Pond overflow=lost fish?

[agapanthus]

During the winter, my pond has a small stream flowing into it and overflows out the other end, just like a natural pond. I'm thinking I need to put some kind of net across the overflow side to prevent the fish from accidentally going over the edge. Any ideas?

 

[addy1]

My overflow, which during hard rains flows like a small creek, is just rocks around a foot wide stacked rocks. The rocks are stagger stacked so a any fish of any size i.e. over 1/2 inch would have to do twist and turns to get out. There is enough crevice to allow the excess water to escape, but no fish. Now a tiny fry might make it through, I have never seen any fish in the grass after it has done a major overflow.

 

[agapanthus]

That's a good idea, thanks. I was thinking I might have to get some netting and string it across there, but then if any sticks or fir cones floated in, they would get all tangled up.

 

[addy1]

Netting will work, but it can get clogged up. My house gutters feed into our pond so at times we get a horrendous flow through the pond, a great water turn over. But it sure does flow out a little river. The gutter input is at one end the outflow at the other. Goes nicely down our slope into our woods.

 

[agapanthus]

We have a drainage ditch ( real-estate people call it a "seasonal creek") that runs pretty much all Fall, Winter and Spring, through my pond and out the other end. This year I have built a bog on the in-going end to hopefully keep out a lot of sediment. Now I just have to keep the fish in!

 

[addy1]

Lots of flow, a seasonal flush, that lasts. With that I would do a rock barrier and netting, just clean the netting off and on.