Originally Posted by
INTIMIDATOR
This is why I tell everyone to contact a Pond Management Specialist or someone who has experience with them in their area! If you have no experience with Ponds or their ecosystems, you can throw it out of wack quickly, and waste a lot of time and money.
Stake beds would be ideal in a shallow pond that is shady, but a Shallow pond that gets a lot of sun needs large cover that casts a shadow, that fish can retreat to.
One of the biggest problems with ponds are fish that are stressed by heat and then cannot get out of the sunlight....Shade can offer several degrees less than other water.
Deep ponds offer different options also, same with clear ponds, fertile ponds, well filled, creek filled, or rain filled...or ponds with aerators or flow. If the pond has vegetation, then another factor comes into play, and that leads you to other options....Each type of pond, JUST LIKE A LAKE, RIVER, ETC, has a optimum type of cover. That's why you need understanding of the specific pond...also, Crappie cover differs from Cat or Bass cover....and PVC is ALOT easier to fish than any type of wood....but if your smart and surround long lasting wood with PVC, you get the best of both.
IMHO, I prefer to put in cover that you will not have to go back and recover in a lifetime....I prefer Big or Long lasting wood, over thin wood or stakes that degrade quickly...I prefer Cedar or other longer lasting brush/branches over Christmas trees....but, if that is all you have, it is better than nothing...just remember that it needs to be replaced to have optimum fishing and ecosystem health.
Most fishermen that add cover, really don't care what the cause/effect of cover is, or how it works...The main thing that people need to understand is that cover increases the fish holding capability of an ecosystem, and increases the health of the ecosystem by improving the basic food chain and benefits the entire life cycles of the fish (Shade, protection, food stations, gives off oxygen, etc, etc)....it can also be a secondary benefit to fishermen by attracting fish to certain areas so they can be easily caught...but in a pressured lake, this can be a nightmare!