bull-2-march-10-2012

Comment

Comment by Walt Foreman on March 16, 2012 at 8:18am

You can fertilize a pond that is muddy - sometimes it will help clear it up.  The fertilizer that is easiest to use is the water-soluble variety, which typically comes in 25-lb. bags and can be broadcast simply by hand from the bank, whereas liquid has to be either sprayed in a fine mist from a pressure sprayer, or diluted 20:1 and splashed onto the surface.  Granular is the worst, as it only works when poured into the prop wash of an outboard motor (which is also the best method for liquid). 

 

Fertilizing makes a drastic positive difference in the food chain.  Although, if you still have a lot of small green sunfish in your pond, I would make getting more bass in there top priority, as fertilizing won't help the fish until you get the sunfish (GSF and bluegill both) under control.  But in a pond that's even approaching a good population dynamic, it makes a tremendous difference.

Comment by Zach Pierce on March 16, 2012 at 6:09am

 

So what type of fertilizer do you use and how should I dilute it, I may try that this year as well, just to see what happens?

Also could you fertilize a pond that is muddy or turbid?

Comment by Leo Nguyen on March 15, 2012 at 1:09pm

We have similar events at Big Bear Lake, with massive FA growing every where at Grout Bay. The weed explosion was so thick, we can't even get through with our tubes, toons, boats, kayaks, or even wading. But holy smoke, the panfish were biting off the hook. For every bite we get, we would spend at least 3 minutes removing the FA entangled all over our lines.

Comment by Walt Foreman on March 15, 2012 at 12:46pm

Yes, I'll be fertilizing not this weekend but next weekend.  Ideally I would have begun fertilization a week or two ago, but I'm not concerned because a couple years ago when I began working with this pond again I didn't fertilize the first time for the season until May and, in spite of the fact there was a good deal more FA growing than what there is at the moment, within a week it was all gone.  When the plankton bloom gets going, the sunlight can't penetrate to the pond bottom and the weeds die.

Comment by Zach Pierce on March 15, 2012 at 11:15am

So I guess the moss is already out.  Will you be taking care of this (if so with what), or will you just let it be?