Backtracking a couple of years and pond clearing

Although this is a current photo I feel I must backtrack in my musings. The little umbrella and chair you can see across the pond is where I spend many an hour gazing down into the fish world watching with wonder as the denizens of the deep go about their daily business of stalking hunting, playing, resting and generally interacting with each other in some way. I find it fascinating and there is something new to learn each day down in their watery world.

Until this summer my pond was always so muddy I couldn't ever see what was going on in the depths. I had no idea how many fish I had or what kind. Oh, I knew about some of them because they were caught. Most of them were returned to the pond simply for the fact that no one wanted to ever clean fish. Every once in a while the pond would settle enough so that I could see a bit - just enough to get me excited about going back down there and looking again. I never fed regularly and always just commercial food. Sometimes fish would come in abundance and sometimes they wouldn't. I could only see them at the very instant that they took the food from the surface and had no idea what was going on underneath anyway.

This year we had a long, hot and very dry summer. I was cutting dead trees down up the bank from the pond so spending more time than usual down there. I plan to build some sort of cabin or something overlooking the pond and have to clear all the dead timber that was killed by livestock which stripped the bark off the trees. Day by day I watched as the water got more and more clear. I started actually seeing my fish! I also started going down there everyday and throwing in some food.

During the breaks I'd take from the chainsaw or mowing I'd sit by the pond's edge and watch the fish. Some days some red-eared sliders would come in and eat some of the fish food and sometimes I'd even get a snapping turtle. The pond continued to clear and pretty soon I could actually see the bottom for about 50 feet out from the edge of where I sat. From there it made a sharp drop down into deeper waters that are still a mystery to me and I know my pond has areas with depths of 17 feet.

During this period of a couple months I also added several sterile grass carp to the pond. I did have some floating areas of "stuff" which soon disappeared and I can only assume they took care of that. I also added 100 baby channel catfish which were about 4 inches long and I haven't seen them since. I believe, no, I know, the bass like a varied diet (or certainly prefer some meals over others) and I think that's where they went. I happen to like catfish too... I added many pounds of fathead minnows in hopes that I would have enough to keep a breeding supply of them. When I added them there was a frenzy of activity with jumping and slapping and splashing everywhere for a couple of weeks then I think they followed the catfish... There may still be fatheads in there but I think most, if not all, of the catfish were eaten - except one but that is another story for down at the old pond.

More info tomorrow on why and how I think the pond cleared. There are many factors some of which I may be able to duplicate and some I can't. But right now I can enjoy the pond world!

A little P.S. for today.. This photos below are of another resident by the name of Ole Sam Bass. Now I know that you may think that fish can't make faces but they can and they will! This is the evil eye face that Ole Sam Bass makes when I try to throw him anything except a grasshopper. I took this first photo right after I threw in a piece of bread. Ole Sam will make the gawd awfullest faces and gag and spit and carry on if anything comes his way that isn't a nice crisp juicy hopper - and it must be a green one - brown ones are quickly spat out too which brings me to an interesting observation. No one in my pond so far likes those brown grasshoppers. I've seen the same hopper eaten and spit out by ten or fifteen fish - bluegill too. Who would have thought... NO BROWN HOPPERS BLECK!

You simply must click on this set of photos to enlarge it for the full effect. I know it's kinda blurry but this is a farm pond afterall and I don't exactly have a superduper camera either. Now look closely at Ole Sam's face... No laughing... He's sensitive.. The first pic is after gagging on a piece of bread and spitting it out. He's looking dead at me... not very happy.. The ole evil eye...

Second photo is the same Ole Sam but after a nice crisp grasshopper - a green one. Can you see he has a buddy there in the top right background of the photo just getting his head in the pic? He's not allowed to get real close to me. Sam won't allow it and I haven't named him yet. I have a little net I got in the toy department at Walmart and I keep the grass long over where Ole Sam lives just so I can catch for him. Funny how they all have such different tastes... Now don't tell me they don't make faces... Here is proof... Look how his expression is all calm and amiable after a grasshopper. Look how nicely his eyes have rounded out to a nice satisfied pleasing look. Why he looks friendly and innocent even... He almost likes me... Sorta... Well... Probably not.