Silt Happens!

   / Silt Happens! #161  
Jim, good to see your pond holding water so well.

If you plan to put some bass in your pond this year, you really ought to put some standard bluegill in. They are called "coppernose bluegill" in the trade. They are more prolific than the hybrids.
 
   / Silt Happens!
  • Thread Starter
#162  
Jim, good to see your pond holding water so well.

If you plan to put some bass in your pond this year, you really ought to put some standard bluegill in. They are called "coppernose bluegill" in the trade. They are more prolific than the hybrids.

John, I intended to put coppernose bluegill into the pond when I first stocked it with channel catfish. The ad in the paper said the fish truck would have coppernose bluegill, but the driver of the truck called them hybrid bluegill on my receipt. Truth is, I don't know the difference nor how to tell. I want to add some bass this year and your post is very timely. I'll make sure I get the coppernose bluegill next time. Can you give me a quick identifier to look for?

BTW: The Aquathol K has worked very well for my neighbor. He has used it two years around his dock and is now running low. I've used it along my shoreline very sparingly and it is wonderful how it does a slow kill of the weeds and keeps them out all season. The stuff is so expensive it feels like I'm spreading gold dust, but at least it works as advertised.:rolleyes::D
 
   / Silt Happens! #163  
To be honest Jim, it's unlikely that most people could tell the difference between coppernose and hybrids when they're 2-3 inches long. I suspect you got your fish from Dunn's fish truck or someone similar, and they'll sell you what they have. As with your butcher, you need someone you can trust.

If you can get your hands on some of the ones you stocked, you could look for the following identifying characteristics. Please check out the pics too.

Bluegill have vertical dark bars made up of individual flecks of pigment. In older fish these are always dark, as in black, but in younger fish they may be lighter. Generally there are a half dozen vertical bars or so on the main body of the fish. Also there is a dark cloud of pigmented dots on the back quarter of the dorsal fin (the long one on top). They also have a smaller mouth than a hybrid

Hybrids are generally an amalgam of green sunfish and bluegill characteristics. Most notably they don't have the same color vertical bars, and generally there are more of them. They also have turquoise integrated into their coloration which is most obvious on the head, with uneven lines under the eyes. Their mouth is bigger. When viewed from the side, the corner of their mouth is a lot closer to front of the eye than the tip of their nose. Imagine a vertical line running down from their eye and intersecting the horizontal plane of the mouth. The distance between the corner of the mouth and the intersection of those two lines is what I'm talking about.

A green sunfish picture is also attached. Note the even bigger mouth, which extends back under the eye.

The problem with hybrids is that their spawn tend to revert back to green sunfish, and they aren't as prolific. Also, they compete directly with young bass, as their larger mouth allows them to eat similar prey items, such as small fish. Green sunfish are even worse. That is not to say that each can't exist in a well-managed pond, it's just that they are a bad choice for a sole forage species.

As for stocking bass, I'd recommend no more than 50/acre and I'd put them in this fall at 4"-6". Putting them in when first available in June means small fish, which are more vulnerable to all sorts of things, including your hungry hybrid bluegill :) If you want faster growth and larger fish, 25 per acre would be the lowest I'd go. As I recall, your pond is between 1 and 2 acres, so 50 bass would do you nicely. Don't pay extra for Florida, F1, or tiger (tigre) bass unless you get them from a trusted source. In such a small pond, the benefits from the Florida genetics will be minor without intensive management.

There you go, more than you wanted to know, I'm sure :)
 

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   / Silt Happens!
  • Thread Starter
#164  
There you go, more than you wanted to know, I'm sure :)

Thanks John, that's your usual great description. I have noticed the aqua color on the bluegill, especially around the gills when the sun hits them just right. I figured that's where their name came from. I've also noticed the fish have stripes like the first one you pictured. I'll look closer the next time I'm feeding and they show up before the catfish come and run them off.
 
   / Silt Happens! #165  
Jim,
Awesome work. How about some "today" photos?
hugs, Brandi
 
   / Silt Happens! #166  
Jim,
Awesome work. How about some "today" photos?
hugs, Brandi

FOR SURE!!!!! I want to see some recent pics too.

Are you having your 4th of July Party today or are you shut down from the burn bans?

Eddie
 
   / Silt Happens!
  • Thread Starter
#167  
Brandi and Eddie, I will try to get some current photos up sometime this week. The pond has been clearing nicely after rains and is very healthy. I haven't kept grass perfectly trimmed around it this year, but it still looks good.

I'm taking a year off from the 4th of July picnic and fireworks. I don't think fireworks are banned in Wise County, but I just needed a rest. Getting together a cookout for 40-50 people, and a huge fireworks show is a ton of work. The heat has just been oppressive, and I've had some problems with my legs (circulation) this last year. Maybe next year I will feel up to it again.

We are going to my daughter's house this afternoon and have a cookout. Later this evening we are going to the Rangers-Orioles game tonight and watch fireworks. That will be MUCH easier than my usual 4th.:thumbsup:
 
   / Silt Happens! #168  
Brandi and Eddie, I will try to get some current photos up sometime this week. The pond has been clearing nicely after rains and is very healthy. I haven't kept grass perfectly trimmed around it this year, but it still looks good.

I'm taking a year off from the 4th of July picnic and fireworks. I don't think fireworks are banned in Wise County, but I just needed a rest. Getting together a cookout for 40-50 people, and a huge fireworks show is a ton of work. The heat has just been oppressive, and I've had some problems with my legs (circulation) this last year. Maybe next year I will feel up to it again.

We are going to my daughter's house this afternoon and have a cookout. Later this evening we are going to the Rangers-Orioles game tonight and watch fireworks. That will be MUCH easier than my usual 4th.:thumbsup:

Jim,
Hopefully your low key 4th will help you feel better. Good luck with the leg circulation.
hugs, Brandi
 
   / Silt Happens!
  • Thread Starter
#169  
As promised, here are some photos of my de-silted pond as it looked this morning. In the first photo below, you can look across the pond at the spillway and see the level is just about 1' below overflow. Even with our drought conditions, this pond holds water very well. Considering there are absolutely no springs in or around, it is doing an amazing job. I took shots from several angles.
 

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   / Silt Happens!
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#170  
We carried some floating catfish food with us this morning to draw in the cats and get them to pose for us. As soon as the food hit the water, in rushed around 50 very hungry fish.
 

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   / Silt Happens!
  • Thread Starter
#171  
Our lake level is also really high for this time of year. The water is clear and blue, which means we will soon have moss growing up to the surface in the shallow spots. For now my shoreline is decorated with a nice patch of Texas Bluebells. I included a closeup just to show the detail of this beautiful wildflower.
 

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   / Silt Happens! #172  
We carried some floating catfish food with us this morning to draw in the cats and get them to pose for us. As soon as the food hit the water, in rushed around 50 very hungry fish.

Jim,
I like the water clarity you have there.:) Wish I could get something half that clear. It all looks beautiful and tranquil. Awesome job.:thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup:
hugs, Brandi
 
   / Silt Happens! #173  
Jinman, do all those catfish require that you feed them?

BTW, they look delicious!!
 
   / Silt Happens!
  • Thread Starter
#174  
Jinman, do all those catfish require that you feed them?

BTW, they look delicious!!

In my cleaned pond there is just not much food for the catfish. The banks are so steep there is little vegetation. To keep the fish growing and healthy, I try to feed them from time-to-time, but I don't have a regular feeding schedule. Even so, the fish seem to be spawning and doing okay. I have little schools of bluegill all along the shoreline too. What the pond needs most is a good aerator. It's on the project list.:)
 
   / Silt Happens! #175  
In my cleaned pond there is just not much food for the catfish. The banks are so steep there is little vegetation. To keep the fish growing and healthy, I try to feed them from time-to-time, but I don't have a regular feeding schedule. Even so, the fish seem to be spawning and doing okay. I have little schools of bluegill all along the shoreline too. What the pond needs most is a good aerator. It's on the project list.:)

Is there enough vegetation to support a pound or two of fathead minnow? Catfish love them and can catch them. Forklift pallets in shallow water make excellent attach points for eggs.
hugs, Brandi
 
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  • Thread Starter
#176  
Brandi, I put in 3 or 4 lb of flathead minnows when I stocked with catfish. I should probably put in another few pounds and maybe some more bluegill too. I have a fish place nearby called Pond King (not to be confused with Pond Boss). They make floating docks and breed fish for stocking. I hate to stock fish/minnows in the heat of the summer, but by this fall, I think I'll be ready.
 
   / Silt Happens! #177  
Jim
Your latest pond pictures look like it is a very peaceful place. We used to feed
dry dog food to our catfish. They loved it so much they learned to associate the sound of the truck engine approaching and were jumping around before we got out of the truck to toss the first handful. We finally had to fish all but
5 out of the pond as they were eating all the keeper size blue gill, crappie and bass as well as the smaller ones.
We cleared up our muddy water by putting a couple rolls of hay in the water.
Getting rid of most of the catfish helped the clearing too.
Ron
 
   / Silt Happens! #178  
Lot of good work there Jim!

I just saw the thread today so I didn't have to wait for updates :)
When I read the title and the comment about being able to put a shovel into it a foot deep, I related to a ~ 7 acre family pond up here. It is getting really shallow and that is NOT good for the trout. They hang near the brook that feeds it. You can put a canoe paddle into it 3' deep, twist it and see all that really light silt float around. The only way to get it out would be to trash pump it up 1/4 mile to an old pasture and let the water seep back down (environmental law reasons). Not in anyone's budget. Looks like your silt is a few hundred tons of clay! I guess 'silt' is kind of a generic term :)

I suspect the new depth you have is excellent for the fish, they can find a temperature depth they like any time of year.

Wouldn't you need some weed beds for the bass to be happy? I'm not a fisherman but I have the impression people fish for bass in the weeds, not open water.
 
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  • Thread Starter
#179  
I don't really have plans for bass in this pond since we have those in our nearby soil conservation lake. I just want catfish mainly in this pond with minnows and hybrid bluegill. I did put rocks down where the slope from the outcrop goes down into the water. Here's a photo of the pond from last week. We've had terrible drought here this year, but the pond is holding its own. There's about 7' or 8' of water still in the center.

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