Fishery Management Question

[samytee]

Ive been reading this very interesting article

 

https://forum.carp.com/article60.html

 

and im wondering - would now be the right time time to spread horse manure in the margins?

and feed the fish with pellets to keep them off the natural food?

[craigmarky]

Well i think the first and most key part of that article is that the steps that they took were part of a formulated plan to tackle specific problems that they had identified and in consultation of experts.

 

Why are yo considering adding manure and fedding the carp on pellet. What is the specific problem and what is your end game.

[samytee]

sorry i should have explained myself a bit better,

 

In my lake there is no natural food (or very little)

 

There is hardly any weed either

 

i suffer from exactly the same problems as the lake in the article, probobly worse, earlier on this year we took out loads of fish (small carp and small roach)

 

The lake also had no predators, so we put in some perch and chub so next years fry shouldnt be as big a problem.

 

I want to encourage the growth of micro-organisms and therefore feed the natural food items and in the end feed the fish and make them grow......(nothing in the lake has grown for the last 5 years!!! apart from the greedy little carp)

 

.... so my plan is to put horse manure in the margins, put some weeds and lillies in, maybe some snails and other bugs i can beg steal and borrow. and while im doing this feed the fish with pellets in the open water to stop them eating all what im trying to create

 

does that sound alright? and is this the right time of year to start basically

 

oh yeah and ive just siltexed the whole water

[salokcinnodrog]

First question, how old is the lake and how long since it was stocked?

 

As far as I know fish shouldn't be stocked for a couple or 3 years after the lake was dug.

 

One of the best ways to increase its natural food is to drain or lower the level around April time, and keep the level low until September or October, and put manure on the banks and allow it time to "rot" in.

 

 

Unfortunately I think that you will find that the majority of us are anglers only, not Fishery Biologists. For a proper idea of what you need to do, you NEED to get professional help in what to do, someone like Dr. Bruno Broughton, for that you are likely to be best contacting the Environment Agency or Fish Farms to see who they recommend.

[samytee]

Hi mate, it was dug about 15 years ago

 

The reason why im asking on here is because i know a few fishery owners use these forums. Im just an angler whos lucky enough to have a pond in the garden

 

Its only a little place, 6 pegs, so its not really worth me paying hundereds to a consultant. my little project

[craigmarky]

One of the things i know about hook lake (the one in the article) is that it is fed. Water flows in. Presumably this would help with oxygen levels when combined with the treatment of algae and the hale bales which help prevent algae growth. My understanding is that the oxygen levels in water are key to the health of the fish and will help growth but that the oxygen in the water also helps the growth of natural food sources. Food sources can also be effected by silt levels, gravel or non gravel bottom, sources of light through vegitation etc.

[techo]

"there is very little weed growth or natural food"

 

Googling on "Artificial wetlands" will give you some useful info on how to bump up the natural ecosystem and improve the water quality and natural food.

 

"Floating solar impeller" is another you may wish to check out as a way of preventing anoxia and maintaining optimum oxygen levels.

 

Water pH kits are worthy investment, siltation agents etc. Find some locally natural water plants, grab a few from a garden centre and learn to propagate them to save yourself a fortune in the long term.

 

Hope it goes well, good on you for living every anglers dream.