A good resource for plants would be a local native plants society. I am not sure you have one, but they are relatively common and good at helping people find the best plants for what they need. Native plants also tend to do better and require less maintenance.
Adam
While waiting for my auto to be repaired a couple of weeks ago, I read an interesting article in a Field and Stream magazine. It was an interview of a man that "designs" top qualify bass lakes for people for prices ranging from 10K to 50K depending on the size of the lake. This does not include building the dam etc., just designing the lake. They had several diagrams and the description of one method he uses called a bass tree. He plants a 2" heavy duty PVC pipe vertically in the lake bed where the lake will be about 8 feet deep. He puts a stop consisting of four threaded rods sticking out of the pipe about 4 feet from the bottom. The stop could be done by cutting the pipe at four feet and slipping in heavy lag bolts so that they stick out the pipe and then glue a coupling to continue to pipe up to about the surface. He then takes a 4X8 sheet of half inch exterior or marine plywood and cuts a 2 inch hole in the center of the plywood. He slips this over the pipe and slides it down to the stop. Then he takes a 5 gal bucket, cuts a 2 inch hole in the bottom of the bucket, slides it down the pipe and fills it with rocks to keep the plywood down. Finally he places a piece of brush in the top of the pipe to mark the location. This contraption acts like a bass magnet when placed in the proper position in the lake. The bass will conjugate under the board and any lure/fly that is cast onto the board will be grabbed as soon as it slides off the board and drops towards the bottom. Just a thought if you want to get a bit fancy.
Jim Smith
I doubt if you would ever have to stock green sunfish. They seem dropped into midwestern water by "pond devils" and are extremely agressive. Once in a pond they appear to become the dominant species. JGW
As for some weed control what about a few grass carp or will they do more damage then good. Pluss they are a hellav lota fun on a fly.
Tight Lines & Wet Nets
Rick Federation
Grass carp? read the bit above on green sunfish. Grass carp will take out all vegetation in the pond, wrecking protection areas for small fish and their tendency to stir up the elements play havoc with the eggs. My father tried to "improve" three of his MO farm ponds and turned them into bowls of muck instead. I actually hooked up with one of the grass carp on a wooly bugger (peacock herl base) and had a tremendous fight. Hurled the pig over the bank. Must have weighed 10-12 lb. Enjoy the vegetation, for that is part of the delicate balance. JGW
I don't have a farm pond even though my neighbor does and he doesn't manage it at all. I have to say though, that these are some of the most interesting posts I've read in a long time anywhere. You gentlemen surely know your ponds.
Thank you very much,
Rusty <><
Ed,
I'm weighing in a little late but hope I can offer a few thoughts to help you and your friend out.
A few comments from reading the thread:
1) there was mention of rocky and gravel areas in the pond. Be very cautious during construction to make sure all areas are first covered with good quality clay(two feet is my minimum)...otherwise you may be plagued with leaks and the heartbreak that brings with it.
2) Some really good reading material on fish in southern ponds exists at http://srac.tamu.edu/index.cfm
It's worth while spending some time there.
3) do not use dog food or any other cheap food substitue. They can hurt much more than help by providing only filler and not nutrition for your fish. It just does not make sense to spend thousands on a pond and then save $5 on a sack of feed. Buy high protein floating feed generally at or above 32%.
4) the comments on grass carp may be somewhat overstated. Grass carp do what their genetics are programmed to do...eat vegetation. If you stock too many, you will have little or no vegetation and problems. If you stock right, you can have your "cake and eat it too". Right depends on your pond and its fertility. Start out with low stocking rates...no more than 2 per acre. Increase only if you need more vegetation control. Do not wait until you have a vegetation problem to stock them. It takes 15 to 20 per acre to get problem vegetation under control, and can all be prevented by stocking before the problem gets out of hand. I rotate out my grass carp every three years...after that time they get fat and lazy.
5) green sunfish: I wouldn't loose any sleep about them. You probably will have some, but if you have a good predator base, they will not cause a problem.
6) crappie: high management fish, odds are against you being successful with them...some have, yes, but most have not.
7) F1 LMB: This is a great choice for Southern ponds as the primary predator. They are a cross between the Florida strain and native LMB strain. I love them in ponds because they provide the growth of Floridas with the aggressiveness of natives. I have seen absolutely no evidence of hybrid depression, none at all. Over the years, you can add native genetics to the mix and maybe a few Floridas to spice things up. the F1 LMB is a great pond fish for Southern ponds. Stock them at 100 per acre if you want lots of bass/action and 50 per acre if you want larger fish or somewhere in between. First get your forage base established, well established before introducing the predator.
8 ) BG: I like to stock copper nosed BG, but their range is very similar to Florida LMB so you may be too far north for them. Check around your area to see if anyone has successfully grown them. I stock 800 Bg per acre and 200 RES per acre. That 80/20 ratio seems to work for me.
9) SMB: can't offer any help in that regard....we are to far south for them, but I would love to have them
10) rainbows: Even if you can't have a year around rainbow fishery, you can have a put and take with rainbows and provide your predators some great forage in the process. I stock them in my East Texas ponds for winter forage.
11) Tilapia: I don't know if they are legal in your area, but if they are seriously consider stocking them each spring. They genereate tremendous amounts of forage for your predators when they need it the most, as well as eat filamentious algae and other unwanted vegetation.
I love fly fishing in ponds...nothing much better than building the pond, stocking it, raising the fish, and catching them on the fly. Good luck!
gary and meadowlark both have made some very good points and you should consider many of them seriously.
I'd add that if going the LMB bluegill combination that it'd be the best bet to stock fathead minnows ONLY for the first growing season in order to establish a predator free breeding population. After the breeding population is established and BGs and LMBs are added, the predation pressure from the bass will be split among BGs and fatheads. Many people add everything at the same time and in most cases, the minnows are eradicated before establishing a breeding population, thus 1) costing more money to continue supplemental stockings of minnows and/or 2)decreased growth rates during the early years of the fishery.
Also, I have heard of hatcheries installing 'maggot racks' during the growing season for supplemental feeding. These are homemade floating structures with cages designed to hold rotting meat items (roadkill works well and is free)just above the surface of the water. How it works is the rotting flesh draws flies which eventually leads to maggots and given a little wind or an overabundance in numbers, maggots will fall into the water below. The best design allows for the cage to be in a desired location over water with adequate depth. In other words, it should be out from the bank a ways. Maggots=high protein and high protein=excellent body condition
This has been a thread that is about as good as it gets
Another example of the resource of this site
I have no dog in this issue but it was indeed impressive....Thank you...
Gary, I haven't been in Carroll County in 20 years. I suppose that I ought to go back through and visit my alma mater some time, but I haven't been back in ages. I used to take I-40 to exit 108 and then head up Hwy. 22. Carroll Lake was a lot of fun, back then. It got fished hard, but it could really reward you. I usually found Clear Creek to be more rewarding. The spillway pool was always good and it seemed that nobody ever braved the bushes and snakes (not bad) to fish the stretch between that pool and the bridge. That was a sweet stretch for a fly rod. I didn't realize until I looked it up last year that Clear Creek runs straight into the Mississippi River. No wonder there were such nice catfish in it.
The pond that we are discussing has a shelf that gets to about 6 feet deep and then drops away with a steep slope. That should limit the amount of damage that reeds and lotus could do. We have talked about structure to build. Since this is the Eastern Highland Rim of Middle Tn., eastern redcedar is present in abundance. I expect that there is some saw-work and Quikcrete in my future as we plant a few stakes.
Thanks again for your help and to everyone else,
Ed
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