Pond history and maintenance questions

[Cheri]

I'm super excited that my 15 year old son is finally interested in fishing our family pond which my dad dug out and stocked around 1983. I think it's about 2.5 acres. At some point over 15 years ago, we had to drain and restock. Me, my mom, my sister, my brother, and my nephew were fishing it occasionally. Over the last couple years, the water level dropped but it didn't really elevate to anyone being concerned.

 

This summer, we all have been going out to fish much more frequently. We all noticed the water had continued to be low and visually found an area on the levee that beavers (or other) have damaged on one side which is possibly where water is draining out to a descending slope down to a bayou on adjacent property. (We are going to get a contractor out soon for an estimate on repair.) Around that same weekend, I discovered several LMB that seemed to be sitting on very shallow beds with dorsal fins showing one evening. Along with an apparent algae bloom, I decided to contact wildlife and fisheries to see what resources or advisement they provided.

 

I talked to a guy by phone today for about 5 minutes. I told him that i was interested in learning more about pond maintenance, including things like:

1. Are oxygen levels sufficient?

2. Would the algae bloom be considered a negative symptom?

3. How to determine fish population? Because...There seems to be differing opinions on what fish we should harvest and which we should release, both for the LMB and the bream.

 

I'm going to meet the guy during my lunch break tomorrow. I got a little worried when he started talking about shocking the pond. I had a mini heart attack and told him that we were not interested in any fish kills, only recommendations on what we can do to keep a healthy and balanced fishing ecosystem.

 

Posted photos of recent big catches on another thread, but we have mostly been catching 10-12 inch bass. Family members who fish bream can catch 6-8 inch bream fairly regularly. I'd like to catch more 3-8 lb bass. Thoughts? Feedback on what I should ask this guy tomorrow? Anything I should be wary about?

[Sam]

Not harvesting the smaller bass stops them all from growing to larger sizes due to lack of forage for all.

 

Check with the wildlife and fisheries guy. If he is from LSU then he is OK.  If he is a Toolame fan get up and run away, yelling Geaux Tigers.

 

Once you stop the leakage and the pond starts to fill you can add crawfish and minnows and harvest all smaller bass as  you catch them. And seriously consider what the wildlife guy tells you to consider doing.

 

Keep us up to date on what he tells you and make sure the pond is ready to go by September 2nd so you don't have to worry about it during football season!

 

 

[jiggerpole]

   It sounds like you are on the right track. Getting with a Fisheries Biologist is the first step. Shocking a pond will not kill your fish and it is a very effective way of quickly determining the overall health and ratios of your fish populations.

   Beavers, Muskrats and Trees are a Dams worst enemy. Anything that will cause an opening or erosion issues is a bad thing. Bentonite is a product used to stop leaks in a lot of cases. Other methods can be used as well but this may be the cheapest and most effective way.  

  

[Cheri]

Update: Wildlife and Fisheries came out this morning. They arrived 30 minutes early and my mom/boyfriend let them start without me. Got there to see the last 5 minutes of what was apparently a very quick process in my 2.5 acre pond. Maybe because I'm still a little bitter about missing everything, but there's not much to say. Apparently they saw multiple sizes of bass, one around 8lbs. They saw plenty bream and some golden shiners likely brought in by birds or other wildlife. Food sources appeared plentiful. They weren't worried about the suspended algae, murky water, or top water algae in some spots. Nothing much recommended except harvesting all bream we catch, and even supported harvesting bass of different sizes. The water is super low, and we've only been able to catch the 10-12", many times can't even draw a bite despite multiple presentations. Inquired about aeration, and said it wouldn't hurt anything. Inquired about apparent beaver/otter slip and slides, and they did acknowledge that we could set our own traps since it's private property versus paying a licensed trapper. Takeaway from the process...nothing wrong, you suck at fishing.

[mattkenzer]

13 minutes ago, Cheri said:

nothing wrong, you suck at fishing.

LOL ... story of my life.

[Cheri]

Now I have a very clear target for motivation! 

 

This beauty caught with an 8ft med heavy "Finesse Electric Shock" rod, no reel, and a long arm scoop net. ?

[GReb]

On 7/16/2018 at 7:28 PM, Sam said:

Not harvesting the smaller bass stops them all from growing to larger sizes due to lack of forage for all.

 

Check with the wildlife and fisheries guy. If he is from LSU then he is OK.  If he is a Toolame fan get up and run away, yelling Geaux Tigers.

 

Once you stop the leakage and the pond starts to fill you can add crawfish and minnows and harvest all smaller bass as  you catch them. And seriously consider what the wildlife guy tells you to consider doing.

 

Keep us up to date on what he tells you and make sure the pond is ready to go by September 2nd so you don't have to worry about it during football season!

 

 

But what if they say Hotty Toddy??

[Sam]

14 hours ago, GReb said:

But what if they say Hotty Toddy??

You reply, "Geaux Tigers!"