Iowa Ag Connection - Take Care of Pond Quality and Fish Numbers Before Winter

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Take Care of Pond Quality and Fish Numbers Before Winter
Iowa Ag Connection - 10/27/2020

Pond owners should use the last warm days of fall to take note of what worked well this year and what they can do to improve next year.

"Now is the time to take stock of what went well, what did not go well and think of a management plan for the spring," said Joe Morris, professor in natural resource ecology and management and extension aquaculture/fisheries specialist at Iowa State University.

Morris authored an article for the September-October edition of the Acreage Living Newsletter, in which he outlined a half-dozen basic ways pond owners can control aquatic vegetation in their ponds.

The list includes prevention, mechanical control, cultural control, integrated plant management and chemical control. Morris said chemical control is best done in the spring, when plants are actively growing, but the other points of his article are still timely.

According to the Iowa Department of Natural Resources, there are more than 110,000 ponds in Iowa, with the largest concentration found in the southern part of the state. Morris said the state's fertile soils and runoff from farm nutrients are the reason aquatic vegetation grows so rapidly in Iowa's ponds.

Morris said vegetation woes were made worse this year because of the drought, which lead to shallower and warmer water, followed by late summer rains, sometimes resulting in pond turnover and fish kills.

In addition to vegetation control, Morris said the fall is also a good time for pond owners to sample fish populations and make plans for re-stocking in the spring if additional fish are needed. He recommends waiting until spring to prevent the new stock from the stresses of overwintering.

"Take stock of what kinds of fish you have or any lack thereof," he said. "If you find a need for re-stocking, ideally you should wait until spring."

For more information about pond management and aquaculture in Iowa, visit the Natural Resource Stewardship and North Central Regional Aquaculture Center websites.

The current edition of Acreage Living also contains articles on forestry resources as storm cleanup continues, and options for storm-damaged vegetable crops.

Morris can be reached by email at jemorris@iastate.edu.

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