Managing Private Lakes and Ponds
Managing private lakes and ponds is among the most rewarding
things you can do. Removed from the city environment you are
free to pursue what ever goals you may have set for your waters.
Be it high action fishing ponds or a picture perfect back drop
for your morning coffee, private ponds have all the possiblities
in the world. All it takes is a little know how and the right
plan of action and it won't be long before you reap the benefits
of your labor. The management of private ponds requires an
entirely different approach. To create a balanced and healthy
ecosystem, the manager must be profecient in many different
areas. Vegetation control, and Fisheries Management are the two
biggest challenges facing the private pond owner. Green Algae
Control understands the challenges that you face and is happy to
assist. We can taylor a program to fit your needs, even if you
wish to perform the work yourself we can help you lay out a plan
or we can execute that plan for you.
Vegetation Control In Private Ponds
Vegetation is a natural part of a pond, but when left
unmanaged it can quickly become a nuissance. A well
balanced pond typically has between 20-30% vegetation
coverage. This gives your smaller fish places to take
refuge from predators and also helps fuel the food-chain
by harbouring tiny aquatic insects. However, if this
vegetation becomes too thick it can prevent your
predator fish from being able to forage and have a
negative impact on species such as Large Mouth Bass.
Excessive vegetation also reduces water quality and
oxygen levels, some ponds may even experience fish kills
because of an overabundance of aquatic plants. Even more
pond owners experience total fish losses after
attempting to treat their vegetation. Dying vegetation
consumes oxygen and can quickly cause fish losses, if
you are planning to treat your pond it's always
advisable to consult with an experienced applicator, one
with first hand knowledge of aquatics.
Fisheries Management in Private Ponds
Ever since the Bass fishing circuit took the
world by storm we have been drilled into
believing that Catch and Release is the law.
While we must admit, Catch and Release has
indeed helped the fishing world it's not always
the best practice on private ponds. Lakes and
Ponds have a natural cycle of roughly 10-12
years. Meaning that with-out any management they
will be productive for 5-7 years, then plateau
for the next few years only to drop off
abruptly. However if you know some of the keys
to look for and have the appropreate harvest
regiment you can keep a pond at it's peak for as
long as you continue to the proper management
practices. Catch Records are among the simplest
tools that offer tons of information about a
pond. Combine this with supplemental feeding or
stocking of approapriate forage species and
corrective harvesting and your private pond will
be the envy of the county.
Tagging individual fish and tracking
growth over time is just one of the
tools that help diagnose the health of a
fishery. If you would like more info of
fish tagging or other Lake and Fisheries
tools you can implement to improve you
pond drop us a line at Green Algae
Control Lake Management.