We just picked up 80 acres in east Texas that's been relatively untouched the past 4 years. There's 5 acres worth of stocked ponds. The ponds have about 6 feet of algae weed like growth out into the pond from the shoreline.

What's your best suggestion for 1) what causes it to get this way and 2) reining this in and keeping it under control to make fishing from the shore a little less annoying?

Filamentous algae. Grows/blooms due to too many nutrients from runoff (cattle manure, fertilizer) and water being too clear to allow light penetration to the bottom. Can spot treat with cutrine plus 1/3 of the pond every 10-14 days to avoid oxygen depletion and fish kill. Then add blue pond dye as needed to decrease sunlight penetration to slow it down. I'm fighting a planktonic bloom in my pond as we speak.

Edit to add its best to stay ahead of it. Most of it will die during the winter and try to come back in the spring. They make cutrine crystals as well that work for that type of algae growth. Pretty property. Congrats

Add tilapia?

https://aquaplant.tamu.edu/plant-identification/

A lot of your pics are submerged plants

Put a few quarts of Tsunami in there. I started using it on a tank this year and it has absolutely hammered the weeds (submerged and floating both). It's available at quite a few different places.

Tsunami

Make sure you understand what the result will be before you nuke any submerged vegetation. Can be catastrophic to bass fishing and duck killing. Pics look like you have good potential for both.

How many bank spots are there on that pond? Doesn't look like much. I'd get a jon boat.

Thisguy1 said:

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How many bank spots are there on that pond? Doesn't look like much. I'd get a jon boat.

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This one - probably 200 yards maybe more it's about 3 acres we have a small jon boat and several trolling motors that were on the property that we use.

The other just about the entire perimeter if I can get this aspect cleaned up.

I would prefer not to nuke as the bass are pretty good seems like the former owner allowed it to be the neighborhood honey hole before he passed away and became even more so in the 4 years it was vacant so while it's got some good quality and quantity will need some
Management structure to get it from good to great.

Add a couple aeration pumps so you can turnover the water at least once in a 24 hr period to get more circulation. The right type of submerged/emergent plants will provide cover for bait fish and smaller game fish plus adding a buffer zone for better water quality. The lake looks promising and the lack of rain this summer doesn't allow turnover as often promoting algae growth.

Greetings and hello fellow east Texas pond owner,

Your lake could be mine. I'm in north Hopkins County and have dealt with and researched EXACTLY what you are dealing with.

First, the big green plants on the shore - that's water primrose. it sucks. There is literally no habitat use for it (nothing eats it, nothing uses it). Hit it with Rodeo herbicide (3 ounces mixed per gallon). This is safe on lakes and safe for fish and invertebrates. I buy from solutionsstores.com. You are late in the year, but still might as well get after it. Plan to take a vacation in March or April when this crap comes back. Hit it hard. Keep hitting it. It's a war, not a battle.

The other crap in your water is coontail. It's mostly submerged. It is great for bass but it sucks to fish in. This is tricky. You need to hit it with Reward. This sucks. Reward is expensive. So are all the alternatives. Mix 2.5-3 ounces AND USE A SURFACTANT and hit the top of the plants. It will work but may take a few applications. This sucks because its expensive.

I have the same issues so keep me posted on any luck or issues you have. I'm happy to help and I have Some equipment if it helps!

Edit: I echo the above regarding aeration. If you have a power source nearby, you should aerate. Also, you have beavers. They suck also. Consider yourself a trapper in training

I have a solar aerator on my 2 acre pond. I would go that route if there is not power close by.

I would slowly drag one of these directly on top of that algae before making any drastic decisions.

Scum frog jr without the trailer hook:

Mneisch needs to chime in.

I don't see any coontail, I see water primrose and filamentus algae.

While you can certainly kill the aquatics, heed the warning of others do it in small doses or you'll have a fish kill due to the O2 deletion and huge CO2 creation.

Seems like a great pond for a piece of country property, not sure why you'd want to go changing it 180 degrees.

You might need to evaluate the fish stock though.

OP, I would recommend that you talk to the fish pond manager.

PneumAg said:

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OP, I would recommend that you talk to the fish pond manager.

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Sent an email to the maintainer ... haven't heard back. Thought he could put me in touch with the manager

I really don't think the weed problem is that bad based on the pics. Still looks like a lot of open water to me. I would post those pics on the pond boss forum and you'll get probably get more information than on here. If it were my pond I would just wait until next year and stock tilapia when it's warm enough.

Congrats on the place! I have the same issue on a smaller pond on our place. Like others have said, clear shallow water can lead to that type of algae growth.

Where in east texas are you?

Good advice above about not treating the whole lake at once, especially in this heat. The decomposing plants can cause a fish kill. Frankly, I'd wait until it cools off before spraying. The right aquacide will not hurt the fish.

I have a billy goat brush cutter I've used to clear the perimeter of our lakes. It works like a charm but it's hard work.

I wish I had a bass pond.

SharkinAg said:

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Filamentous algae. Grows/blooms due to too many nutrients from runoff (cattle manure, fertilizer) and water being too clear to allow light penetration to the bottom. Can spot treat with cutrine plus 1/3 of the pond every 10-14 days to avoid oxygen depletion and fish kill. Then add blue pond dye as needed to decrease sunlight penetration to slow it down. I'm fighting a planktonic bloom in my pond as we speak.

Edit to add its best to stay ahead of it. Most of it will die during the winter and try to come back in the spring. They make cutrine crystals as well that work for that type of algae growth. Pretty property. Congrats

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I second this plan. Maybe even start with just pond dye and give it a few weeks. Pond dye works for a month, or even longer w/ minimal dilution from heavy rainfall. The cutrine crystals are spread pretty well with a simple grass seed hand held spreader. Might clog on occasion but works for me.

Bottlerocket said:

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Where in east texas are you?

Good advice above about not treating the whole lake at once, especially in this heat. The decomposing plants can cause a fish kill. Frankly, I'd wait until it cools off before spraying. The right aquacide will not hurt the fish.

I have a billy goat brush cutter I've used to clear the perimeter of our lakes. It works like a charm but it's hard work.

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Houston County

Will definitely spot treat in the areas needed as opposed to the entire pond and work on some sort of aeration set up.

AnScAggie said:

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I wish I had a bass pond.

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Me too

#WhitePeopleProblems

I'd recommend getting your water tested as a first step to see if your ponds are properly balanced. Someone eluded to it above, but if your nutrient levels, particularly phosphorus is too high, you can treat with algaecide, and it will keep coming back. I just started managing a neighborhood pond that's a little over 4 acres with phosphorus levels 12X the ideal amount , due to years of neglect. We've had cyanobacteria blooms and crashes every month since March this year. We have finally convinced the homeowners that the symptoms (algae) will continue as long as the root cause (phosphorus) is not addressed. We are treating the excess nutrients this fall with Phoslock, to bind free floating phosphorus as well as start to work on nutrient build up in the pond sediment. Fighting algae when your balance isn't right is expensive and exhausting. Really hoping Phoslock does what it's supposed to. Good luck!

JSM96 said:

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I'd recommend getting your water tested as a first step to see if your ponds are properly balanced. Someone eluded to it above, but if your nutrient levels, particularly phosphorus is too high, you can treat with algaecide, and it will keep coming back. I just started managing a neighborhood pond that's a little over 4 acres with phosphorus levels 12X the ideal amount , due to years of neglect. We've had cyanobacteria blooms and crashes every month since March this year. We have finally convinced the homeowners that the symptoms (algae) will continue as long as the root cause (phosphorus) is not addressed. We are treating the excess nutrients this fall with Phoslock, to bind free floating phosphorus as well as start to work on nutrient build up in the pond sediment. Fighting algae when your balance isn't right is expensive and exhausting. Really hoping Phoslock does what it's supposed to. Good luck!

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pH on them are good. I've yet to run ammonia / nitrite / phosphate tests --- but I do have them. will run them over the weekend if I remember to get it done in the middle of setting up feeders and such.

JSM96 said:

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I'd recommend getting your water tested as a first step to see if your ponds are properly balanced. Someone eluded to it above, but if your nutrient levels, particularly phosphorus is too high, you can treat with algaecide, and it will keep coming back. I just started managing a neighborhood pond that's a little over 4 acres with phosphorus levels 12X the ideal amount , due to years of neglect. We've had cyanobacteria blooms and crashes every month since March this year. We have finally convinced the homeowners that the symptoms (algae) will continue as long as the root cause (phosphorus) is not addressed. We are treating the excess nutrients this fall with Phoslock, to bind free floating phosphorus as well as start to work on nutrient build up in the pond sediment. Fighting algae when your balance isn't right is expensive and exhausting. Really hoping Phoslock does what it's supposed to. Good luck!

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We have a similar issue. I know it's something you won't have an answer to in the near future, but bump this thread next summer if you remember and update us on the results. Good luck.

docb said:

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I really don't think the weed problem is that bad based on the pics. Still looks like a lot of open water to me. I would post those pics on the pond boss forum and you'll get probably get more information than on here. If it were my pond I would just wait until next year and stock tilapia when it's warm enough.

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This.

Wait and see what happens over the winter. Don't knock out too much vegetation or you'll kill the bass habitat and reduce the duck food sources too. Maybe knock back the shore weeds a bit but not much. I'm no expert but I'd be inclined to go with tilapia and/or a couple carp to knock back excessive aquatic vegetation growth and try and keep it balanced.

And I for sure wouldn't dye the pond- this ain't a golf course.