texasfishingforum.com logo
Main Menu
Advertisement
Affiliates
Advertisement
Newest Members
TraeMartin, Power-Pole CS, T-Rigger, JoeGoes, EcKo
119150 Registered Users
Top Posters(All Time)
hopalong 120,585
TexDawg 119,524
Bigbob_FTW 94,903
John175☮ 85,892
Pilothawk 83,264
Bob Davis 81,523
Mark Perry 72,297
Derek 🐝 68,312
JDavis7873 67,416
Forum Statistics
Forums59
Topics1,037,854
Posts13,935,655
Members144,150
Most Online39,925
Dec 30th, 2023
Print Thread
Our tank #13844342 01/13/21 04:11 AM
Joined: Jan 2008
Posts: 2,561
J
JRGOCARDS Offline OP
Extreme Angler
OP Offline
Extreme Angler
J
Joined: Jan 2008
Posts: 2,561
About 20 years ago my FIL had a guy cut a lot of our mature oak trees on our place. The result was that the growth that came up was so thick, that we couldn't get thru the woods. Fast forward to last week, I took a walk thru the woods trying to kill some hogs that use our place as a sanctuary (killed 8). I guess the growth has gotten high enough to thin out the woods.

In the middle of our place is a 1.5 to 2 acre tank that has not had any human touch in 15 years. I want to make it into a bluegill and bass tank (mostly bluegill).

My 1st step will be to cut down most of the trees that surround the tank (for fly fishing). I've always heard that you don't want trees on the dam, but that horse is out of the barn. Should I leave the trees alone that are on the dam??

Second step will be to fish it to see what's currently in it.

My desire is to put bluegill in it and leave them grow for 3 to 4 years before putting in bass. I've got a friend that has a surplus of large bluegill that he'll allow me to take, but he lives 1.5 hours away. Any suggestions for transporting the Gills??

Guess that's enough for now.

Thank you guys for sharing your knowledge!!

JR

Last edited by JRGOCARDS; 01/13/21 04:11 AM. Reason: Added Sig
Re: Our tank [Re: JRGOCARDS] #13844590 01/13/21 02:26 PM
Joined: Mar 2005
Posts: 41,166
butch sanders Offline
TFF Guru
Offline
TFF Guru
Joined: Mar 2005
Posts: 41,166
that will be fun

Re: Our tank [Re: JRGOCARDS] #13853778 01/20/21 09:08 PM
Joined: Apr 2009
Posts: 2,750
Outdoordude Offline
Extreme Angler
Offline
Extreme Angler
Joined: Apr 2009
Posts: 2,750
Leave the trees larger than 6 inches in diameter on the dam alone. Smaller brush and little trees can be cleared. You can take down the trees along the rest of the shore as you wish. Save some hardwoods/cedar for brush piles. If you have the machinery to do so, you can push whole trees, root wad and all, into the pond for habitat. I'd do two or three big piles of trunks/brush total for a pond that size. There is such a thing as too much cover.

Some fresh big bluegill are a good start. I wouldn't bother with stocking fingerlings if you can get a good batch of big (7+ inch) adults. There are almost certainly bluegill in the pond now, just no telling what shape they're in until you get some fishing in.

It's not my expertise, but you should be able to haul 5 lbs of bluegill per 10 gallons of water safely, especially if you have aeration (strongly recommend you have some form of aerator/bubbler running the duration of the trip). Add up to 5 oz of uniodized salt per 10 gallons of water to manage stress. Can use a clean 55 gallon drum with a lid or something like a livestock watering tank with a makeshift lid/cover to keep water from sloshing out. When you get to your pond, add pond water to the tank a bucket or two every few minutes for about 15 minutes before adding the bluegill to the pond to temper them to the new water conditions.

There are a couple fish farmers that scroll through here occasionally, hopefully they can give more insight into hauling.

To encourage big bluegills, I'd harvest every largemouth bass over 12 inches and release every largemouth under 12. Harvest up to 40-60 lbs of bluegill up to 7 inches in length per year and release all bluegill larger than 7 inches.

Nothing will help bluegills grow bigger and faster than feeding. Automatic feeders make it super convenient. Floating feeds with 40% protein (often referred to as sportfish diets) are best, but 28-32% protein diets are ok too. Feed in the evening at least every few days, but up to daily. Just make sure to keep an eye on their intake. Don't feed more than they can eat in about 5 minutes. Uneaten feed fertilizes the pond and can lead to algae/weed problems and more severe turnovers in the fall.

Big bluegill fly fishing ponds are super fun, good luck!


Scott Jones
Re: Our tank [Re: JRGOCARDS] #13854441 01/21/21 03:18 AM
Joined: Jan 2008
Posts: 2,561
J
JRGOCARDS Offline OP
Extreme Angler
OP Offline
Extreme Angler
J
Joined: Jan 2008
Posts: 2,561
Thanks Outdoordude! Good advice.

Hoping to get to fish it a little next week.

JR

Re: Our tank [Re: JRGOCARDS] #13973251 04/25/21 06:11 PM
Joined: Jun 2005
Posts: 44,551
a777pilot Offline
TFF Guru
Offline
TFF Guru
Joined: Jun 2005
Posts: 44,551
Originally Posted by JRGOCARDS
Thanks Outdoordude! Good advice.

Hoping to get to fish it a little next week.

JR


Let us know how that goes. Pictures of the tank and your catch would be great.

Good luck.


Look! Up in the sky. It's a bird. It's a plane. No, it's an EMP!

Re: Our tank [Re: JRGOCARDS] #13973256 04/25/21 06:15 PM
Joined: Jun 2005
Posts: 44,551
a777pilot Offline
TFF Guru
Offline
TFF Guru
Joined: Jun 2005
Posts: 44,551
I have an old friend from the Marine Corps that bought a farm in Arkansas. He told me he had three old rock quarries flooded that had not been fish in over 45 years. He said he started 17 pound test line and the bass were snapping that like string. So be prepared for some fun.


Look! Up in the sky. It's a bird. It's a plane. No, it's an EMP!

Re: Our tank [Re: JRGOCARDS] #13973516 04/25/21 10:14 PM
Joined: Aug 2020
Posts: 952
Z
z289sec Offline
Pro Angler
Offline
Pro Angler
Z
Joined: Aug 2020
Posts: 952
Originally Posted by JRGOCARDS
About 20 years ago my FIL had a guy cut a lot of our mature oak trees on our place. The result was that the growth that came up was so thick, that we couldn't get thru the woods. Fast forward to last week, I took a walk thru the woods trying to kill some hogs that use our place as a sanctuary (killed 8). I guess the growth has gotten high enough to thin out the woods.

In the middle of our place is a 1.5 to 2 acre tank that has not had any human touch in 15 years. I want to make it into a bluegill and bass tank (mostly bluegill).

My 1st step will be to cut down most of the trees that surround the tank (for fly fishing). I've always heard that you don't want trees on the dam, but that horse is out of the barn. Should I leave the trees alone that are on the dam??

Second step will be to fish it to see what's currently in it.

My desire is to put bluegill in it and leave them grow for 3 to 4 years before putting in bass. I've got a friend that has a surplus of large bluegill that he'll allow me to take, but he lives 1.5 hours away. Any suggestions for transporting the Gills??

Guess that's enough for now.

Thank you guys for sharing your knowledge!!

JR



Bluegills are super easy to transport. I catch them all the time for bait, transport them home, put them in my tank at home, transport them when I go fish, and bring the remainder back home. All in a bait pail with just an airstone. I'm sure in my portable bait tank with air and filtration, I could transport them hundreds of miles, no problem. Granted it would take a few trips, depending on the size of your tank, but they're very hardy.

Last edited by z289sec; 04/25/21 10:15 PM.
Re: Our tank [Re: JRGOCARDS] #14024469 06/08/21 01:06 PM
Joined: Apr 2005
Posts: 662
D
Dave Davidson Offline
Pro Angler
Offline
Pro Angler
D
Joined: Apr 2005
Posts: 662
If the trees that need thinning are oaks, don’t put them in for structure. Oaks have tannins which can/will leak out into the water. It is deadly for fish.

Been there and done that. Had to pump a 2 acre pond dry, let the summer sun dry everything, remove the trees, pray for more rain and re stock.

Re: Our tank [Re: Dave Davidson] #14024507 06/08/21 01:33 PM
Joined: Mar 2014
Posts: 404
D
DarrellSimpson Offline
Angler
Offline
Angler
D
Joined: Mar 2014
Posts: 404
Originally Posted by Dave Davidson
If the trees that need thinning are oaks, don’t put them in for structure. Oaks have tannins which can/will leak out into the water. It is deadly for fish.

Been there and done that. Had to pump a 2 acre pond dry, let the summer sun dry everything, remove the trees, pray for more rain and re stock.


I have wondered about the live oaks . The beavers in our pond won't chew on the live oak or the Bois D’arc tree's .

Previous Thread
Index
Next Thread

© 1998-2022 OUTDOOR SITES NETWORK all rights reserved USA and Worldwide
Powered by UBB.threads™ PHP Forum Software 7.7.3