Have a pond? Want to get more recreational potential out of it?
March is a great month of the year to initiate new pond management strategies. Owners of small ponds can rejuvenate them by monitoring water quality, supplemental feeding, and re-stocking (if necessary) with fish.
In East Texas, your local County Extension Agent can test your pond’s water for pH and alkalinity for little or no cost if you bring a water sample to their office and leave it for them to analyze when they have time.
Your water’s pH is a measure of the acidity or alkalinity of the water. The scale used is 0-14, with measurements below 7 considered acidic and those above 7 called alkaline. Lots of factors contribute to pond water becoming acidic, including the natural pH of rainfall (5.6), local soils, and plant matter that interacts with the pond’s water.
Alkalinity is a measure of the water’s ability to neutralize the acidity of incoming water, which is why it is sometimes referred to as the ‘buffering capacity’ of the pond. In East Texas, we like to see alkalinity readings at or above 20 ppm. Below that and we recommend the addition of agricultural limestone to the pond. How much limestone to add depends upon the pond’s surface area and how low an alkalinity reading your pond’s water registers.
Supplemental feeding and re-stocking are covered in great detail in the following publication by Dr. Billy Higginbotham with the Texas AgriLife Extension Service’s Wildlife and Fisheries Department pond management calendar.pdf.
People who would like a much more in-depth course in pond/lake management, especially one tailored to largemouth bass, should plan to attend the upcoming two-day "The Largemouth Bass: Better Fishing Through Private Water Management" event set for March 28 & 29 in Athens, Texas.
The event will be held at the Edwin L. Cox, Jr., Texas Freshwater Fisheries Center and the focus of the event will be producing big, catchable largemouth bass in your own lake.
Registration for the event is $60 per person before March 15 and $90 per person after that and at the door. For more information and to register on line visit the following online registration site or call 979-845-2604.
