New Project

[Bill]

is that your wife in the pond? with her hands out like that I swear I heard her say WTF...

 

[Booner21]

That is all fine and I appreciate the fish input and opinions….
I’m not a big bluegill fan at all they can over populate a pond like crazy can get stunted and are a pain in the ass while swimming.
Will just have some for us to catch regularly to eat and to feed predator fish. I’m not worried about a few catfish that I like more than bluegill ruining our pond or having to many minnows.
Do whatever you guys want with your ponds I’ll be fine with ours. Everyone’s goals are not always exactly the same just like habitat work and plotting or anything else.
I’m pretty sure we should get plenty of enjoyment from this pond for a long long time.

Sorry defiantly wasn’t trying to rain on your parade just sharing what I was told by our local fish biologist. We had very similar ideas until speaking with him when he did a visit to our new pond.


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[Kdog]

I'm in NW Ohio Mercer county. This is going to be the wife and my "forever house" and we will be leaving it to the kids as a weekend getaway, or one of them may want to live there.
We kind of want the flats to help keep the bream down and we will be pulling some of them out to eat, only putting four or five of those in.

That's great stuff and I know you and the family will enjoy it. Mercer is a nice area and not too far from where I am from (Union and Madison). Sounds like you have a good plan in place for the pond and I am sure it will do well.

 

[H20fwler]

is that your wife in the pond? with her hands out like that I swear I heard her say WTF...

I think you did!

She just keeps going on about how I may have misled her a little on the size of this project.

Guilty!

I’m sure at house building time she will get way more than even. I can’t even imagine how stressful that is going to be with how crazy this past week has been trying to get everything lined up to get done after pond is in before we get a big rain…and it’s a crazy busy time at work right now.
I’ve definitely broken my little to no stress rule that I always try to live by.

 

[H20fwler]

Sorry defiantly wasn’t trying to rain on your parade just sharing what I was told by our local fish biologist. We had very similar ideas until speaking with him when he did a visit to our new pond.


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Your good brother, it’s just been a crazy week.

 

[H20fwler]

That's great stuff and I know you and the family will enjoy it. Mercer is a nice area and not too far from where I am from (Union and Madison). Sounds like you have a good plan in place for the pond and I am sure it will do well.

Nice!
If you are ever in the area here shoot me a PM and I can give you the tour of the farms if you are interested. I never get tired of hanging out with and talking with habit guys.

 

[yoderjac]

That is all fine and I appreciate the fish input and opinions….
I’m not a big bluegill fan at all they can over populate a pond like crazy can get stunted and are a pain in the ass while swimming.
Will just have some for us to catch regularly to eat and to feed predator fish. I’m not worried about a few catfish that I like more than bluegill ruining our pond or having to many minnows.
Do whatever you guys want with your ponds I’ll be fine with ours. Everyone’s goals are not always exactly the same just like habitat work and plotting or anything else.
I’m pretty sure we should get plenty of enjoyment from this pond for a long long time.

When I was a kid my dad knew a Christmas tree farmer who let us fish in his bass pond. That is exactly what had happened. The only stipulation was that we could not throw back any bluegill. We either took them or had to throw them around the Christmas trees for fertilizer. They were heavily over populated and tiny. I would fill a Styrofoam cooler full of them and my Dad and Mom would spend hours filleting them and Mom would deep fry tiny fish sticks for us. I can't speak to the other species, but the landowner was definitely not happy with the how the bluegill turned out.

 

[H20fwler]

When I was a kid my dad knew a Christmas tree farmer who let us fish in his bass pond. That is exactly what had happened. The only stipulation was that we could not throw back any bluegill. We either took them or had to throw them around the Christmas trees for fertilizer. They were heavily over populated and tiny. I would fill a Styrofoam cooler full of them and my Dad and Mom would spend hours filleting them and Mom would deep fry tiny fish sticks for us. I can't speak to the other species, but the landowner was definitely not happy with the how the bluegill turned out.

That is the most common thing that happens with smaller ponds in our area, has always been that way.
The only exceptions I’ve seen is if enough predator fish can be kept in the pond or they go bigger and really deep. I love catching and eating bluegill…there has to be some kind of variety that doesn’t explode into millions and stunt?

I know of one guy here locally that built a pond similar to ours that he put in JUST for bass and it is sweet, only fish in it is bass and bluegill. He raises some impressive bass, but bass are the ONLY thing he is interested in……me, I’m a variety guy.
I do like catching bass but it’s not the only thing I want to fish for out the back door.
Both my grown sons are crazy about fishing, youngest fishes for everything and is good at it….oldest is almost a bass purist, he bass fishes probably four or five days a week before and after work. He is in medical sales and travels a lot always takes poles with him wherever he goes. He is a bass whisperer, if there is a bass around he can hook it, will fish for hours for one good fish.
Me I’m not that guy, if they aren’t biting I’m out after an hour or so and I’m not as fussy to species.

 

[Booner21]

the recommendation he gave us was 500 bluegill per surface acre and split it in half with redear so 250 each per acre. The redear help control snails. 100 bass and 100 channel cats per acre.

With those amounts shouldn’t stunt the bluegill


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[H20fwler]

So last night I'm out at the new pond site with the wife standing there where house will one day be and I say, "I can see it now 50-100 geese just hanging out loafing around the edge of the pond, that will be cool".
She screws her face all up like she just swallowed a bug and says "we aren't having geese hanging out here pooping all over everything, I'll send the dog after them!"
My vision of utopia and hers seem a little seem a little off?

Which brings up this event from earlier last week;

The guy digging the new pond is the same person that dug the other two over at the Big Woods five years ago. That all went well and we got along great, I've seen him a few times around since and we would briefly chat or throw a wave if we saw each other driving by but I wouldn't saw I really knew the guy. When I decided to go ahead with this project I got a few bids and he was the one I was most happy with and we got together a couple times before he started the pond to go over exactly what I was looking for.

So the other day I'm talking to him out at the job site and he asks if I can help him out with some problem geese he has since he knew the boys and I hunted them a lot. I've been asked that same thing many times over the years from acquaintances that have a pond and six or ten geese they want off their property. I told him early season starts first of September what did he need? He said he was having trouble with geese for years pulling his corn and beans up bad in one corner of his field it was like he had twenty groundhogs living there he couldn't get anything to hardly grow they were so bad...I say where is your field and he replies right on the east edge of town.... I instantly knew where he was talking about , there is a Holiday Inn and a huge pond that maybe 500 geese and a couple hundred ducks roost on in fall/early winter, I had seen a few guys hunt there over the years. Thirty years ago I had tried hard to get into that field to hunt but the old guy that had it wouldn't allow it, after he passed it went into some LLC.
I drive by it every day going and coming from work and watch clouds of birds spinning over it every day in the late fall.
I actually hunt about a half mile south of that and shoot a lot of traffic birds that are coming and going from there.

So I say "you have got to be kidding me that’s your field?" I told him is that the field that used to be owned by so and so? He said yes he was my Dad! I say HELL YES I'LL HUNT THOSE GEESE!
By the time we were done talking I had gotten an exclusive to hunt his field and six others close by, hundreds of prime hunting acres! I told him I would take Darcy next few weeks for her morning and afternoon run around the area he was having the goose trouble until crops got tall enough that geese wouldn't be an issue.

Never in my life have I had a sweet waterfowling field or any great hunting property just drop in my lap like that, normally I'm on some farmers porch begging permission and it may be only a one day thing or someone has gotten there before I did. Competition for good goose fields around here is stiff. Something like that just doesn't happen and now I have an exclusive on it for the boys and I. Felt like I had just won the goose lottery, and my boys are stoked.

 

[Telemark]

Nice one! I'm still begging people for goose hunting opportunities. Seems like I need to get a silenced .223 to increase my odds of getting a "yes".

 

[Kdog]

The only exceptions I’ve seen is if enough predator fish can be kept in the pond or they go bigger and really deep. I love catching and eating bluegill…there has to be some kind of variety that doesn’t explode into millions and stunt?

Let me check with my uncle to see what kind of pets he put in his pond. He loves big bluegill and it's very rare that he lets people catch them, much less keep them. Think he does a catch and keep fish fry once a year for the family that lives there, but that's a lot of people.

I was just up there two weeks ago, and will probably be back up in July. Will let you know if I have time to get out that way.

 

[Tree Spud]

So last night I'm out at the new pond site with the wife standing there where house will one day be and I say, "I can see it now 50-100 geese just hanging out loafing around the edge of the pond, that will be cool".
She screws her face all up like she just swallowed a bug and says "we aren't having geese hanging out here pooping all over everything, I'll send the dog after them!"
My vision of utopia and hers seem a little seem a little off?

Which brings up this event from earlier last week;

The guy digging the new pond is the same person that dug the other two over at the Big Woods five years ago. That all went well and we got along great, I've seen him a few times around since and we would briefly chat or throw a wave if we saw each other driving by but I wouldn't saw I really knew the guy. When I decided to go ahead with this project I got a few bids and he was the one I was most happy with and we got together a couple times before he started the pond to go over exactly what I was looking for.

So the other day I'm talking to him out at the job site and he asks if I can help him out with some problem geese he has since he knew the boys and I hunted them a lot. I've been asked that same thing many times over the years from acquaintances that have a pond and six or ten geese they want off their property. I told him early season starts first of September what did he need? He said he was having trouble with geese for years pulling his corn and beans up bad in one corner of his field it was like he had twenty groundhogs living there he couldn't get anything to hardly grow they were so bad...I say where is your field and he replies right on the east edge of town.... I instantly knew where he was talking about , there is a Holiday Inn and a huge pond that maybe 500 geese and a couple hundred ducks roost on in fall/early winter, I had seen a few guys hunt there over the years. Thirty years ago I had tried hard to get into that field to hunt but the old guy that had it wouldn't allow it, after he passed it went into some LLC.
I drive by it every day going and coming from work and watch clouds of birds spinning over it every day in the late fall.
I actually hunt about a half mile south of that and shoot a lot of traffic birds that are coming and going from there.

So I say "you have got to be kidding me that’s your field?" I told him is that the field that used to be owned by so and so? He said yes he was my Dad! I say HELL YES I'LL HUNT THOSE GEESE!
By the time we were done talking I had gotten an exclusive to hunt his field and six others close by, hundreds of prime hunting acres! I told him I would take Darcy next few weeks for her morning and afternoon run around the area he was having the goose trouble until crops got tall enough that geese wouldn't be an issue.

Never in my life have I had a sweet waterfowling field or any great hunting property just drop in my lap like that, normally I'm on some farmers porch begging permission and it may be only a one day thing or someone has gotten there before I did. Competition for good goose fields around here is stiff. Something like that just doesn't happen and now I have an exclusive on it for the boys and I. Felt like I had just won the goose lottery, and my boys are stoked.

Sometimes it is better to be lucky than good ... have fun!

 

[Tree Spud]

H20 ... are you doing anything with the new pond before adding fish to stimulate the biology or food source (algae, invertebrates, etc)?

Once you fill, how long before you add fish?

Or are just filling and adding fish right away?

 

[H20fwler]

H20 ... are you doing anything with the new pond before adding fish to stimulate the biology or food source (algae, invertebrates, etc)?

Once you fill, how long before you add fish?

Or are just filling and adding fish right away?

As soon as there is at least few feet of water we will start adding minnows and I think the boys are talking about seining a bunch of crawdads to put in it.
My pond guy said something about diverting the ten inch tile into it to help it fill, said that a good 3” rain could just about fill it up…then divert tile back away from it.
If that would work out it would sure expedite everything, this fall we would put in some type of baitfish to get established. Then in late spring next year start adding bass and stuff and slowly stock it up.

If the tile diversion thing doesn’t happen and it has to fill naturally it could take a couple years to fill depending on rainfall and stocking would go much slower.
Next week we will seed the whole area in with grass to try and stabilize the soil and get some cover going to try and keep weeds down.
The boys are talking about planting a bunch of sunflowers in at the same time then chopping it last week of August for doves too.

 

[yoderjac]

As soon as there is at least few feet of water we will start adding minnows and I think the boys are talking about seining a bunch of crawdads to put in it.
My pond guy said something about diverting the ten inch tile into it to help it fill, said that a good 3” rain could just about fill it up…then divert tile back away from it.
If that would work out it would sure expedite everything, this fall we would put in some type of baitfish to get established. Then in late spring next year start adding bass and stuff and slowly stock it up.

If the tile diversion thing doesn’t happen and it has to fill naturally it could take a couple years to fill depending an rainfall and stocking would go much slower.
Next week will will seed the whole area in with grass to try and stabilize the soil and get some cover going to try and keep weeds down.
The boys are talking about planting a bunch of sunflowers in at the same time then chopping it last week of August for doves too.

I'm not so sure the slow approach is a negative one. It takes time to build a good food cycle from the bottom up. It starts with the soil fertility in the pond. Next, I wonder about pH. Rain water is slightly acidic. Does the pH change over time? Could it make sense to put some limestone rocks in it that dissolve over years? It is not just the fish, but all of the food that affected by pH. Love the idea of crayfish. I might be tempted to jump start it with some aquatic insects if I had access to some. Things like hellgrammites or other invertebrates (not sure fi hellgrammites are pond compatible).

Often the turtle wins the race...speaking of turtles...tadpools...

 

[H20fwler]

The pond is solid clay, sides bottom everything. We are going to take it easy and see how it goes, I think a lot of the water bugs will come on their own. They sure did over at our other ponds, we didn’t start adding any bass or catfish for a couple years in the bigger one. Only thing we ever put in the back pond was minnows it is pretty shallow.

 

[H20fwler]

Getting closer! It’s about done going deep. Spreading topsoil back over spoil pile, front yard now and the lane around pond.

 

[H20fwler]

My getting a dump truck load of big stone in deep end may be iffy. They cut into the ten inch tile to help fill the pond because we have rain coming Thursday and this weekend . It will be plugged back off after pond fills.
I will stack the pickup load of clay tiles in it tomorrow and make some cinder block and rock structures, I guess if it gets to slick for me to pull back out the dozer can pull me out!
The conduit and bucket of concrete fake shrub structures I can put in anytime if it fills before we get them in.

The topsoil is all spread now so big pile of dirt along the woods is gone.
As of tonight, all that’s left is digging ledges in for fish structure and putting the stone around it and sand in the beach area.


The ten inch tile is about twenty feet south of the beach area towards woods.

 

[Mortenson]

Lovin' this thread.