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Fall of 2022 was the initial stocking of SMB and WE. 200 Smallies were 2-3”. 50 Walleye were 5-7”. I then also supplemented another 25 walleye in fall of 2023 that were same 5-6” size range.

Dang…sorry to hear that. Yeah I’ve seen that happen. Thankfully I haven’t experienced that yet. Hoping to do all we can to prevent it.

Hey, I got them from a private supplier who I have been working with on our pond leak. He doesn’t sell them though. I’ve seen PK/Grass Shrimp on Ebay. They aren’t cheap. But getting 200 might be enough if you have thick vegetation for them to hide in. I don’t know anything about this supplier, but it looks like they have them available. www.ebay.com/itm/324595371281?mkcid=16&mkevt=1&mkrid=711-127632-2357-0&ssspo=IGFo3WC0Sa6&sssrc=4429486&ssuid=tQqRRxqLQBi&var=&widget_ver=artemis&media=COPY

You bet. Just trying to share what I’ve been learning and observing. Thanks for watching and engaging.

Me too! Still open water today. Hoping it locks up this weekend.

I wish we did. Hope it locks up tonight.

Thanks for watching. Yeah, I caught a few of these guys last winter through the ice and this spring as well. Measured them then in the 11-12” range. I see them on the camera often. I have to believe they’ll be in the 13+” range this ice season. Stay tuned to the channel, and I’ll have ice fishing videos on the pond. We love MN, and spend a lot of time in the Brainerd Lakes. Lots of lessons learned in our pond build. I would do many things different in the pond build process. The leak in the pond was the biggest problem. Vegetation control in year two of the pond has been a challenge. As for the fishery management part of it, I have lots of observations. Perch have spawned both springs so far and have had some recruitment which is awesome. Our species mix in a one acre pond is probably too ambitious to be able to control well. But we’re figuring it out. I probably stocked too many smallmouth bass. We put in just over 200 two years ago when they were about 2”. Many of those have grown to be 13” currently. And they’ve also spawned and so now we have more SMB mouths to feed. I may have too many predators in the pond with SMB, Walleye and Perch. Perch are both predators and prey. They serve to be a good forage base for both walleye and smallies. Trying to keep a good ratio of all the species to be as close to a self sustaining pond is the goal. But we’ll see. I have some 10-11” perch so far and they make for some fun angling and will be tasty when I start harvesting. Our original bluegill stocking are thick and healthy with the largest ones pushing 10”…which are really fun to catch. Lots of exciting things with the fish growth. Most surprising thing is our self sustaining population of golden shiners. They are prolific spawners and are naturally creating a great forage base for walleye, smallies and perch. Walleye will grow in a pond, but they’re generally a “put and take” fish. They don’t naturally reproduce in a pond environment because they need moving water. They live and grow fine, but if you harvest any, you’ll need to re-stock. But we’re trying to create an environment to see if we can successfully get walleye to reproduce and recruit future generations in the pond. It’s a challenge, but a fun one so far. We’ll see if we can create the environment for spawning activity next spring with our waterfall and moving water. As for failures, of the 50 hybrid striped bass we stocked in the fall of 2022, I don’t think any lived through the transition. I haven’t seen a single one in the pond in two years. So I will try again in spring of 2025 to put 12-15 in to help control the bluegill population. I did not put LMB in the pond cause I don’t want them to take over. SMB and Walleye are our primary goal to manage for. I want to put black crappie in, but I fear that would be a mistake and they’ll over populate. I love crappie fishing, but I don’t want them to stunt out in our small pond. Keep in touch, I’ll be happy to share more as we learn. I wish you well with your future build. It’s a lot of work, but I love having the opportunity to experiment and learn and adjust. Ponds aren’t cheap, that’s for sure. Lots of maintenance and upkeep. You could make it a full time job if you let it. Thanks again for comment. New ice fishing content coming soon, and I’ll have fish growth updates!

Thanks for watching. Bentonite’s purpose is to be compacted into a dry clay bottom. It serves a different application. Once water is in the pond, bentonite doesn’t seal the bottom. It falls straight down, and even if you could get it to fall into the leaks, it doesn’t expand as much as the seek leak. There’s a place for bentonite, but just not in a pond that already has water in it. That’s where the two part polymer is effective.

The way the sun shines on the entire ice sheet reflects the blue color. Not exactly sure the science behind it. But on some lakes that have more phytoplankton and algae in the water it will put off a green color tint instead of the blue.

Hey…I’m not sure. I haven’t had to do that for our skis, so I haven’t looked into it. I’m sorry.

Good question…I’m not sure. I haven’t had the camera out recently, and I haven’t caught any on a hook. My guess is in the 3-4” range based on observing the young of year last year. I’ll see if I can get some on camera for you.

@@newnatureadventures keep making pond vids i really like them

@peterpwipf you got it! Thanks for the encouragement!

This one from Home Depot www.homedepot.com/p/Forney-500-000-BTU-Uni-Flame-Weed-Burner-1723/205694686?gad_source=1&gbraid=0AAAAADMn6-hU6duY34uF2jZJkp_rpVcK5&gclid=Cj0KCQjwvpy5BhDTARIsAHSilynKHIEgrWQee1inMH17o4qEHMRzOnsdkt2zGTVf9LlM9ifz2zZALEcaAlNtEALw_wcB

Not sure exactly. I think 3-4” right now 6 months after spawn. They may be a little bigger because I have had the feeder going all summer. I’ll get some on camera for you I hope.

Yes, they will. But my fear is that they will reproduce too much and I’ll have too many bluegill and get out of balance. With golden shiners reproducing like crazy and the perch reproducing, I expect the walleye to prey on those first before they would bluegill. I see an overabundance of bluegill, in the shallows hiding in the dense vegetation. Because I don’t have largemouth, I expect more bluegill to reach a size that will get too big to fit in the size of mouths I have in the pond. If too many get to that size, they’ll start to stunt out over time. I think I have the margin to pull some out because they spawned multiple times this summer, and there are so many. Again, I have the luxury of a healthy spawning population of golden shiners that also provide a lot of forage….and that takes pressure off the bluegills allowing more to grow to adulthood….and since I didn’t keep any bluegill myself to eat this year, I figure I have some margin to pull some out. Those are my rationales at least.

Me too!! Much love brother! Hope some of those fish found some safe haven in your pond!

Thanks. I haven’t yet from the pond, but will soon. BG are so good. Between the BG, YP and WE, we have some of the best eating fish out there!

I’m going to let this year pass and not add any. I have 75ish in a one acre pond. We’ll see how next year goes before I add any. Next spring will be interesting to see if there’s any kind of spawning activity to potentially naturally recruit another year class. I don’t think any of the females would be large enough yet. We’re probably still another year away from that chance with the walleyes. But who knows.

I appreciate you watching! Thanks

Well, I wouldn’t do it again in my pond only because I had severe erosion that buried the saucer before it had a chance to even work. I also put large pea gravel beds in our pond, and I think there is plenty of available spawning structure….that I didn’t need these discs. So I would say it depends on your pond situation.

@newnatureadventures if there wasn't the liklihood of erosion and no other gravelbeds without having to do a significant amount of dirt moving and grading, would the bluegill be happy to use these? I haven't seen any other info about people using this method.

I’m really not sure. I didn’t see any evidence of them being used in my pond. I have to be believe in some scenarios that they would get used. I tried it cause I saw some available online for some crazy amount of money. I made mine for less than $10. It was an experiment. www.thepondguy.com/product/pond-king-spawning-discs/?srsltid=AfmBOoqOPZ1NuJ1ndNDxjp69qVgtJrveHkivxILEOY7Cl8QD7bM9tY8m

It’s a 5hp

It’s just about 1 acre, and 23’ deep at the max. Yes, it is clay bottom. Thanks for watching and engaging!

We clean them off the harrow tines and throw them in the woods.

A couple reasons for me. And it depends on your pond goals. For me, I want to manage the cattails so I don’t attract muskrats to my pond, cause they are destructive to pond banks and can cause leaks. Muskrats love to eat cattails. I also don’t want tall stands of cattails obstructing the view of the pond, and effectively shrinking the pond. The water between the cattails and shore will just turn into a bog if left alone. Some people may want that with their pond. I don’t. And for those reasons I want to reduce the cattail growth. I want some native veg in the pond. But I’d like them to be more submerged veg under the water for fish habitat. The emergent cattails that grow 8-10’ high restrict the view and reduce the pond’s usable area. Again, every pond owner may have different opinion on this. It all depends on the goal of your pond.

@@newnatureadventures I was thinking the muskrats could be why, they are very problematic when they make bank dens. Around me phragmites took over whole areas of cattail and the muskrat population is extremely low as a result. I think all this stuff is very interesting. Thanks for the concise reply!

I can’t say it’s a favorite, because I haven’t really fished walleye this way. But…this time of year, walleye will be more accessible and staying shallower as the water cools. Presenting your bait in their face will be key. So I would slip bobber with live bait…a larger minnow on a bare #6 or 4 octopus hook. Slip bobbers are my favorite approach to present bait at a consistent depth. Your walleyes will be oriented to the bottom of the pond typically during the day. Fish your slip bobber 1-2’ above the bottom, and put it out in a deeper spot of your pond. What’s your max depth?

@@newnatureadventures Max depth I think is 12 feet.

My guess is the water pressure of 20+ feet of water on top of a newly built pond that wasn’t properly compacted found a weak spot, and opened it up. The force of water is strong. My underwater camera was vital to finding it. The pipe was just the conduit to pour more clay and aggregate and expanding Seekleak polymer into the hole to clog the leak up. And by the grace of God, it has worked and held for the past year.

@@newnatureadventures I am so happy for you that it worked.

This is meant for use in clay ponds without a plastic liner. It could conceivably work in a plastic lined pond, but I don’t know. The polymer is designed to bond with clay particles. It’s best to start in the area that you suspect the leak to be. You don’t want to have to treat the entire pond if you don’t have to. I would start where you suspect it, and then wait and take daily measurements to track the leak rate progress. Most common areas are along the dam, at the overflow pipe if it was cut through the dam, and the your deepest basin in the pond. Your deepest part is obviously under the most pressure from the water, and that pressure finds the weak spots and once water starts running, it erodes and creates bigger holes. Where do you suspect yours is leaking? Ours was in the deepest part.

@@newnatureadventures A large part of sand disappeared into the pond from water coming down the hill and I see a paper like substance on the bottom in that area. The area is around 4 feet wide and I'm thinking about treating it with what you used. Thank you for your video and your reply as it has been very informative.

@@newnatureadventures ok

Was that sand area intended to be a beach? If so, I would suspect that paper-like material you see is a landscape fabric to go under the sand to try and prevent weeds from growing up in the sand. We opted not for a beach because we feared that the sand would just get washed into the pond deeper. I would not suspect your leak to be from under that area if in fact it was a beach in that area. Maybe I’m not picturing this properly though. Do you know how much water you’re losing each day? Happy to help! And thanks for watching!

@@newnatureadventures I didn't put the pond in but I must agree with you about the sand. Maybe my leak is from the drought. That's what I'm hoping. When the pond fills up, in about a week I lose a few inches and then it stops.

You bet! Thanks for stopping by.

I use the Aqua Vu HD7i. I like the picture quality. It is a bit heavy though. Cable management can be a challenge, but that’s the same with every camera. If I were to choose another I would go with the Pro version to get the water temp and depth displayed on the video from the sensiors built into the camera.

@@newnatureadventures ok :) thank you!

Agree!

tj@hudlandmgmt.com a d tell him Johnse sent you. Sorry you’ve got a leak. TJ is the guy you want to talk to. He has only charged me for the product. All of our phone calls and pond strategy consults have been graciously gifted. And on too of that, seekleak worked for us and reduced our leak by at least 90%.

Send TJ Hudson an email at tj@hudlandmgmt.com and he’ll work with you on the best solution for you and your pond. Thanks for watching!

Thanks. Appreciate you watching.

Wow, that’s odd. I wonder how that happened.

@@newnatureadventures no clue I guess they came from a storm drain

I’ve heard fish eggs being transferred on birds feet before. But that doesn’t seem as feasible for perch. Maybe a storm drain. Unless there was a mistake in koi stocking. I don’t have koi, so I’m not familiar with how those are stocked. You probably pick them out individually rather than buying 100s at a time like bluegill and perch and other game fish.

You’re welcome. I did the same thing too. I bought Damit first. It may work….it all depends on how large the leak is, and if it hits the mark. For is, our leak was so large, that the lesser expansion of the Damit didn’t seem to effect it. I know others that have had some success with it. Hope you’re in that camp. As for temperature, I don’t know for sure if it affects the expansion of the polymer a lot. But I would plan to apply it before water temps drop below 50 degrees. Warmer is better in general I would think. That being said, I might try an application through the ice this winter just to test it directly over where I know we have leaked in the past.