Trout Pond Anyone?

[K7147]

Having put in two trout ponds and thinking about a third one (actually salmon) I was wondering if anyone is contemplating their own trout pond and might be interested in the process and some of the pitfalls you might encounter? Trout ponds are very different from other fish ponds due to the unique habitat required by trout and it’s a real challenging process to finally have the grandkids haul out a monster from the depths.

I’d be happy to answer any questions you might have. If I don’t have the correct answer I’ll be certain to make up a interesting whopper!


Ken

 

[GreatWhitehunter]

I'd be interested in the process. Post some pics step by step.

Matt

 

[Slacker]

Having put in two trout ponds and thinking about a third one (actually salmon) I was wondering if anyone is contemplating their own trout pond and might be interested in the process and some of the pitfalls you might encounter? Trout ponds are very different from other fish ponds due to the unique habitat required by trout and it’s a real challenging process to finally have the grandkids haul out a monster from the depths.

I’d be happy to answer any questions you might have. If I don’t have the correct answer I’ll be certain to make up a interesting whopper!


Ken

Ken,

What kind of trout? I've heard that steelhead do well in ponds, but are likely to get parasites if not monitored closly.

 

[EddieWalker]

I've read some articles that trout will do good in Texas ponds during the winter months, but when the water warms up, they die off. Some guys plant them just for winter fishing.

My wife loves to fish, but she's never fished for trout, so we're planning a little trip to Oklahoma next month just so she can see what it's like. I don't know if we'll catch anything, but that's fishing. hahaha

Eddie

 

[K7147]

Ken,

What kind of trout? I've heard that steelhead do well in ponds, but are likely to get parasites if not monitored closly.

Hey Slacker!

Well, over the years I’ve tried rainbow, brook, and brown trout in my ponds and each species presents a different challenge. If I’m not mistaken a steelhead trout is simply a rainbow trout that has migrated from salt water and has lost the majority of it’s rainbow coloring. Also, I believe some areas of the country use the term “steelhead” to describe trout from a specific bodies of water. Having not dealt with steelhead trout I just don’t know if they are any more susceptible to parasites than other trout.

The brown trout will tolerate higher water temperatures and grow to a very large size, however, they also are the most wary. If they get fairly large in a small pond they are difficult to catch. We once drained a friend’s small home pond that we thought was empty of trout for over two years…only to find five wary lunkers still happily living in the depths of that pond. They just had become too wary to be caught easily. Another problem with brown trout is that will devour other species of trout placed in the same pond….or little ones of their own species.

Brook trout require the coldest water of the three and also the most oxygen. I’ve found that they tend to be a little on the delicate side and are the first to expire when under the stress of other than ideal conditions.

Rainbow trout seem to be the best stock trout for our purposes. They grow large, will tolerate some stress, and sure provide plenty of action on light line.

Probably the single most important aspect of trout habitat is the water source. Most of the best ponds I’ve seen were fed by a rapidly flowing cold water stream that provided the highly oxygenated water required. Water from a well or spring is usually very low in oxygen and thus some form of aeration must be used in the pond itself or before the water flows into the pond.

The second most important aspect of trout habitat is having relatively cold water. Trout will only tolerate warm water for short periods of time. The deeper the water the colder…right! Also, colder water can maintain higher levels of oxygen.

If your property has a year round cold stream or high volume spring you are 50% done already. If you can dig a minimum of eight feet deep and hit clay for a pond liner you are 75% done. When you finish the inlet and the outlet for the pond you are 90% done. The last 10% consists of small detailing projects that will only take a year or two!

Ken

 

[K7147]

I'd be interested in the process. Post some pics step by step.

Matt

Matt,

The normal process is pretty well documented at several sites on the internet, however, if you have a specific situation your considering I’d be glad to try and help.

I have number of photographs of our own pond construction, however, each site is so unique they might be of little help to another installation.

Are you considering a trout pond on your own property?

Ken

 

[Matt_W]

How much water would you estimate you need to feed the pond? I have a spring that flows year round at a rate of 2.5 gallons/minute. Also a small creek that is spring water but have seen it dry up in the summer month's.
Matt W

 

[BB_TX]

I've read some articles that trout will do good in Texas ponds during the winter months, but when the water warms up, they die off. Some guys plant them just for winter fishing.
Eddie

Eddie - The state actually has a stocking program. Rainbow Trout Stocking Program Every year after the water cools (sometime after the first of the year) they stock many lakes over the state. Never tried fishing one myself but apparently it is very popular.

 

[EddieWalker]

Bill,

Thanks for the link. I had no idea they did this, and I'm really suprised at how many locations are close to me. Looks like we can try some trout fishing this winter!!!

Eddie

 

[K7147]

How much water would you estimate you need to feed the pond? I have a spring that flows year round at a rate of 2.5 gallons/minute. Also a small creek that is spring water but have seen it dry up in the summer month's.
Matt W

Hi Matt W!

It’s difficult to set a “rule of thumb” concerning minimum water inflow to a trout pond because there are measures that can be taken to offset what might be considered less than ideal inflow. I’d say a year round trout pond only becomes impractical if the inflow does not keep ahead of the normal evaporation rate.

One of my ponds is stream fed with a large inflow of highly oxygenated water. The other is fed by a 10-20 gallon per minute over flow of low oxygen water from a “true” (overflows by natural pressure) artesian well. I installed a bottom aerator in the artesian well fed pond and it does just as well as the stream fed pond.

A local here in Vermont has a nice pond fed by perhaps 2-4 gallons per minute of spring water. He compensated for the low water input by keeping the surface of the pond under 10,000 square feet, dug it to over twenty feet in depth, kept some shade trees near the pond, and installed a bottom aeration system. He also was careful to plant as many plants on the edges of the pond to further add oxygen to the water and enhance the aquaculture for the trout. His kids regularly haul out 24” long seven pound trout!

A bottom aeration system will cost in the vicinity of $600 complete and runs on 110V at a cost of about one dollar per day if used 24-hours-a-day year round.

You might also hit additional springs when the pond is dug, however, if those “in pond” springs are not flowing heavily they stand a good chance of getting shut down just by the weight of the pond water itself. Sounds strange ..right?

You might even be able to enhance the output of your year round spring by digging it out a bit…….or it could decrease the output.

Matt, the bottom line is….just how bad to you want a trout pond?

Ken