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OhioPond Management

a guide to managing ponds forfishing and attracting wildlife

H A N D B O O K

OhioPond Management

Handbooka guide to managing ponds for fishing and

attracting wildlife

AuthorsMilton AustinHeidi DevineLarry GoeddeMike Greenlee

Tom HallLarry Johnson

Paul Moser

© 1996 Division of Wildlife, Ohio Department of Natural Resources

Federal Aid in Sport FishRestoration Program F-69-P,Fish Management in Ohio

AcknowledgmentsThe authors gratefully acknowledge many significant contributions made to the development of this

publication by the following individuals: Thomas M. Stockdale, Professor Emeritus, The Ohio StateUniversity; Paul Brady, Biologist, Arkansas Natural Resources Conservation Service; Cynthia Bishop,Mike Costello, Scott Hale, Dave Insley, Ray Petering, Lisa Smith, and Gene Whitten, the Ohio Divisionof Wildlife. Additionally, the authors would like to specially recognize fellow author Milton Austin, whopassed away unexpectedly during the writing of this handbook, for his contributions not only to thispublication, but to the field of fisheries management.

The Ohio Division of Wildlife offers equal opportunityregardless of race, color, national origin, sex, age, dis-ability, or religious belief. Persons who believe theyhave been discriminated against in any program, ac-tivity, or facility should contact: The Office for HumanResources, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Departmentof the Interior, Washington, D.C. 20240; or the OhioDepartment of Natural Resources, EEO Office, 1930Belcher Drive, Columbus, Ohio 43224.

Table of Contents

Introduction 4

Chapter 1Pond Construction 5

Chapter 2Stocking the Pond 9

The Most Popular Pond Fish 9How Many and What Sizes of Fish to Stock 11When and How to Stock Fish 11Stocking Other Types of Fish 11

Chapter 3Management Practices for the Best Fishing 13

Assessing Fish Populations 14Management Options Based on Selective Harvest 14Increasing Fish Production 19Adding Fish Habitat Structures to the Pond 20

Chapter 4Managing Aquatic Vegetation 23

Plant Identification 23Methods for Control of Aquatic Vegetation 27Before Applying Control Measures 29

Chapter 5Fish Health 31

Common Fish Diseases 31

Chapter 6Pond Problems and Solutions 35

Fish Kills 35Undesirable Fish 38Muddy Water 39Leaky Ponds 40Problems Caused by Animals 40Fish Kill Problems – A Troubleshooting Guide 43

Chapter 7Wildlife Habitat Enhancement Around the Pond 45

Wildlife Plantings Around the Pond 45Wildlife Nesting Structures 45

Glossary 47Appendix A: Sources of Information 49Appendix B: Ohio Division of Wildlife Publications 49Appendix C: Sources of Equipment and Supplies 50Index 51

Contents

4

Introduction

in terms of the proper kinds and numbers of fishto stock, as well as kinds to avoid. In Chapter 3,the concept of management practices to create adesired type of fishing is covered. Whereas thefirst two chapters are intended primarily for newponds, the management practices chapter isapplicable to both new and existing ponds. Theidea of managing aquatic vegetation, rather thansimply eliminating it, is presented in Chapter 4.The idea here is that the pond can be viewed asa garden where certain types and amounts ofvegetation are beneficial, whereas others are notand may require some type of control. Fish healthconcerns are addressed in Chapter 5, with theintention of providing the reader with an under-standing of potential threats to fish health as wellas preventative measures that can be taken.After presenting information about construction,stocking, management for fishing, aquatic veg-etation, and fish health, the concluding chaptercomes to grips with all of the things that can gowrong or cause problems for the pond owner.Again, the intent here is that by understandingthe conditions that can lead to problems, thereader can be better prepared to prevent them inthe first place.

In presenting each of these topics, no attempthas been made to avoid technical matter, althoughuse of technical terminology has been kept toa minimum. For the convenience of the pondmanager who will be using this manual, impor-tant terms and concepts are defined the first timethat they are presented. More complete definitionsof important terminology can be found in theglossary at the back of this manual. Additionalsources of information, products, or publica-tions are referenced throughout the text and arecontained in one of the three appendices. Athorough index of all topics covered has also beenadded to quickly direct the reader to any infor-mation desired.

It is our sincere hope that the informationpresented in this manual will contribute signifi-cantly to the understanding and enjoyment ofyour pond. A properly constructed, maintained,and managed pond will be an asset rather thana liability, and can enhance your quality of lifethrough the years of recreation and enjoyment itprovides.

Ohio farm ponds provide important recre-ational, domestic, and agricultural uses that rangefrom fishing, swimming, and wildlife viewingto water sources for humans and livestock,irrigation, and erosion control. Ponds can be verybeneficial to both people and wildlife. Peoplebenefit from the recreational opportunities andagricultural uses, as well as the added aestheticsof having a pond on their property. Ponds benefitwildlife by providing feeding and nesting habitat,resting areas, and water sources. Ponds that areconstructed, maintained, and managed withthese uses in mind are a valuable part of Ohio’snatural resources.

This manual is intended for owners of newponds, owners of old ponds, or landowners whoplan to build a pond. Managers of small privatelakes will find useful information in this manualas will anglers who wish to be informed on pondmanagement matters. The information containedin these pages is intended to educate as well asto guide. Where appropriate, basic biologicalinformation behind management practices hasbeen included to help pond owners understandwhy certain practices work and others don’t.

Many of the recommendations in this manualappear to be very cookbook-like in the way theyare described. However, because no two pondsare identical, it should be noted that many of therates suggested for fish stocking or chemical useare simply averages derived from ranges recom-mended for ponds in this part of the country. Theidea here is to suggest techniques that should beeffective in most ponds, and to describe the tech-nique’s relation to the range of potential results.Our intent is to have the reader gain enoughinsight into what might happen, and why, torealize that pond management is as much an artas it is a science. The pond owner should seekto make use of the general principles of manage-ment contained within this manual, but also beaware that other sources of information are avail-able, and make use of them when circumstanceswarrant.

The organization of this manual was designedto achieve these purposes. In Chapter 1, the topicof pond construction is presented to place theimportance of all the factors that go into a qualitypond in the proper perspective. Chapter 2addresses the idea of stocking fish in the pond

Pond Construction

5

1

Proper planning and construction are the keysto building a pond that will meet owner needswhether they are primarily recreational, aesthetic,or agricultural. Prospective pond owners shouldobtain technical advice from government agenciesfor guidance concerning pond design. These agen-cies offer the necessary experience to recommendthe pond size, depth, location, and dam and spill-way construction that are best suited to thelandowner’s desires and the watershed and soilcharacteristics.

On-site advice from natural resource profes-sionals is the first step for building a pond thatwill provide years of satisfaction and requireminimal maintenance. Prospective pond buildersshould seek advice from the USDA NaturalResource Conservation Service. Their agentsprovide help with soil surveys, site selection,pond design and construction. Further assistancemay also be obtained from your county Soil andWater Conservation District (SWCD) and localoffice of The Ohio State University ExtensionService (Appendix A).

Watershed. The entire land area that drainsinto a pond is called the watershed. A landownerneeds to consider the size, use, ownership andslope of this drainage basin before building apond because ponds receive most of their waterfrom surface runoff, rainfall and groundwater.These factors may limit the size and type of thepond that is practical to build. Generally, a one-acre pond should have a 10- to 15-acre watershed,or approximately three to five acres of drainagearea for each acre-foot of water storage. If thedrainage area is too large, large and expensivespillway structures must be built to prevent thedam from washing out when large inflows ofwater follow heavy storms. Too much inflow mayalso cause sedimentation and other water qualityproblems. On the other hand, if the watershed istoo small for a pond’s capacity, then properwater levels may not be maintained duringdroughts. The pond’s water level should not

fluctuate more than two feet during droughtconditions. Groundwater should make up forlosses from evaporation and normal seepage ofwater through the pond bottom. Achieving theproper watershed size to pond size ratio is onereason that technical guidance is important inbuilding a pond.

Land use practices on the watershed will alsoaffect water quality in a pond. Significant indus-trial, pesticide, acid mine drainage, or septicpollution sources on the watershed should becorrected before pond construction, or an alter-native pond site should be chosen. Drainageswith high agricultural land use should be avoidedif possible. Forested or non-agricultural grasslandwatersheds provide the best protection againstsedimentation and water quality problems.

Soil. A landowner needs to identify the typeof soil at the prospective pond location during theplanning and design process. Soil type is impor-tant to consider when selecting a pond site becausethe capabilities of soil to hold water differ betweensoil types. Soils must contain at least 20 percentclay by weight to prevent excess seepage. Whenclay soils absorb water they swell and seal thebottom of the pond. Three feet of high clay con-tent soil is usually needed below the excavationlevel to prevent excess seepage. If porous soilssuch as sand and gravel underlie the pond basin,then either an alternative site must be considered,or an impervious layer of soil should be com-pacted over these areas to prevent excess seep-age or leaks. If only a small portion of the pondbasin has undesirable soils, it may be possible tohaul in good clay soil from a nearby area with-out significantly increasing construction costs.

Although county soil survey maps can bevery useful for determining the type of soilspresent and their suitability for a pond, thoroughsite investigation is essential prior to construction.Call your local Natural Resource ConservationService agent for information on soil test pits andsoil type testing.

Chapter 1: Pond Construction

6

1 Pond Construction

Pond Size, Depth and Location. Pond sizeand depth may be dictated by the intended usesof the pond. Ponds designed for sportfishingshould not be smaller than one surface acrebecause smaller ponds tend to be more difficultto manage. Large ponds are generally more costeffective to build and offer better and moresustainable fishing. A minimum depth of eightfeet or more should be maintained in at least 25percent of the pond basin. Deeper water may benecessary in the extreme northern part of Ohiowhere winter snow and ice may prevail for longperiods of time. Greater volume and depth maybe required to prevent of a winter fish kill (seeChapters 4 and 6). In such cases, 10 to 12 footdepths should be maintained in at least 25percent of the pond basin. However, pondsconstructed with depths much over 12 feet areoften a waste of money for they create no addi-tional benefits to fish. Local soil conditions mayalso dictate the exact depth that can be achievedwithin these recommended ranges.

Shoreline areas should be constructed withslopes adequate to prevent excessive growth ofaquatic vegetation, yet provide quality fishing.A slope that drops one foot in depth for everythree feet of distance towards the center of thepond, or a 3:1 slope, should be maintained alongmost of the shoreline areas. This will create thebest conditions for spawning areas, provide coverand feeding areas for largemouth bass and blue-gills, and minimize pond maintenance. Extensiveareas of water less than three feet deep oftenbecome choked with aquatic vegetation and algae.

Prospective pond owners also need toconsider pond location in their planning. Con-venient access for recreation and maintenanceis important to most pond owners. Others, how-ever, may want to locate their ponds where moreprivacy is provided.

Dam Construction. A dam should be locatedwhere it is least expensive to build. Constructioncosts can be minimized by selecting a site thatrequires minimal soil movement and easy accessto construction equipment. Keeping the length andsize of the dam at a minimum will also reducecosts. Sites which have steep to moderatelysloping terrain, tapering off to a relatively levelbasin are best for embankment ponds (Figure1.2). Excavated ponds are preferred over embank-ment ponds in flat or gently sloping terrain andmay not require an expensive dam. Floodplainsshould be not be selected as sites for either typeof pond because the dam may be eroded by floods.

Dams should be designed and constructed byexperienced professionals to ensure reliable service.Improperly installed dams present safety hazardsand are an economic liability to the landownerif a dam fails. Properly designed, constructed, andmaintained dams help stabilize water levelsduring periods of heavy rain, minimize loss ofwater during drought, and permit pond draining.The exposed slopes of the dam should be gradedwith topsoil and seeded immediately with acombination of perennial grasses to prevent soilerosion. If the dam is completed in the fall,annual rye grass, wheat, or oats should be plantedto provide erosion protection until spring whenthe area can be reseeded with perennial grasses.Regular mowing and maintenance are necessaryto prevent trees from growing on the dam. Thisis important because tree root systems may causeleakage problems and attract burrowing animals.Rock riprap can be added to the slope on thewater side of the dam to further prevent erosionand burrowing by nuisance animals.

Excavated Ponds. Dug or excavated pondsare constructed in areas of flat or gently slopingland not suited for ponds with dams. As the nameimplies, dug ponds are created by removing soiland allowing water to fill in the dug out area.Most of the water supply comes from groundwater seepage or natural springs. Soils areusually made up of materials that allow freemovement of water through the pond bottom.

Embankment Ponds. Embankment pondsare more common in areas with moderate to steepsloping terrain. They are created by building a dambetween two hillsides to collect and hold waterfrom overland runoff. The pond bottom and dammust be made up of soil that prevents excessseepage. Embankment ponds should not be builtby damming permanent flow streams, no matterwhat size they are. Small streams are a sourcefor silt, sediment, debris, excess nutrients, andundesirable fish, all of which can degrade waterquality and reduce chances for good fishing.

Combination. In many instances, a combi-nation of digging and impounding (damming) isused to create a pond. A dam is built to holdwater and some digging is used to finish thebasin to the desired slope and depth.

Spillways. The principal spillway is usuallylocated along the face of the dam at the normalwater level. It is designed to maintain the waterlevel under normal inflows from snow melt,spring flow, and rain. Drop inlet and hoodedinlet trickle tubes are two of the more common

Pond Construction

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1

overflow pipes used in farm ponds. Hood inlettubes pass at an angle through the center of thedam and drop inlets pass underneath the dam.Drop inlets are more expensive to install thanhooded inlets, but can be designed to allow thepond to be drained. This is an important featureto have in ponds managed for fishing. All pipesthat pass through the dam must be installed withanti-seep collars to prevent leaks from developingalong the pipe as it passes through the dam.

Embankment ponds should have both aprincipal and emergency spillway. The emergencyspillway provides an exit point for excess water.During periods of high rainfall, it routes wateraround the dam to prevent excess storm runofffrom flowing over and eroding the dam. Theemergency spillway should be cut into undis-turbed terrain adjacent to one end of the damwhere the overflow will fall into the naturaldrainage.

Drain Pipe. When possible, a drain pipeshould be installed in ponds managed for fishing.This allows the pond to be drained to eliminateundesirable fish populations, or drawn down formanagement of nuisance aquatic plants, main-tenance of banks, or repair of the dam. A drainpipe may also facilitate livestock watering (seeChapter 6 for details about livestock watering andpond construction concerns).

Dry Hydrants. Dry hydrants can be installedin just about any pond as a readily available sourceof water for fire fighters. This is an especially nicefeature in rural areas that lack public watersupplies. Dry hydrants can be installed into newor old ponds, but are usually more convenientto install during construction. Personnel from thecounty Natural Resources Conservation Serviceoffice can provide material specifications andconstruction and cost information for installingdry hydrants.

Figure 1.2. Pond types: excavated, embankment, combination.

Principal spillway

Excavated

Embankment

Combination

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1 Pond Construction

Dry hydrant A completed farm pond

Aerial view ofexcavated ponds

Stocking the Pond

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2

Some of the finest fishing in Ohio for large-mouth bass, bluegills, and channel catfish can befound in farm ponds that have been properlystocked and managed. New ponds are usuallystocked with fingerling largemouth bass, bluegills,and channel catfish, whereas ponds with estab-lished fish populations may periodically besupplemented by stocking larger fishes. Successfulstocking is as easy as determining the type offishing a pond owner desires and the currentcondition of the pond.

A properly stocked and managed pond willprovide years of quality fishing. Stocking theproper kinds, sizes, and numbers of fishes willstart a pond in the right direction. Most Ohioponds are ideal for largemouth bass, bluegills,and channel catfish, and all three provide excel-lent fishing and fine eating. An initial stockingof a combination of these fishes is usually rec-ommended for new or renovated ponds. Properlymanaged largemouth bass and bluegills will pro-duce self-sustaining populations, whereas chan-nel catfish usually require periodic restocking.Channel catfish are often considered “bonus fish”because they don’t interfere with the other pondfish, but provide extra fishing and harvest oppor-tunities. Redear sunfish can also be stocked as a“bonus fish” in combination with bluegills andare popular because they rarely become over-abundant and often grow to large sizes. However,they can be more difficult to catch than bluegills.

Another fish which is occasionally stockedin farm ponds is the triploid grass carp, or whiteamur. Unlike largemouth bass, bluegills, redearsunfish, and catfish, grass carp are not stockedfor sport or to eat, but to control or eliminatenuisance aquatic vegetation. Additional informa-tion about grass carp is available in Chapter 4.

The Most Popular Pond FishLargemouth Bass. The largemouth bass is

the top predator in Ohio ponds. It is the largestmember of the sunfish family, which also

includes the bluegills and redear sunfish. In Ohio,most largemouth bass begin spawning at agethree when they are 10 to 12 inches long. Spawn-ing starts during May when water temperaturesreach 60oF and is usually completed by mid-June.The male builds a nest by using his tail to fanout a saucer-shaped depression on the bottom inone to six feet of water. After the female depositseggs in the nest, the male fertilizes them andguards the nest until the eggs hatch in 4 to 14 days.

Young largemouth bass leaving the nest eattiny microscopic animals, called zooplankton. Aslargemouth bass grow, they switch to a diet ofinsects, crayfish, and small fish. Adult largemouthbass in ponds usually eat bluegills and smalllargemouth bass, although their diets can be quitevariable.

Growth of largemouth bass is also rathervariable, depending on food availability andhabitat suitability. Average growth rates of bassin Ohio farm ponds can be found in Figure 2.1.Most largemouth bass live from four to six years,but some may live to 10 years old or more. Eventhough the average size of an adult largemouthbass is only one or two pounds, fish up to fivepounds or larger are not uncommon in Ohioponds. In fact, the current Ohio record large-mouth bass of 13 pounds, 2 ounces was caughtfrom a farm pond in 1976.

Bluegills. Bluegills are not only important asfood for largemouth bass, but are also very popu-lar among anglers for both sport and the table.

Largemouth bass

Chapter 2: Stocking the Pond

10

2 Stocking the Pond

Channel catfish

Largemouth bass

Bluegill /Redear sunfish

76543210

5

10

15

20

0

5

10

15

20

Age (years)

Len

gth

in

in

ches

Bluegills are usually the pond fish most eagerto bite and put up a good fight on light tackledespite their small size.

Most bluegills can spawn by age two whenthey are about three inches long. Spawning beginstwo to four weeks later than for largemouth basswhen the water temperature reaches 70oF. Eventhough the spawning period usually begins in lateMay, it often continues through the summer.Bluegills build nests similar to, but smaller thanthose built by largemouth bass. Many nests arebuilt close together in a relatively small area oneto four feet deep. However, male bluegills rarelyguard nests for more than three to five days.

Young bluegills feed on tiny microscopicplants, called phytoplankton, and zooplankton.The diet of adults often includes insects, snails,small crayfish, fish eggs, and very small fishes.Bluegills can grow to six inches in two to fouryears when plenty of food and space are available(Figure 2.1). This is the size that most anglersbegin to keep for eating, although bluegills cangrow to over 10 inches long.

Redear Sunfish. The redear sunfish, or“shellcracker,” is the southern cousin of the blue-gill. The name “shellcracker” came about fromthis fish’s frequent eating of snails, which it cancrush with specialized teeth in its throat. Sincetheir introduction into Ohio during the early1930s, redear sunfish have been widely stockedinto lakes and ponds.

Bluegill

Redear sunfish spawning is similar to that ofbluegills, but they produce fewer offspring.Redear sunfish are usually stocked in combina-tion with largemouth bass and bluegills becausethey rarely provide enough food for largemouthbass by themselves. Growth of redear sunfish issimilar to that of bluegills.

Channel Catfish. Channel catfish are mostat home in large streams, lakes or reservoirs, butthey also survive and grow very well whenstocked in ponds. These fish are primarily bottomfeeders, preferring live or dead insects, crayfish,fish, and occasionally aquatic plants. They canalso be easily trained to feed on commercial foodpellets. Pond owners who stock channel catfishshould be aware that in some shallow pondsthese fish may stir up the bottom and cause thewater to become muddy. Since channel catfishrarely reproduce in ponds, if they become aproblem by creating muddy water, the pondowner can harvest the catfish in the pond andsimply stop stocking them. Ohio anglers typicallycatch channel catfish in the 14- to 16-inch sizerange, although larger fish up to 26 inches arenot uncommon.

Channel catfish

Figure 2.1. Typical growth of fish in Ohiofarm ponds.

Stocking the Pond

11

2How Many and What Sizesof Fish to Stock

Stocking the recommended sizes and num-bers of fish is very important for good fishing.Fingerling fish one to three inches long are rec-ommended for stocking new or renovated ponds.Starting a pond off by stocking larger fish istempting, but can lead to an “unbalanced” pondwith too many fish of one kind and too few ofanother. Stocking larger fish can also be veryexpensive. Table 2.1 shows how many fish ofeach kind to stock depending on the desired com-bination.

Whereas stocking fingerlings is recom-mended for new or renovated ponds, occasionalstockings of larger fishes, or periodic restockingof channel catfish may be necessary in pondswith established fish populations. Stocking inter-mediate size fishes is recommended at reducedrates compared to fingerlings. For example, iflargemouth bass or bluegills need to be supple-mented, stocking four- to six-inch largemouthbass at the reduced rate of 50 per acre, or two-to four-inch bluegills at the reduced rate of 250per acre may be appropriate. Channel catfishshould be at least eight inches long for periodicrestocking so they are not eaten by adult large-mouth bass. Stocking these larger channel cat-fish is recommended at the reduced rates of 25to 50 per acre.

When and How to Stock FishStocking fishes need not be delayed once a

new or renovated pond has filled. Although stock-ing during cooler seasons is a little easier on thefish, the time of year a pond is stocked is not allthat important. Ponds are often stocked in the fallbecause fish tend to be more available from com-mercial fish dealers at that time.

Fish stocked in ponds need to be in the bestpossible condition. The person stocking the pond

should try to avoid rough handling or extremewater temperature changes when transportingfish to the pond. Fishes must be carefully accli-mated if the water temperature in the haulingcontainer differs more than 5oF from the pondwater. This is often done by placing the haulingcontainer, usually a sealed plastic bag, into thepond and allowing the water in the bag to reachthe same temperature as the pond. Anothermethod is to gradually add pond water to thecontainer until the temperatures are similar. Witheither method, acclimation time should be about30 minutes.

Fishes for your pond should be obtained froma licensed commercial fish propagator. This isrecommended over obtaining your own fish fromlocal streams, rivers or lakes because you mayaccidentally introduce undesirable types of fish,parasites, or even diseases. A list of licensed fishpropagators located in Ohio is available from theDivision of Wildlife (Publication 196, AppendixB). The Ohio Division of Wildlife does not pro-vide fish for private ponds; Division hatcheriesonly provide fish for public fishing waters.

Stocking Other Types of FishLargemouth bass, bluegills, redear sunfish,

and channel catfish are the most appropriatefishes for stocking the majority of Ohio ponds.Experimenting with other types is not recom-mended if the pond owner is interested in easyand inexpensive maintenance of a quality fish-ing pond. Very few ponds are exceptions to thisrule because few ponds have the unique condi-tions that make stocking other fishes possible. Forexample, spring fed, highly oxygenated pondsthat remain below 75oF through the summer maysupport trout, but are very rare in Ohio.

Undesirable fishes for a pond include greensunfish, hybrid sunfishes, white crappies, blackcrappies, yellow perch, bullheads, common carp,and gizzard shad (Figure 2.2). Each of these types

of fish can take over a pond,compete with the desirable fishfor food and space, and ruin thequality of fishing. They are usu-ally introduced into ponds byaccident, or by well-intended“stockings” from a neighbor.Once they become established,undesirable fishes can be diffi-cult to eliminate.

Table 2.1. Recommended stocking rates of fingerling fishfor new or renovated ponds.

Number of fish to stock per acre

Stocking combination Bass Bluegill Redear Catfish

Bass-bluegill 100 500Bass-bluegill-catfish 100 500 100Bass-redear 100 500Bass-bluegill-redear 100 350 150Bass-bluegill-redear-catfish 100 350 150 100

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2 Stocking the Pond

Figure 2.2. Fishes that are not desirable to stock in Ohio farm ponds.

White crappie

Black crappie

Common carp

Yellow perch

Bullhead

Green sunfish

Gizzard shad

Management Practices for the Best Fishing

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Creating and maintaining good fishing in apond that has been properly constructed andstocked doesn’t have to be a lot of work. In fact,it can be as simple as a pond owner deciding whathe likes to catch most and then following themanagement recommendations contained in thischapter. Some pond owners may simply want tocatch as many fish as possible, regardless of theirsize. Others may want to catch fewer, but biggerlargemouth bass and bluegills. Still others mayprefer to catch mainly trophy largemouth bass orchannel catfish. Each option is possible with littlemore effort than it takes to simply control thekinds and sizes of fish harvested from the pond.

Pond fishes are a renewable resource andsustained harvest is an important tool for creat-ing and maintaining good fishing. However, pondowners need to carefully control how much ofthe catch is removed from their pond becauseoverharvest can cause a variety of problems. Fishabundances should be low enough to allow forgood fish growth, yet high enough to providegood fishing. Adjusting fishing and harvest prac-tices is the easiest and most enjoyable path togood fishing. Each year a portion of a pond’s fishpopulation dies of natural causes. Keeping a fewfish for the table puts them to good use and canactually increase the number of large fish in apond by helping to prevent overcrowding. Othermanagement practices that can contribute togood fishing are fertilization, artificial feeding,and the addition of habitat structure. However,these management practices alone will not over-come the problems caused by overharvest.

New pond owners are often anxious to fishtheir newly stocked ponds. Unfortunately, har-vesting too soon from a new pond may ruin fu-ture fishing. Largemouth bass and bluegillsshould not be removed from a new or renovatedpond for the first three years to allow the initialstock to grow and reproduce. During this time,fishing can be allowed as long as anglers releasetheir catch.

After the three-year waiting period, a pondowner should decide what type of fishing he de-sires and how much effort will be committed toachieve good results. If fishing is not a high pri-ority, then only a minimal amount of effort isrequired to ensure that the pond produces aver-age fishing. On the other hand, very high qual-ity fishing for a particular kind of fish requires abit more effort. Management practices can beginimmediately in a new or renovated pond, butpopulation assessment will first be necessary inan established pond.

Chapter 3: Management Practices forthe Best Fishing

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3 Management Practices for the Best Fishing

Assessing Fish PopulationsAn owner of a new or renovated pond can

generally follow the basic steps in a managementplan right from the start if the pond has beenproperly stocked. However, in established ponds,assessment of the fish population may first benecessary. A pond’s fish population can be as-sessed with a combination of shoreline seiningand the practice of keeping angler diary records.These methods provide an idea of the kinds andsizes of fishes present in the pond. Seines arerelatively inexpensive and can be purchased froma variety of sources (Appendix C).

Seining. Determining the status of a pond’sfish population is easy with a seine. Seining isused to determine the spawning success of large-mouth bass and bluegills, so capturing large fishwith the seine is not important. The seine shouldbe as least 12 feet long with 1/4-inch mesh. Dur-ing late June or July, pull the seine along theshoreline in at least three different areas of thepond to capture small fish hatched earlier in theyear. The presence or absence, and abundanceof fish collected with the seine tell a lot aboutthe status of the pond’s fish population. Ideally,a seine sample should contain many small blue-gills that range from one half to two inches longand fewer numbers of young largemouth bass.This would indicate the presence of both species,and that both are successfully spawning. Theabsence or very low numbers of either younglargemouth bass or small bluegills in the seineusually indicates that the pond’s fish populationneeds help. The kinds, sizes, and numbers offishes caught by anglers will usually tell the restof the story.

Angler Diaries. Angler diaries are anothersource of information that can be used to assessthe quality of pond fishing and the status of the

fish population. It can be very important to takea few moments to write down the kind, number,and approximate lengths of fishes caught, andindicate whether they were released or harvested.These notes are the best way to document thequality of the fishing and the numbers of fishharvested from the pond. Anglers can help a greatdeal by recording this information periodically,or even for each trip, on index cards or in a note-book. Other notes that may be of interest includedate, hours fished, or weather conditions. Asample angler diary form is provided in Figure3.1. Diaries not only provide a written histori-cal record of the pond’s fishery, but can be en-tertaining and informative to read as the yearsgo by. The information contained in the anglerdiary can be used to help develop a managementplan to achieve the quality of fishing that theowner desires. Table 3.1 demonstrates how to useangler diary information to develop the desiredtype of fishing based upon the five primary man-agement options.

Management Options Based onSelective Harvest

Sustaining a type of fishing and harvest forpreferred sizes and kinds of fishes is easiest byselectively harvesting the catch. In the past, pondowners were told that the best ponds were “bal-anced” ponds. Fish populations in balancedponds tend to offer moderate fishing quality thatprovides anglers with consistent catches of 10-to 15-inch largemouth bass and five- to seven-inch bluegills. However, this kind of fishing maynot be for everyone. Many pond owners are notsatisfied with average largemouth bass and blue-gill fishing. Instead, they may prefer to managetheir ponds for either bigger bluegill or trophylargemouth bass. Although it is nearly impossibleto have an abundance of both in the same pond,tipping the traditional balance toward one typeof fishery is rather easy. Five primary managementoptions with different expectations for numbersand sizes of fish harvested are commonly used:1) no restrictions on harvest, 2) all-purpose fish-ing (balanced pond), 3) large bluegill fishing, 4)trophy largemouth bass fishing, and 5) channelcatfish fishing (Figure 3.2). The average annualsustained harvest that can be expected from apond under each management option is de-scribed in Table 3.2.


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Figure 3.1. Sample angler diary page

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KR

KR

KR

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KR

➔

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K –

Num

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of f

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R –

Num

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16


Table 3.1. R

ecomm

ended steps to ach

ieve the all-pu

rpose, large bluegills, or troph

y largemou

th bass m

anagem

ent option

s based on an

gler diaryrecords. N

um

bers of fishes to be h

arvested or stocked are on

a per acre per year basis. To use th

e table, first decide wh

ich catch

scenario in

colum

ns on

e and tw

o best fits the an

gler diary records. Th

en read across th

at row to th

e harvest recom

men

dations for ach

ieving th

e desired typeof fish

ing u

nder colu

mn

s three, fou

r, or five.

If the bass

If the blu

egillsT

o achieve th

e all-purpose

To ach

ieve the large

To ach

ieve the troph

y large-cau

ght are:

AN

Dcau

ght are:

TH

ENm

anagem

ent option

:blu

egills man

agemen

t option:

mou

th bass m

anagem

ent option

:

Mostly less than

Mostly m

ore thanH

arvest largemouth bass

Follow the large bluegills

Harvest bass less than

12 inches in length5 inches in length

less than 12 inches, andm

anagement option 3

12 inches, and harvestdo not harvest bluegills

on page 17-18bluegills

Mostly 12 to 15

Mostly 3 to 6 inches

Population is balanced, followH

arvest all bluegills less thanH

arvest bass less thaninches in length

in length with som

eall purpose m

anagement

6 inches, harvest 50-7512 inches, and harvest

larger than 6 inchesoption 2 on page 17

bluegills 6-10 inches, harvestbluegills

no largemouth bass

Mostly 12 to 15

Mostly less than

Increase harvest of bluegillsH



5 inches in lengthand do not harvest bass

6 inches, harvest less than12 inches, and harvest

less than 15 inches in length25 bluegill 6-10 inches,

bluegillsharvest no largem

outh bass

Few caught, but

Mostly less than

Increase harvest of bluegills,H

arvest all bluegills less thanFollow

the trophy large-

most are over 15

5 inches in lengthdo not harvest bass, stock

6 inches, do not harvest bass,m

outh bass managem

entinches in length

50 4-6 inch bassstock 50 4-6 inch bass

option 4 on pages 17-18

Mostly less than 12

Mostly less than

Increase harvest of bluegills,H



5 inches in lengthdo not harvest bass

6 inches, do not harvest bass,12 inches

treat vegetation if overabundant


17

3Table 3.2. Average numbers of fishes per acre that can be harvested from Ohio farm ponds eachyear under the five management options; the lengths of fishes are in parentheses. These harvestnumbers apply to ponds that have been stocked according to recommendations in Chapter 2 andhave fish populations that are at least three years old.

Management Option 1: No Restrictions onHarvest. Harvest without restriction requires nomanagement effort on the part of the pond owner,but will rarely provide more than a year or twoof good fishing. With this approach, anglers maykeep as many bluegills and largemouth bass asthey catch unless the pond is located on publicland where state fishing regulations apply. Dur-ing the first few years of fishing, anglers maycatch several nice largemouth bass and bluegills,but the catch in succeeding years usually con-sists of a few small largemouth bass and an abun-dance of small bluegills. When bluegills becometoo abundant, their growth slows and few reachthe sizes that fishermen like to catch and har-vest. This approach is the best choice for pondowners who find that simply catching fish is moreimportant than the size of each fish caught. How-ever, it is usually not desirable for anglers whowant to enjoy and maintain catches of larger fishfor sport and the table.

Management Option 2: All-Purpose Fishing(Balanced Pond). The all-purpose approach al-lows anglers to catch fishes in a variety of sizes.Most of the catch and the harvest will be five- toseven-inch bluegills and 8- to 12-inch largemouthbass, although an occasional trophy largemouth

bass may be harvested. A few 8- to 12-inch large-mouth bass should be removed each year to al-low for good growth of those that remain. Carefulharvest will enable some largemouth bass toreach larger sizes. Largemouth bass 12 to 15inches long should be protected by a “slot lengthlimit.” This special regulation permits anglers toonly harvest largemouth bass less than 12 inchesor more than 15 inches long. Protecting large-mouth bass in the 12- to 15-inch “slot” ensuresadequate predation on small bluegills. Bluegillsare very prolific and can easily become overabun-dant if too many largemouth bass are harvested,or if too much vegetation covers the pond andprevents the largemouth bass from capturingbluegills. In both cases, this happens becauselargemouth bass cannot eat enough bluegills tocontrol their abundance. The best solutions tobluegill overpopulation are to maintain an abun-dance of 12- to 15-inch largemouth bass and con-trol aquatic vegetation. Anglers are free to harvestmany of the bluegills and channel catfish theycatch under this all-purpose management option.

Management Option 3: Large Bluegill Fish-ing. Managing a pond for quality bluegill fish-ing is a matter of limiting the harvest oflargemouth bass. A dense population of large-

Average Harvest per Acre per Year

Largemouth Bluegills ChannelManagement Option Bass (and Redear) Catfish

No restrictions 10 (8-12") 500 (3-5") 10 (15-20")1 (15")

All-purpose (balanced) 10 (8-12") 300 (5-7") 20+ (18-20")1-5 (15+")

Large bluegill 0 (12-15") 100-150 (6-10") 20+ (18-20")1-3 (15+")

10a (8-12")

Trophy largemouth bass 3-5 (15-20") 300 (5-7") 15 (18-20")10 (8-12")

Channel catfish 0b 0b 30 (15-20")

a Selective harvest of 8- to 12-inch largemouth bass may be necessary every threeto five years if largemouth bass appear thin and growth appears very slow.

b Only channel catfish have been stocked under this option.

18


mouth bass will directly control bluegill abun-dance by eating them. Bluegills that escape be-ing eaten by largemouth bass will have the foodand space they need to grow more quickly tolarge sizes. This management option works bestif largemouth bass less than 15 inches long arenot removed from the pond, although anglers canstill fish for them by practicing catch and release.If largemouth bass become skinny, or appear tobe “all head” and a decline in catches of 12- to15-inch fish results, then selective removal ofsome 8- to 12-inch largemouth bass may be nec-essary. Annual harvest of only 10 largemouthbass per acre that range from 8 to 12 inches longis generally sufficient. Under this managementoption, anglers may harvest moderate numbersof larger bluegills and as many channel catfishas desired. Bluegills in these ponds should weightwo or three times more than bluegills of the samelength in ponds managed for all-purpose fishing.

Management Option 4: Trophy LargemouthBass Fishing. Managing a pond to produce manytrophy largemouth bass is more difficult thanmanaging for big bluegills. Harvest must be care-fully restricted because the number of largemouthbass produced in the pond is relatively low. Se-lective harvest of small largemouth bass willimprove the growth of those that remain andeventually increase the number of trophy fishavailable. Under this management option, large-mouth bass are managed similarly to the all-pur-pose option, which limits harvest of largemouthbass under 12 inches and prohibits harvest of 12-to 15-inch largemouth bass, except for thoselarger than 15 inches. Expect to harvest only threeto five largemouth bass over 15 inches per acreeach year in most Ohio ponds. Although the har-vest is not much higher with this approach thanwith the other management options, the numberof big fish caught and released should be notice-ably higher. As with the all-purpose option, an-glers can harvest many of the bluegills andchannel catfish that they catch.

Management Option 5: Channel CatfishFishing Only. As described above, the numberof channel catfish harvested from a pond doesnot have much of an affect on bluegills or large-mouth bass in the other four management op-tions. With this management option channelcatfish are stocked alone in ponds, and artificiallyfed in order to maximize growth and harvest.Since channel catfish do not reproduce naturallyin most ponds, fish that are removed will needto be restocked. Once an adult population of

channel catfish is established, annual or biannualstocking is necessary to offset harvest and main-tain quality fishing.

Figure 3.2. Management Options

Option 1.No Restrictionson Harvest

Option 2.All-purposeFishing

Option 3.Large BluegillFishing

Option 4.Trophy Large-mouth BassFishing

Results of the large bluegill managementoption


19

3Increasing Fish Production

Pond owners should view their ponds as self-sustaining bodies of water that are capable ofproviding all of the ingredients necessary for goodfish production. The amount of fishes that canbe harvested depends upon a pond’s ability toproduce them, and this amount varies from pondto pond. Ohio ponds can often support up to 250pounds of fish per acre, although this amount isgenerally less for ponds that are smaller than oneacre. If a pond’s normal fish production is lessthan what the pond owner deems acceptable, itmay be possible to enhance production. The mosteffective methods to artificially increase fish pro-duction are pond fertilization and fish feeding.However, each of these methods can also causepond problems, so pond owners should considerthem only after carefully weighing the trade offsassociated with trying to increase fish production.

Fertilization. Fertilization can improve fishproduction by increasing the production of tinyplants and animals at the bottom of the foodchain, the phytoplankton and zooplankton. Thisincrease in production at the bottom of the foodweb may ultimately translate into improvedgrowth and production of sport fish. However,negative impacts from fertilization can also re-sult if the added nutrients stimulate growth ofundesirable types of aquatic vegetation and al-gae. Whereas excess vegetation can be a prob-lem to anglers and swimmers during warmweather months, it can also make the pond moresusceptible to fish kills due to a build-up of deadand decaying plant material (see Chapter 6). Thepond owner may find that the cost of fertilizer,effort to maintain a fertilization program, and riskof fish kills outweigh the benefits of the increasein fish harvested.

Most ponds in Ohio are adequately suppliedwith nutrients from the surrounding watershedand should not require artificial fertilization. Infact, many ponds receive so many nutrients fromthe watershed alone that problems develop withgrowth of excess vegetation and reductions inwater quality. The following criteria should bemet if a pond is to be considered for fertilization:1) the watershed to pond ratio is less than 20acres of watershed per surface acre of pond, 2)the watershed consists primarily of woodlandacreage with soils that are low in fertility, and 3)the pond has a minimal amount of shallow wa-ter and most of the shoreline has the recom-mended 3:1 slope to discourage the growth of

aquatic vegetation. Ponds without these charac-teristics should not be fertilized.

If fertilization is appropriate, then the pondowner needs to proceed with the proper treat-ment applied on a careful schedule. The recom-mended procedure is monthly applications ofliquid fertilizers 10-34-0 (N-P-K) applied at therate of two gallons per surface acre. These treat-ments should begin when water temperaturesreach 60oF in the spring, and stop when watertemperatures drop below 60oF in the fall. Fertili-zation should be temporarily halted when watertemperatures exceed 80oF during the summer. Di-lute each gallon of fertilizer with 10 gallons ofwater and spray the mixture evenly over the pondsurface. Water clarity is a simple and convenientway to measure the progress of a fertilization pro-gram. The water clarity should be monitoredtwice each month throughout the fertilizationseason. This is easily accomplished by simplylowering a white object into the pond, such as acoffee mug on the end of a string. The whiteobject should be visible to at least 18 inches be-low the water’s surface. If the object is not vis-ible down to 18 inches, overfertilization may bea problem. In this case, postpone the next fertil-izer treatment until the water has cleared some-what and remeasure water clarity.

Artificial Feeding. Feeding is the most di-rect and reliable method to increase productionof bluegills and channel catfish in ponds that areless than five acres. Proper artificial feeding willincrease fish growth and provide larger fish foranglers. Unlike fertilization, with artificial feed-ing all of the nutrients go directly into fish pro-duction rather than the complex food chain. Forponds less than five acres, feeding is a feasible

Pelleted feed can easily be thrown from shore.

20


way to increase fish production. Bluegills andchannel catfish will readily eat pelleted feeds thatare available at agricultural feed stores. Pellet feedcontaining at least 25 to 32 percent protein willproduce the best growth. Largemouth bass pre-fer live natural foods and will seldom eat pelletedfeed.

Training fishes to accept artificial pellets maytake a few days. When bluegills are feeding onthe surface in the evening, tossing a few floatingpellets into the areas where they are feeding willteach them to eat pelleted food. Begin an artifi-cial feeding program by feeding fish about twopounds of pellets per acre per day. This amountmay be increased to 15 pounds per acre per dayafter they have become accustomed to being fed.The feeding rate should be adjusted in the sum-mer according to how much the fish are eating.Feeding may slow or even cease during the sum-mer if water temperatures get above 85o F.

The best guide to feeding fishes is to givethem no more than they can eat in 15 to 20 min-utes. Using floating pellets in a feeding ring is agood way to monitor how much food they areeating. A feeding station approximately three feetin diameter can be constructed by sealing theends of a piece of corrugated field tile. Connectthe ends after sealing to form a three-foot circleand place the tile in an area of the pond that caneasily be reached to fill with food (Figure 3.3).

A pond owner should be willing to make along-term commitment to continue feeding be-fore a feeding program starts. Feeding shouldbegin in the spring when water temperaturesreach 60o F and should stop in the fall when watertemperatures drop to 60o F. Fish should be feddaily at approximately the same time and in the

same place. Missing a few days of feeding whileon vacation will not cause problems if feeding isconsistent during the remainder of the summer.

It should be noted that overfeeding fish cancause many of the same problems asoverfertilization. Food that is not eaten by fishwill decompose and use up the pond’s dissolvedoxygen (see Chapter 6 on fish kills). Decompos-ing food can also release nutrients into the wa-ter that may promote the growth of aquaticvegetation and algae.

Adding Fish Habitat Structures tothe Pond

Habitat structures –“fish shelters,” or “fishattractors”– are primarily designed to concentratefish and increase an angler’s chances of success.Depending upon the size and type of materialsused, structures can provide cover, resting areas,and feeding areas. Habitat structures can act assubstitutes for natural cover in ponds where thesetypes of areas are lacking.

Habitat structures can be constructed frommany different natural and man-made materials.Easily obtained materials such as discardedChristmas trees can be banded together, weightedand sunk, although trees such as oak, hickory,and cedar work best due to their resistance todecay. Man-made materials such as PVC pipe,field tile, concrete block, and wooden pallets canalso be fashioned into fish attracting devices.

Habitat structures can be placed into thepond from the bank if the structures are not toolarge and there is relatively deep water near theshore. Larger structures can be placed from a boatto allow access to deeper water. Winter ice coverprovides an excellent opportunity to build andplace structures too large to install from the shore

Brush pile

Figure 3.3. Feeding station

6" diameterpipe sealed tomake a 3-footdiameterfloating ring

➤


21

3or by boat. These structures can be built on theice, or built on shore and dragged out onto theice. In either case, the structure is placed on theice and allowed to fall into the desired locationwhen the ice melts.

Fishes and anglers alike will make the bestuse of habitat structures that are distributed care-fully in the best locations. These structures arebest placed in water that is within reasonablecasting distance from shore and two to eight feetdeep to allow consistent fish use. Habitat struc-tures should not be placed in the deepest part ofthe pond where low dissolved oxygen levels(common during summer) can make them inac-cessible to fish.

Habitat structure constructed from concreteblocks

Brush piles placed upon the ice during winter

Habitat structure made from old tires

Stake-beds make good fish attractors.

22


Farm ponds aregreat places fornovice anglers,especially children,to experience thethrill of fishing.

Managing Aquatic Vegetation

23

4Chapter 4: Managing AquaticVegetation

All pond animals depend on aquatic plants,either directly or indirectly. Many different kindsof plants grow in and around ponds, ranging fromtiny microscopic algae to large woody shrubs andtrees. They are the basis of the food chain, becausethey use the sun’s energy to make food fromsimple inorganic materials in a process known asphotosynthesis. This process produces most of thedissolved oxygen in the pond. Aquatic plants alsoprovide food and cover for fish and wildlife, im-prove water quality by filtering excess nutrientsand reduce sedimentation. Some species ofaquatic plants, such as pickerelweed, iris, andwaterlily produce flowers that can also beautifya pond.

Although aquatic vegetation is an essentialpart of a pond, it can become overabundant andeven detrimental. Identification and treatment ofproblem vegetation are discussed in this chapter.

At some point in time, aquatic plants becomeestablished in almost every lake or pond. Oncethis happens, the pond owner often has severalquestions about what actions, if any, need to betaken. Questions such as “What is it?” “Is it goodor bad?” and, “If it’s bad, how do I control it?”need to be answered before a proper course ofaction is chosen.

Plant IdentificationAquatic vegetation is often improperly called

“seaweed,” “grass,” or “moss,” but can be anyone of a number of plants that are adapted to liveeither partly or totally in water. In a pond, youcan find three basic types of aquatic vegetation:1) submerged, 2) floating, and 3) emergent.Proper plant identification is important for select-ing the proper herbicide or alternative treatment.Simply knowing whether a plant is a submerged,emergent, or floating type is not enough. Manycommon pond plants are identified in thismanual. Other plants can be identified and ap-propriate control methods selected with the helpof biologists from the Ohio Division of Wildlife,

personnel from the county Extension Service, orthe Natural Resources Conservation Service.

Submerged Plants. Submerged plants areusually rooted in the pond bottom with all, ornearly all, of the plant’s stems and leaves underwater. They may have flowers that protrude fromthe water on short stems at certain times of theyear. Examples of submerged plants are coontail,milfoil, and najas.

Water Milfoil. There are several species ofwater milfoil in Ohio, but they are similar enoughthat for identification and control purposes in thismanual, they are treated as one. Water milfoil isa hollow stemmed annual with leaves that areusually arranged in whorls of four. The leavesresemble feathers with delicate rays coming offof a mid-rib. A small flower stalk may projectabove the water in late summer. Water milfoil hasthe ability to grow in water up to about 10 feet,if the water is clear enough to allow sufficientlight penetration.

Coontail. Coontail is a submergent annualthat is relatively unique in that it doesn’t growattached to the bottom by a root system, butrather is freely adrift in the water. Its leaves are

Milfoil

Coontail

24

4 Managing Aquatic Vegetation

in whorls with each leaf having a distinct fork init. Each leaf is also curved back toward the stem.This, and the whirling, gives each stem a bushyappearance, hence the name coontail.

Elodea. Elodea is a submerged plant that ismore common to hard water ponds, especially

in the northern part of the state. This is not ascommon and well distributed as milfoil, coontail,and the pondweeds. Elodea has wide, oval leaves,usually in groups of four, arranged in whorlsaround the stem. Spacing between whorls is morecompact toward the end of the stem than at thebase.

Chara. Chara is a form of algae that growsattached to the bottom, often covering large ar-eas of the bottom with a layer several inchesthick. It resembles najas, but has a more yellow-green color. Leaf-like projections occur in whorlsaround the hollow stem, nearly the same distanceapart. When crushed between the fingers, charafeels gritty and has a distinctive musky odor.

Najas. As with the water milfoils, there ismore than one species of najas in Ohio. Najasidentification and control, like the milfoils, aretreated as one. Najas are opposite leaved, al-though they may sometimes have leaves inwhorls of three. The leaves have small spinesalong their edges. Najas often grow in clumps onthe bottom and can be quite fragile. They can befairly difficult to control with herbicides unlessthe treatments are applied properly.

Pondweeds. “Pondweed” is not a genericname for any type of vegetation that grows in apond. Rather, it is the most diverse group ofaquatic vegetation in Ohio comprised of many ofdifferent plants. While these plants can be quitedifferent, they have certain things in commonthat allow us to lump them together, and theyalso tend to respond to herbicides in the samemanner. Pondweeds have their leaves arrangedalternately along the stem. The leaves are paral-lel veined and tend to be much longer than theyare wide. They grow rooted to the bottom, butcan grow several feet high.

Floating-leaf pondweed

Curly-leaf pondweed Sago pondweed

Small pondweed

Elodea

Chara

Najas


25

4

Planktonic algae

Duckweed and watermealFilamentous algae

Floating Plants. These are plants that floaton the surface of the water and are not rooted inthe pond bottom. The most common of these areduckweed and filamentous algae. Some plants,such as lotus and some pondweeds, are rootedin the bottom but have leaves that float on thesurface. These are not true floating plants, butactually combine the characteristics of sub-merged plants and floating plants.

Filamentous Algae. Filamentous algae ismost often seen as a slimy yellowish green maton the surface of the pond. This mat is made upof tiny hairlike algae filaments. These filamentsgrow attached to the bottom of the pond and canoften be seen early in the year as green “fuzz,”or “hair” on the bottom. When filamentous al-gae produce oxygen it is trapped in their fila-ments. At some point in time, enough oxygen istrapped to make the mat buoyant and the entiremass floats to the surface. The mat then remainsthere until it is broken apart by heavy wind orrain, or until the algae dies.

Planktonic Algae. This type of algae consistsof microscopic plants, usually suspended in theupper few feet of water or floating on the sur-face. Water appears pea soup green, brown, ormay have the appearance of bright green paintspilled in the pond. A sudden die-off may causesummerkill of fish due to oxygen depletion. Someforms of planktonic algae may be toxic to live-stock, wildlife, and humans, and it may imparttaste or odor to the water. Although uncommonin most ponds, nutrient-rich ponds are especiallyvulnerable and may become plagued with denseplankton blooms.

Duckweed and Watermeal. Duckweed andthe closely related watermeal have the distinc-tion of being the smallest flowering plants in the

world. Both plants can cause big problems inponds. Duckweed generally has one to three ovalleaves that seldom measure more than a quarterof an inch in size. These leaves may have one ortwo hairlike roots hanging down into the waterfrom the underside of the leaf. Watermeal lookslike very small green grains floating on the sur-face of the water. It is often mistaken for seeds.No roots are visible. These plants can be ex-tremely abundant in ponds where they are oftenare piled up by the wind until several layers high.This makes them extremely difficult to controlbecause it is next to impossible to get good her-bicide coverage over all the plants.

26


cattails, they usually grow in the soil at the edgeof the water instead of in the water. Instead ofbeing flat, their leaves have a shallow “V” shape.Irises also produce beautiful purple or yellowflowers, depending on the species.

Bulrush. Bulrushes are annuals that grow inshallow water. They have round stems that aredark green and reach three to five feet in height.

A flower head is of-ten found severalinches from the topof the plant.

Spatterdock.Spatterdock is a pe-rennial that growsin water rangingfrom several inchesto several feetdeep. It has erect,relatively heart-shaped leaves thatstand above thesurface of the wa-ter on thick, stiffstems. These leaveshave veins that are

Pickerelweed

Iris

Spatterdock

Pond Lilies. There are many species of plantsthat can loosely be called pond lilies. They areall perennials with relatively large leaves that layflat on the surface of the water, distinguishingthem from spatterdock (a lily-like emergentplant). Depending on the species, these leavescan be round or elliptical and may or may nothave a slit in one side of the leaf. Like spatter-dock, pond lilies have large root systems thatsend up shoots. In most cases, pond lilies do notbecome abundant enough to cause problems,however, some species can become quite denseunder the right circumstances.

Emergent Plants. Emergent plants grow withtheir roots and lower stems in the water, but mostof the plant is above the water’s surface. Cattailsare a familiar example. The category also includesirises, pickerelweed, water lilies, and bulrushes.

Cattails. Cattails are tall, erect perennials thatgrow in shallow water. Their long narrow leaveshave characteristic twists that make identificationeasy from a distance. Also, a brown lower head,the “cattail” is usually present.

Iris. Irises are perennials that resemble cat-tails because they have long leaves and grow near

the edge of the pond. Unlike

Pond lilies

Cattails

Bulrush


27

4perpendicular to a stiff mid-rib. Spatterdock is of-ten called yellow pond lily due to the yellow flow-ers it produces in the summer. Spatterdock haslarge, thick roots that can be up to several inchesin diameter. New shoots grow up from these rootsin the spring.

Pickerelweed. Pickerelweed is a perennialthat grows in shallow water around the edges ofthe pond. Its heart-shaped leaves stand erectabove the surface of the water on thick stiff stemslike spatterdock. However, unlike spatterdock,pickerelweed leaves have veins that parallel theleaf edge instead of branching off of a rib. Pick-erelweed produces beautiful blue flowers in thesummer and new shoots grow up from thickroots.

Methods for Control of AquaticVegetation

Although aquatic vegetation can provide avariety of benefits to both a pond and pondowner, it can also be a nuisance when it becomestoo abundant. The point at which plants becomea problem depends on the primary use of thepond. What one pond owner finds undesirablemay be just what another pond owner is look-ing for. In most cases, vegetation problems re-sult from too much of a good thing.

Overabundant vegetation can prevent goodfishing, inhibit domestic or agricultural wateruses, and ruin the appearance of a pond. Exces-sive algae can lead to summer fish kills and densestands of submerged vegetation can contributeto winter fish kills . Decomposition of plants cancause water to smell or taste bad. Dense vegeta-tion can attract insects such as mosquitoes andunwanted animals such as muskrats. Fish pro-duction can be reduced when thick vegetationprevents effective predation of small fish by larger

fish. Swimming, boating, and fishing also becomerestricted if plants become too thick.

Methods for controlling aquatic vegetationcan be lumped into three groups: 1) mechanical,2) biological, and 3) chemical.

Mechanical Control. Mechanical control issimply the physical removal of plants. It consistsof either pulling the plants out at the roots, orcutting the actively growing part of the plant.Pulling can be done by hand or with elaborateequipment. All it takes to pull plants is elbowgrease. Since most plants grow in water less thanfive feet deep, this can often be accomplished bywading into the water and scooping them up byhand. A garden rake may expand your reach.Extensive mechanical control involves usingheavy equipment to remove plants and is usu-ally expensive. These extreme measures are onlynecessary for heavy concentrations of plants withstrong root systems, such as cattails or spatter-dock. Cutting is a mechanical control method thathas limited application in most situations. Emer-gent vegetation can be cut with tools such asgarden shears, weed whips (rakes), and gasolinepowered trimmers (weed whackers) equippedwith brush-cutting blades. Gasoline trimmers area very good choice for this type of work. Remem-ber, never use electric-powered equipmentaround the water. Use of electric-poweredequipment in wet areas can result in electro-cution.

Biological Control. Biological vegetationcontrol reduces the amount of aquatic vegetationby stocking plant-eating fish. The fish most of-ten stocked to control vegetation is the grass carp,sometimes called the white amur. Certified trip-loid grass carp were legalized for stocking in 1988specifically for this purpose. These fish are inca-pable of reproducing in your pond.

Adult grass carp Aquatic herbicide application

28


Grass carp stocking rates vary depending onthe amount and kind of vegetation in the pond.For ponds with a surface covered by more than60 percent vegetation, stock them at 10 fish peracre, but reduce the rate to 5 fish per acre forponds with 40 to 60 percent vegetative cover, andto 2–3 fish per acre for ponds with 20 to 40 per-cent vegetative cover. Grass carp are not recom-mended for less severe problems. More fish canbe added if these stocking rates do not provideadequate control. Wait at least three years afteryour initial stocking before deciding if you needmore fish. Grass carp may not be effective forcontrolling milfoil, water meal, filamentous algae,or pond lilies.

There are a couple of things to rememberabout grass carp. First, pond owners should notexpect them to solve a vegetation problem over-night. The fish will eat more as they grow olderand bigger, and it may take them a year or twoto reduce plant growth. Second, it’s much easierto put grass carp into a pond than it is to removethem. Grass carp should not be stocked in a newpond until there is a vegetation problem, andapplications should start at low initial stockingrates and be increased later as necessary.

Chemical Control. The most commonly usedmethod of controlling vegetation is the applica-tion of chemical herbicides. This approach hasboth good and bad points. On the good side, her-bicides often provide quick and effective vegeta-tion control, are easily obtained and applied, andsafe when properly used. They must also undergorigorous testing to be labeled for aquatic use. Onthe negative side, herbicide use is becoming moreand more controversial due to growing concernsabout accumulation of chemicals in the environ-ment. Herbicides can be dangerous to both theapplicator and the environment when improperlyused. To ensure that the herbicide chosen willbe effective, proper plant identification, herbicideselection, and herbicide application are essential.Failure to do this can waste money on a productthat simply cannot do the job. The most impor-tant aspects of using herbicides are reading theproduct label, carefully following applicationinstructions, or contracting a licensed applica-tor to select and apply the appropriate chemi-cals.

Herbicides can be categorized by the waythey kill plants. The most commonly used prod-ucts are contact herbicides, systemic herbicides,and shading products. The type of productneeded depends upon each situation.

Contact Herbicides. A contact herbicide onlykills the plant parts that it touches. This is whyeffective cover of the plants is imperative for suc-cessful treatment. Contact herbicides usuallywork within a few days. Plants that grow fromseeds each year (annuals) can be readily con-trolled with one application of a contact herbi-cide. However, plants that grow from the samerootstock each year (perennials) will require anumber of treatments because contact herbicideswill not kill the root system.

Copper sulfate has long been the contactherbicide of choice for the control of filamentousalgae. Many people know it by the name “blue-stone,” which comes from its color. Copper sul-fate is available in a variety of sizes, fromrelatively large, gravel-sized chunks to finelycrushed granules that resemble refined sugar. Thesmallest size, commonly called “snow,” is theeasiest to work with. This is usually applied bydissolving the required amount in water andspraying or pouring the solution over and aroundthe treatment area. Another commonly usedmethod for applying copper sulfate is to place theneeded amount of bluestone in a burlap bag anddrag it around the pond, either behind a boat orby wading. This can be very difficult if the fila-mentous algae is thick. Copper sulfate by-productscan be toxic to fish eggs and newly hatched fry,so avoid using it during spring spawning periods.

One of the problems with copper sulfate isthat it can bind to organic materials and sus-pended clay particles in the pond. This reducesits effectiveness in controlling algae. A numberof companies have developed more effectivevariations of the same chemical compound thatallow the copper to remain in solution and stayactive longer. These herbicides are more effec-tive than plain copper sulfate, but they are alsomore expensive. Be sure to use stainless steel orplastic equipment for application of copper prod-ucts because they are extremely corrosive to mostmetals. As with copper sulfate, timing the appli-cations of modified copper products is importantbecause they are also toxic to fish eggs and newlyhatched fry.

Systemic Herbicides. A systemic herbicidetravels through a plant and eventually reaches allparts of the visible plant and its roots. Systemicsare usually slower acting than contact herbicides,but provide good control of perennials with onlyone application. Systemic herbicides tend to bemore expensive than contact herbicides, whichmakes them a somewhat less desirable option forcontrolling annuals.


29

4A pond owner’s choice between contact or

systemic herbicides may depend upon the plant.At this point, it becomes necessary to balance thehigh initial cost of the systemic herbicide againstthe need for repeated applications of a contactherbicide. The total cost of vegetation controlfrom each type of herbicide often balances out.

Shading Products. Shading products work byreducing the amount of light available to aquaticplants. If shading is done properly, it can totallyprevent weed growth in some areas of the pondby slowing down photosynthesis and retardingplant growth. Several commercial products areavailable that reduce plant growth by shading.These contain safe dyes that color the water blue.The dye pigments absorb sunlight and preventlight penetration. These products are not licensedfor water that will be used for human consump-tion. In addition to shading chemicals, othershading products are available that are con-structed from fabric screens and are placed on thepond bottom. They prevent sunlight from reach-ing the bottom and prevent plants from rooting.

Before Applying Control MeasuresIn order to select and use aquatic herbicides

or other chemicals effectively and safely, a pondowner needs to know the: 1) volume of water inthe pond, 2) use of the water, 3) temperature ofthe water, and 4) type of vegetation that needsto be controlled.

Determining the Volume of Your Pond. Theeasiest way to determine the volume of a pondis to check with the people who built or designedit and ask to see their records. Without this in-formation the volume will have to be calculatedby the pond owner with the formula:volume=surface area (acres) x average depth(feet).

The first step is for the pond owner to deter-mine the surface area of the pond. If the pond isa circle, rectangle, triangle, or some other stan-dard geometric shape, estimating surface area ispretty straightforward. If the pond is irregular inshape, the best thing to do is divide it into work-able shapes and then add the areas of the smallerunits to get the area of the whole. The length and

Table 4.1. Formulas for calculating the surface area of a pond. Pick a shape that most closely re-sembles the pond and measure the necessary distances in feet. Put these measurements into theappropriate equation and multiply to find the total surface area in square feet.

radius

length wid

th

hei

ght

base

length wid

th

CIRCLE=3.14 x radius2

RECTANGLE=length x width

TRIANGLE=base x height____________2

ELLIPSE=length x width x 0.8

EXAMPLE: pond radius 85 feet x 85 x3.14 = 22,686.5 square feet total surfacearea (÷ 43,560 = 1⁄2 acre surface area)

EXAMPLE: pond length 145 feet x widthof 75 feet = 10,875 square feet total sur-face area (÷ 43,560 = 1⁄4 acre surfacearea)

EXAMPLE: pond base 200 feet x heightof 50 feet = 10,000 square feet ÷ 2 =5,000 total surface area (÷ 43,560 = 1⁄10

acre surface area)

EXAMPLE: pond length 200 feet x widthof 90 feet x 0.8 = 14,400 square feet totalsurface area(÷ 43,560 = 1⁄3 acre surfacearea)

30


width, or diameter of the pond, or the divisionsof the pond should be measured to the nearestfoot. Formulas in Table 4.1 can be used to deter-mine the pond’s surface area in square feet. Sur-face area in acres is simply obtained by dividingthe surface area by the number of square feet inan acre (43,560).

A pond owner can estimate average ponddepth by measuring the depth of the water in anumber of places throughout the pond, addingthese measurements, and then dividing the totalby the number of measurements. Measurementscan be acquired with an electronic depth finder,sometimes called a “fish finder,” or simply witha weight that is attached to a string marked infeet. Use a ruler to measure how many inchesthere are above the last foot marker and recordthe depth at this location. A reasonably accu-rate estimate can be made with 10 to 15 measure-ments for every acre of water. Measurementsshould be randomly scattered over the entiresurface of the pond to provide the best estimate.Pond volume is then determined by plugging theestimated average depth into the formula.

Water Use. Before using herbicides, a pondowner must consider the use or anticipated usesof the pond’s water on his property and the usesof the same water by downstream neighbors.Most herbicides carry use restrictions for treatedwater that may range from hours to months.

Many problems can be avoided by selecting her-bicides that are compatible with water uses andconsiderate of downstream neighbors. A productthat is unsafe for animals would be inappro-priate if a downstream neighbor uses the waterfor livestock. Pond owners should carefully readproduct labels before they buy or use a chemi-cal.

Temperature. The water temperature of apond should always be checked before using her-bicides. This will protect fish and ensure chemi-cal efficiency. Some chemicals will not workbelow certain temperatures, whereas others maykill fish eggs or newly hatched fry. To reduce thechance of killing fish eggs or fry, simply avoidherbicide applications during spring spawningperiods. In addition, higher water temperaturesmean lower dissolved oxygen concentrations,therefore it is a good idea to treat vegetation be-fore the hottest part of summer. Sometimes con-ditions will force a pond owner to treat their pondwell after the water has warmed in the summer.If this is the case, the chances of a fish kill dueto oxygen depletion can be greatly reduced bytreating no more than one fourth to one third ofthe pond at any one time and then waiting abouttwo weeks before further treatment. Only smallerareas of thick vegetation should be treated at anyone time.

White pond lily

Fish Health

31

5

Fish, like humans, are subjected to manytypes of disease. Disease is more likely to becomea problem in a fish hatchery where fish live incrowded conditions compared to those in a farmpond. This is fortunate since disease treatmentcan be difficult. Very few chemicals are availableas treatments and they are usually too expensiveto use in a private pond. In farm ponds, accuratediagnosis and proper identification of the causeof the disease is important, but prevention is themost critical step to avoiding disease problems.Pond owners can actively prevent most diseaseproblems by making sure they obtain their stockfrom commercial fish propagators rather than wildpopulations. Maintaining good water quality andkeeping feed fresh, if catfish and bluegills arebeing artificially fed, can also help.

Signs of fish health problems are indicatedby fish behavior or appearance. Sometimes asymptom as obvious as death indicates an infec-tion or parasite problem. Usually, however, thesymptoms are less obvious. Infected fishes mayappear sluggish, lethargic, turn quickly and re-peatedly in circles (flashing), or even stop eat-ing feed that they have been trained to eat. Thereare also a wide range of visual symptoms thatmight be observed on a fish’s body. These includethe excessive buildup of mucus on skin, emacia-tion, discolored areas, eroded areas or sores,swelling of the body or gills, bulging eyes, hem-orrhages, cysts or tumors, or an obvious accu-mulation of fluid in the body cavity.

Fish diseases common to Ohio ponds poseno threat to humans who eat infected fish if thefish are cooked properly. Many fish are unneces-sarily discarded by anglers because of unsightlysores, growths, or parasites, but none are harm-ful to man. For example, parasites such as tape-worms can only be transmitted to humans ifinfected fish are eaten uncooked, or not cookedthoroughly.

Common Fish DiseasesFish diseases can be broken down into six

major categories: 1) environmental, 2) nutri-tional, 3) viral, 4) fungal, 5) bacterial, and 6)parasitic (Figure 5.1). Environmental factors havea tremendous influence on fish health. Maintain-ing a clean environment, or good water quality,is important for reducing the susceptibility of fishto disease. Nutritional diseases are rare in fishesunless they are artificially fed. Commerciallyavailable feeds are formulated to meet the dietaryrequirements of a specific type of fish. Only freshfeed specifically formulated for the type of fishbeing fed should be used. Bagged feed should bestored in a cool and dry area to maintain fresh-ness.

Viral. Viruses are the worst types of fish dis-ease. They cannot be treated and may suddenlykill an entire population. Although most virusesaffect only trout and salmon, viruses can beavoided by stocking only fish obtained from a fishdealer that is certified free of Channel CatfishVirus Disease (CCVD) and Golden Shiner VirusDisease (GSV). If you stock trout, you need toobtain fish certified free of Infectious PancreaticNecrosis (IPN), Infectious Hematopoietic Necro-sis (IHN), Erythrocytic Inclusion Body Syndrome(EIBS), and Viral Hemorrhagic Septicemia (VHS).

Fungal. Fungi are unavoidable and alwayspresent in ponds. Saprolegnia is a common fun-gal disease that affects all freshwater fish and fisheggs. Saprolegnia attacks injured or dead tissueand produces a cotton-like growth.

Bacterial. Bacteria are normally present inponds and only become a problem when fishesbecome stressed. Bacteria can infect a single fishand multiply rapidly to cause a substantial fishkill in a few days or weeks. They are often iden-tified by their damage to fish tissue since theyare not visible to the naked eye. Some commonbacterial diseases are listed on the following page.

Chapter 5: Fish Health

32

5 Fish Health

Disease SymptomsColumnaris On scaleless fish, lesions begin as small circular erosions that have a gray-(Flexibacter columnaris) blue center and red margins. On scaled fish, lesions begin at the outer

margins of the fins and spread inward toward the body. It also attacks thegills of both scaleless and scaled fishes, and in advanced cases the internalorgans.

General Septicemia Ulceration of the skin, distended abdomen, and inflamed fins and fin(Aeromonas hydrophila) bases.

Bacterial Gill Disease Produces clubbing and discoloration of the gills.Flauobacteria sp.Cytophaga sp.

Furunculosis Hemorrhages in the lining of the body cavity and visceral fat, cherry-red(Aeromonas salmonicida) swollen spleen, inflamed pericardium, inflamed intestine and anus, and

large lesions filled with dead cells and bloody colored fluid in the muscleor skin.

Parasitic. A parasite is an organism that lives in or on another organism. Fish often have parasitesattached to gills, skin, inside the gut, or as tiny grub-like worms in their muscle tissue. Most are barelyvisible to the naked eye and often go undetected. A few of the most common parasites are describedbelow.

Parasite SymptomsWhirling Disease Infects trout and to a lesser extent salmon. Causes abnormal swimming(Myxobolus cerebralis) behavior, darkening of the caudal fin and peduncle and skeletal deforma-

tions.

Bass Tapeworms Can infect many species of freshwater fish and are commonly found in(Proteocephalus ambloplitis) largemouth bass and smallmouth bass. Infections can reduce growth,

inhibit spawning, and result in death. Humans can be infected by eatingraw or undercooked fish.

Anchor Worm Small thread-like parasite (less than 1⁄2 inch long) that attaches itself to the(Lernea sp.) fins and body of fish. Attachment point often develops into a lesion which

is surrounded by a white-gray patch of fungus.

Ich (pronounced “ik”) White “pimple-like” parasites that burrow under the skin. Individuals(Ichthyophthirius multifilis) are normally the size of a pinhead. Fish may be covered with just a few

individuals, or in severe cases parasites may be scattered all over thebody and gills.

Black Spot Probably the most common parasite known by anglers and the easiest to(Neascus sp.) detect. Small black spots (smaller than a pinhead) that appear on the fins

and body. Caused by a larval fluke which burrows under the skin. Mayalso be found in the flesh. Life cycles of this “worm” parasite usuallyinvolve a fish-eating bird and snail.

Yellow and White Grub Light colored (yellow or white) grublike “worms” less than 1/4-inch long(Clinostomum sp.) encapsulated in a cyst in the flesh. Caused by a larval fluke that burrows(Hysterbmorpha sp.) through the skin and into the muscle tissue. Life cycles of this “worm”

parasite usually involve a fish-eating bird and snail. Often noticed whenfilleting largemouth bass or bluegills. The smaller white grub is foundmore often in catfish. Severe infestations may have up to 2,000 “worms”on a single bluegill.

Fish Health

33

5Figure 5.1. Examples of fish diseases.

Yellow grubs encysted in the tail of a perch

Yellow perch with black spot

Anchor worms attached to the undersideof a channel catfish

Catfish with columnaris

Pond Problems and Solutions

35

6

Most pond problems can be prevented byproper pond construction, management, andmaintenance. However, not all pond owners arelucky enough to have participated in the designand construction of their pond, or in its manage-ment and maintenance through the pond’s entirehistory. Common pond problems include fish kills,undesirable fish, muddy water, pond leaks, andanimal damage. Each of these problems has a so-lution than can put a pond back on track in al-most every case.

Ponds managed to provide good fishing needregular maintenance to prevent problems fromdeveloping. Minor pond related problems canusually be dealt with as they arise. However,major problems like fish kills often require addi-tional effort. Common problems pond ownersmight encounter are addressed in this chapter.Having a thorough understanding of the condi-tions that lead to problems can help in prevent-ing them before they start. Solutions to ongoingpond problems are also presented.

Fish KillsMost fish kills can be attributed to one of

three major causes: 1) fish suffocation due to lackof oxygen, 2) poisoning, or 3) disease outbreak.In most cases, dead fish are the only sign of aproblem. Unfortunately, little can be done to re-verse a kill once it has started. This is why un-derstanding and preventing pond conditions thatincrease the chances of a fish kill are so impor-tant.

Water quality testing can be useful in deter-mining the cause of a fish kill if tests are runduring or immediately after the kill. This is rarelypractical since summerkills often go unnoticedfor several days and winterkills may go unnoticedfor several months. If a pond owner can docu-ment the general water quality and weatherconditions during a fish kill, its cause can fre-quently be determined with reasonable accuracy.

Determining the cause of a fish kill is the bestway to prevent future fish kills. Table 6.1 on pages43 and 44 summarizes the symptoms, problems,and solutions to the most common types of fishkills.

Fish Kills Due to Suffocation. Ponds receiveabout 80 percent of their dissolved oxygenthrough plant photosynthesis. The rest of thedissolved oxygen is obtained by absorptionthrough the water’s surface caused by wind andwave action. A good supply of dissolved oxygenis necessary to support fish and other aquaticanimals, but levels in a pond can vary greatlywithin a 24-hour period and throughout the year.The terms “winterkill” and “summerkill” aregenerally used to describe fish kills that resultfrom critically low levels of dissolved oxygen inthe water. Although the results of each type ofkill are the same, understanding the differencesbetween the two is the first step in prevention.

Winterkill. During severe Ohio winters, iceforms on ponds and creates a seal between thewater and the atmosphere. This prevents a pondfrom obtaining dissolved oxygen from the atmo-sphere. At this point, photosynthesis by aquaticplants, the other pathway for dissolved oxygento enter the pond, becomes even more important.

Clear ice or even cloudy ice allows enoughsunlight penetration for plants to photosynthe-size and produce sufficient dissolved oxygen tosupport fish. However, very little sunlight canreach the plants when ice becomes blanketedwith snow. This reduces or stops photosynthesisand dissolved oxygen production. Under theseconditions there is not enough dissolved oxygenproduced during the day to compensate for nor-mal daily uses by fish and other aquatic animals,aquatic plants, and bacteria. If this continues foran extended period of time, fish will eventuallysuffocate. Dissolved oxygen can become depletedwithin days or over the course of the entirewinter depending on the severity of these condi-tions. The northern-most counties in Ohio are

Chapter 6: Pond Problems and Solutions

36

6 Pond Problems and Solutions

susceptible to winter fish kills because of coldertemperatures and more frequent snows. Win-terkill is most common in shallow, nutrient richponds that have high accumulations of organicmaterial.

in the loss of dissolved oxygen in ponds and leadto summer kill: 1) cloudy, hot and still days inthe heat of summer, 2) large-scale die-offs of tinymicroscopic plants, or phytoplankton, 3) suddenthermal turnover or inversions caused by dra-matic weather changes, and 4) chemical treat-ment of algae or aquatic weeds that result inexcessive decay.

Cloudy weather during the heat of the sum-mer can cause gradual reductions in the amountof dissolved oxygen in a pond. Under sunny con-ditions, ponds have the highest dissolved oxygenlevels late in the afternoon following a long pe-riod of plant photosynthesis. During the night,oxygen production stops, but oxygen consump-tion continues, thereby reducing dissolved oxy-gen supplies that were “built up” during the day.When cloudy skies prevail for several days in arow, the rate of photosynthesis is reduced and agradual reduction of dissolved oxygen results.These conditions are made worse by air andwater temperatures greater than 80oF and calmwinds that often prevail in July and August.These conditions set the stage for any event thatwould cause a further loss of dissolved oxygen.

Ponds that receive excessive amounts ofphosphorus and nitrogen from the surroundingwatershed can produce dense “blooms” of mi-croscopic algae (phytoplankton). These bloomsmay give the water an appearance of pea soupor green paint floating at the surface. A suddenphytoplankton die-off and the decomposition ofdead plankton that follows can reduce dissolvedoxygen to levels lethal to fish.

Layers of pond water often stratify by tem-perature during the summer or winter. Waterstratifies because water density differs accordingto temperature. Summer stratified ponds arecharacterized by having very warm surface wa-ters that may be 10 to 15o F warmer than bottomwater. The surface water usually has enough dis-solved oxygen to support fish life. Bottom wa-ters often have little or no oxygen because it isbeing used up by bacteria breaking down organicmatter. This is especially true in heavily vegetatedponds. Once a pond is stratified, any event thatcauses the oxygen deficient bottom water to mixwith the warmer surface water can result in a fishkill. Mixing of these layers during summer is mostoften caused by a thunderstorm that producesheavy cool rain and strong winds. The rapid in-flow of cool surface runoff coupled with strongwind and wave action can lead to what is com-monly referred to as an “inversion.” Small ponds

The winterkill process.

Summerkill. As is the case with winter fishkills, summer fish kills can usually be attributedto a loss of dissolved oxygen that results in totalor partial death of the pond’s fish population.Summerkill is also most common in shallowponds that are heavily vegetated and have highaccumulations of decomposing organic matter.Four events, singly or in combination, can result

Ice forms a barrier between pondwater and the atmosphere, prevent-ing the circulation of oxygen.

Heavy snowfall covers the pond and blockssunlight, which stops the oxygen-creatingprocess of photosynthesis.

Vegetation begins to die, and uses the limited oxygensupply in the decomposition process.

Oxygen depletion becomes critical and fish begin tosuffocate, resulting in a winterkill.


37

6which have large watersheds with steep slopescan be especially susceptible to inversions dueto high runoff rates.

Summerkills can also be caused by over-treat-ing a pond with aquatic herbicides, or runoff ofanimal waste products into the pond. Treatingponds with aquatic herbicides to control nuisancevegetation can cause large amounts of decompos-ing plant matter resulting in oxygen deficiencies.Chapter 4 describes uses and precautions forapplication of aquatic herbicides. Another factoris waste products from livestock, which can“overfertilize” a pond and cause dense blooms

The summerkill process.

of undesirable algae. Large-scale die-offs of thesealgae can trigger summerkill.

Reducing the Likelihood of Winterkill andSummerkill. The single most important preven-tative measure that can be taken to prevent win-terkill and summerkill is proper pondconstruction. Ponds should be constructed atleast 8 to 10 feet deep and have a 3:1 shorelineslope to prevent excessive growth of aquatic veg-etation (Chapter 1). Unfortunately, pond ownersare often living with the consequences of a pre-vious owner’s pond design. Small shallow pondsthat “kill” frequently may be better off managedas wetlands for wildlife rather than fishing. Man-aging these ponds for fishing by repetitive stock-ing is expensive and unproductive. In some cases,the likelihood of fish kills can be reduced by dili-gent snow removal or artificial aeration.

The most practical method to increase oxy-gen production and prevent winterkill is snowremoval. Snow accumulations of less than twoinches usually melt soon after a storm passes anddo not warrant removal. However, heavy snow-fall accumulations that persist should be removedas soon as possible. Removal of at least 30 per-cent of the snow usually provides adequate lighttransmission. Pond owners should concentrate onremoval in shoreline areas if only a portion of thepond is to be cleared.

Commercially available aeration and circu-lation systems can be used to prevent both win-terkill and summerkill. Some systems actuallytransfer a significant amount of oxygen to thepond, whereas others circulate the water to per-mit oxygen exchange, prevent complete ice-overand reduce buildup of organic matter. There aremany models of commercially available aeratorsand artificial circulators designed to fit mostponds. Some of the more common aerators and

Pond snow removal

In summer, the water stratifies into layers. Thebottom layer has no oxygen. Water circulates onlywithin layers.

As summer progresses, hot windless days increasethe size of the layer without oxygen.

The layers mix as a result of storms, strong winds, orchange of season. Low oxygen levels occur through-out the pond.

Oxygen levels become too low to support fish, andsuffocation results in a summerkill.

38


circulators on the market are aspirators, paddlewheels, compressed air injectors, fountain aera-tors, and wind-powered aerators. See AppendixC for a list of aerator manufacturers.

Fish Kills by Poisoning. Chemicals foundin or used on a pond’s watershed can enter thepond and cause fish kills. Runoff following aheavy rain can transport a variety of unwantedchemicals into the pond including pesticides, her-bicides, fertilizers, petroleum products, and minedrainage. Proper siting of the pond during con-struction is the best prevention. Avoid areaswhere the likelihood of chemical runoff is highand avoid using chemicals on the watershed.

Fish Kills by Disease. Fish kills can also becaused by disease and parasite infestations. Al-though more than 1,000 species of parasites andbacteria inhabit the freshwater of North America,only a few ever become a problem in Ohio ponds.Improper catch and release fishing can increasethe fish’s vulnerability to disease if released fishare mishandled. Also, prolonged periods of lowdissolved oxygen levels, low pH, high tempera-tures, or sudden and drastic changes in waterquality can stress fish and lower resistance todisease. Chapter 5 provides additional detailsabout fish diseases.

The Consequences of Fish Kills. Fish killsseldom result in the death of the entire fish popu-lation. The extent of a fish kill depends upon theconditions and type of kill. For example, fish killsthat involve chemicals or toxic substances aremore likely to kill every kind of fish, whereas killscaused by low dissolved oxygen might not affectmore tolerant species such as bullheads and carp.The completeness of the kill may also be influ-enced by the size, shape, and depth of the pond.The adverse conditions may not be uniformthroughout the entire pond, thus providing a ref-

uge for certain fishes to survive until conditionschange for the better. A good illustration of thisis seen in a partial kill caused by pesticide or fer-tilizer run-off from nearby fields. In this situa-tion, toxic effects may be noticed in the vicinityof the inlet area, but may not affect the entirepond because of dilution.

A partial fish kill can have very negative ef-fects upon the remaining fish population. Surviv-ing fishes often show rapid changes in growthand the remaining population may not easily re-turn to the desired level for fishing. In addition,if undesirable fishes were present, they mayoverpopulate the pond due to reduced competi-tion and lack of predation from largemouth bass.These examples indicate some of the problemsthat develop from drastic changes in the type offishes present and their relative abundance aftera partial fish kill. Ponds that have undergone apartial kill will probably never produce satisfac-tory fishing unless corrective measures are taken.In most situations, it is probably best if the en-tire fish population was killed to allow completerestocking. Fish populations in ponds that havelost fish to die-offs need to be assessed beforedeciding which corrective measures must betaken to return them to satisfactory fishing (seeChapter 3 on assessing fish populations).

Undesirable FishIt is not unusual for fishes other than the

kinds stocked to show up in a pond. Simply notreleasing these back into the pond may be all thecontrol that is necessary. Undesirable fishes be-come a problem when they become abundantenough to affect water quality or ruin fishing forpreferred fish. When this happens, the pondowner has little choice other than to literally startover. Draining the pond or chemical eradicationof the entire fish population are recommended ifundesirable types of fish become a problem. Thepond can be drained completely if an outlet struc-ture exists, or pumped dry. After draining, allowthe bottom a few weeks to dry before refilling.Chemical treatment becomes necessary when thepond cannot be drained. Five percent emulsified,or 2.5 percent synergized rotenone is effective inkilling undesirable fishes. Prior to treatment, apermit from the Ohio EPA is required if thepond has an outflow into public waters. Roten-one is a restricted chemical, so only licensed,certified applicators can use it to treat ponds.See Appendix C for information on rotenonetreatments.Evidence of a fish kill


39

6Muddy Water

Most pond owners would probably agree thathaving clear water adds to the aesthetics of theirpond. The clarity of pond water is primarily in-fluenced by the abundance of microscopic plants(phytoplankton), animals (zooplankton), andsuspended soil particles. Phytoplankton andzooplankton abundance will influence the wa-ter clarity to varying degrees depending prima-rily upon the time of year, time of day, and fertilityof the pond. Generally, these tiny plants and ani-mals do not influence water clarity as signifi-cantly as suspended soil particles. “Muddy”water is the result of tiny soil or clay particlessuspended in the water.

Muddy water can have negative effects otherthan detracting from the aesthetics of the pond.Muddy water can hinder the feeding ability oflargemouth bass, bluegills, and redear sunfishand even reduce their growth. Additionally, phy-toplankton growth and abundance is reduced inmuddy water. This may compound the problemof poor fish growth in muddy ponds by reducingthe amount of food available through the entirefood chain.

The first step in correcting a persistent prob-lem with muddy water is to determine the cause.To do this, collect a jar full of pond water, coverit with a lid and allow it to sit undisturbed forone week. If the water appears clear after oneweek and sediment is noticed at the bottom ofthe jar, chances are that something in the pondis stirring up the sediments. However, if the wa-ter is still cloudy, then there is a good chance thatsuspended particles of clay soil are the cause ofthe muddy water. The problem may also be acombination of disturbed sediments and the pres-ence of clay soils in the watershed.

If disturbed sediments are determined to bethe problem, one or more of the following sug-gestions may help remedy the situation:

1) Remove undesirable rough fish from yourpond. Bullheads and common carp have a habitof “rooting around” in pond sediment while feed-ing. Channel catfish may also cause the sameproblem.

2) Fence livestock away from the pond andavoid pasturing them on the pond’s watershed.Livestock trample and compact pond banks caus-ing them to erode.

3) Establish moderate vegetative growth ofrushes, sedges, and cattails to protect pond banksand shoreline areas from wave erosion.

4) Keep domestic ducks and geese away

from the pond. Their feeding activity may destroyshoreline vegetation and resuspend soil particlesfrom the pond bottom.

5) Maintain good vegetative cover through-out the watershed. If you do not have ownershipof the entire watershed, then establish bufferstrips of vegetation around the pond.

6) Plant windbreaks to prevent wind fromcausing excessive wave action and disturbingsediment in shallow water.

These suggestions offer the best long-termprotection against muddy pond water. It is mucheasier and cost effective to prevent soil particlesfrom eroding into a pond than it is to removethem once they become a problem.

If the previous methods prove unsuccessful,it is likely that the muddy water problems arecaused by colloidal clay particles that stay insuspension for a long time. Since colloidal clayparticles do not settle out easily, other techniquesare necessary to improve water clarity.

Several techniques are effective at removingcolloidal clays from pond water. Each techniquerequires the addition of various materials to thepond that cause clay particles to settle out. Theseadditives include organic matter (hay), aluminumsulfate (alum), calcium sulfate (agricultural gyp-sum), and hydrated lime. Each of them workthrough a chemical reaction that causes sus-pended clay particles to “clump together.” These“clumps” of particles are heavier than individualparticles and therefore sink rather than stay sus-pended. Most of these additives can be purchasedfrom local agricultural supply stores.

Hay Bales. Application rates of dry hay arerecommended at 540 pounds per acre-foot ofwater (see Chapter 4 to calculate acre-foot vol-ume of a pond), which is roughly equivalent to7 to 10 dry bales depending upon weight of eachbale. Hay bales should be broken up and scat-tered evenly along the shallow nearshore areasof the pond. Applications should not be made forthe entire volume of water at one time. Instead,apply treatments equivalent to one acre-foot ofpond water at a time and monitor clearing. Eachtreatment should be separated by a two-weekperiod. This method should not be used duringJuly and August when water temperatures arehigh and dissolved oxygen levels in the pond canfluctuate widely from day to day. The best timefor treatments is in the spring or early summerwhen oxygen levels are consistently higher. Thismethod is not recommended for ponds that havea history of fish kills.

40


Aluminum Sulfate (Alum). Alum is the mosteffective treatment for clearing muddy watercaused by colloidal clays. Application rates foralum are recommended at 25 to 50 pounds peracre-foot of water depending upon the concen-tration of suspended clay particles. The first treat-ment should be made at the rate of 25 poundsper acre-foot. Clay particles should settle and thewater should clear within a few hours after mix-ing the alum. If there is little noticeable changeafter one day, then a second application shouldbe made at 25 pounds per acre-foot. Alum shouldbe applied during calm weather to avoid windmixing that prevents clay from settling out. It ismost effective when dissolved in clear water andsprayed over the surface from shore or a boat. Inlarge ponds, a dissolved solution of alum can bepoured into the outboard motor wash of a smallboat.

Alum can reduce the pH and alkalinity ofpond water due to a strongly acidic reaction inwater. For this reason, pH and alkalinity need tobe tested before treatment with alum to preventharmful effects to fish. Alkalinity should not bebelow 75 mg/l and pH should not be below 7.0.If readings are found to be below these levels,then hydrated lime should be added in the samemanner as alum at the rate of 50 pounds per sur-face acre. This will help buffer the acidic effectsof alum treatment and protect fish. Alum is onlytoxic to fish under these conditions or when usedat very high concentrations for a long period oftime. Hydrated lime will also help remove sus-pended clay particles.

Agricultural Gypsum. Agricultural gypsum(CaSO4 2H20) can also be effective at removingcolloidal clay suspensions from ponds. Applica-tion rates range from 100 to 522 pounds per acre-foot of water depending upon the amount ofsuspended clay. It is best to first apply gypsumat the most conservative rate of 100 lbs/acre-foot,and allow a few days to pass while monitoringwater clarity. If the pond has not cleared, applyadditional gypsum until transparency reaches 18inches or meets owner satisfaction. Gypsumshould be applied by the same methods describedfor alum, although it has a neutral reaction inwater and does not require simultaneous limetreatment. Another advantage of gypsum is thatit does not affect the use of water for livestockand will not affect plant and animal life. How-ever, gypsum is less effective at removing sus-pended clay particles than alum or hydrated lime.

Hydrated Lime (Calcium Hydroxide). Hy-drated, or slake lime, can also be used to reducemuddy water. Application rates are suggestedfrom 35 to 50 pounds per acre-foot with applica-tion methods similar to alum and gypsum.

Leaky PondsIf a pond’s water level drops much more than

6 to 12 inches in one month, it may have a seri-ous leak. Summer drought conditions should betaken into consideration when determiningwhether or not a pond leaks. Fortunately, pondleaks can often be sealed by adding clay mate-rial to pond soil or using a plastic liner. Bento-nite clay is a product commonly used to sealleaky ponds that is commercially available atfarm and drilling equipment stores. It is sold asa dry powder and it expands more than otherclays when wet. Bentonite should be applied todry pond soils at a rate of one to three poundsper square foot of pond basin. Bentonite is mosteffective when incorporated into the pond’s soilusing a rototiller or disk and then compactedusing a sheep's foot roller, dozer blade, or soilcompactor. If it is impractical to drain a pond, aslurry may be added uniformly across the sur-face of the pond. However, this method is oftenless effective because of uneven settling onto thepond bottom.

Geomembranes and other plastic liners canalso be used to seal leaky ponds, although theyare much more expensive solutions than bento-nite. Geomembranes are thick plastic sheetsdrawn across the pond basin and covered with athick layer of sand and soil to hold them in placeand protect them from punctures.

Problems Caused by AnimalsOne fringe benefit of owning a pond is view-

ing wildlife that is attracted to the pond. How-ever, both visiting wildlife and domestic livestockcan occasionally cause problems. Sometimespond owners have unfounded concerns about theextent of problems these animals cause, andsometimes there is a serious need for concern.Animals that damage a pond may need to becontrolled or removed.

Livestock. Agricultural livestock is the mostcommon source of animal damage to ponds.Cattle and other livestock cause damage by tram-pling banks, muddying water by wading, andexcreting directly into ponds. These problems canshorten the life of a pond and promote fish kills.


41

6Fortunately, this problem can be remedied byfencing livestock away from the pond, and install-ing pond plumbing for livestock watering priorto pond construction. Agricultural extensionagents can recommend the best ways to waterlivestock from a pond without compromising thepond’s health. Approaches to livestock water-ing should be considered before the pond is built.

Crayfish. Burrowing crayfish may becomeestablished in ponds and in extreme cases causestructural damage and water leaks. In such rarecases, burrowing can become so severe that thepond banks appear honeycomb-like. These con-ditions can become a particular problem in pondswith large and frequent water level fluctuations.However, ponds with established fish populationsrarely become plagued with burrowing crayfishto the extent where control measures are needed.In fact, the majority of ponds in Ohio do not havecrayfish in them. Ponds with crayfish usuallyhave such low numbers due to the predation offish and other animals, that crayfish are not aproblem. If crayfish burrowing does become aproblem, maintaining high densities of large-mouth bass in the pond (see Chapter 3 on thelarge bluegill management option) can be effec-tive in reducing crayfish densities. Crayfish num-bers can also be reduced by seining for them ortrapping them with modified minnow traps; thesemethods do not provide a long-term solutionhowever. Although it is not recommended thatyou introduce crayfish into your pond, they doprovide supplemental food items for largemouthbass, bluegills, and channel catfish.

The snapping turtle is the most commonturtle found in Ohio ponds, but the less commonpainted, musk, and soft shell turtles may also befound there. Snappers and soft shell turtles offergood eating and may be trapped or caught byangling, bank lines, trotlines, and specially de-signed traps. For more information on methodsof capture and food preparation techniques, re-fer to Division of Wildlife Publication 332 (Ap-pendix B).

Muskrats. Muskrats are members of the ro-dent family with partially webbed hind feet andwater-resistant fur that make them well suited foran aquatic life. They are typically 18 to 24 incheslong with small front feet used for digging andfeeding, and a long and narrow tail. Muskratscause problems when they burrow into pondbanks and dams to make their dens. Pond bankscan be damaged and dams can be weakenedwhen their tunnels and dens collapse. You canidentify the presence of muskrats by trails or“runs” they make through aquatic vegetation,freshly cut cattails floating on the water’s surface,or large piles of vegetation rising out of the shal-low water. If vegetation is lacking, small pocketsof muddy water adjacent to the pond bank oftenmark the den entrance and recent digging activ-ity. Sitting quietly on the bank in the evening isa good way to confirm the presence of muskrats.

Crayfish burrow

Muskrat burrow

Turtles. Turtles are often thought of as pestsin fish ponds because they occasionally steal anangler’s bait or fish from a stringer. However,turtles pose little threat to fish populations. Infact, most types of turtles feed almost exclusivelyon plant matter and pond problems due to turtlesare rare.

Muskrats may need to be removed from yourpond. The best method of muskrat control is atrapping program conducted annually during thestate’s trapping season in the fall and winter.Leghold traps, conibear body-gripping traps, andvarious box traps are all suitable for muskrat trap-ping.

Barriers placed along shorelines can be usedto keep muskrats from burrowing. Materials usedinclude a layer of rock riprap that is at least sixinches in diameter, chicken wire, or hardwarecloth that is two-inch mesh or smaller. The

42


materials should be placed from one foot abovethe normal water line, to three feet below thewater line. Aquatic vegetation control may alsodeter some muskrats, but it is no guarantee thatthey will avoid the pond completely.

Beavers. Like the muskrat, beaver are rodentsthat are well adapted to life in the water. Adultbeaver can weigh from 35 to 50 pounds. Theirthick brown fur is oiled by glands that make itwater-resistant. The tail is broad, flat, and darkbrown to black in color. The hind feet are verylarge and fully webbed. The front teeth are largeand well adapted for cutting vegetation andwood.

Beaver cause problems to pond owners bycutting down trees and shrubs around the pond.The cuttings are sometimes used to block the flowof water through outlet pipes and emergencyspillways. This can result in valuable land, plants,or structures being flooded. Like muskrats, bea-ver can also cause damage by digging bank dens.They will also feed on nearby garden vegetablesand crops and cut cornstalks to use in the build-ing of their dens and dams.

Beaver signs include cut sticks without barkthat are lying in and around the pond, partiallygirdled or debarked trees, stumps of trees andshrubs cut by the beaver, bank dens, lodgeswithin the pond built from cut trees and mud,and outlet pipes and spillways plugged withsticks and mud.

Beaver can be legally trapped in Ohio duringthe winter trapping season. As with muskrats,trapping is the best means of control and legholdtraps or conibear body-gripping traps can beused. Much larger traps are needed for beaverthan for muskrats. Disturbing dens, lodges anddams does not discourage beavers. They will re-pair the damage and cut more trees and shrubsto complete their job.

Groundhogs. Groundhogs, or woodchucks,are rodents that grow to be 16 to 20 inches long.They have fur that is a combination of brown,gray, and black hairs, front feet with long curvedclaws that are well adapted for digging, and a four-to seven-inch long tail. Groundhogs can damageponds by digging burrows into the banks anddam. Burrow openings and mounds of excavatedsoil can be dangerous to recreational users walk-ing around the pond.

Hunting can be a very effective means ofcontrol and groundhogs can be hunted year-round in Ohio except during deer gun season.Another control method is the use of commer-

cial gas cartridges. The gas cartridges are ignitedand placed in the burrow after all burrow en-trances have been sealed. The gasses producedare lethal to groundhogs. Cartridges are availablefrom local farm supply stores.

Livetrapping Nuisance Animals. Muskrats,beaver and groundhogs can also be livetrappedas a means of control. The Division of Wildlifemaintains a list of nuisance animal trappers whohave special permits for trapping, removing, andrelocating wild animals. Contact the nearest Divi-sion of Wildlife district office for a list of nuisanceanimal trappers and for more details on control-ling wildlife-related pond problems.

Canada Geese. Waterfowl commonly useponds as resting and breeding areas. Most pondowners enjoy seeing ducks and geese swimmingacross the water or resting at the water’s edge. Apair of Canada geese is often welcomed. How-ever, if they raise young on the pond and theirpresence attracts additional geese to the site, theirnumbers can increase dramatically and causeproblems.

Adult male geese defending nesting femalescan become aggressive toward humans. Theyhave been known to strike humans with theirwings and pinch with their beaks. The droppingsfrom a family of geese will foul the pond and itsbanks, making it unpleasant for recreational users.Geese will move into adjacent crop fields, gar-den areas, and lawns to feed. Also, the honkingof several disturbed geese can be annoying.

If a pond is isolated from the home site andinfrequently used by residents, then the presenceof Canada geese may not be a problem. But ifgeese are a problem, then the pond owner needsto take action. The best method of control is toprevent Canada geese from becoming establishedon the pond. Harass the geese from the momentthey first land and be persistent. If they areallowed to initiate nesting activities then they willbe more difficult to frighten away. Frequent loudnoises and visual scare devices can be used todeter geese. However, the geese, their nests, andtheir eggs are legally protected and cannot beharmed.


43

6

Tabl

e 6.

1.

A g

uid

e to

tro

ubl

esh

ooti

ng

fish

kil

l pr

oble

ms

in O

hio

far

m p

onds

.

Cau

se o

f fi

sh k

ill

Sym

ptom

sPro

blem

Rec

omm

ende

d So

luti

on(s

)

Sum

mer

kill

Clo

udy,

hot

, st

ill d

ays

and

nigh

ts.

Wat

er t

empe

ratu

re r

each

es v

ery

high

lev

els

Dee

pen p

ond

and/

or inst

all

Low

oxy

gen

leve

ls in

pond

wat

er.

(>85

o F)

in

shal

low

pon

ds;

very

war

m w

ater

aera

tion

sys

tem

.Fi

sh f

ound

dea

d an

d/or

gas

ping

does

not

hol

d as

muc

h ox

ygen

. C

loud

y sk

ies

for

air

at t

he s

urfa

ce.

prev

ent

plan

ts f

rom

pro

duci

ng o

xyge

n a

nd

calm

win

ds k

eep

oxyg

en f

rom

mix

ing

into

surf

ace

wat

er.

Shal

low

, w

eedy

pon

ds a

rees

peci

ally

vul

nera

ble.

Inve

rsio

nsLo

w o

xyge

n le

vels

in

pond

wat

er.

Larg

e su

dden

inf

low

s of

coo

l ra

inw

ater

and

Dee

pen p

ond

and/

or inst

all

Dea

d or

gas

ping

fis

h fo

und

afte

r a

stro

ng w

inds

cau

se b

otto

m w

ater

(lo

w in

aera

tion

sys

tem

to

circ

ula

te a

nd

viol

ent

thun

ders

torm

whi

chox

ygen

) to

upw

ell an

d m

ix w

ith

the

surf

ace

aera

te b

otto

m w

ater

that

lac

kspr

oduc

es h

eavy

dow

npou

rs a

ndw

ater

res

ulti

ng in

crit

ical

ly low

oxy

gen lev

els.

oxyg

en.

high

win

ds.

Mor

e lik

ely

to o

ccur

in

shal

low

, w

eedy

pon

dsw

ith

larg

e, s

teep

dra

inag

e ar

eas

whi

chpr

oduc

e hi

gh r

unof

f.

Phyt

opla

nkto

nLo

w o

xyge

n le

vels

in

pond

wat

er.

Nut

rien

t en

rich

ed p

onds

pro

duce

den

seR

educe

nutr

ient

inpu

ts b

y di

vert

ing

die-

off

Fish

fou

nd d

ead

and/

or g

aspi

ng f

orbl

oom

s of

phy

topl

ankt

on (

alga

e) w

hich

can

over

land

runof

f th

at is

rich

in

air.

Pon

d w

ater

wit

h a

gree

n ca

stsu

dden

ly d

ie-o

ff a

nd d

ecom

pose

cau

sing

annutr

ients

(an

imal

fee

d lo

ts,

crop

prio

r to

or

duri

ng f

ish

kill.

oxyg

en s

hort

age.

fiel

ds,

etc.

).Ph

ytop

lank

ton

may

loo

k lik

e gr

een

pain

t fl

oati

ng o

n th

e w

ater

sur

face

.

Dea

d V

eget

atio

nLo

w o

xyge

n le

vels

in

pond

wat

er.

Mas

s di

e-of

f of

aqu

atic

veg

etat

ion

from

Pon

d ba

nks

shou

ld h

ave

3:1

slop

eFi

sh f

ound

dea

d an

d/or

gas

ping

for

natu

ral ca

uses

or

herb

icid

e us

e. L

arge

to r

educe

exc

ess

vege

tati

on g

row

th.

air

wit

hin

a fe

w d

ays

afte

r la

rge

amou

nts

of r

otti

ng v

eget

atio

n w

ill u

se u

pT

reat

no

mor

e th

an 2

5% o

f th

eam

ount

s of

aqu

atic

veg

etat

ion

was

oxyg

en s

uppl

y in

the

pon

d.po

nd

wit

h h

erbi

cide

at

one

tim

e.tr

eate

d w

ith

herb

icid

e.

Con

tin

ued

on

nex

t pa

ge

44


Tab

le 6

.1.

A g

uid

e to

tro

ubl

esh

ooti

ng

fish

kil

l pr

oble

ms

in O

hio

far

m p

onds

(co

nti

nu

ed).

Cau

se o

f fi

sh k

ill

Sym

ptom

sPro

blem

Rec

omm

ende

d So

luti

on(s

)

Win

terk

illFi

sh d

ie f

rom

low

oxy

gen

leve

ls.

Dea

dSn

ow c

over

ed ice

sta

ys o

n po

nd f

or a

nSh

ovel

snow

if

it is

grea

ter

than

fish

see

n fl

oati

ng a

long

sho

relin

e so

onex

tend

ed p

erio

d of

tim

e ke

epin

g su

nlig

ht

2 in

ches

dee

p, r

emov

ing

at lea

staf

ter

ice

mel

ts.

Few

, if

any

, fi

sh c

augh

tfr

om r

each

ing

plan

ts t

o pr

oduc

e ox

ygen

.30

% o

f th

e co

vera

ge a

nd/

or inst

all

in t

he s

prin

g co

mpa

red

to n

umbe

rsae

rati

on s

yste

m t

o pr

even

tca

ught

the

pre

viou

s se

ason

.co

mpl

ete

ice

cove

r.

Org

anic

Pol

luti

onFi

sh d

ie f

rom

oxy

gen

shor

tage

. Lo

okEx

cess

ani

mal

was

tes,

lea

ves,

dec

ayin

gPre

vent

orga

nic

mat

ter

from

ente

ring

for

larg

e so

urce

s of

org

anic

mat

ter

vege

tati

on,

and

othe

r m

atte

r co

nsum

esor

build

ing

up

in p

ond.

Cut

tree

s ba

ckw

hich

ent

ered

the

pon

d, e

spec

ially

oxyg

en a

s it

dec

ays.

Lar

ge a

mou

nts

ofaw

ay f

rom

pon

d. D

iver

t an

imal

was

teaf

ter

heav

y ra

ins.

deco

mpo

sing

mat

ter

depl

ete

oxyg

enru

nof

f ar

ound

the

pond

. U

se a

erat

ion

supp

ly.

to s

peed

up

the

deca

y pr

oces

s an

dre

duce

build

up.

Tox

ic S

ubst

ance

sFi

sh d

ie f

rom

dir

ect

expo

sure

to

toxi

cPe

stic

ides

, he

rbic

ides

, m

inin

g w

aste

s,Le

vee

the

pond

or d

iver

t ru

nof

fch

emic

als.

May

cau

se c

ompl

ete

orpe

trol

eum

pro

duct

s, f

erti

lizer

s, a

nd o

ther

orig

inat

ing

from

pot

enti

ally

tox

icpa

rtia

l fi

sh k

ill d

epen

ding

on

the

toxi

c ch

emic

als

ente

r th

e po

nd v

ia s

urf

ace

sourc

es (

crop

fie

lds,

gol

fam

ount

and

dilu

tion

rat

e as

the

che

m-

runo

ff f

rom

nea

rby

land

. O

ften

occ

urs

cours

es,

etc.

). I

f po

ssib

le,

avoi

dic

al e

nter

s th

e po

nd.

Tox

ins

will

of

ten

afte

r he

avy

rain

s w

ash

rece

ntly

app

lied

usi

ng

pote

nti

ally

tox

ic s

ubs

tance

ski

ll ot

her

aqua

tic

life

(ins

ects

, ta

dpol

es),

inse

ctic

ides

or

fert

ilize

r in

to t

he p

ond.

wit

hin

the

pond’

s w

ater

shed

.w

hile

oxy

gen

shor

tage

s w

ill n

ot.

Nat

ural

Cau

ses

A f

ew f

ish

foun

d de

ad a

long

the

Aft

er a

lon

g st

ress

ful w

inte

r, a

fis

h’s

Non

e: let

nat

ure

tak

e it

s co

urs

e.sh

orel

ine

in e

arly

spr

ing.

natu

ral re

sist

ance

to

dise

ase

is low

est

inea

rly

spri

ng.

Spaw

ning

str

ess

may

als

oca

use

a fe

w f

ish

to d

ie.

Larg

er a

nd o

lder

fish

see

m t

o be

mor

e lik

ely

to d

ie o

fna

tura

l ca

uses

tha

n sm

alle

r fi

sh.

Wildlife Habitat Enhancement Around the Pond

45

7

A pond owner can gain additional benefitsby establishing and maintaining wildlife habitataround the pond. Good habitat will attract a va-riety of wildlife to the pond site, providing theowner with wildlife viewing opportunities, as wellas increased opportunities at game animals dur-ing the legal hunting seasons. Other activities suchas wildlife photography can be enjoyed as well.

Wildlife Plantings Around the PondEstablishing a permanent border of vegeta-

tion around the pond helps maintain the waterquality of the pond by filtering sediment fromrunoff and stabilizing pond banks. This vegeta-tion will also provide food and cover for wild-life. It is important to protect this border ofvegetation from disturbance. Fencing will keeplivestock out of this important buffer area as wellas out of the pond. If grasses are the only veg-etation planted around the pond, the fence shouldbe placed a minimum of 50 feet from the water’sedge. If trees and shrubs are planted in additionto grasses, the fence should be built 100 feet fromthe water’s edge.

Grass Buffer Strips. Grasslands are valuablewildlife habitat. They provide important nestingcover, shelter, and food for a variety of wildlife.Information about grass seeding mixtures that arebest for wildlife habitat can be obtained from thenearest Division of Wildlife district office (Appen-dix A). Fescue grass is not recommended becauseit is of little value as wildlife food or cover. Aftergrass buffer strips have become established, oc-casional mowing may be necessary. Grassesshould be mowed in sections in different yearsso that some undisturbed grasses will always beleft for wildlife. When a section is mowed, itshould be done after July so as not to disturbnesting grassland birds and other wildlife.

Woody Plantings. Food and shelter require-ments of many wildlife species can also be pro-vided by planting trees and shrubs around thepond. These woody plantings can also serve as

windbreaks, sight and sound barriers, shade pro-ducers, and erosion control structures. In general,the greater the habitat diversity, the greater thevariety of wildlife that will be attracted to thepond vicinity. Diverse habitat will provide for theneeds of wildlife on a year-round basis. Informa-tion about trees, shrubs, and vines that can beplanted around a pond site for wildlife can beobtained from the nearest Division of Wildlifedistrict office (Appendix A).

Where plants are located can be as impor-tant as the species that are planted. Never plantwoody plants on the dam or spillway. They candamage the structure and may attract burrowinganimals. Also, planting trees at least 30 feet fromthe water’s edge will keep the grasses from be-ing shaded out and keep the pond banks openfor recreation.

Wildlife Nesting StructuresMallards. Mallard ducks do not take to nest-

ing structures as readily as wood ducks, but willuse these structures if they are properly placedand maintained. A nest cylinder is easy to buildand maintain, and is relatively inexpensive. Con-tact your nearest Division of Wildlife district of-fice for a publication describing how to constructthese nesting structures. The nest cylinder shouldbe placed in the pond away from shorelines andat least three feet above the highest water levelexpected in the spring.

Wood Ducks. Wood ducks are the mostabundant nesting waterfowl in the state of Ohio.Wood ducks are adapted to forested wetlands andswamps. Artificial nesting structures on ponds,when properly constructed and placed, arereadily used by “woodies.” Ohio Division of Wild-life Publication 109 (Appendix B) describes theconstruction and placement of these nestingstructures.

Chapter 7: Wildlife HabitatEnhancement Around the Pond

46

7 Wildlife Habitat Enhancement Around the Pond

Purple Martins. Purple martins can be ben-eficial to have around a pond because they preyon flying insects such as mosquitos. Becausemartins are colony nesters, a purple martin houseshould contain 12-20 individual nest compart-ments. The house should be light in color to helpreflect the sun’s rays and keep the compartmentsfrom overheating. Placement of the house is alsoimportant. Martins need a clear open space whereinsects can be pursued and flight to and from thenest is unobstructed. The nest structure thereforeshould be placed at least 30 feet from trees orbuildings. Contact your nearest Division of Wild-life district office for a publication describing theconstruction and placement of purple martinhouses.

Eastern Bluebird and Tree Swallow. Blue-birds and tree swallows are two other insect eat-ers that can be beneficial to have around a pond.A nesting box may be used by either bluebirdsor tree swallows because of the similarities in sizeand habitats used by these two birds. The nestbox should be located on the pond’s dam or alongthe shoreline in open grassy areas. Ohio Divisionof Wildlife Publication 339 (Appendix B) de-scribes how to construct and place bluebird nestboxes.

Bluebird

Purplemartins

Checking a wood duck nest box White-tailed deer

47

Glossary

GlossaryAcre-foot–A unit of measure for water thatwould be equivalent to the volume of watercontained in one surface acre of water one footdeep.

Algae–An aquatic plant found in ponds that canrange in size from tiny microscopic phytoplank-ton to large floating green mats that surroundthe shoreline.

Alkalinity–The quantity and kinds of compoundspresent (usually carbonates or bicarbonates) inwater that shift the pH to the alkaline or basicside of neutrality (i.e., pH >7.0).

Annual plants–Plants that grow from seeds andlive only one year.

Bacterial infection–A fish disease caused bytiny microorganisms (bacteria) found in water.

Balanced pond–A pond with a fish populationcomposed of moderate numbers and a variety ofsizes of largemouth bass and bluegill that isrelatively stable from year to year.

Commercial fish propagator–A business personwho grows, sells, or transports fish for profit.

Dissolved oxygen–Oxygen molecules that arein solution with water.

Emaciation–Severe weight loss in fish.

Embankment pond–A pond that is formed bythe creation of a dam across a natural valley.

Excavated pond–A pond which has been dugout of the ground.

Fingerling–The name given to any small youngfish, usually only an inch or two in length.

Fish production–An increase in the totalamount of fish in a pond. This can be anincrease in numbers or an increase in fish sizeas a result of growth.

Food chain–All plant and animal life in a pondthat is interconnected through predator-preyrelationships. For example, tiny plants are eatenby insects, which in turn are eaten by smallfish, which in turn are eaten by larger fish, andso on.

Fungal infection–An infection on a fish, usuallysecondary to something else injuring the fish,caused by fungus that gives the area a cotton-like appearance.

Groundwater–Water located within or belowthe surface of the soil.

Harvest–Removal of fish from a body of waterfor the purpose of consumption.

Nutrients–A substance used either directly orindirectly by an organism as food.

Organic materials–Materials of any kind thatoccur naturally; not man-made. In ponds this isusually plant and animal matter.

Parasite–An organism that for all or part of itslife gets its nutrition from another living organ-ism or host, by living in or on the body of thatorganism, usually causing some type of harm tothat organism.

Pelleted food–Commercially formulated feed forfish. This type of feed is typically used forchannel catfish, bluegill, and trout.

Perennial plants–Plants that grow from exten-sive root systems where although the visiblepart of the plant may die each year, the rootsystem survives and produces more plants thenext year (example - cattails).

pH–A measure of the concentration of freehydrogen ions in water which determines theacidity or alkalinity of the water. Water with apH below 7.0 is acidic, and water with a pHabove 7.0 is alkaline.

Photosynthesis–The process whereby plants inthe presence of sunlight produce simple sugarsand give off oxygen as a by-product.

48

Glossary

Phytoplankton–Microscopic aquatic plants thatform the base of the food chain.

Predator–An animal that feeds on other ani-mals.

Prey–A food item of a predator.

Renovated pond–A pond that has had its fishpopulation removed either by draining orpoisoning, so that the pond can be refilled or re-stocked and started over again.

Riprap–Pieces of broken rock, usually sixinches to one foot in diameter, that are used toprotect pond banks from erosion and burrowinganimals.

Runoff–Water and its contents as it flows acrossthe soil surface.

Seining–Pulling a small rectangular net (seine)through the water in a pond for the purpose ofcapturing young fishes.

Slot length limit–A special fishing regulationthat permits anglers to keep fish larger than, orsmaller than a specified length range.

Soil survey–A study of the soil type used todetermine potential land use practices.

Solution–A mixture of two or more substances.

Storage–The capacity of a pond to hold water.

Triploid grass carp–A genetically altered fish(“triploid” fish have three sets of chromosomesto prevent reproduction) commonly used tocontrol aquatic vegetation. Grass carp are oftenreferred to as white amur.

Turbidity–The loss of water clarity due tosuspended particles of soil or microscopicplants.

Unbalanced pond–A pond with a fish popula-tion where the abundance of one or more kindsof fish is too high or too low relative to theother kinds of fish in the pond. Examples wouldbe ponds with too many small bluegills and toofew bass, or high abundances of undesirabletypes of fish.

Viral infection–A fish disease caused by sometype of virus, similar to what happens whenhumans get the flu, except that viral infectionsin fish are often fatal and untreatable.

Water quality–Any number of water character-istics such as clarity, pH, chemical makeup, ordissolved oxygen content.

Whorl–A circle of flowers or leaves arising fromone point on the stem.

Zooplankton–Microscopic aquatic animals thatrank just ahead of phytoplankton in the foodchain.

49

Appendices

Natural Resource Conservation Service andCounty Soil and Water Conservation Districts:Local NRCS and SWCD offices are listed in thetelephone directory under county and federalgovernment listings.

The Ohio State University Extension Service:County offices are listed in the telephonedirectory under the county government listings.

District Offices of the ODNR Division ofWildlife:Wildlife District One, 1500 Dublin Road,Columbus, OH 43215(614) 644-3925Wildlife District Two, 952 Lima Avenue, BoxA, Findlay, OH 45840(419) 424-5000Wildlife District Three, 912 Portage LakesDrive, Akron, OH 44319(330) 644-2293Wildlife District Four, 360 E. State Street,Athens, OH 45701(740) 594-2211Wildlife District Five, 1076 Old SpringfieldPike, Xenia, OH 45385(937) 372-9261

Other Pond Publications:Lake Smarts. Terrene Institute, 1717 K Street,NW, Suite 801, Washington, DC 20006(telephone: 202-833-8317)

Management of Lakes and Ponds. George W.Bennett. Van Nostrand Reinhold Company, 135West 50th Street, New York, NY 10020

Ohio Pond Management. Bulletin #374, TheOhio State University Extension Service. Colum-bus, Ohio.

APPENDIX B: ODNR Division ofWildlife PublicationsThe following additional information can beobtained by writing: ODNR Division of Wildlife,1840 Belcher Drive, Columbus, Ohio 43224. Thefirst five items ordered will be mailed at nocharge. For each additional 10 items (or fractionthereof) please include $1.00 for postage andhandling. Please order by publication name,NOT number.

Fish PublicationsBlack Crappie (Publication 13)

Bluegill Sunfish (Publication 69)

Bluntnose Minnow (Publication 192)

Bullheads (Publication 123)

Carp (Publication 130)

Central Longear Sunfish (Publication 173)

Channel Catfish (Publication 65)

Flathead Catfish (Publication 116)

Gizzard Shad (Publication 185)

Grass Carp (Publication 364)

Green Sunfish (Publication 161)

Largemouth Bass (Publication 6)

Northern Creek Chub (Publication 311)

Pumpkinseed Sunfish (Publication 102)

Yellow Perch (Publication 169)

Wildlife PublicationsBeaver (Publication 97)

Eastern Bluebird (Publication 359)

Great Blue Heron (Publication 70)

Hit the Trail for Bluebirds (Publication 339)

Mallard (Publication 324)

River Otter (Publication 384)

Waterfowl Identification Key (Publication 50)

Wood Duck Nest Box; Canada Goose NestingTub (Publication 109)

Miscellaneous TopicsPublication List (Publication 1)

Aquaculture Law Digest (Publication 61)

Filleting Your Fish (Publication 72)

Fish and Fish Food Propagators(Publication 196)

Fish Identification (Publication 334)

Fishing FUNdamentals (Publication 9)

Turtle Catching & Cooking (Publication 332)

APPENDIX A: Sources ofInformation

50

Appendices

APPENDIX C: Sources of Equipmentand Supplies

Livestock Watering DevicesFarm’Trol Equipment, 409 Mayville St.,Theresa, WI 53091

Net and Seine SuppliesNichols Net and Twine Co., Rt 3, Bend Road,East St. Louis, IL 62201(telephone: 618-876-7700)

Nylon Net Co., Box 592, Memphis, TN 38101(telephone: 201-783-9800)

Sterling Net & Twine Company, 18 Label St.,Montclair, NJ 07042(telephone: 201-783-9800)

Rotenone“Chemfish,” Tifa (CI) Ltd., Tifa Square,Millington, NJ 07946

Cygnet Enterprises, Box 248, 1014 N. Bridge St.,Linden, MI 48451

“Noxfish,” Roussel Bio Corp., P.O. Box 1077,400 Sylvan Ave., Englewood Cliffs, NJ 07632

“Prentox,” Prentiss Drug and Chemical Co.,Inc., 21 Vernon St., Floral Park, NY 11001

Trapping Supplies for NuisanceAnimalsSterling Fur & Tool Company, 11268C FrickRoad, Sterling, OH 44276(telephone: 330-939-3763)

Water Quality Testing EquipmentHach Company, Box 907, Ames, IA

Heathkit Company, Benton Harbor, MI 40922

LaMotte Chemical Products, Chestertown, MD21620

Water Testing LaboratoriesStilson Laboratories, Inc., 6121 Huntley Rd.,Columbus, OH 43229-1003(telephone: 614-848-4333)Also, check your local telephone directory forother listings.

AeratorsAeration Industries, 603 Lake St., Excelsior, MN55331

Airo-Lator, 8100 Passea, Kansas City, MO 64131

Aquatic Eco-Systems, Inc., 1767 Benbow Ct.,Apopka, FL 32703

Aquatic Management, 6354 Low Rd., Lisbon,OH 44432

EnviroQuip International Inc., 8506 BeechmontAve., Cincinnati, OH 45255

Fresh-Flow Corp., W6915 Highway 28, Cas-cade, WI 53011

Freshwater Farms of Ohio, 2624 N US Rt. 68,Urbana, OH 43078

Gen Airator, GROVHAC, INC., 4310 N. 126thSt., Brookfield, WI 53005

Hedlund Aquaculture, P.O. Box 305, Medford,WI 54451

Lakecraft Corporation, 1010 W Lakeshore Dr.,Port Clinton, OH 43452

Mineau Machine Co., 825 S. Baird St., GreenBay, WI 54301

Ohio Windmill & Pump Co., 8389 SR 534,Berlin Center, OH 44401

Ridgeview Fin Farm, 20-533 Co. Rd. X, Box246, Ridgeville Corners, OH 43555

Aquatic HerbicidesSee your local agricultural herbicide dealer orfarm supply store.

Chemicals for Clearing MuddyPondsFor alum, gypsum, and lime, see your localfarm and feed supply store.

Fish FoodSee your local farm and feed supply store.

51

Index

IndexAeration

benefits 37

types of 38

Algae

as food 19

control of 27, 28

problems associated with 20, 36, 43

types of 24, 25

Angling

angler diaries 14, 15

catch & release 13, 18

overharvest 13

selective harvest 13, 14, 16–18

to assess fish populations 14

Animal problems

beaver 42

Canada geese 42

crayfish 41

groundhogs 42

muskrats 41

turtles 41

Aquatic vegetation

before applying control measures 29, 30

biological controls of 27, 28

chemical controls of 28, 29

control by fishes 27, 28

floating 25, 26

identification of 23–27

importance of 23

mechanical control of 27

reduces production of fish 19, 27

rooted, emergent 26, 27

rooted, submergent 23, 24

sudden die-offs 25, 36, 37

Artificial feeding 19–20

Balanced pond 16, 17

Bank erosion 6, 39, 40

Bass, largemouth

as a predator 9

diet 9

growth rate 9, 10

harvest of 14, 16, 17–18

management options for 14, 16, 17–18

spawning 9, 14

stocking of 9, 11

Beavers (see Animal problems)

Bluegill

as prey 9

diet 10

growth rate 10

harvest of 14, 16, 17–18

management options for 14, 16, 17–18

spawning 10, 14

stocking of 9, 11

supplemental feeding of 19–20

Bulrush (see Aquatic vegetation)

Canada geese (see Animal problems)

Cattails (see Aquatic vegetation)

Channel catfish

diet 10

growth rate 10

harvest of 17–18

management options for 14, 17–18

stocking of 9, 11

supplemental feeding of 19–20

Commercial fish propagators 11

Coontail (see Aquatic vegetation)

Copper sulfate (see Herbicides)

Crayfish (see Animal problems)

Dam

construction 6, 7

maintenance 6, 7

problems from burrowing animals 6, 41, 42

safety and liability 6

seeding slopes 6, 45

Drawdowns

for aquatic plant control 7

for fish removal 7, 38

Duckweed (see Aquatic vegetation)

Erosion (see Bank erosion)

Evaporation 5, 40

Extension Service, The Ohio State University5, 23

52

Index

Feeding station 20

Fertilization 19

Fish diseases

bacterial 31–32, 33

environmental 31

fungal 31

nutritional 31

parasitic 31, 32, 33

viral 31

Fish kills

consequences of 38

disease 38

poisoning 38

reducing the likelihood of 37–38

summerkill 35, 36–37

winterkill 35–36, 37

Fish population

assessment of 14, 16

removal of 38

Fish propagators (see Commercial fish propa-gators)

Fish toxicants

rotenone 38

Fishing (see Angling)

Food chain 19

Grass carp 9, 27–28

Groundhogs (see Animal problems)

Growth in fishes

artificial feeding effects on 19–20

bluegill (see Bluegill)

channel catfish (see Channel catfish)

largemouth bass (see Bass)

redear (see Redear)

relation to population density 19

relation to water quality 20, 39

Habitat structures

addition of 20

types of 21

Harvest (see Angling)

Herbicides

contact herbicides 28

copper sulfate 28

shading products 29

systemic herbicides 28, 29

Hybrid fishes 11

Ice cover

snow removal 37

Inversion 36, 37, 43

Leaking ponds

sealing 40

Livestock 39, 40, 41

Management, for fishing

all-purpose fishing 14, 16–17

channel catfish fishing 14, 18

large bluegill fishing 14, 16, 17–18

no restrictions on harvest 14, 17

trophy largemouth bass fishing 14, 16–18

Muddy water

alum 40

causes of 39–40, 41

clearing muddy ponds 39–40

effects on fish 39, 40

gypsum 40

hay bales 39

hydrated lime 40

Muskrats (see Animal problems)

Natural Resource Conservation Service 5, 23

Organic material 36, 37, 44

Oxygen

loss of 20, 35, 36, 37

importance to fish 23

sources of 23, 35, 36

Pelleted feed 19–20

pH 40

Photosynthesis 23, 29, 35, 36

Phytoplankton 10, 19, 36, 43

Pickerelweed (see Aquatic vegetation)

Poisoning

for fish removal 38

fish death from 38, 44

restocking after 11, 38

Pollution

animal waste products 40–41

chemicals 5, 38

sediment 5, 39, 40

53

Index

Pond construction

dam 6

drain pipe 7

dry hydrants 7, 8

pond depth 6

pond location 5, 6

pond size 6

slope 6

spillways 6, 7

Pond types

combination 6, 7

embankment 6, 7

excavated 6, 7

Pond volume

calculation of 29, 30

Pondweeds (see Aquatic vegetation)

Predator-prey relationships 9, 10

Production of fishes

increase of 19, 20

Recreational uses 13, 45

Redear sunfish

diet 10

growth rate 10

Renovated pond 9, 38

Reproduction (see Spawning)

Restrictions on angling

numbers of fish 13, 17–18

sizes of fish 13, 17–18

Rotenone (see Fish toxicants)

Seining 14

Slot-length limit 17

Soil and Water Conservation District 5

Soil types

clay 5, 39, 40

gravel 5

sand 5

Spawning

by bass 9, 14

by bluegill 10, 14

by channel catfish 10

by redear 10

determination of 14

Spillway (see Pond construction)

Stocking

how to stock 11

kinds of fish to stock 9–11

number of fish to stock 9–11

when to stock 11

Stratification 35, 36, 37

Summerkill

causes of 36–37

definition 35

prevention of 37–38, 43

Temperature

acclimation to 11

for artificial feeding 19–20

for fertilization 19

for spawning (see Spawning)

Trapping nuisance animals 41, 42

Turbidity (see Muddy water)

Turnover (see Stratification)

Turtles (see Animal problems)

Undesirable fish 11, 12, 38

Vegetation (see Aquatic vegetation)

Volume measurement (see Pond volume)

Water

clarity (see Muddy ponds)

levels 5, 6, 40

quality 5, 39

supply 5

Water milfoil (see Aquatic vegetation)

Watermeal (see Aquatic vegetation)

Watershed 5

Winterkill

causes of 35–36

definition 35

prevention of 37, 44

Zooplankton 9, 10, 19

Notes

Bob Taft, Governor • Samuel W. Speck, Director • Steven A. Gray, Chief(R0502)

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