What does your pond look like ... Today?

[Troutredds]

Can you please come to my stream and throw some rocks on my waterfall? Every time I do I don't like the look and take it down. Oh, how much evap do you think you get in a 2 week time? Just pleasant type weather, no wind, not over 85? I lose about 1" a hope it is to evap and water fall splash.

Those rocks in our falls are over 3 ft. across, @Lisaebetten, so we chained and strapped them to an excavator bucket and lowered them into place.
We lose a few gallons a week to evaporation in the hotter summer months, but we have house water plumbed to an auto-fill fixture hooked up to our skimmer box - a float (like in your toilet) controls a spigot that slowly replaces lost water.
Our fall weather is around the mid 60s today and beautiful.

 

[Troutredds]

 

[tbendl]

Could you do a showcase so I can see the whole pond? Please.
You now have homework for winter.

 

[Mike in Vermont]

Troutredds your pond doesn't even look real it's so pretty.

+1
.
How many trout do you have Troutredds?

 

[JBtheExplorer]

Yep, pond season is ending for me. Real chance of frost Sunday morning. When I get back from my upcoming camping trip, the fish are coming indoors for the winter.

 

[j.w]

Darn that was a big one Lou and sorry it wrecked some of your nice plants. Maybe you can trim and save them somehow.

 

[j.w]

That's a funny one @Troutredds "our hot summer months". They would laugh at us in all the other parts of the country where they get boiled in heat To us it is hella hot tho

 

[Big Lou]

Darn that was a big one Lou and sorry it wrecked some of your nice plants. Maybe you can trim and save them somehow.

Gonna try.

 

[Troutredds]

+1
.
How many trout do you have Troutredds?

Three big rainbows (2 to 5 lbs. ea.) and at least four 6 in. fingerlings, @Mike in Vermont. We had a big female spawn last March, but she jumped out and died a few weeks later, harassed by the male who fertilized her eggs. I'm still unsure about the amount of fingerlings - they're camouflaged, spooky and crazy fast.

 

[Troutredds]

Trout fry in March (about 2 in.):

 

[addy1]

I wonder what the 10 steps are for rock anonymous... I also wonder if the 10 steps are MADE of rock...

yep made of rock.......... and you need to be able to go and not take them home with you

 

[addy1]

So I went to Lowes yesterday and got these 2 red palm for $5 each and a bunch of flowers for $1 each.

What kind of palms are they? Check on line to see what zone they are good to, see if they might make it outside. They are so pretty!

 

[RobAmy]

Taken this morning in the mist. A 7 shot pano with some fall color and a bit of fog. The mallards came in while I was taken the shots. You can see the male in the shot

The pond with fall color and fog by Rob & Amy Lavoie, on Flickr

 

[Mike in Vermont]

Three big rainbows (2 to 5 lbs. ea.) and at least four 6 in. fingerlings, @Mike in Vermont. We had a big female spawn last March, but she jumped out and died a few weeks later, harassed by the male who fertilized her eggs. I'm still unsure about the amount of fingerlings - they're camouflaged, spooky and crazy fast.

That's too bad about the female. At least she was able to spawn first. For me, native trout are special. I believe I have at least 50 fingerlings, 6 inches long. )Brook Trout ) I just started feeding them grain about 10 days ago. It took about 2 days to train them. Gosh they love that stuff. (Ziegler Gold 5mm floating, and Silver 3mm sinking) When the majority of the larger trout died in early June, they were able to access the whole pond for food, and not get eaten alive. I guess that's why they grew so fast.
.
I never get a successful hatch out of my lower pond. I plan on stocking it with Rainbows, in the spring. They are more aggressive than Brook Trout. Also, they aren't quite as illusive. I would probably get a peek at them once in a while.

 

[Troutredds]

That's too bad about the female. At least she was able to spawn first. For me, native trout are special. I believe I have at least 50 fingerlings, 6 inches long. )Brook Trout ) I just started feeding them grain about 10 days ago. It took about 2 days to train them. Gosh they love that stuff. (Ziegler Gold 5mm floating, and Silver 3mm sinking) When the majority of the larger trout died in early June, they were able to access the whole pond for food, and not get eaten alive. I guess that's why they grew so fast.
.
I never get a successful hatch out of my lower pond. I plan on stocking it with Rainbows, in the spring. They are more aggressive than Brook Trout. Also, they aren't quite as illusive. I would probably get a peek at them once in a while.

I share your love of wild trout and wildlife in general, @Mike in Vermont. Native wild trout and salmon are definitely a precious natural resource and should be managed and protected as a natural treasure for future generations.

I'm glad your feeding them good stuff like Zeigler, they need to fatten up for the cold Vermont winter. I also like your plan to introduce rainbows to your pond - they are more tolerant of ph, temperature and oxygen fluctuation than your beautiful native brookies.

As I'm sure you know, Brook trout are more sensitive to runoff and other watershed contaminants. The Rainbows are native to the west coast of North America, but are now the most wildly planted gamefish on Earth, due to their adaptability. Brook trout, however, are a wonderful indicator species; they're presence, absence or relative well-being in your pond is a great indicator of the overall health of your water and the surrounding environment.

In other words, great job Mike! The very presence of brookies in your pond proves your water quality to be awesome.