Go Bottom

Trees around ponds

View my Photos
kthompson
Join Date: Oct 2005
Posts: 5275 South Carolina
TractorPoint Premium Member -- 5 Tractors = Very Frequent Poster  View my Photos  Pics

2007-08-07          144406


We have about an acre pond with trees on all sides but the north. It is about 4 times as long north - south as the east - west direction. Across the south end is truly swamp with water standing there almost always.

Over the years trees were allowed to grow on the east and west water edge with the thought it would keep water cool for the fish. Limbs and such falling into the pond has really been a pain. If you move about 30 feet to any side of the pond there is woods that provide low angle sun light blocking. The pond does get a lot of mid morning to mid afternoon direct sun.

I have looked and fine on the web support for those trees at one web site on ponds but at most fine no mention of trees. I am considering removing all trees right along the water edge to reduce material in the pond and to aid in keeping the edge clean where you fell safe to fish it.

This is in the hot and sunny coast of South Carolina. Any thoughts on the trees. Thanks, kt




Reply to | Quote Post Reply to PostQuote Reply | Add PhotoAdd Photo



Trees around ponds

View my Photos
Murf
Join Date: Dec 1999
Posts: 7249 Toronto Area, Ontario, Canada
TractorPoint Premium Member -- 5 Tractors = Very Frequent Poster  View my Photos  Pics

2007-08-07          144407


Kenneth, first off, there is much debate over using trees to shade a pond.

One side claims the shade helps lower water temperature, the other side (rightly IMHO) points out that the solar gain is nothing compared to the cooling effect of exposing so much water to the earth a few feet down.

I know I've measured (with a pool thermometer) the temperature of the water at both the surface and bottom of many ponds. The spread between top & bottom is often dramatic, in my own small pond (1/2 acre, 8' deep at the deepest point, mostly 5' deep) and this time of year the surface is 78° and the bottom is about 58°.

In nature fish naturally just change the point at which they find the water temperature comfortable, but that doesn't stop them moving into warmer or cooler areas to feed and such.

In short, I find the trees add so much organic material to the pond that it's not worth having them there.

Also, it's the plant material that turns the water turbid (muddy looking) and the added nutrient loading causes excessive plant growth along the banks.

Best of luck. ....


Reply to | Quote Post Reply to PostQuote Reply | Add PhotoAdd Photo



Trees around ponds

View my Photos
earthwrks
Join Date: Dec 2003
Posts: 3853 Home Office in Flat Rock, Michigan
TractorPoint Premium Member -- 5 Tractors = Very Frequent Poster  View my Photos  Pics

2007-08-07          144415


Kenny: In English please! "I have looked and fine on..." "...most fine no..."

You still can't "fine" the spell check key? And I'm the one who drives in circles? Aaaahem. ....


Reply to | Quote Post Reply to PostQuote Reply | Add PhotoAdd Photo



Trees around ponds

View my Photos
kthompson
Join Date: Oct 2005
Posts: 5275 South Carolina
TractorPoint Premium Member -- 5 Tractors = Very Frequent Poster  View my Photos  Pics

2007-08-07          144421


Jeff ole boy read that ole boy, one day if the Lord lets you live long enough you will be OLD BOY and your eyes will have problems with small fonts too my fiend (R missing on purpose my friend). Then this Southern Gentleman will try not to laugh at the now Broken Down OLD Northerner.

That along with I am doing what I can to bring you some form of pleasure into your other wise dull life. :) :)
I guess looking over a BLUE hood has to give you a BLUE outlook. Sorry.


....


Reply to | Quote Post Reply to PostQuote Reply | Add PhotoAdd Photo



Trees around ponds

View my Photos
candoarms
Join Date: Mar 2007
Posts: 1932 North Dakota
TractorPoint Premium Member -- 5 Tractors = Very Frequent Poster  View my Photos  Pics

2007-08-07          144423


KThompson,

I lived on a small farm in Georgia for three years, while in the Army. (Fort Gordon....Harlem Georgia)

We had a pond behind the place about the same size as yours. It was stocked with catfish and bluegill. I spent many evenings out there when it it was too hot in the house.

There were no trees surrounding the pond. My landlord found it necessary to feed his fish daily, simply because any bait-fish he placed in the pond would quickly disappear. The bait-fish had no place to hide, nor to spawn.

Old man Fletcher placed evergreens in one end of the pond, after I suggested that he provide a place for the bait-fish to gather, spawn, and protect themselves from the bigger fish. By the second year, we had plenty of food for the bluegills and the catfish.

Here in North Dakota, the wildlife groups take up a Christmas tree drive every January. They ask that everyone place their Christmas trees along the curb, for free pickup. These wildlife groups then attach concrete blocks to the stumps of these trees, and then place them in the water, through the ice, so that bait-fish in our lakes will have a safe place to reproduce. It's worked wonders on many smaller lakes here in North Dakota.

You might be able to remove most of the trees along the shore of your pond. However, I would strongly consider dropping at least a few of those trees in the water, on one end of the pond, to serve as a shelter and feeding area for your fish. You might be surprised at how effective this can be.

Joel ....


Reply to | Quote Post Reply to PostQuote Reply | Add PhotoAdd Photo



Trees around ponds

View my Photos
kthompson
Join Date: Oct 2005
Posts: 5275 South Carolina
TractorPoint Premium Member -- 5 Tractors = Very Frequent Poster  View my Photos  Pics

2007-08-07          144429


Candoarms,
It would seem a tree like those normally used for Christmas tree would be best for this compared to a single limb or tree trunk to provide the shelter in the water. Is that correct? kt
....


Reply to | Quote Post Reply to PostQuote Reply | Add PhotoAdd Photo



Trees around ponds

View my Photos
candoarms
Join Date: Mar 2007
Posts: 1932 North Dakota
TractorPoint Premium Member -- 5 Tractors = Very Frequent Poster  View my Photos  Pics

2007-08-07          144432


KThompson,

We use Christmas tress, simply because it's the only source of trees we have available to us. We don't waste any trees....because we don't have any.

Any tree will work. Large branches, stumps, and limbs are actually better, simply because they'll last so much longer before they rot and fall apart.

The rotting trees will attract water beetles and other insects, which will attract and feed the bait-fish. In the meantime, your fish will gather around the trees to spawn, feed, and to escape the heat.

Fishermen love to fish around fallen timber, as it makes for a community gathering point for nearly all types of fish....mainly because of the large amount of food available there.

Joel ....


Reply to | Quote Post Reply to PostQuote Reply | Add PhotoAdd Photo



Trees around ponds

View my Photos
candoarms
Join Date: Mar 2007
Posts: 1932 North Dakota
TractorPoint Premium Member -- 5 Tractors = Very Frequent Poster  View my Photos  Pics

2007-08-07          144434


KThompson,

I have an idea which might help you decide how to handle this.

First off....what type of fish do you keep in your pond? Crappie, bluegill, catfish?

How often do you restock it, if ever?

Is it necessary to feed your fish, or is there enough food in the pond to keep them healthy and growing?

Are your fish small in size, and never seem to grow very big?

With the answers to these questions in hand, your local fish and wildlife manager would be able to provide you the best advice for managing fish ponds in your area......free of charge. He may also suggest that you stock a different species of fish. He may also be able to provide you with the fish, at little or no cost.

Give your local game and fish department managers a call. They'll be happy to hear from you, and they'll offer all kinds of advice.

Just make sure you don't get yourself wrapped up in a government program that will tie your hands behind your back well into the future. And yes....there are many such programs available.

Joel ....


Reply to | Quote Post Reply to PostQuote Reply | Add PhotoAdd Photo



Trees around ponds

View my Photos
SG8NUC
Join Date: Jan 2006
Posts: 579 g
TractorPoint Premium Member -- 5 Tractors = Very Frequent Poster  View my Photos  Pics

2007-08-08          144454


KT,

I cut down several trees tied nylon line to the trunks and placed them in the pond with the trunks on shore. The nylon line was so I could remove them if I wanted to. This gives the small fish a safe haven. Any standing trees around ponds will keep adding leaves, limbs and such that they will fill it in after a time. Pine trees are the worse. Sun light helps from what I could find out. I agree with Murf the a pond with any depth will cool itsself by ground surface. Mine is several degrees cooler a few feet down. ....


Reply to | Quote Post Reply to PostQuote Reply | Add PhotoAdd Photo



Trees around ponds

View my Photos
kthompson
Join Date: Oct 2005
Posts: 5275 South Carolina
TractorPoint Premium Member -- 5 Tractors = Very Frequent Poster  View my Photos  Pics

2007-08-08          144456


SG,

What did you ever do on the bridge? How old is your pond? kt ....


Reply to | Quote Post Reply to PostQuote Reply | Add PhotoAdd Photo



Trees around ponds

View my Photos
SG8NUC
Join Date: Jan 2006
Posts: 579 g
TractorPoint Premium Member -- 5 Tractors = Very Frequent Poster  View my Photos  Pics

2007-08-08          144470


KT,

My pond is around 5 years old and 18 ft deep at the deepest point. It is around one Acre in size. Beagle did a good job on helping me out with the bridge, but it was going to cost around $2,000.00. and lot of labor. I took Ann Bush's idea and put a lawn mower on the Island. I paddle over on my boat and cut the grass. Life is good.
On my family's land around 150 acres there are several ponds some around 60 years old. Some have trees and some did not. The ones with trees I use to fish in as a boy are just swamp now. The ones that the trees were kept cut are still doing fine and now my grandson fishes in them. ....


Reply to | Quote Post Reply to PostQuote Reply | Add PhotoAdd Photo



Trees around ponds

View my Photos
Murf
Join Date: Dec 1999
Posts: 7249 Toronto Area, Ontario, Canada
TractorPoint Premium Member -- 5 Tractors = Very Frequent Poster  View my Photos  Pics

2007-08-09          144501


A tip for those who have ponds that are in the water table, that is the hole naturally refills itself from standing water in the ground, or are stream or spring fed.

Most people don't realize you can 'flush' a pond, we do it all the time, in fact I have to do mine at home all the time.

Basically all you have to do is pump a lot of water out (taking the mucky stuff with it) and let clean water come back in to replace it. In my case I choose to have a lot of plants around the pond as a visual screen. In return I have to get rid of a lot of plant material that falls in and decomposes. My pond is designed for this, with a deep spot nearest where I have to pump the mucky water out. I use two pumps, a large irrigation pump to drain the pump, and a smaller 'mud pump' to wash all the muck towards the big pump.

If you have fish you need to net them out first, in my case all I have is a couple of snapping turtles.

Best of luck. ....


Reply to | Quote Post Reply to PostQuote Reply | Add PhotoAdd Photo



Trees around ponds

View my Photos
kthompson
Join Date: Oct 2005
Posts: 5275 South Carolina
TractorPoint Premium Member -- 5 Tractors = Very Frequent Poster  View my Photos  Pics

2007-08-09          144507


SG, no bridge means a safe place to escape to.

Have no idea on the size of your island but there is a pond near me with a very light weight bridge to it for goat(s) to use. They do a good job on it and around the pond. ....


Reply to | Quote Post Reply to PostQuote Reply | Add PhotoAdd Photo



Trees around ponds

View my Photos
candoarms
Join Date: Mar 2007
Posts: 1932 North Dakota
TractorPoint Premium Member -- 5 Tractors = Very Frequent Poster  View my Photos  Pics

2007-08-09          144512


Speaking of islands........

I'm not sure if anyone here has heard about the flooding that's been taking place near Devils Lake North Dakota since about 1992.

Devils lake has reached near record levels. In fact, nobody is sure if the lake has ever been this high since the purchase of the Louisiana Territory. It's risen over 26 feet since 1992.

Being that North Dakota is so flat, a rise in lake levels of this magnitude means that hundreds of thousands of acres of farmland are now under water. In some cases, there are islands of more than one square mile in size, that cannot be worked by our farmers.

One farmer, near Lakota, North Dakota, came up with an idea. He built a second farm on the island, composed of old, heavily used equipment. He hauls his fuel, oil, seed and fertilizer to the farm during the winter, by driving over the frozen lake. He hauls his grain out during the winter as well, using smaller trucks that won't break through the ice.

Devils Lake is one of only a handful of lakes in the U.S. that has no natural outlet. It is a land-locked lake. It has grown from 40,000 acres in 1992, to over 130,000 acres today, and it's still rising. If not for the dikes surrounding Devils Lake (the city shares the same name) the city would be under more than 12 feet of water.

More than 1 MILLION trees have been lost to the high water, making boating on the lake quite dangerous. When that water goes down, the landscape will look very strange. Dead trees will be piled up in the middle of the cropland.

Oh, oh......there I went and did it. I wrote a letter that has nothing whatever to do with the original topic. Somebody's gonna get mad at me.

Joel ....


Reply to | Quote Post Reply to PostQuote Reply | Add PhotoAdd Photo



Trees around ponds

View my Photos
SG8NUC
Join Date: Jan 2006
Posts: 579 g
TractorPoint Premium Member -- 5 Tractors = Very Frequent Poster  View my Photos  Pics

2007-08-09          144525


Joel.

Water, lake, flood, island sounds like the same subject to me.

KT,

Check out my pictures, I burn the edge of the pond each year this gets rid of debris and the such. I did plant several weeping willows one is on the Island. I have 33' to span to get to the Island and this old goat is 200# plus. I did the math. ....


Reply to | Quote Post Reply to PostQuote Reply | Add PhotoAdd Photo



Trees around ponds

View my Photos
kthompson
Join Date: Oct 2005
Posts: 5275 South Carolina
TractorPoint Premium Member -- 5 Tractors = Very Frequent Poster  View my Photos  Pics

2007-08-09          144528


Joel, how is the fishing with all the trees in there? The Santee Lakes in SC known for years were flooded woods and farm land. Part of the reason given for being so good was the submerged trees. Also part of the reason you were wise not to run fast if you did not know the water.

SG, you cracked me up. I was really talking about the 4 legged goat. To help get by with the weakest bridge design, get the pygmy goat. EW, is that spelled correctly? If not, I mean the goats that stay little. kt


SG, got it...so simple...put large diameter trees in pond for fish shelter lined up so the 4 legged goats can jump from one to the other to reach the island! You would need to cut the limbs off of the top but it would be all natural. No doubt Al Gore would be pleased with you in the effort to reduce the use of a gasoline engine to mow the island. Not sure how he would feel about the use of a gasoline saw or the cutting of the trees, but hey you are trying. :) ....


Reply to | Quote Post Reply to PostQuote Reply | Add PhotoAdd Photo



Trees around ponds

View my Photos
kthompson
Join Date: Oct 2005
Posts: 5275 South Carolina
TractorPoint Premium Member -- 5 Tractors = Very Frequent Poster  View my Photos  Pics

2007-08-09          144536


SG, forgot to thank you for the idea of burning the edge of the pond. Have never used or seen one of the propane torches for weed control used, wonder if they would do good for keeping those slopes clean? kt ....


Reply to | Quote Post Reply to PostQuote Reply | Add PhotoAdd Photo



Trees around ponds

View my Photos
Murf
Join Date: Dec 1999
Posts: 7249 Toronto Area, Ontario, Canada
TractorPoint Premium Member -- 5 Tractors = Very Frequent Poster  View my Photos  Pics

2007-08-09          144545


SG, sounds like you need to build yourself a Bailey bridge.

A surplus mobile home frame with axles and a few 55 gallon drums and and you will be all set.

Back it in, drive across it.

Kenneth, I think SG means 'burn' as in a grass fire. Those burners are designed to just singe weeds.

Best of luck. ....


Reply to | Quote Post Reply to PostQuote Reply | Add PhotoAdd Photo



Trees around ponds

View my Photos
SG8NUC
Join Date: Jan 2006
Posts: 579 g
TractorPoint Premium Member -- 5 Tractors = Very Frequent Poster  View my Photos  Pics

2007-08-09          144548


Kt,

I take the leaves and yard debris I get off of my 70 oak and hickory tees and dump them around the pond each winter. Murf is correct I set fire to this and it clears all around the pond. It does grow up during the summer. The county here uses the torches you mentioned a good bit for control burning. If you had a small area they should work good. Al gore is number one on my list for something I'm sure. One goat to another I dont hop so well any more. I take it one hop at a time.

Murf,

I did look at that option with the mobile home frame and belive me there are plenty in rural GA. The cost will still be up there kind of high. Transportation cost and crane to set the frame and all. I realy wanted a bridge, I think I would look good on it. ....


Reply to | Quote Post Reply to PostQuote Reply | Add PhotoAdd Photo



Trees around ponds

View my Photos
Murf
Join Date: Dec 1999
Posts: 7249 Toronto Area, Ontario, Canada
TractorPoint Premium Member -- 5 Tractors = Very Frequent Poster  View my Photos  Pics

2007-08-10          144577


SG, no ole son you missed my point.

Take one axle off the mobile home frame and move the second one to almost the very back. Then add some 55 gallon drums to the underside for floatation. When you need to get to the island, back the trailer into the pond, like a Bailey Bridge. When the back axle gets to the island, set the front down, block it in place and drive over it.

You say it's only 33' across, so a 40' frame will give you 3' on dry ground each end, anything more is just bonus.

When the mowing is done, hook it up and roll it back out.

A friend does this at his deer camp, they used to get vandalised every year by kids from nearby summer places that ride his land on their 4 wheelers. So he built a new place on a small island, the 'bridge' is on wheels and gets parked a couple of miles away next to the old place. Cold water is a great deterrent.

Best of luck. ....


Reply to | Quote Post Reply to PostQuote Reply | Add PhotoAdd Photo


   Go Top


Share This







Member Login