Anybody digging out their ponds in this drought?

[KJQ6945]

I’m going back to work tomorrow, I need the rest.

 

[Axxe55]

I’m going back to work tomorrow, I need the rest.

But your pond is looking good!

 

[KJQ6945]

But your pond is looking good!

Thank you sir. It has consumed me from dawn until dusk trying to get it done.
The drought has sucked, but you have to take advantage of the cards you are dealt. This pond will never go dry in my lifetime.

 

[Axxe55]

Thank you sir. It has consumed me from dawn until dusk trying to get it done.
The drought has sucked, but you have to take advantage of the cards you are dealt. This pond will never go dry in my lifetime.

Back in 2010 we had a really bad drought in Texas, and lots of people took advantage of it to do the same as you. Clean up and enlarge their stock ponds and such.

One Saturday I had to take a trip to Sulphur Springs to pick up some parts for a truck I was working on, and outside of Emory on hiway 19, a guy was redoing his stock pond, and he mounted an old Ford 9N tractor on poles in the middle of the pond. I'm supposing that when the pond filled back up, it would look like the tractor was floating or driving across the pond.

 

[KJQ6945]

And just like that, it’s full. It rose 10 foot in less than 5 hours.

Last night.

Today

The overflow pipe

 

[Axxe55]

And just like that, it’s full. It rose 10 foot in less than 5 hours.

Last night.

View attachment 340270


Today

View attachment 340271

The overflow pipe

View attachment 340272

Awesome!

 

[KJQ6945]

A slower fill would have been better, I’ve got a lot of erosion. As long as my overflow pipe holds today, I’ll call it a win.

 

[Sam7sf]

A slower fill would have been better, I’ve got a lot of erosion. As long as my overflow pipe holds today, I’ll call it a win.

In no way am I an expert but did you at least get to compacting the ground? If you did, it should be ok.

 

[Axxe55]

A slower fill would have been better, I’ve got a lot of erosion. As long as my overflow pipe holds today, I’ll call it a win.

Looking good so far.

 

[KJQ6945]

In no way am I an expert but did you at least get to compacting the ground? If you did, it should be ok.

The only compacting was driving the tractor over it. I hadn’t even filled the trench all the way back in after setting the pipe.

When the wife sent me a picture of how full it was, I left work, immediately!

Trench is now filled. But it was getting very mushy up there. When it dries up some I’ll get more dirt on it

 

[Axxe55]

Back in 2010 we had a really bad drought in Texas, and lots of people took advantage of it to do the same as you. Clean up and enlarge their stock ponds and such.

One Saturday I had to take a trip to Sulphur Springs to pick up some parts for a truck I was working on, and outside of Emory on hiway 19, a guy was redoing his stock pond, and he mounted an old Ford 9N tractor on poles in the middle of the pond. I'm supposing that when the pond filled back up, it would look like the tractor was floating or driving across the pond.

Something similar to this!

 

[KJQ6945]

Something similar to this!

View attachment 340315

I saw one like that up around Gilmer.

 

[KJQ6945]

Just found out that the Tyler fish nursery is closed in July, August and September. WTF?

No fish until October.

 

[KJQ6945]

It already has turtles, lots of frogs, and some snakes.

But no fish.

 

[EZ-E]

It already has turtles, lots of frogs, and some snakes.

But no fish.

Your neighbor has fish in his pond, go catch a few & release em in your pond. Problem solved

 

[popper]

Daughter's lake was getting low, did see some fish bedding pools. Her MIL says it's up to normal now. One bank is full of goat grass, the other is pretty bare. She planted some winter rye but new crop hasn't come up yet. Looks like sage and thistles where they replanted pine. Without ground cover they silt up pretty fast.

 

[Sam7sf]

It already has turtles, lots of frogs, and some snakes.

But no fish.

Want crawfish? lol.

 

[Sasquatch]

It already has turtles, lots of frogs, and some snakes.

But no fish.

If you have a big cooler you might wanna get a portable aerator from Academy (they're like, $15) or two, and start transplanting baitfish from other ponds or public waters? At least get some bait in there, give them a chance to acclimate and grow, then stock bass in.

 

[Sam7sf]

Amazon has all kinds of cheap fountains to oxygenate the water for the pond too.

 

[KJQ6945]

Amazon has all kinds of cheap fountains to oxygenate the water for the pond too.

I actually have two wells. A shallow one and a deep one.

It appears that the shallow one was going to the pond before I cut the line.
It still had amazing water pressure last week when it was still dry. I heard that well is only like 150’ deep.