Hi I'm Tricia, an organic gardener. I grow organically for a healthy and safe food
supply,
for a clean and sustainable environment,
for an enjoyable and rewarding experience.
Aquaculture is the process of raising edible fish.
A fishing pond can be a great supplement to the food you grow in your garden as
well as an attractive habitat for wildlife.
A pond is much easier to manage if it's properly constructed.
Contact your local Ag extension or Master Gardeners for resources and permits.
The smallest pond that is easy to manage for fishing is about an acre.
One acre of unfertilized pond can support the harvest of forty pounds of
blue gill and ten pounds of largemouth bass per year.
Pond size is determined by the watershed which is the area that drains into the
pond.
You need to know the size of the watershed to gauge the size you can build
your pond to.
It's best to consult a professional.
A pond designed for fish should be on average six to eight feet and no deeper
than ten to twelve feet.
The pond should be a minimum of three feet deep at the waterline this helps
prevent nuisance plant growth.
There's only a few species that are suitable for your backyard fishing pond, a good
combination is blue gill and large mouth bass.
Discussions on stocking ponds are beyond the scope of this video so we'll focus on
how to maintain a good fish habitat in your pond.
The best habitat for fish is water that has no pollutants,
and it has a height amount of dissolved oxygen,
as well as lower organic matter and silt.
One of the biggest cause of pollutants in your pond
is livestock having access to the pond especially cattle.
A secondary problem can be
uh... pesticide run-off
and you need to be sure you know what kind of land is in your watershed.
If you have pollutants in the watershed
plant vegetation along the borders and that helps create a barrier
against pesticide runoff
and possible livestock runoff.
The next important requirement for your habitat is dissolved oxygen
and the main sources for that our plants and algae.
You need plants and algae but if they cover more than thirty percent of the
pond surface that's too much of a good thing and the decaying plant matter from
all that vegetation sucks oxygen from the pond.
Maintaining the proper depths will really help but if that isn't enough to control
your weeds you can add this natural blue dye
this blue dye won't hurt the fish, it acts like an aquatic mulch.
The blue dye denies plants light to reduce their growth
keep in mind that if you reduce water clarity too much site hunters like blue
gill and bass may not be able to eat very well.
You can also use barley straw to help clean up the pond.
Don't over do it though because too much decomposing barley straw will take up
oxygen out of the water.
Barley bales like this should be anchored to a rock
with the float such as a gallon jug with a pint of water.
Digging your pond too deep can also cause oxygen problems, if you have a deep pond
consider putting a drain at the bottom of the pond instead of the top
also consider putting in some kind of pump to increase aeration.
Another big culprit of oxygen depletion is too much organic matter or silt.
By adding this Pure Bacteria Plus Muck Reducer
you'll add microbes into the water which help break down the organic matter faster.
It's a good idea to provide some shade around your pond,
this will help regulate water temperature.
Your fish will also benefit from a fish attractant,
this can be a stump or a pile of rocks or some other hiding area.
Place your fish attraction at least two feet deep and within casting distance
from the shoreline
and make sure you have about one attraction per acre.
So
catch your own fish
and grow organic for life.