May 16 2008
Dodging Duckweed
This past week I spent time scouting out, and fishing, a local pond here in northeastern Connecticut. It was my first time fishing this specific body of water, so I met up with the owner of the property to discuss the ins and outs of fishing there. After a few minutes of conversation, he began to tell me about the drop in fish population due to a spike in the growth of Duckweed on the surface of the pond. He told me that a year ago the pond faced a large fish-kill resulting from a thick layer of Duckweed that was draining oxygen from the water.
Although Duckweed, in large numbers, can be hazardous to fish populations, pond-owners should not be too hasty to skim their ponds. Duckweed, as I found out after speaking with a DEP officer, Duckweed can be very beneficial to the ponds ecosystem. In small amounts, Duckweed, on a sunny day, produces vast amounts of oxygen which is then released directly into the water, making the pond a more advantageous place for fish growth. Unfortunately, on cloudy days, Duckweed, in order to stay alive, draws oxygen from the water, causing the levels of oxygen to drop dramatically, and ultimately threatening the livelihood of the fishes.
The reason for the fish-kill at the pond where I was fishing was that during that summer, the pond was covered by a very thick layer of Duckweed, and the weather remained cloudy off and on for a long period of time. This constant fluctuation in oxygen levels eventually killed of a couple hundred warm-water fish.
I asked the pond-owner whether it would be beneficial to simply skim the water to remove the duckweed, and not risk gambling with the lives of trophy fish. He stated that he was told by a local DEP officer that if he were to remove the weed from the water, the population of the fish would continue to grow uncontrollably, and eventually the larger fish would die off anyways. He told us that the Duckweed was a very helpful, natural, population regulator, keeping the ponds ecosystem at check.
So for all of you out there that are worried about the health of your ponds due to Duckweed, it is better to let nature take its course, then to interfere and face the consequences.
Related Posts -
Catch And Release Whenever a fish is caught, there is the unavoidable predicament as to whether it is better to keep, or release the fish. Above and beyond personal convictions and state regulations, there are other factors that come into play when making this decision. There are many fly-fishermen that live by the...... -
A New Kind Of Fishing Today I broadened my horizons, and my eyes were opened to an entirely unfamiliar style of 'fishing.' The target of this adventure was not a floppy fish at all, but rather the hard shelled Quohog, the one member of the seafood family that I most dread eating. However, more distasteful...... -
Dropping a Line I was at Harkness Beach State Park for a social outing yesterday evening. While there, I walked down to the shore to speak with a number of fly fishermen that were gathering toward the evening. While discussing the different fish runs, and accepted patterns, I noticed that the majority of...... -
Fish For Fun For all of those fishermen out there that fish simply for the joy of fishing, and wish to simply have a good time, I have the perfect plan for you. When I was a young teen, and was just starting to learn to fly fish, a close friend of the...... -
Knot Again! Regardless of how much experience one might have fly fishing, there are those few problems that everyone faces at one time or another. One of the most common, and unfortunate predicaments that occur when fly fishing, is wind knots, or ‘birds nests’ as they are commonly referred to. These pesky......
Related Websites -
Water Gardening 101 Although the water country gardens depicted in the magazines are generally quite large and complex, there is no reason why you cannot create your own stunning water garden easily and without much effort. The trick to water gardening easily and effectively has to do with properly planning and customizing your...... -
Fishing Report: June 5th, 2009 The fishing has been hit or miss this week, with some great scores and some less than ideal hauls. In Pacifica you will still find crab snares for sale through Coastside II Bait and Tackle, because a variety of crustaceans are still being reeled in up on the pier walkway,...... -
Seawater Mixing Time - How Long? When the aquarium is new so is the seawater, but as soon as live organisms are present it begins to deteriorate. This is because of the natural life functions of the organisms, be they bacteria, shrimps, fish or corals. Fish have the most effect. So it follows that the seawater...... -
6 Winter Fishing Tips Although many people associate fishing with spring, summer and fall, there are many fish that are actually easier to catch during the winter months. This is particularly true in California, where temperatures regularly drop just a little below 50 in most areas. This climate makes it a lot easier to...... -
More Fishing and Boating Lexicon Dissolved Oxygen - This is the amount of usable or free oxygen present in the water. Dissolved oxygen is typically measured in terms of parts per million or ppm. Dobsonfly - This is a type of large aquatic insect, and its larva is popular for use as hellgrammite bait. Doll......
No related posts.
Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.