Topwaterspook Posted February 12, 2015 Posted February 12, 2015 Tuesday evening our club has decided to try and improve two ponds. One is a bit over an acre and the other close to two. With the exception of some cattails and lily pads, there is no cover. These ponds are around choked with bass 8-10 inches. I'm not sure of the depth because no boats are allowed. My question is; Has anyone here had experience with manmade cover other than brush piles? It's become my responsibility to research cover that would be virtually snag proof. We would prefer to built our own structures rather that buying ones that seem to be terribly expensive. From the research online it appears that vertical cover in the deeper water is the way to go. I'd appreciate input from those of you who've dealt with a similar situation. Thanks in advance. Quote
Catch 22 Posted February 12, 2015 Posted February 12, 2015 Twenty yrs ago I designed and built a 2 acre pond. Depth was 3' to 12'. It was spring & stream fed via 2 pvc pipes. The stream did not run thru it. Before it was filled with water ,I dug 2 trenches 3' deeper than surrounding bottom at a couple locations.Several weighted brush piles,several dirt mounds with rocks and cinder blocks on them were the main structure. A manure spreader was towed in and placed upside down. For you I would suggest the cinder blocks & rock piles. Possibly something that would present overhead cover such as a table Maybe some upright Christmas trees. Coupla things==remove some of those little bass.Stock bluegills,frogs & shinners. Don`t stock any smallmouth bass,they will not do well.Keep a close eye on the cat tails and limit their growth.Keep the geese off of them. Can`t help ya with the snagless thing. C22 Quote
tatertester Posted February 12, 2015 Posted February 12, 2015 I have read several places that artificial cover was superior to natural....They were using artificial grass that was similar natural grass, and bass used the artificial more frequently. As I recall the artificial was like turf with rows of longer strands.....I would think that real wood or grass would be preferred because of cover and insects that attract baitfish. Quote
corn-on-the-rob Posted February 12, 2015 Posted February 12, 2015 try googling "pvc trees". They seem like a relatively cheap way to introduce some cover and are relatively snagless. Quote
Suspendingjerk Posted February 12, 2015 Posted February 12, 2015 Perhaps some five gallon bucks with holes drilled in them. Place small diameter pvc pipes in the holes, then fill the bucket with qwik Crete. You can drill as many holes and put as many pipes as you can fit through the buckets. Quote
Comfortably Numb Posted February 12, 2015 Posted February 12, 2015 Your problem is not cover for the bass. You need cover for the sunfish and other prey species so they dont all get eaten right away.. Guaranteed you have way to many bass and not enought food. You may have sunfish that are large and too big for the stunted bass to eat. You need to remove ALOT of small bass and get your sunfish population back up. You do not want to just feed the bass. You want a substaniel population of sunfish. Fertilizing the pond will also help all forms of life grow and flourish. Quote
a1712 Posted February 12, 2015 Posted February 12, 2015 Check with your local borough workers if they might have broken Culvert pipes, 1'-4'. If you can find some and the ice is thick enough, roll them where you want them and the thaw will take care of the rest. Brian. 1 Quote
Super User gulfcaptain Posted February 12, 2015 Super User Posted February 12, 2015 I'm in agreement with the increased population of sunfish/forage base. As for PVC, you can make different arrangements with this.....I would use 4" on the bottom parts then add quickcrete to the piping to keep it down. Now you can reduce and fit all kinds of 1 and 2 inch piping into in. But cover for small fish is most important. Concrete blocks, clay fowerpots, rock piles, concete pipes, etc would be your best bet if you don't want to buy fish attracking cover and if you're going to add brush, use something other then xmas trees. Hard woods are great, maybe you can find someone who is trimming their trees and can get some of the larger branches and use clay pots(more natural then plastic buckets) and concrete to sink them and hold them in place. Keep the cattails trimmed and the roots pulled otherwise they can take over. You can also add base rock in areas to improve bottom composition. Quote
Super User Lund Explorer Posted February 12, 2015 Super User Posted February 12, 2015 This link might give you a few ideas. http://wildlife.utah.gov/fes/pdf/fish_habitat_improvement.pdf Quote
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