After drafting an initial management plan and having it approved by the land owner, our first activity is going to be a jar test.
Jeff Blaser, Private Waters Specialist and Rick Eades, Urban Fisheries Specialist do an excellent job of illustrating this test in their book
Nebraska Pond Management.
Here's an excerpt.
Quote:
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To correct a muddy water problem, the cause has to first be determined. Take a sample of pond water in a clear glass jar and set it on a shelf. If after one week the water is fairly clear and mud has settled to the bottom, the main cause of the problem is likely due to either soil erosion, wave action in shallow water, livestock, or an overpopulation of carp, bullheads, or even channel catfish; however, if the mud remains suspended, the problem is soil chemistry. Often the problem is a combination of several factors. In some cases the soil particles will stay suspended indefinitely.
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We would like to get this test complete with the ice still on to rule out several possible causes of turbidity right off the bat like wind and runoff.
So sometime in the next several days, Scott will head out to the pond, with an auger that Teeg installed the wrong blades on to make drilling more of a challenge.
Scott will drill... and drill... and drill. Then he'll drill for a while longer. Finally, muscles exhausted, nose running, heart pounding, he'll break though and catch his breath before collecting a sample near the damn. Then, he'll repeat at the other end.
Let us know how it goes, Scott.
