How do fish get started in a pond ?

[SPIKER]

Having personally seen Fish in mud holes after heavy rains (no fish lakes within few thousand feet at least if not miles) that is one way they can get there. I was a kid and played in pretty much every and any mud hole possible. There was a sever storm, we saw tornado overhead but not on ground. The rain was real gully washer and my sisters front yard suddenly was 4" of water & other side of the drive had maybe 3" of water in diameter 20 or so feet. Out of that hole I caught 3 crayfish and 2 bluegills less than 2" long ...

The other most likely is the bucket version of some one tossing them in after the lake water was up. I think at one point there was a stocking program for highway lakes to keep bugs down, it was mandatory to toss in bass and some form of pan-fish to control the water born insects like skeeters. Then I also know there are times when kids or adults will move a bucket or two of fish at a time and or done fishing toss out the minnows into the pond next door to start food source for bass or...

Mark

 

[Bird]

Minnows and some types of bream will magically appear in ponds that have no inflow water (dikes all the way around). How they do it is always theorized by cranes, ducks etc, but they do appear in most ponds within a year. If you have had no fish in 4 years, your local wildlife must be extinct.

Magically appear? Yep, it sure seems that way. When I was a kid living just northeast of Healdton, OK, we had a small pond that seem to fill up every Winter or early Spring, but would always dry up in the Summer. And when it dried up, there'd be a bunch of minnows, usually no more than an inch long and never more then 2" long. I always wondered where they came from.

 

[bindian]

Magically appear? Yep, it sure seems that way. When I was a kid living just northeast of Healdton, OK, we had a small pond that seem to fill up every Winter or early Spring, but would always dry up in the Summer. And when it dried up, there'd be a bunch of minnows, usually no more than an inch long and never more then 2" long. I always wondered where they came from.

Bird,
We had a wet weather duck pond, that would dry up like yours, that we would catch perch out of. Dad said anytime a bird takes a bath in the water, egg transfer can happen. Now I have perch growing inside a ditch culvert, that holds water on my property.
hugs, Brandi

 

[user.69169]

I can not believe all you people never heard of Cooter Fishseed. He's like a third or maybe 4th cousin of Jonny Appleseed about 5 times removed.
The Appleseed side of his family managed to steal so much free land working that deal of Jonnys where he planted some seeds and filed claim to the improved land Cooter's part of the family went to tossing fish eggs in every puddle thay could stumble onto so they could claim the water. They had big plans to go in the bottled water business, but they didn't ever think that them fish was gonna pee in the water, and the plan went belly up.

And that there is the truth cause my Momma said so over 50 years ago!

 

[jinman]

It seems to me that if zebra mussels can move from lake to lake and stream to stream stuck to boats and their trailers or in uncleaned bilges, that we shouldn't even be questioning the movement of fish that can actually swim rapidly once hatched and lay eggs with very sticky outsides. Of course, birds are the primary suspected carrier, but in areas of less than a mile between ponds, turtles, 'coons, and even deer who wade in shallows to drink could easily be the "bus service" between ponds.

 

[bindian]

It seems to me that if zebra mussels can move from lake to lake and stream to stream stuck to boats and their trailers or in uncleaned bilges, that we shouldn't even be questioning the movement of fish that can actually swim rapidly once hatched and lay eggs with very sticky outsides. Of course, birds are the primary suspected carrier, but in areas of less than a mile between ponds, turtles, 'coons, and even deer who wade in shallows to drink could easily be the "bus service" between ponds.

Makes sense to me.
hugs , Brandi

 

[kevin37b]

Interesting insights . Thank you .

 

[Gary Fowler]

There is a lake with decent fishing three miles distant as the duck flies. I dunno. Could be climate. Our ponds have been iced over for two weeks now, and will be until sometime in April. The ducks are gone too, obviously. Not much chance of fish transfer from early November til April or May.

I have seen literally thousands of shallow lakes in Alberta Canada that are lifeless due to freezing over solid in winter or at least enough that the organic matter decomposing literally suffocates any fish that may be in it. Could this be your problem?

 

[kg7il]

I can not believe all you people never heard of Cooter Fishseed. !

For that we owe Cooter a big thanks.

Another possibility is Accelerated Evolution. This often occurs in scummy spots frequented by lower forms of life.
Pond Scum can quickly evolve into an invasive species and occupy the whitehouse.

 

[dave1949]

I have seen literally thousands of shallow lakes in Alberta Canada that are lifeless due to freezing over solid in winter or at least enough that the organic matter decomposing literally suffocates any fish that may be in it. Could this be your problem?

Could be. One pond is rain fed and the depth varies considerably. The result is the shallow-water vegetation takes a real beating and no doubt decomposes when left high and dry for too long. The other pond is always full and has a deep area that would not freeze anywhere near the bottom, but of course it is completely iced over. That pond is fed by ground water and surface drainage.

Larger lakes and ponds that are steam-fed probably have some water with a bit of oxygenation flowing in under the ice all winter. That could certainly make a difference.