# Getting the ball rolling....



## Salmonid (Apr 14, 2004)

Been 2.5 years since the ground was broken on my 3/4 acre pond ( long story on why it took so long, lets just say the price was right) and since November has just about completely filled up courtesy of mother nature. So it is time to start the ball rolling and Thursday am getting 20 lb each of Golden Shiners and Fatheads to start the process. These will in the pond for about 3 months before I stock the rest of the gamefish ( BC, RES, HBG,YP, CC and HSB) in hopes I can get the baitfish to eek out at least 1 spawn before the gamefish come. A couple of problems to contend with is the fact that the hatcheries only deliver up to July 4th ( too hot after that) and that Ill need the next 3 months to save up for the rest of the fish and the pond still needs a lot of work, dock needs to be built, sand for the beach, a few more strutures (pallet-packs) to be sunk, grass seed around the whole area as well as some fencing and getting a few trees planted and then horse proofing them.

Next year the plan is to add electricity, an aerator/difuse, a gezebo and possibly a well dug to keep the pond full. Owning apond is like buying an old farm house, always something to keep you busy with.... 

As you can see, there is much work involved but once I get the fish in and start a feeding program, Im hoping to really start seeing all the work come together for a quality fishery.

Salmonid


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## H2O Mellon (Apr 5, 2004)

Whatever man...... As long as we have a place to get bait for Flatheads!


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## H2O Mellon (Apr 5, 2004)

Also.... don't worry about the softshell turtles, Dinkbuster and I will stock those for you!!!! (Of corse, we'll do this when your NOT home!)


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## [email protected] (Dec 22, 2006)

Great to hear you're finally getting some fish! Don't forget the feeder. By fall your patience and hardwork will be rewarded with 15" HSB and CC.

Here's a few tips I've mostly learned the by doing it wrong first:

Geotextile fabric is a must under the sand beach. You'll be glad you used it. A .223 is the best tool to keep cats out of the sand. If your have a good sized area or if it's under water, http://rockchuckers.com/ can deliver the sand by slinger truck and place it exactly where you need it. I paid around $15 per ton delivered and placed for #2 limestone a couple years ago. They did an awesome job, I only found 2 or 3 stones out of place in the yard. 

A harley rake attachment on a skid steer is hard to beat for smoothing the soil, removing debris and preparing a seed base. You might check with your county's soil and water department as they sometimes will loan you a straw chopper/spreader for free (of course I found that out after I was done). 100 bales per acre is a lot of straw to spread by hand. Proper mulching of the seed is a lot cheaper than reseeding.
















Here it is a month later


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## [email protected] (Dec 22, 2006)

To forewarn you filamentous algae LOVES the phosphate in starter fertilizer so if you use it buy a good quality slow release type so most of doesn't end up in your pond.


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## Fat Bill (Jan 16, 2006)

I saw a simple feeder for a pond a few years ago but still haven't built one for my pond. It consisted of a basket in which road kill, etc was placed. The basket hung out over the pond and after the flies layed their eggs, the resultant maggots would climb over the carcass and invariably rain down in the water. The fish seemed to love it. Free grub. Also a nice place to throw your jigs, worms, etc when you needed to harvest a few fish.


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## Fishman (Apr 5, 2004)

I've seen that as well Fat Bill, pretty neat way of supplying your fish with a hearty meal 

Mark glad to see ya got the ball rolling and are waiting on the sport fish! Don't be afriad to ask any questions if you have any


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## Salmonid (Apr 14, 2004)

I might add that I did pick up 19 baby blues for the pond on Wednesday, they were all of about 4" in length  

I still plan on putting some Channels in as well, perhaps ill end up with the latest fad, a hybrid Catfish

Salmonid


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## [email protected] (Dec 22, 2006)

It's great your found some blues. They'll be catchable size before you know it. Are you planning to tag the channels? The two can be hard to distinguish and counting fin rays on a flopping fish is tough and not 100% reliable. One of the biggest things I wish I had done differently would be to have tagged the LM Bass and Bluegill from my initial stocking so I could track growth and year classes rather than guess or have to kill the fish to determine the age.


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## Salmonid (Apr 14, 2004)

identifying blues is usually pretty easy but I am sure they will be a few that are hard to tell apart but I have no interest in tagging them, too much work, had friends do it and its a nightmare trying to keep up with numbers, size, weights etc
I am sure down the road it would be nice to have that data but again, I just want a place to relax and practice my casting every so often and maybe exercise a few fish.  
I wish I could jump ahead 3 years and start fishing.....

Salmonid


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