Pond and Lake Management Thread

[Sippy]

Originally Posted by Birddog66

Great thread!

I'm about to treat algae and pond weed.

Any thoughts/advice on using Cutrine plus(liquid) for the algae and Aquathol K(liquid) for the pondweed?

What's the main difference between using the granular vs liquid?

You are right on track, just space the out so you don’t rapidly deplete oxygen.

I like liquid for ease of handling and application.

[Sippy]

Here is a “jar test.” We use this to determine how much product is needed for water clarity. Before, and 3 days after.

[Birddog66]

Originally Posted by Sippy

You are right on track, just space the out so you don’t rapidly deplete oxygen.

I like liquid for ease of handling and application.

I have some salt cedars moving in around the pond. Lots of new growth this year, I feel like I need to do something now or it's going to get out of hand real fast. Any recommendations on a good herbicide for them? They're not in the water right now, but headed that way really fast.

[Grayson]

I'd like to put in a couple of wildlife waterholes. I've used the containers with some success, but I want to go bigger. Excavator can dig the holes for me. Any suggestions on how to line the bottoms to keep water in them?

[Sippy]

Originally Posted by Grayson

I'd like to put in a couple of wildlife waterholes. I've used the containers with some success, but I want to go bigger. Excavator can dig the holes for me. Any suggestions on how to line the bottoms to keep water in them?

Pond liners work great for small water holes.

[bowhuntertx]

Originally Posted by Sippy

Pond liners work great for small water holes.

Where is the best place to looks for available sizes of pond liners?


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[Grayson]

I tried pond liners and unfortunately didn’t have a ton of success. Was hoping for some sort of a substance that could be spread on and dry hard.

[BrandonA]

Originally Posted by Grayson

I tried pond liners and unfortunately didn’t have a ton of success. Was hoping for some sort of a substance that could be spread on and dry hard.

Bentonite can be used to seal a pond.

[Sippy]

Originally Posted by Grayson

I tried pond liners and unfortunately didn’t have a ton of success. Was hoping for some sort of a substance that could be spread on and dry hard.

Originally Posted by BrandonA

Bentonite can be used to seal a pond.

Bentonite is an option, so is bringing in clay.

[Sippy]

Does your lake builder check their work and set waterlines like this?

[GLM]

I’ve got a 1/2 acre pond in Point Blank that is in need of a redo. Anyone know of someone in this area to perform this work?
Point Blank is between Huntsville and Livingston on Hwy 190.

[stickbow]

Sippy, What is the best treatment for American Pondweed. I have used diquat and cutrine b and both together at recommended rates and even a little hotter with poor results it browns then comes right back, have treated 3 times last 2 months. My place is in goliad about 3 acres. we do add water from an irrigation well occasionally. I am an pvt applicator just for my place. any better idea? thanks

[Sippy]

Originally Posted by stickbow

Sippy, What is the best treatment for American Pondweed. I have used diquat and cutrine b and both together at recommended rates and even a little hotter with poor results it browns then comes right back, have treated 3 times last 2 months. My place is in goliad about 3 acres. we do add water from an irrigation well occasionally. I am an pvt applicator just for my place. any better idea? thanks

We use ProcellaCor (have to be certified through Sepro to apply)

Before ProcellaCor, we used Aquathol K (endothall)

[gtsticker]

So I want to get more weeds established in my ponds for water fowl. We through some in from another pond but it did not seem to take. Do I need to stomp it in the mud. These are submerged type weeds


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[RWB]

Sippy, do you do work in the Woodlands / Conroe area? Our neighborhood has 2 large ski lakes and would like someone to look into clearing up the water in one of them.

[Bucknaked]

Property is 2.5 yo new to me. They built this 3/4 acre pond a long time ago but they didn’t install an overflow so when it has been wet I have lost several thousand small bluegill and bass. I built it up around the perimeter temporarily , attempting to hold me over until we got some dry weather ( now). It is full of bluegill and bass but they quite biting anything for about 9 months and I thought I may have had a kill off but recently they came back to life. The water was like chocolate milk but I tried The Block and it did clear up a little bit but it came to a halt. I’m going to get the water tested but I know it has high acidity as does my land around it ( sandy )!

Does anyone know what these 2 weeds are? I know they are trash and I want them gone but I also would like to know what I can replace it with . The narrow end goes in about 100 yds from where pic was taken . I would love a clear beatiful, healthy pond for my grand babies could go fishing anytime and catch feesh. Any help would be appreciated.

[Sippy]

Originally Posted by RWB

Sippy, do you do work in the Woodlands / Conroe area? Our neighborhood has 2 large ski lakes and would like someone to look into clearing up the water in one of them.

For a larger project we certainly would. PM me some information

Originally Posted by gtsticker

So I want to get more weeds established in my ponds for water fowl. We through some in from another pond but it did not seem to take. Do I need to stomp it in the mud. These are submerged type weeds


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Duckweed can be established by transporting, same with widgeon grass.

Originally Posted by Bucknaked

Property is 2.5 yo new to me. They built this 3/4 acre pond a long time ago but they didn’t install an overflow so when it has been wet I have lost several thousand small bluegill and bass. I built it up around the perimeter temporarily , attempting to hold me over until we got some dry weather ( now). It is full of bluegill and bass but they quite biting anything for about 9 months and I thought I may have had a kill off but recently they came back to life. The water was like chocolate milk but I tried The Block and it did clear up a little bit but it came to a halt. I’m going to get the water tested but I know it has high acidity as does my land around it ( sandy )!

Does anyone know what these 2 weeds are? I know they are trash and I want them gone but I also would like to know what I can replace it with . The narrow end goes in about 100 yds from where pic was taken . I would love a clear beatiful, healthy pond for my grand babies could go fishing anytime and catch feesh. Any help would be appreciated.

Feed those bluegill. That looks like water primrose. Most vegetation doesnt need to be "established". I would maintain what you have for fish cover and control it from taking over with approved products. The milky hue is likely suspended particles that could be managed with a gypsum treatment.

Clear rarely means healthy from a fisheries standpoint. You need good plankton blooms which gives the water a green tint.

[Sippy]

Here is a duckweed treatment I did last Thursday. First 3 pictures are before, last picture is how it looks today. The rest will die and sink by the end of the week. Bright green and healthy to brown and sinking!

[toledo]

Originally Posted by Sippy

Does your lake builder check their work and set waterlines like this?

I assume that's a program you pay for? I've been building some ponds/ wetlands on my property and been winging it with Google earth and a laser.

Any suggestion for online resources to get elevations?

[Sippy]

Originally Posted by toledo

I assume that's a program you pay for? I've been building some ponds/ wetlands on my property and been winging it with Google earth and a laser.

Any suggestion for online resources to get elevations?

Yes it is.

Mapright and a laser still get used every day!

[toledo]

Originally Posted by Sippy

Yes it is.

Mapright and a laser still get used every day!

Thanks. Another question, do you have a source for gypsum rock? Supposedly it last a lot longer than the powder form but is hard to find? I have some ponds in an old caliche pit and every rain brings new cloudy water.

[Sippy]

Originally Posted by toledo

Thanks. Another question, do you have a source for gypsum rock? Supposedly it last a lot longer than the powder form but is hard to find? I have some ponds in an old caliche pit and every rain brings new cloudy water.

I have only used the powder.

[Heath]

I was at a pond management show in Pennsylvania this weekend one of my customers put on. They had some beautiful ponds they did.










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[Sippy]

Those creek systems are beautiful!

[.243 WSSM]

Do they have trout stocked in that?

[Huntingfool]

I have a 2 acres pond - currently have some hydrilla around the edges of the pond and I know that if left alone it will take over. I am currently doing a draw down on my pond level and then going to treat with Flouridone-Spritflo. Plan is to treat half the pond now and then the other half in a week or two and then refill the pond from my well. Any suggestions?

[Sippy]

Originally Posted by Huntingfool

I have a 2 acres pond - currently have some hydrilla around the edges of the pond and I know that if left alone it will take over. I am currently doing a draw down on my pond level and then going to treat with Flouridone-Spritflo. Plan is to treat half the pond now and then the other half in a week or two and then refill the pond from my well. Any suggestions?

Flouridone will work great but comes at a higher cost, i would apply it in march to provide season long control.

In the short term, endothall works well on hydrilla. How much of the pond is currently covered? If its a small percentage / patches on the shoreline i would say you can probably get away with treating all of it at once.

[Huntingfool]

Originally Posted by Sippy

Flouridone will work great but comes at a higher cost, i would apply it in march to provide season long control.

In the short term, endothall works well on hydrilla. How much of the pond is currently covered? If its a small percentage / patches on the shoreline i would say you can probably get away with treating all of it at once.

Yes sir it is just around the edges in patches - one other questions.

When I apply it with my sprayer can I just spray on top of the weed or do I need to submerge it under water with the spray head?

[GLM]

What’s the best pellets to feed bream an red ear sunfish?

[Huntingfool]

Originally Posted by GLM

What’s the best pellets to feed bream an red ear sunfish?

Optimal is the best IMO - google their site - they send it to you - top end feed

[TRH]

I should probably find out if there are fish in my two ~1/4 acre ponds. I know there is some amphibian life, but I have no clue what kind of management has been done in the past.

[RockTippedStick]

Water hyacinth? What can we use in a cypress pond to control the hyacinth and not kill other trees and vegetation?

[bgleaton]

I hope I’m not hijacking this thread but wanted to pick yalls brains. We are going to be making our 2.5 acre pond a constant level pond in February/March but want to get yalls input on where we need to set structure throughout the pond. Our pond is very deep in the middle (25ft) so I’m sure most of the structure will be around the perimeter in the 2-3ft down to 12ft of water and then add some other structure in the long “finger” that is around 4ft deep and 40 yards long. I don’t think we can do much for the middle of the pond where it’s very deep but maybe there’s some type of structure that can float around the 8-12ft depths. That way there are fish in ybr middle of the pond. The current pond level is around 10ft down due to the drought this year so I’d like to start adding as much structure as possible. I like the ideas of adding large rock/boulder piles throughout and also adding Mossback fish structure since they will last forever and hard to snag a hook. The only bad thing about the mossback structures is that they are expensive but it guess you get what you pay for. We’ve tried cedars and other trees but they degrade fairly quickly and the PVC structure we made in the past didn’t last longer than 4 years. Anyone have any ideas on how we should do this, how much structure we need to add, or if you know anyone that can offer some assistance? Our plan is to build a floating dock on the pond and make it a trophy bass pond, if possible. I’m happy to share pictures of the pond that shows the overall shape and how it looks currently and when it’s full.

I appreciate all of your help!

[Huntingfool]

go to www.pondboss.com forum - lots of experts there who will provide great ideas and info

[BrandonA]

Originally Posted by bgleaton

I hope I’m not hijacking this thread but wanted to pick yalls brains. We are going to be making our 2.5 acre pond a constant level pond in February/March but want to get yalls input on where we need to set structure throughout the pond. Our pond is very deep in the middle (25ft) so I’m sure most of the structure will be around the perimeter in the 2-3ft down to 12ft of water and then add some other structure in the long “finger” that is around 4ft deep and 40 yards long. I don’t think we can do much for the middle of the pond where it’s very deep but maybe there’s some type of structure that can float around the 8-12ft depths. That way there are fish in ybr middle of the pond. The current pond level is around 10ft down due to the drought this year so I’d like to start adding as much structure as possible. I like the ideas of adding large rock/boulder piles throughout and also adding Mossback fish structure since they will last forever and hard to snag a hook. The only bad thing about the mossback structures is that they are expensive but it guess you get what you pay for. We’ve tried cedars and other trees but they degrade fairly quickly and the PVC structure we made in the past didn’t last longer than 4 years. Anyone have any ideas on how we should do this, how much structure we need to add, or if you know anyone that can offer some assistance? Our plan is to build a floating dock on the pond and make it a trophy bass pond, if possible. I’m happy to share pictures of the pond that shows the overall shape and how it looks currently and when it’s full.

I appreciate all of your help!

I would put a couple of brush piles in that 25ft water. Bass and baitfish will Thankyou for it.

[KactusKiller]

Just finished two ponds at my navarro co ranch. It is clay with partial solid rock base. How long after we start getting runnoff in the pond should I wait to start adding minnows and blue gill? I plan to at least let it get half full to check for leaking before spending any money on stocking but I have a small pond I will need to start removing larger blue gill and some small bass and wouldn't mind going ahead and transplanting them this yr since its free stocking.

[El Paisano]

Here is my lake that we closed the valve on the Tuesday before Thanksgiving. It still likes about 4 vertical feet to fill. Water coming in from forest is leaf tea...brown, clear, and acidic. When full, it should be about 6 acres. I had about 12 tons of lime put out mostly on the slopes going into the lake last Monday in anticipation of rains to come Wednesday (which didn't come). Couldn't get any closer to the water with the truck. Hopefully, next rains will wash lime into lake.
Any suggestions on when to stock minnows, or other things?

[El Paisano]

Well, here are pics.

[KactusKiller]

My tanks in Navarro get really brown as well from all the oak leafs. Don’t think there is a cure for it but my fish don’t seem to mind.

[Wits_End]

We put minnows and very small perch in first spring after it filled up. Algae grows instantly and starts the food chain. Just don't put bass the first year or 2