Spring Start-up Is Here – Implement Steps On Time
Aeration reduces bottom organic matter, cleans water, and increases pond productivity.
Athletes attend intensive training camps before a new season. If there was a training camp for pond managers, all of us would be getting on the bus today to begin planning the 2018 lake management season that opens March 1. Do you have a game plan?
New seasons bring different challenges. Long-term success relies on regular follow-up. Consistency is key. Ponds are no different from landscaping or gardens. They must be cultivated to maximize potential. Our coaching staff can review your goals and prepare a winning program.
Exciting growth among pond management science has created cutting-edge tools. Many have veteran consultants even shaking their heads. Have you reviewed latest water quality monitoring equipment? These instruments aid with early detection of looming water quality issues.
Should you use fertilizer or dyes to manage vegetation? If your goals include growing healthy fish, fertilization is best. If not, dyes are suitable. Call for information about approved products, application rates, and when to apply. Pond fertilizer must contain high phosphorous rates. If applied before water temperature reaches required levels, you won’t see results. Apply when water temps are too high, you may create harmful water quality problems. Before fertilizing, conduct a standard water chemistry test to learn alkalinity levels? Alkalinity must be within a required range to achieve healthy plankton blooms.
Aeration, microbes, dye, and tilapia can turn your pond into a cover shot like this scene.
What percentage of your pond can support fish activity during warm months after thermoclines stratify? Would you believe only the upper half of the water column? The bottom half is void of oxygen. Inquire how aeration increases productivity top to bottom. Aeration recycles stagnant bottom zones to decrease organic matter and significantly enhance productivity of the overall ecosystem.
Last month, we shared an effective management method for folks who experience annoying algae. In the past, they attempted to control it with old remedies recommended by a distant cousin. Ask us about our scientific plan utilizing aeration, tilapia, and microbes. It’s an effective combination on our most challenging algae projects. What are microbes and how do they work? Call for the rest of the story.
Form management coops with neighbors. Hold fun field-days to evaluate fish and share success stories.
Have you conducted a lake survey in the past two years to evaluate fish health and population balance? If you’re catching only small bass, it should tell you why. Do you have a small pond used only to water livestock? We’ll show you how to develop the idle pond into a bluegill hatchery for valuable bass forage. The list goes on.
We even have a band of brothers and sisters who communicate, some daily, to discuss latest management techniques. The group includes our nation’s pond experts. Visit www.pondboss.com to join our clan. You’ll get hooked!
Refs have blown the whistle to kickoff a new season. Don’t stand by wishing you could improve your pond. Form coop management groups with neighbors or friends. We can help those wishes come true.