Pond Manual Intro & Chapter 1.qxd - Nebraska Game and Parks ...

NEBRASKA PONDMANAGEMENTNebraska Game and Parks Commission

Nebraska Game and Parks Commission————————————— Board of Commissioners —————————————Chairman: James Stuart, Jr., Lincoln Jerrod Burke, CurtisBill Grewcock, OmahaGeorge E. Hall, BridgeportGary Parker, ColumbusDr. Mark Pinkerton, WilberJames Ziebarth, WilcoxBill Zutavern, Dunning——————————————————— Director ———————————————————Rex Amack

NEBRASKA POND MANAGEMENTAUTHORSJeff Blaser, Private Waters SpecialistandRick Eades, Urban Fisheries SpecialistNebraska Game and Parks Commission2200 N 33rd St. PO Box 30370Lincoln, Nebraska 68503-0370Phone: 402-471-0641 / Fax: 402-471-5528 / www.outdoornebraska.orgMay 2006USFWSFederal Aid in Sport Fish Restoration ProgramF-168-T. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Nebraska Pond Management • 1

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTSThe authors are greatly appreciative of the following Nebraska Game and Parks Commission personnelwho helped with this publication: Donna Schimonitz, Graphic Designer/Illustrator; Eric Fowler, RegionalEditor for NEBRASKAland Magazine; Don Gabelhouse, Fisheries Administrator; Dave Tunink, Fisheries AssistantAdministrator; and Chris Lemke, Engineer.Watercolor fish artwork by Duane Raver/United States Fish and Wildlife Service, and colored pencil fishartwork by Joe Tomelleri appear in Chapter 2.We thank the following state agencies whose pond management publications were utilized as guidesfor this publication: Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks, Missouri Department of Conservation,Ohio Division of Wildlife, Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries, and Iowa Department ofNatural Resources.Under federal and/or state law, discrimination is prohibitedon the basis of race, color, religion, age, gender, maritalstatus, national origin, disability or political affiliation. If youthink you have been discriminated against in any program,activity or facility or want more information, contact theAffirmative Action Officer, Nebraska Game and ParksCommission, Lincoln, NE, 402-471-0641; the EqualOpportunity Commission, Lincoln, NE, 402-471-2024, TTY/ TDD 402-471-4693. USFWS, Division of Bird Habitat andConservation, Civil Rights Coordinator, 4401 North FairfaxDrive, MBSP 4020, Arlington, Virginia 22203.Printed on recycled paper with soy ink. 5/06D2 • Nebraska Game and Parks Commission . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Sources of Fish for Stocking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36Stocking Process . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37CHAPTER 3: ENVIRONMENTAL MODIFICATIONS . . . . . . . . 38Aquatic Habitat . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39Natural Habitat . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39Artificial Habitat . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41Spawning Habitat . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42Shallow-Water Habitat . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42Fish Feeding . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42Pond Fertility . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44Terrestrial Habitat . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44Waterfowl Production . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46CHAPTER 4: MANAGING A BASS-BLUEGILL-CATFISH POND . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48Assessing Fish Populations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48What is a Balanced Pond? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48Is Your Pond in Balance? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50How Can Balance BeMaintained or Achieved? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50Is Help Available toAssess Fish Populations? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51Managing Fish Populations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51Removing or Controlling Unwanted Fish Species . . 554 • Nebraska Game and Parks Commission . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

CHAPTER 5: POND MAINTENANCE -RESOLVING COMMON POND PROBLEMS . . . 58Water Clarity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58Muddiness Due to Soil Erosion . . . . . . . . . . 59Reporting Excessive Runoff Problems . . 59Muddiness Due to Wind andAnimal Activity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59Muddiness Due to Soil Type . . . . . . . . . . . . 60Chemical Treatments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60Organic Matter Treatments . . . . . . . . . . 60Aquatic Vegetation Management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61Aquatic Vegetation Identification . . . . . . . . . 61Controlling Aquatic Vegetation . . . . . . . . . . . . 63Prevention . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63Physical or Mechanical Removal . . . . . . 63Chemical Treatments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64Biological Control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65Pond Liners . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66Water Level Manipulation . . . . . . . . . . . 66Dredging and Deepening . . . . . . . . . . . 67Shading . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67Fish Kills . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67Fish Kills Due to Suffocation . . . . . . . . . . . . 67Summerkill . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67Winterkill . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68Seasonal Turnover Kill . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69Preventing Fish KillsDue to Suffocation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69Fish Kills Due to Poisoning . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69Fish Kills Due to Diseases and Parasites . . . 70. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Nebraska Pond Management • 5

Consequences of Fish Kills . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70Diagnosing and Preventing Fish Kills . . . . . 70Reporting Fish Kills . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73Fish Parasites and Diseases . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73Shoreline Erosion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75Leaking Ponds . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75Filled-In Ponds . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76Non-Fishing Ponds . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76Other Pond Animals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77Turtles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77Snakes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78Crayfish . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78Beavers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78Muskrats . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78Frogs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79Salamanders . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79Waterbirds . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79APPENDIX A: TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE CONTACTS . . . . . . 80APPENDIX B: LIST OF AQUATIC CONSULTANTS ANDSERVICES PROVIDED . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82APPENDIX C: CALCULATING THE SURFACE AREA ANDVOLUME OF A POND . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83APPENDIX D: ADDITIONAL AERATION INFORMATION . . . 86REFERENCE MATERIAL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 886 • Nebraska Game and Parks Commission . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

INTRODUCTIONMany ponds have been constructed in Nebraska over the years, most in the eastern third ofthe state. Several surveys have found that about 25% of licensed anglers fish in privateimpoundments, primarily farm ponds. Although many ponds provide good fishing, some donot. Poor fishing can result from improper pond construction or management, or uses thatconflict with fish production.Ponds need to have good water quality, favorable aquatic habitat, and proper managementin order to develop and maintain desirable fish populations. They must also have adequate waterdepths to prevent excessive growth of aquatic vegetation and to support aquatic life duringperiods of adverse environmental conditions. Finally, they need to have the correct balance offish populations to achieve desired angling goals.This handbook is intended to help owners of both new and old ponds, and those who planto build a pond, to maximize the fishing potential of their pond. Information is provided onpond construction, stocking, environmental modifications, management, and maintenance. Byunderstanding the conditions that can lead to problems, the pond owner can correct them, oreven prevent them from occurring in the first place. If after reading this handbook you stillhave questions or would like to discuss any topics in greater detail, contact the fisheriesor wildlife biologists at your area Nebraska Game and Parks Commission district office, orthe Commission’s Private Waters Specialist in Lincoln (see Appendix A for a list of technicalassistance contacts).Whether you enjoy fishing for bluegills with a child or catching a lunker bass, searchingthe thick shoreline vegetation for a late season rooster pheasant, or just listening to abullfrog serenade, we hope this handbook will help you maximize the enjoyment you receivefrom your pond.