Fly Fishing

psc_wildboy · Posted: Thu Nov 30, 2006 12:43 pm Post subject: Fish pond

I have a 7 month old nephew, and for his birhtday I want to give him a pond (yeah, i know it's a little rediculous) so he can start catching fish as early as possible. I am building it myself with a bulldozer and excavator and it will be stream fed. I was just wondering what depth and size is good, the pond will be stocked with browns or rainbows. Any knowledge would be a great help. The real trouble will be keeping out the other family members.

OR

Does anyone think building a trout pond is a bad idea or a bad way to introduce a kid to fishing?

jason-c · Newbie Joined: Apr 02, 2004 Posts: 97

If you know what you are doing is legal (sometimes messing with streams of any size can get you into trouble) then I would check in with your local Department of Agriculture. They can tell you everything you need to know.

psc_wildboy · Posted: Thu Nov 30, 2006 4:35 pm Post subject:

yeah, haha, it's legal. It is actually being done with funding from the Vermont government through the WHIPS program because there are wetlands that will also be repaired which had been damaged by farming. Also the stream was man made from a spring that was dug through the middle of a field in order to provide cows with water. Is there a better choice of fish for small ponds at mid-low elevation? Also 7 months is young, but are there any good youth fly rods, or just a lighter rod? (just curious)

jason-c · Newbie Joined: Apr 02, 2004 Posts: 97

Cool-In that case I would check with the Ag Dept. for the specs. There are a lot of factors that surround which trout you should get. I know a few people with stocked ponds back east. It is my understanding that the browns live twice a long as the rainbows. No natural repro can occur in a pond but maybe your stream inlet would be sufficient. That would be really cool!

jeremy · Posted: Thu Nov 30, 2006 5:56 pm Post subject: killer

that is AWESOME! and believe me i have thought about it .. of course, i say it would be for my sons ... but it would really be for me .. i have always envisioned a little pond that is spring fed and then bulding a little creek for the trout to go up into if they wanted .. and essentially the little pond would have all of the features of a big lake with little creeks and different pools ... and i could plant trees around the pond that were positioned just so and make a waterfall etc ... whatever, ... point being I THINK IT IS AN AWESOME Idea ... and one that i plan on pursuing at some point in my life .... and like i said, i will justify it as being "for the boys" .. but it will be for me and the boys may or may not be allowed to even step foot near it Very Happy

i do know in maine .. many folks have these type of ponds .. but like jason said .. it has to be legal and you gotta get permission from the state to have the trout in the pond or whatever ... but once that is taken care of, your all set .. and then it becomes a matter of what kind of trout ... i have never seen one with browns .. but some i know of have rainbows and brook trout .. the brook trout ones are naturally spring fed ponds here in maine and because of that the brookies survive well .. ... but if they are not naturally spring fed ponds .. than the other ones i have seen have rainbows in them ... that's all i know .. have fun and keep us posted .. and when you get it done .. take a pic and show us!

psc_wildboy · Posted: Thu Nov 30, 2006 5:58 pm Post subject:

that would be crazy... I hadn't thought of that possisbility... it would be like a mini eco-system! wow I am so stoked!

Bwallace44 · Newbie Joined: Aug 31, 2006 Posts: 6

A buddy of mine just bought a ranch in Wyoming and made 12 ponds and what I guess would be considered a small lake. Anyway, these things can be tricky and often require quite a bit of study. All of them are spring fed.

Here is the advice he was given.

1.) Depending on weather, you have to have part of the pond deep enough to allow trout to winter (assuming you want them to live longer than one season). As such, the Vermont Department of Fish and Game should be able to tell you what depth is necessary in Vermont - in Wyoming, its very deep because it gets freaking cold and the ice can be very thick. Most people choose this deep spot to be the middle of the pond, but you can vary it based on your design and put at one end or the other. The second point with this depth is it needs to be large enough to account for the number of fish you will be putting into the pond. There has to be enough surface area at the maximum depth to provide for the fish, and the bugs that will live in the pond in the winter.

Also - for fishing reasons, you want to put the shallower part of the lake (the flats, if you will) as close to the point where the wind blows from. For example, in Wyoming the wind almost always blows from West to East. His ponds are in a kind of valley, so the wind comes from the Southwest. With the shallows at the Southwest, it makes for great fishing because grasshoppers get blown into the shallows where the fish patrol for food. If that doesn't make sense let me know and I can try to explain it further.

2.) Structure is important - though not as important for trout as for bass. My buddy did a variety of things, including brush piles, rock outcroppings, and logs, etc.

3.) Vegetation: if you don't have the right plants, you might not get the bugs, without the bugs the fish don't eat. There are consulting companies that specialize in this type of work, but they can be pricey. Again I would go to the Dept of Fish and game, just email your local project manager, he should be able to help you pick out the appropriate vegetation to go in and around the pond.

4.) Species: he stocked his ponds with Kamloop and Donaldson Rainbows. He did this because the ranch will eventuall be a fishing destination, and these species are genetically engineered to be a stronger breed of fish (or so some say). Anyway - Wyoming fish and game told him that the most sustainable population of fish is Brook Trout - as they are more aggressive and will out eat other populations. However this is really only the case if you are mixing species, i.e. you put in Brooks and Rainbows, eventually you will only have Brooks. He was told that Rainbows deal with warmer water temps better than the others, which is the reason why they are stocked in streams throughout the South (Arkansas).

Just to clarify, a lot of this info was second hand - for all I know it could be completely untrue, but it was he was told. The Dept. of fish and game should be willing to provide you with the information you need. Hope this helps, sorry it went on for so long. Good luck and I'd definitely like to here status updates.

Bwallace44 · Newbie Joined: Aug 31, 2006 Posts: 6

http://gf.state.wy.us/downloads/pdf/fish/FishPond.pdf

Also check out this link - again this is for Wyoming but I'm sure it can relate to Vermont at the very least.

http://www.aquahabitat.com/

Also take a look at this - this is the type of consulting company I was talking about. I think its probably pretty expensive, but you might be able to get some do-it-yourself tips.

Hope it helps.

psc_wildboy · Posted: Thu Nov 30, 2006 8:13 pm Post subject:

Thanks for the help, I am a fisheries and wildlife managment student so this whole process is a dream come true. I am planning on blending it into its surroundings as best I can, and i hope it will be a place for all creatures ( even me ). I just talked to my parents who are helping to fund this project for there grandson's sake and we have agreed to build the pond a good distance from the spring. This should allow us to fill in the ditch that is there now and make a small stream lined with grave and some larger rock... maybe even some waterfalls and small pools in hopes we might be able to create a spawning area, althougth I have yet to research such requirements. Also my mom is a horticulture genius and she is going to figure out the best plants for cover, food, and water quality.
Anyway, if anyone is going through VT and wants to check it out... say late this next summer or fall I would love to show you, although i am sure as far as fishing it will take some time for them to reach a decent size. I will post pictures of the construction and finished product as the happen... I also hope to be be posting a picture of m nephew with his first trout as soon as possible.

SageDS2 · Newbie Joined: Oct 18, 2006 Posts: 17

Thats a sweeet idea! But, personaly i would stock the pond with bass and bluegills, if its for a little kid. I think he would have a lot more fun just catching these fish , which bite just about all the time than trying to catch trout, which a lot of time require a lot of work. However you decide to do it I think it will be awsome!