The gully to pond project

[EddieWalker]

I just want to try the soaker hose "bushes" because the hose ends would provide perfect cover and protection for eggs from bigger fish and turtles.

I guess if you can talk the fish into laying their eggs inside the hoses, it should work just fine. I'm just at a loss how you are going to get them to do this?

In my ponds, there are so many eggs that I don't think it's possible for anything to eat enough to make a difference. What is more important is to create safe places for the fingerlings to hide. Shallow water and lots of obstructions seem to be what they go to naturally. When they get bigger, they will need hiding places further out in the water.

My theory on creating a good fishing hole is to make lots of places for the feeder fish like bluegill and minnows to hide and grow big so the predator fish will have plenty of them to hunt in a variety of sizes. I read that bass will only get bigger by eating bigger and bigger fish. If your bluegill don't get bigger, then your bass wont grow bigger and you end up with a stunted pond.

Pallets out a few feet are great for the fish once the get big enough to venture away from the shallows. Cinder blocks, stumps, logs and just about anything else works too.

Eddie

 

[lhfarm]

Jim,
Don't know if you have every visited Pond Boss Magazine: Welcome but they have lots of great information and are all about managing ponds. Worth a look someday when you can't move dirt.

 

[jinman]

Jim,
How long is this dam?

I don't know for sure, but I'm gonna venture a guess and say 130'. It could be longer or a bit shorter. I have a 300' tape and will have to check it to be sure. It's the only staight structure around the pond since all the other banks are curved.

Jim, wont the "hose ends" have to be all horizontal for the fish to enter them? I've seen something similar to what you describe, made like Eddie mention (PVC) for structure.

Jim,
I agree with Dennis. The hoses should be horizontal. What about tying a brink to both ends? With the center still tied also.

Dennis and Brandi, these structures I made are largely horizontal with 'branching' near the ends to allow browsing by bluegill and fathead minnows. They are not the 'do-all/end-all' solution, but just part of the structure in this pond. I'm going to add brush along one shoreline and will probably put a pallet or two into the pond also. This is just something I decided to try with the soaker hoses since they are no use because of big leaks and I have about 10 of them available. I could leave them spiraled, but cutting and making them branched seems to be a more interesting structure, primarily for the minnows. I don't see where they are all that different from brush with limbs going off in all directions. I've read several articles on the Pond Boss forum, and these seem to correspond to what I read there. They may not be the best, but since the hoses are taking up room in my barn, why not give them a try?

I do not intend to make this a bass pond at anytime. This little pond won't support a large enough eco-system for bass in my opinion. As a matter of fact, I even expect to see the catfish become larger and then move them to another pond. This pond is hopefully for breeding/growing minnows and bluegills with the capability of being seined from time to time. Too much bottom structure will get in the way of seining. I intend to make a section with a pea gravel bed over sand and another with large rocks for the catfish. I'll do all this after getting the pond well fertilized (maybe this week) and get caught up on my other projects. My little hose structures are just an interesting prototype to see what happens. I may have got my stocking on this pond a bit early, but the fish truck was in town and it made buying fish easy.

BTW: Why is a perfectly horizontal stucture so important? I see the benefit of flat surfaces for egg laying, but I also read where people drive down cedar shingles and shakes at 60 or 90 degrees to the bottom. Many illustrations show vertical posts like an old forest of tree trunks. Most commercially available artificial structures are at many angles like natural brush. I think pallets are considered the best because they are available and so easy to use while working so well. I don't believe its necessarily because of their rigid horizontal nature. I believe the horizontal stucture is important to spread the surfaces over a large area of the bottom to keep fish from fighting over territory. Of course, I could be wrong and these are just my own less-than-expert musings.

I guess if you can talk the fish into laying their eggs inside the hoses, it should work just fine. I'm just at a loss how you are going to get them to do this?

Not fish, but minnows. The minnows can swim all the way through these hose sections end-to-end with no trouble at all. The bluegill may browse around the branching ends, but this structure provides many places for the minnows to hide. Now, will minnows swim into a tunnel where they can't see light at the other end? I sure don't know that answer. They might think of the hose ends like swimming into the mouth of a bigger fish at least in the beginning before "stuff" starts to grow around the openings. Maybe 1' long and banded together so that the minnows can see light all the way through is the key to acceptance. I have plenty of raw material to give that one a test too. I'm determined to get more use out of these soaker hoses than one season of use followed by them breaking and spewing water everywhere. If I can use them as minnow habitat the Scotsman frugality in me takes over.:laughing:

 

[Western]

Dennis and Brandi, these structures I made are largely horizontal with 'branching' near the ends to allow browsing by bluegill and fathead minnows. They are not the 'do-all/end-all' solution, but just part of the structure in this pond. I'm going to add brush along one shoreline and will probably put a pallet or two into the pond also. This is just something I decided to try with the soaker hoses since they are no use because of big leaks and I have about 10 of them available. I could leave them spiraled, but cutting and making them branched seems to be a more interesting structure, primarily for the minnows. I don't see where they are all that different from brush with limbs going off in all directions. I've read several articles on the Pond Boss forum, and these seem to correspond to what I read there. They may not be the best, but since the hoses are taking up room in my barn, why not give them a try?



BTW: Why is a perfectly horizontal stucture so important? I see the benefit of flat surfaces for egg laying, but I also read where people drive down cedar shingles and shakes at 60 or 90 degrees to the bottom. Many illustrations show vertical posts like an old forest of tree trunks. Most commercially available artificial structures are at many angles like natural brush. I think pallets are considered the best because they are available and so easy to use while working so well. I don't believe its necessarily because of their rigid horizontal nature. I believe the horizontal stucture is important to spread the surfaces over a large area of the bottom to keep fish from fighting over territory. Of course, I could be wrong and these are just my own less-than-expert musings.

Jim, It's always easy to "spend other peoples money":laughing:

I think the primary reason for structure is two fold. 1. a safe "playground " for young fish and brooding and other pond life. 2- Adds to the a place for other fish to hunt. 3 would be a place to get your hooks hung up:laughing:.

I think what your doing will of course add some structure, I just think brush or pallets will provide more surface area and may be less maintenance heavy. I like the brush best personally since it is natural, (no nails later).

 

[pacerron]

Some of our fish prefer to make their own nests in the most shallow water.
I guess it keeps the big boys from messing with them somehow.
Here's a shot of the cats enjoying "Old Roy"

 

[jinman]

Some of our fish prefer to make their own nests in the most shallow water.
I guess it keeps the big boys from messing with them somehow.
Here's a shot of the cats enjoying "Old Roy"

Ron, I've fed Old Roy in a pinch, but it contains a lot of grease compared to floating catfish food. It's also down at something like 24% protein; whereas, the floating catfish food is 32% protein and is not that much more expensive. I noticed yesterday that Walmart had 25 lb bags of fish food (it showed several types of fish other than catfish on the bag). I was interested until I looked at the price of the bag and it was $14+ dollars. I believe the last bag of catfish food I bought was around $16 for 50 lb.

BTW: I haven't measured the length of my dam yet, but I will when I remember and can get my grandson to help hold the tape.

 

[pacerron]

Ron, I've fed Old Roy in a pinch, but it contains a lot of grease compared to floating catfish food. It's also down at something like 24% protein; whereas, the floating catfish food is 32% protein and is not that much more expensive. .

Jim,
That grease is what makes them good when you cook em'.:licking:
The protein level/% is always suspicious in all animal feed, even in human food sometimes.
They can and do add ground corn cobs and other scrap substances to animal feed to get the protein level up but whether a particular protein of that type does the animals/fish any good or just raise the price of the feed is debateable..
Ron

 

[jinman]

Jim,
That grease is what makes them good when you cook em'.:licking:
Ron

Be forewarned. When the catfish are out in the road chasing their tails and get run over, it's your fault for feedin' 'em dog food.:laughing:

 

[Western]

Be forewarned. When the catfish are out in the road chasing their tails and get run over, it's your fault for feedin' 'em dog food.:laughing:

:laughing::laughing::thumbsup:

Ron, why not feed "cat" food?

 

[pacerron]

Be forewarned. When the catfish are out in the road chasing their tails and get run over, it's your fault for feedin' 'em dog food.:laughing:

It's great the way they growl at the Coyotes at the gate though!