info on fish ponds

[sheepslam]

hey there all
just bought an acreage,i have 6 acres in total,just wondering what the stipulations are on puting in a trout pond,how deep do i need to make the pond and any other info would be appreciated.

[gunslinger]

i believe 20 feet deep and go the full 4 acres long and wide, stock it with 6lb rainbows and i shoudl be good to go.
oh ya i will need a chair and a skinning table on shore,

[Bull Shooter]

Sheepslam, first and foremost you will need to get Alberta government approval to obtain a license. They usually send out an inspector to ensure that there are not any issues that may affect native fish species. IIRC, the inspection and a five year licence ran about $100. They also had excellent literature on raising fish which I believe would be very helpful if you are building a dugout.

Natural oxygenation occurs best over a larger surface area but if you are restricted in the size of the dugout then you may have to provide summer oxygenation (through a compressor) as well. If you plan on keeping your fish over the winter this is highly recommended. The UFA, Peavy Mart, etc. all sell kits which may be wind generated, solar or electric.

I think the Alberta Agriculture website has some excellent info and I found the technicians very helpful:

http://www1.agric.gov.ab.ca/general/...2?opendocument

Hope this helps. Regards, Mike

[Bear]

Originally Posted by sheepslam

hey there all
just bought an acreage,i have 6 acres in total,just wondering what the stipulations are on puting in a trout pond,how deep do i need to make the pond and any other info would be appreciated.

No size limit as to the size of the pond. All that really matters is in flow and out flow of the water.

http://www.agric.gov.ab.ca/app21/sel...head=Licensing

You will need a license thru Alberta Agriculture and they will send an inspector out to see if your pond mets the criteria. All the info that you need will be found in that link to the Aquaculture area of Agriculture website.

http://www.connect.ab.ca/~elouden/pondfacts.htm

Talk to Lorne at Ackenberry Trout Farms....the guy is a wealth of knowledge on constructing ponds. Great guy to get your fish from as well.

[sheepslam]

hey thanks guys you have all helped me out and got me in the right direction,i will definatley be checking the links you guys gave me

[cujo1969]

Go as deep as possible 20+' we have one thats only 15' but it has water flow into all the time. Wish woulda dug it bigger back then more fish could be stocked. Think its 500000 gal. Use a koenders windmill for airation. Nieghbour built a 1million gal dugout last winter cost him $12000.

[sheepslam]

when digging the pond what does a guy need to look for,do i need to be in clay,i dont think there is any springs on the acreage so will it fill up on its own,stupid question but i just dont no,the water table i think is pretty high there

[cujo1969]

You most likely need to have surface runoff to fill the dugout so would build in a water run. ClaY BOTTOMS IS GOOD HOLDS WATER WELL SAND OR GRAVEL BOTTOM LETS IT SEEP AWAY. UNLESS UR WATER TABLE REALLY HIGH THEN IT WOULD SEEP INTO DUGOUT TO FILL.