but I thought my pond had better water quality. NOT!!!

george, I recently purchased some land in the tulsa area with a pond. I was over there the other day, It was around noon and it seemed I could see 6 feet deep. Standing on the dock I was able to see several perch and a bass around 5 pounds. I saw 3-4 bass from the dock in about 5 minutes. I have a 13 year old boy who loves to bass fish. I figured I would try to do some things to improve the bass fishing. There is some grass in the pond I have no idea what it is though. There are two large trees in the middle of the pond for structure. I was wondering what type of water clarity do you want in a farm pond? What forage base is good to use to feed the bass?

tr17- It sounds like your pond is balanced as it is. I would suggest that you get some crickets or red wigglers and do some perch fishing with your boy and see what size the perch are. I hope they are various sizes from 3"- 6-8". Then try some minnows and see what size and numbers of bass that you can catch. If the bass are varying sizes then I think you are in good shape. The water clarity may be a wee bit too clear but then it could be just because you have not had enough runoff to muddy it up. I am shooting from the hip but It sounds like you may be fine on your new property. Congrats. If you have any more questions I am just a click away.

tight lines

George

George, will do. on the perch. The previous owner told me he use to feed the fish from the dock. I figured I would get some fish food, and feed them for a few days, to get a look at some of the fish in the pond. I read this evening that 2' of visability was desirable in a farm pond. If it was clearer than that you needed to fertilize the pond to promote zooplankton growth. What are your thoughts on this?

My concern is that too much fertilizer may be added causing excessive nutrients. What was your source of information? I agree that zooplankton needs to be in sufficient quantity to maintain the life of the pond. You may not realize that by feeding the fish daily you are adding nutrients. How many acres is the pond?

the pond is 1 acre. The article that I was reading was from american sportfish hatchery. I realize there were trying to sell there products. They did say that the dangers of fertilizing it were that it would also cause grass to grow. This could potentially create a problem there. It seems that creating the perfect pond is a balancing act, many variables need to be maintained, and allowing one to get out of wack could create problems. I noticed the water being clear and thought that it was a sign that there may be a problem.