Hi all Not sure if this is posted in the right

[ysie]

Hi all

Not sure if this is posted in the right section but here goes,
I need to know how to remove weed from a dam without damaging the fish etc in the dam?

We have a few dams on our farm that has alot of bass and carp in but the dams are filled with weed making fishing there almost impossible.

Is there any type of poison or something similar that i can use without it killing the fish.

The weed is a long thin type

Cheers

 

[axle]

The easiest, most economical way is mechanical removal. Get a few workers together with pangas and cut them out. Problem is that they will continue to grow back so that option is on-going. There are many herbicides outs there available from your local co-op that one can use that dont harm fish.

PM me your email address and I'll send you an info sheet.

 

[Dr halibut hoffman]

Also if you don't have yet in the dams, you can add some blue kurper who love a good salad.

Just stock more than enough to escape the bass and enough to have one good spawn and they will establish themselves. Once there are enough there will be much less weed and through the kurper you would have converted it into good eating! A grass carp or 2 will also clear the place up. They almost exclusively eat waterweed and algae and get almost as big as cob! I used to paddle and fish at a lake when young that was pretty big (4 k's round) and got too weeded for watersports. They stocked some grass carp that got huge and the weeds disappeared.

Or use the chems if you can find a safe one

 

[Vetvis]

Dr halibut hoffman wrote:

Also if you don't have yet in the dams, you can add some blue kurper who love a good salad.

)

Will blue kurper survive winter in Bloemfontein?

 

[axle]

Dr halibut hoffman wrote:

Also if you don't have yet in the dams, you can add some blue kurper who love a good salad.

Just stock more than enough to escape the bass and enough to have one good spawn and they will establish themselves. Once there are enough there will be much less weed and you would have converted it into good eating! A grass carp or 2 will also clear the place up. They almost exclusively eat waterweed and algae and get almost as big as cob! I used to paddle and fish at a lake when young that was pretty big (4 k's round) and got too weeded for watersports. They stocked some grass carp that got huge and the weeds disappeared.

Or use the chems if you can find a safe one

Hi Dr

I dont agree with stocking of grass carp. They are invasive species and even if they are sterile, what will they eat once the weeds are gone? I do however agree on the blue kurper. It would have been my first choice response but I misread the question. I thought ysie was talking about a particular reed/rush which are very difficult to get rid of, hence my first response.
Ysie if you do go the route of blue kurper, just be sure to check your stocks of bass and carp. Carp are PROLIFIC breeders and if you dont have enough predators to control them, they WILL over populate, which is one of the possibilities that your dam has a weed problem. They cause the water to become muddy, not allowing enough sunlight to penetrate the bottom, which in turn causes less oxygen to reach the bottom, which causes eutrophication (Google it). Basically its caused by too many nutrients in the water. You dont want too many kurper either that the bass dont control the carp population. If at all possible, try establish a stock count. From there you can decide how many should go in.

 

[Dr halibut hoffman]

Will they survive winter? Dunno, interesting one.. it gets bloody cold there from what I can remember! How deep are the dams and do kurper occur anywhere near you. It is not their natural range but that is because the Drakensberg is in the way so if they are found around you then they were stocked and would survive..They are voracious grazers though and I've seen a few kurper clean algae and weed off a fish cage like it was no-ones business..
If bass would survive...? I'm no expert..

 

[ysie]

Hi all
Thanks for the quick replies.
I dont think the kurper option would work as the dams are situated near ficksburg and it gets really cold there.

The one dam is quite small but deep( about 1hectare). The other is quite big about 5-6 hectares but quite shallow. The deepest spot is probably 2,5meters at most.

From what i heard the grasscarp option is really expensive?

I dont think a stock count wiil be able but the dam is not overstocked as far as i can tell as the water is extremely clear and the fish are in good condition.

 

[Jacquesdw]

Hi I am controlling coontail in my one dam. I have grass carp that are sterile and you can get the correct stocking rates from your supplier so they maintain the weeds down to the required level. Take into account cormorants, otters and fish eagles when they are smaller. After the thunder storms we have had, I have also sprayed Midstream (di-quat) herbicide which was kinda effective. Also used Paraquat which is cheaper and just as effective. I also have good stocking rates of red breast and blue kurper. There will be seasonal variation in your weed levels. Remember weeds aren't all bad- they provide lots of shelter and habitat for young fish and insects. They also keep the water cleaner. You need to find the right balance for your dam.

 

[Cobusl]

A few years back I joined some fisherman and we had access to a small farm dam where we had to stock Bass. The farm dam was also about 1 hectare and full of weed. We did some careful planning as to where we wanted structure and where we required "clean" water. Draining the dam was not an option so we made a rake from steel and attached it to a rope. With this heavy rake contraption we basically plowed the bottom clean in certain areas but left some strategic areas with weed. After a month of working on weekends we had a pretty decent little bass dam. We stocked it with more bass and got some Talipia as well. Had loads of fun at this place until the owner sold and the new owner was very anti fishing

 

[gpz]

From what I've heard rooibors kurper and vlei kurper are the best kurper species for controlling aquatic vegetation, rooibors kurper is however only suited to regions where the winters don't get too cold. Vlei kurper can tolerate cold better, but I don't know if Ficksburg winters is maybe too cold.
I recently heard that sterilized grass carp go for around R800 each, not really the cheapest option.