Thread: Pond Mgmt 101

Hey George, thanks for the great info you provide...very educational. Do you ever use pellets or other substances to control weed growth?? If so, what do you reccomend for a 15 acre lake with about three foot visibility? Thanks again...Mark

Mark - Thank you for the accolades. What would I do about a pond with 3' visibility? HHHHHHHMMMMMMMM, I probably would suggest a bucket of crickets, 1 long pole, a bowl of my favorite pipe tobacco, a grandson and a warm afternoon. OOHH Sorry I am daydreaming again.

Depending on the percentage of weed coverage on the lake MAYBE 1 grass carp/5 acres. The suggestion depends on the type of weed that is in the lake. Grass carp do not eat all types of pond weed. If the pond has 20% or less coverage of aquatic vegetation then I would suggest you leave the pond alone. The fish population needs a certain amount of vegetation to allow the newly hatched fry to hide in, as well as, provide a home for damsel fly, mayfly, dragon fly larvae etc. This vegetation provides a foundation for the food chain needed by your sunfish and bass.

You might spot treat an area with copper sulfate crystals broadcast around your dock area if the concern is in that area.

I stocked some hornwart/coontail this fall in a 3 acre pond west of Piedmont in order to provide cover for the fry because the 8" - 9" bluegill were canabilizing their young and we were not seeing any recruitment. We are tweeking this pond to fill a needed niche.

I hope I have answered your question. It has been a long time since you have posted anything. Are you coming to the March 27th meeting?

Hi George. We have a problem on our pond with Primrose growing around the pond, which makes it difficult to fish. The primrose grows to about 6' out from bank, all the way around the pond. Any suggestions on controlling it? I don't want to get rid of all of it, because it does seem to provide good cover for the bait fish and fry. Any suggestions will be most appreciated. I enjoy reading your posts very much. They provide valuable information for us pond owners. Keep it up! Jeff

Jeff - I would suggest RODEO by Mansanto Co. The chemical is similar to ROUNDUP. Rodeo is approved for pond applications as it will not harm the biomass in the pond. RODEO is a total kill chemical which has to be applied to emergant plants. What I am telling you is that if you spray it on the pond surface and it does not come in contact with the plant then it will not kill it. This chemical works well on cattails although it may take 2 applications.

ROUNDUP can be used too but you must be careful and prevent much overspray. If this does not completely answer your question or if you have other questions let me know.

George, thank you for the info and yes you have anwered my concerns, This is my dad's lake which I used to actively manage, been away so long that I could not remember what I had used in the past. Put grass carp in in 93 and may have 1 or 2 left is all. Of course they are huge, I have about 70% undesirable grass coverage,,,can't recall what exactly, The lake is about 50 years old but an excellent fishery. Big lmb, big channels, big blue gill, and, until 2007, big crappie. Not sure where the crappie got off to. maybe they were eaten by the other bigger predators? Anyway, thought I should try to get a handle on it again before it gets away from me. Unfortunately, work dictates that I will miss the March get together, but, I would really enjoy meeting you as well as the others on this site and will make every effort to attend the next one. I think 3 carp and some pellets will do some good for the lake and sincere thanks, once again, for the knowledge you share. Take care. P.S. Not that you need it, but you have an open invitation to fish this lake if you're ever in the Newcastle area.lol

Mark - I just might take you up on your offer to fish your lake. Thank you.

I do have a concern with the 70% weed coverage of the lake. I suspect that whatever grass carp you have in the lake they are huge and need to be removed if possible. They have outlasted their usefulness. Time to restock. Please send me a PM with your cell#. I would like some further details on the weeds and I may want to increase the number of grass carp to be stocked.

Kudos to Crappie George for the help in setting our 15 acre lake back on the right path. Also to John Stahl for the weed I.D. If you are not sure if this man knows his stuff...well, he does, it's as simple as that. George, thanks for the tour of your little slice of heaven, and all the best to you and yours. HOPE TO SEE YOU AND THE REST ON THE 27TH!

Mark - I am glad that I could be a help with your concern. That is one heck of a lake you have there. When you are ready to stock some of the other ponds on your family's place with minnows let me know. I have several ponds to trap minnows from. If you wish to do this then we need to do it by May so that you will have the full benefit of all the spawns.

It was a pleasure working with you and Leo's BBQ was great too.

My little piece of heaven is certainly tucked away in plain sight. I sprayed the food plots today to rid them of the invasive grasses. If you think I know my stuff on farm ponds, you haven't seen nothing yet when it comes to nutrition and food plots for wildlife. I have ordered something for you and I expect it should be here by the 27th.

Be good

Hey, I am new to the site and noticed this thread. I'm hoping you can give me some advice. Built a good size bait pond last year and was muddy from get go. We put gypsum in it and cleared immediately, but the level dropped killing all vegetation and when pond filled back up it was muddy and been that way since last September. I saw where you reccomended hay and was wandering if it would work in this situation and how to distribute it. Also, we are hopefully finishing up on our big pond today and wandering if there is anything special we should do before it begins to fill besides putting brush in it. A buddy told me that the Noble Foundation will put salt blocks in there new ponds to help with keeping the water clear. Have you heard of this and does is work, are there any disadvantages of doind it?

Thanks

Timber - I have never heard of putting salt blocks in any ponds before. I would not put salt in the pond,period. I do not have enough information about your pond to assist you. How many surface acres is it? Have you planted grass around the edge for erosion control? Did you have a contractor just build you a pond? Did you have your soil inspected to see if it contained sufficient amount of clay to seal the bottom and then have the pond staked?
????? Why did the pond go dry??? Pond bottom leaking?????
Not knowing the size of the pond I cannot reccomend how many bales of hay to add to assist in clearing.

Please answer these questions and provide me with any additional information that you can and I will try to help.