losing pond fish to predators

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Around the end of June I stocked my pond with a hundred rainbow trout.

When you looked at the pond, you could see a fish rise every few seconds.

Now it's every ten or fifteen minutes. I suspect there might be six left and we have not tried to catch any ourselves yet.

At the hatchery, the guy had a bunch of fishing line strung over his ponds and a little fence all the way around the border of the pond. Ugly. He said is was to keep the predatory birds out.

Are there any alternatives?

-- Paul Wheaton (paul@javaranch.com), August 07, 2001

Answers

have you seen any predators? I would bet that most of them have ate each other,,they will get to a balance, between available food space and fish. Depnding on the size of your pond,, you could run posts with wire fence,, and tie those plastic grocery bags to it at every foot or so,, I know it works for the garden,, if its too big for that,, how about a "scare crow" on the water,, a boat with a line tied to it,, and a dummy in the boat,, you could even use a trolling motor, to run in circles

-- stan (sopal@net-port.com), August 07, 2001.

If the problem is wading birds, I heard a neat thing on the radio this springtime for scaring them away. This guy put one of those toy plastic alligators in his pond. Cormorants and herons who overwinter in the south are wary of gators, and don't like a small pond with one in it. The most effective "alligator" was one with reflective eyes, so he painted silver truck paint on the eyes.

-- Chelsea (rmbehr@istar.ca), August 07, 2001.

I suspect your problem isn't predators, but rather your pond isn't suitable for trout. They require a high oxygen level produced by clear, fast-flowing water. They simply died and were eaten or just went unnoticed by you.

-- Ken S. in WC TN (scharabo@aol.com), August 07, 2001.

If you have turtles in your pond, they will eat the fish. I think there is information in the archives about getting rid of them. Are you sure they have enough space and oxygen? Trout have different requirements than bass or catfish.

-- Mona in OK (modoc@ipa.net), August 07, 2001.

A 12 guage is very effective. And those long legged birds are probably good eating, probably taste like chicken. Anyone know for sure

-- David (bluewaterfarm@mindspring.com), August 07, 2001.


Some people string lines across their ponds with those cheap aluminum pie plates on them. It looks awful but seems to work like the plastic bag idea. Also in higher temps don't the fish go deeper where the cooler water is? That could explain some low visibility. That dummy in a boat sounds like a neat idea. Hang shiney aluminum stuff on the dummy to make flashes to startle predatory birds away (on his hat like fishing lures?).

-- Alison in N.S. (aproteau@istar.ca), August 08, 2001.

I think the habitat is worth looking at. What's the water temp.? Trout like cooler waters. Last deer season, on my way back from my stand at dusk, I saw a river otter in my 3 1/2 acre lake. They were re-introduced in Missouri and have done so well there is a trapping season on them now. Well, having spent my own money to buy larger that normal fish for stocking the pond (didn't use Conservation Commission fish), I determined that the otter was on borrowed time. Got him the next morning. Do you have otters in your area? Watch at dusk and daybreak, that's when they move the most.

-- Rickstir (rpowell@email.ccis.edu), August 09, 2001.

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