Home - Ravenfield Ponds - Coarse Fishing in Rotherham, South Yorkshire, UK

green slimey and a pain in the arse type pete lol

Thanks for your scientific input Stuart lol

Pete,

The stuff growing up from the bottom, lilies excluded, is Canadian Pond weed, which is a problem where ever it grows and as the name suggests is one of the first 'alien invaders' brought to our shores, for garden ponds. It's sold at extortionate prices in garden centres with a bit of lead around the bottom as an 'oxygenating plant'. Most garden pond merchants obviously don't appreciate that after dark it also then produces CO2!

The floating stuff is either filamentalous algae or hornwort.

The former is as a result of high levels of nutrients in the pond and has grown in preference to 'normal' algae i.e. the stuff that makes the water go coloured.
The latter is just another plant but it grows in open water rather than anchouring to the bottom. Again it is as a result of high nutrient levels.

In short if the pond was a field the grass would be 3 feet high!

Got to go now but I'll add some further thoughts/comments later on the problem and how we might deal with it.

Thanks for that Martin, the Coontail or Hornwort that you mention is the one i managed to positively identify. I have looked into a company called Sepro that produce herbicides for ponds and lakes and one product they currently market is Sonar RTU. This is an effective herbicide for the control of hornwort that has no detrimental effects to fish or wildlife as far as i understand and is also safe for people coming into contact with the treated water. This is a liquid herbicide that can be added to the shoreline of the lake and is dispursed through the natural movement of the water. This product is effective in early spring or just as the new shoots are emerging. Im not saying this is the product we need but i think its worth looking into. As for the canadian pondweed i can't find any effective herbicides, but reducing the clarity of the water restricts germination. The problem with this weed is that it also germinates through fragmentation so when we've been raking and netting the lake through the year, all we have managed to do is make the problem worse especially with the level of detritus that covers the bed of the lake that are rich in nutrients.

Just realised that the company i mentioned is based in the USA and therefore the product probably reequires licence from DEFRA. I'll keep trying lol

Pete,

There used to be a number of products which would control Canadian, we used on before very effectively, unfortunately these were withdrawn from the market two years ago because of some spurious EU ruling that some of the active ingredients can get into the ground water and hence drinking water.
If I understand the reason correctly it was becasue someone had done some research in Italy where they had been putting the stuff in for a long period and by the bucketful too which is hardly the case in fish ponds in the UK. Another example of throwing the baby out with the bathwater if you ask me.
Since then there has been nothing on the market to do the job.
There is a new product being developed but it is undergoing tests by the EU prior to market release, which may take 2 years!!

silly question the answer will more than likely be yes,

have you asked the fishery section of the EA for advice?

Yes, but they didn't tell us anything we didn't know.

Just an update from my old pal Jonathon Newman who knows more about water plants than anyone in the UK possibly, if I can get it to upload.

Doesn't look like I can so follow the link,

http://nora.nerc.ac.uk/10424/3/N010424_leaflet.pdf

looks like the only optoin is some hard graft next march april

Trouble is once you start killing off plants you are then adding to the nutrient input to the water. There are a number of ways of reducing plant growth but i suspect non would be viable...bear in mind i am not familiar with the water...

Reduce nutrient input...
Reduce Light levels....
Chemical/Herbicide...

Canadian pondweed or Elodea canadensis is a problem everywhere if that is what it is as there are a number of Elodea species some of which are native and hard to distinguish.

I know this isnt very helpful but all i can think of off the top of my head.

Problem is that if you add chemicals then won't they just run into the other ponds with them all being linked together

Doesn't work like that Shaun, most chemicals become useless either when they dissolve in water or after a short period in contact with the silt.

However we have an answer for next year which is harmless and very effective.

do tell

Sorry mate I'd have to shoot you if I did! It works though. Does your mate still want a winter permit?

hope it does work martin

think he is after permit for carp lake martin

Give me a call on Monday, number's in the permit.

ok

whats best time to phone you martin?

Martin

can you find out if there are 2 winter multi rod permits as my 2 mates wish to have one each also for next year to

cheers
karl.

sorted

hi martin,

my 2 mates having second thoughts about permit,
they have read the rules and dont like to fish for carp with barbless hooks as they do more damage than good, (and i must say i agree with them) not that it will stop me fishing ravo,

just thiers and my thoughts.

barbless hooks can pivot about in the mouth once hooked and make hole bigger,

also can come out and back in on bigger fish causing more holes,

where as barbed well micro barbed hooks can`t do that,

alot of carp waters are now changing to micro barb as alot less damage has been recorded on the fish,

cheers
karl.

Karl,

I'm no expert on barbless for carp but they have certainly improved silver stocks, and if you take a look at some of the carp in the commercials that allow barbed you'd come to the opinion that barbless is best.
I also understand the Kevin Nash's lakes are all barbless and that guy ought to know what's best.

has wed started dieing off yet?

Don't know, i'll look next time I'm up there