Creating a Lake

[rox]

Eddie, am I reading your description correctly? Is that flowing drainage ditch drain into Lake Marabo? Geeze can oyu buy a lottery ticket for me? of course Eddie some of it is luck no doubt about it, but you know soe people don't take advantage of good luck even when it comes their way.

 

[GaryBDavis]

The first weekend in November is opening deer season, so that one is out. Otherwise, just schedule it a couple of months in advance so everyone can get it on the calendar.

 

[EddieWalker]

Gary,

We've sort of decided on October 27th for the Get Together out here because of deer season. LOL Hope you and everyone else can make it out here!!!!

We had some family and friends out here yesterday for a little party and goofing off. Most of them haven't seen the lake since it was a big hole in the ground, so it was pretty exiting to show it to them for the first time. We've tried two times this year to have them over, but was rained out both times.

Something I'll never get tired of hearing is how nice it is. I hope it's not just my ego, but we're very proud of how it turned out and just amazed at how beautiful it looks!!!! I had a picture in my head of what I wanted it too look like when it started, and it's become something way beyond my wildest dreams.

When others come here and have that same reaction, it's just extremly satisfying for us.

Here's a few pictures from yesterday.

The kids climbed onto the golf cart and drove it down there. The grown up climbed into the back of my truck.

Eddie

 

[Renze]

Oily sheens can also come from natural sources. Some bacteria (Leptothrix discophora) that live in waterlogged places get their energy from iron and manganese, and as these harmless bacteria grow and decompose, the iron may appear oily or form red or orange films, fluffs, and coatings.

Some land we rent, also has lots of ore and manganese in it. the Ditch behind the field is full of rust (well, that's how it looks like) and it has the oil shine as Eddie describes.
The ground in Eddies ditch looks pretty red to me, similar to what we have in our field. I think its just the ore.

 

[GaryBDavis]

October 27th. I'll put it on my calendar!

 

[philbuilt]

Eddie,
I was wondering about the lily pad that you planted are they growing?
You all look to be having a great time there what a feeling that must be.
I'm putting the date on the calender as well. Is there space to pitch a tent? LOL
Phil

 

[EddieWalker]

Renze,

Yes, the film seems to be from the iron ore in the ground. When we touch the film with a stick, it just breaks apart. No oil here. hahaha

Gary,

Looking forward to meeting you!!!

Phil,

The lily pads haven't come up. There is no sign of them and I'm convinced I did it all wrong. I think I put them way too deep, too soon. I'm not sure if I'll try again this year or not, but the next time I'll put them in pots and set them about two feed deep. Then once a month, move them another foot deeper until they are in five feet of water. Then I'll take them out of the pots and plant them. I still might get lucky, but it's pretty doubtful.

Phil,

I got some great places for tent camping!!!!

Lots of flat areas by the house, next to the small pond or on top of the dam at the lake. There's some areas in the trees that I can just about guarantee wild hogs will come by you!!!

If you decide to come out here, be sure to swing by and grab Scotty in Vermont. hahahaha

Eddie

 

[philbuilt]

Eddie,
I was planning on flying in but I'm always up for a road trip if there are some that want to combine a red eye drive there.
Phil

 

[IH3444]

Come and listen to a story bout a man named Ed,
hard working creative genius who kept his family fed,
then one day he was digging on a lake........

 

[TBDonnelly]

Come and listen to a story bout a man named Ed,
hard working creative genius who kept his family fed,
then one day he was digging on a lake........

....and then from the skies came the drenching rain,
rain, more rain...

Don

 

[ScottAR]

.... Hurricane that is....

 

[EddieWalker]

The next thing you know, it's living body of water!!!

OK, so I'm sure I ruined the song, but I do have a few new pics that you guys might like to see.

I promised Meadowlarkponds on of my dam awhile ago, but haven't gotten around to taking one until today. He was out here when I was still digging the dam and piling the dirt up next to my trees. The concern was that the trees would die and I'd have a mess on my hands. I was pretty worried about this myself, and have been watching the trees to see if I'd have to remove them. My guess was that half would die. As you can see in the first picture, I've been very lucky and they are all doing great!!

There was also quite a bit of discussion on the clarity of the water. I've done nothing to it, but let it sit and hoped for the best. Either way, what I ended up with is what I'd leave it at. Luckily, it has cleared up to a level that I never expected possible. We can easily see two feet from the shore and are debating wether we can see three feet.

I'm going to make a Secchi Disk Secchi disk - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia to find out the actual level of clarity real soon. Now that it's clear, I'm very curious to the actual number.

The second picture shows some logs laying along the shoreline that are half submerged. You can see them under the water with the naked eye, but the camera didn't show them very well. Steph put her sunglasses over the lense of the camera to see if it helped. It did!!!

Third and fourth pictures are of a cattle egret that watched us walk around the shore. It just stood there posing for us for awhile, then flew to another stump for some more pics with a different perspective. Some birds are just more camera friendly then others!!!

The last picture is of me standing on my shoreline road with Lake Marabou behind me. What I really like is how nice and green the dam is and how it looks natural with the trees all around it.

We didn't get any pictures of the minnows, but there are thousands and thousands of them. The ones I put in a few months ago are the largest, but there are schools of them in two different sizes. Some small ones and some tiny ones. What's funny is that the tiny ones seem to be chasing around the small ones. We would walk every ten to twenty feet and look in the water for minnows. Every time, we saw hundreds of them!!!!!!!!!

There is no sign of the catfish or bluegills, but we really don't know what to look for or how to measure there numbers. There are fish constantly coming to the surface all over the lake. It's going on all day long, and all over the surface. There's no telling what they are or how many are in there!!!

Eddie

 

[bindian]

Eddie,
Great photos. I read your whole thread two weeks ago. I will be building a pond soon, but nothing as big as your's.
hugs, Brandi

 

[Bird]

It looks great, Eddie.

 

[3RRL]

Eddie,
I can't believe how "seasoned" everything is starting to look now. I sure didn't take long for all the natural grasses and those you planted to start growing. Not to mention the wildlife it is supporting now. It makes your lake look like it's been there a while. I imagine your fish are thriving too. Any indication of their status. With food and nutrients, it's surprising how fast they will grow big. Are you gonna get a small boat for the lake? I would.
Really a tremendously successful effort on your part.

 

[jinman]

The next thing you know, it's living body of water!!!

Eddie, most people see a lake or pond and only see the water as it is. They don't see how it was before there was water there. In the case of your lake, there are at least a thousand people who saw it as a swampy area and all the steps until now. You have a very good reason to stand in front of it with a great big grin on your face. You must know that the thousand people are also smilin' with you. You've created a really special place.

 

[curly]

Yep, that was a heck of a project. You gotta be proud of that!

 

[AllWaysBreakinSomething]

Eddie,
Wow! I read your post a long time ago but now the last photos really show how well things are growing. The water sure has stabilized as well. Nice job. Your thread really made me glad my pond was already on my property

 

[Renze]

What's the next project eddie ? a home built paddle boat to give tourist tours on your lake ???

I think you must be glad to have it finished, and now finally have time for all the other projects that had to wait untill the lake was finished...

When living outdoors, there is allways something to do.

 

[patrick_g]

I'm going to make a Secchi Disk Secchi disk - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia to find out the actual level of clarity real soon. Now that it's clear, I'm very curious to the actual number.

There is no sign of the catfish or bluegills, but we really don't know what to look for or how to measure there numbers. There are fish constantly coming to the surface all over the lake. It's going on all day long, and all over the surface. There's no telling what they are or how many are in there!!!

Eddie

Eddie, Glad you liked my Secchi suggestion. When you use it don't just lower and raise it to determine the greatest depth to which it is visible but also rotate it a bit when it is at or below the greatest visible depth. That will resolve the "do I still see it for sure" questions.

Fathead minnows will spawn several times a year in good conditions. With a LAKE the size of yours you will probably get better than average results in fish reproduction. The last pond (very small compared to yours) I built is going on 4 years old and the 200 channel cat I put in a couple years ago have surpassed my expectations. I was told that in a small pond it is unlikely they will reproduce and you will be in a "put and take" management scheme where you put them in, feed them, and fish them out but it looks like I lucked out as I have a crop of approx 4 inch catfish in among the 10 inch and larger ones at feeding time.

As a skilled DIY guy you might be interested in:

Texas Hunter Productions DIY 12 volt game feeder kit for $89. You provide the food container like a barrel or whatever and mount their unit on the bottom to dispense the food. They sell a solar panel for it at $39 and a rechargeable 12 volt batt for $22. I'm expecting delivery any day now and if it works well I will probably get some more. They will feed your fish on a programmed schedule with a preset amount or you can use it to feed turkey, deer, or whatever.

Electrofishing is how the state estimates populations but I don't personally like the idea for my ponds. A test seining will get you a rough idea or baited traps.

Pat