# IT'S THAT TIME AGAIN (Trade Shows, New Catalogs, Spring Stocking)



## [email protected] (Aug 19, 2010)

Hello all,
Hopefully this post finds everyone doing well-outside the brutal winter we are having. I guess on the positive for some of you, ice fishing could be productive! On another note, its trade show season and what better way to thaw out than come to your local Home and Garden Show! The Cincinnati Boat/Sport/and Travel show just ended this past weekend, however, we will have our booth set up at 3 more shows. The following list will denote show name, location, and dates. We hope to see you out there and be sure to stop by the booth for any advise or questions concerning your pond(s) in 2014!
FEB 7-9/ 14-16: DAYTON HOMEWORLD-- DAYTON EXPO CENTER
FEB 22-MAR 2: CENTRAL OHIO HOME AND GARDEN-- COLUMBUS EXPO
MARCH 1-2/ 5-9: CINCINNATI HOME AND GARDEN--DUKE ENERGY CENTER

Also, we received our 2014 catalogs. PM me with your name and address if you would like a copy. 
Spring is around the corner (I think?)! We should be getting the hatchery back up and running around the middle of March, so if you have any questions on spring stocking or would like to place a minnow or gamefish order PM me! 

Thanks everyone!
Brent


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## Lundy (Apr 5, 2004)

Brent,

I have stocked tilapia the last 3 years and I may not stock them this year. I would like to stock some golden shiners and some fatheads but I think they would be consumed as fast as I stock them without some cover.

My question is now that I have all of this ice on my pond I can just put cover on the ice and let it go in the pond in the spring. I have read that wooden pallets stacked up provide cover and a spawning structure that the shiners like. Do you agree? Is that a good option or is there better structure I can add?

Thanks


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## hang_loose (Apr 2, 2008)

Lundy, good way to do it. Just tie some type of weights (blocks) to the structure to keep them where you want.


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## [email protected] (Aug 19, 2010)

Lundy,
The wood pallets would be a sufficient structure for the shiners to seek refuge along with other prey species. However, it is to my knowledge, that spawning success of GS is variable. I would recommend placing the pallets in more of shallow water habitat to increase success and limit potential predation. If you were to stock in the spring while the water table is up, GS have the potential to spawn in grassy areas. Outside of artificial structure, they tend to utilitize weed beds and even filamentous algae mats. Also, I would recommend stocking at 40#/ac, as we know that the lunkers will be ready for spring-time feeding!


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## Ducky (Feb 1, 2009)

Been fun hanging w/your guys at Cols H&G show. They really know their stuff.

Sent from my VS980 4G using Ohub Campfire mobile app


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## [email protected] (Dec 22, 2006)

Lundy, you can set Spawntex mats in the Spring for a couple of months near the bank for the golden shiners if you don't have many weeds. Suspending from floats is theoretically better if your water level fluctuates significantly. There are some various DIY materials people have used too but I can't comment on their effectiveness. 

http://www.aquaticeco.com/subcategories/2229/Spawntex-Spawning-Mat

I had a lot of fathead nests on the bottoms of floating boards when I first stocked my pond. Using fence staples to attach cedar shakes to floating rope is an effective method. I have some pallets sunk. They were initially in a teepee configuration of three wired and nailed together. They are snag magnets and collapsed onto the bottom by the second year. They are incredibly heavy once waterlogged too. To be effective spawning habitat for fatheads, they need to be located pretty shallow and you'll be able to see them from the edge...they look kinda junky IMO but not as bad as ropes and pieces of PVC floating the mats I guess.


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