Pond management program offered in Moulton

By Staff
Tim Reed For the FCT
Alabama has about 50,000 small, private ponds covering more than 134,000 acres. Recreation is probably the most important reason for building a pond in Alabama. Unfortunately, most ponds are poorly managed for recreation, even though as much as 25 percent of all fishing takes place in a private pond.
To help pond owners with their problems and help them grow large bass, bream or catfish, Ronald Britnell and David Cline from Auburn University Fisheries Department will hold a meeting on Recreational Fish Pond Management at the Lawrence County Agricultural Center in Moulton on March 28 at 6:30 p.m.
Properly managed ponds provide excellent recreational opportunities. A good fishing pond must be managed like a vegetable garden: It must be seeded (stocked) properly, limed and fertilized correctly, weeded now and then, and harvested.
The problem for folks like Britnell is that no two ponds are exactly alike. Even ponds in the same watershed and built very close to each other can be very different in appearance. Information gotten from the locals at the county store hasn't helped a lot of pond owners with serious problems. You often hear those folks recommend fertilizing to control weeds which in fact they are just making the problem a lot worse.
Some of the problems that pond owners often have are oxygen and weeds.
Cline will discuss such things as stocking a pond, managing weeds and algae, and dealing with the oxygen problems that pond owners have each year.
If you are a pond owner and are interested in growing large fish or just interested in having a really nice pond then make plans to attend this meeting.
For more information, contact Britnell at 256-773-2549 or call the Franklin County Extension Office at 256-332-8880. The Franklin County Extension office has some free, excellent publications on fish pond management.