Anyone a natural spring fed pond expert?

[l1ltaral1l]

My parents live about 2 hours north of me. They have a lot of acreage, with a spring fed pond. The pond is a hot mess ever since the inlet to the nearby crick (yes, crick. Not creek ) dried up. I'd like to help them get it back on track. It always has a lot of algae and I think we need to stock it better as well. If anyone has any starting points or recs on forums, etc., I'll take them!

 

[Shirker]

With pools, we strive to keep the eco system as dead as possible. But with a pond, you need a healthy eco system. Might want to reach out to your local county extension office or local land management organization. Or, see if you can find an ecology or environmental architecture grad student who needs a good thesis project.

 

[l1ltaral1l]

Good idea about the extension office. I worked for the county conservation district in college, but didn't even think of them for this. Thanks!

 

[l1ltaral1l]

I stalked the closest university website and emailed two ecology professors. LOL!

 

[jimim]

My uncles pond is spring fed. It is also the home’s water source so if thiers is also even more inept to be careful. I know with his nothing goes in. He physically gets in and pull growth. He is pretty nuts about it but it also is stocked with fish so he is very paranoid about them too. Lol. Best fishing in pa. Best part of all is I’m the only one in the family besides him and my 2 cousins who are allowed to fish it.
Call penn state extension.

 

[Ematicic]

Carp and Koi eat the algae, great in a pond to control. I am on a 14 acre spring fed pond and I have been considering picking up about 4 carp. If it is too shallow hawks will pick the koi out fast.

 

[jimim]

If u have a stocked pond that you also fish you don’t want carp or koi in them. Especially carp cause they get so big they take away from the fish weight to allow for a healthy pond population. I have shot carp that are 60 lbs in the river. If they go unchecked in a pond they will be pigs in a few years short.
If it isn’t stocked fine. I didn’t know what the deal was with this pond.

 

[l1ltaral1l]

Thanks all!

This does not feed their house water (the pond is away a distance from the house). The pond has fish that my Dad and sons fish in (Bass, Sunfish, Perch) but it was never formally stocked. I was thinking of emailing this place to see if they have any suggestions as well. The pond is relatively small - I'd guess maybe 1/2-1 acre? Full sun. People keep telling my Dad it needs to be drained and dredged, but we all have no clue really. When my Dad was a kid, they had a floating dock and a huge slide and would swim in at all summer. I love seeing those old pics!

I do have an email out to 3 people from PSU Extension. There weren't any pong management folks in our near their county, but hopefully they'll have some recs for me.

Thanks!

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[jimim]

My uncle dredged his years ago to make a deep end but that was to allow for winter safety for the fish to get low below the ice. I’ll ask him about that one. I’ll get a hold of him when I’m in the road today.

 

[l1ltaral1l]

Thanks Jim!

Someone from the extension got to me - super helpful. Looks like dredging can be a LONG road with permits with multiple departments. But, still an option. I'm hoping for a service that they can pay to do a diagnostic and them present them with some options.

 

[Shirker]

Do you have any good pictures?

 

[l1ltaral1l]

Not on me at work, unfortunately.

This is an aerial:



Actually, I found this video on my phone which shows it a bit (but not any of the issues): https://youtu.be/GLPuY9x4eVo

 

[Ematicic]

Also, might have a few big snapping turtles lurking. Those will deplete the fish population fast, and certainly make swimming a bad idea. Set some cheap turtle traps, steel leaders and some chicken liver and see what's snapping... Pre-spawn season is here so a great time to see what fish are jumping out. Looks like lots of shallow spots for good spawning. Another good idea is to throw a few tons of gravel where the dock is, small stuff so easy on the feet. It would help for any kids going in, as well as a warmer spot for fish to gather.

 

[l1ltaral1l]

Also, might have a few big snapping turtles lurking. Those will deplete the fish population fast, and certainly make swimming a bad idea. Set some cheap turtle traps, steel leaders and some chicken liver and see what's snapping... Pre-spawn season is here so a great time to see what fish are jumping out. Looks like lots of shallow spots for good spawning. Another good idea is to throw a few tons of gravel where the dock is, small stuff so easy on the feet. It would help for any kids going in, as well as a warmer spot for fish to gather.

Ohhhh no one swims in there now. HA! There are def 2 snappers that we know of (that go back and forth from the pond to the creek). But still seem to be lots of fish.