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Trading Nutrients for Fish « Floating Island International

The concept of including fisheries management in strategies for water quality improvement is not new, but floating islands give the notion a boost. The simple concept is, add lots and lots of substrate and the fish will come! Catch plenty of fish and you will sequester the unwanted nutrients in a more appropriate part of the eco-system – lunch!

See the dozens of unique artificial fish habitat models, fish attractors and fish cover used at fishiding.com, the leader in proven science based, fish protection.

In a recent article published in Pond Boss (www.pondboss.com) Bruce explores the concept of turning Phosphorus into fish to improve water quality. Here’s a quick link to the article:http://www.floatingislandinternational.com/wp-content/plugins/fii/news/37.pdf

Grant is being prepared to improve fish habitat.

City has more plans to rock river

More improvements of the fish habitat in the Arkansas River could be on the horizon.

    Pueblo and Trout Unlimited are preparing an application to Colorado Parks and Wildlife for a Fishing is Fun grant to do further work on the Arkansas River through Pueblo.
    “What’s driving it is the higher quality fishing on that reach of river,” said Scott Hobson, assistant city manager for community investment. “We are seeing more fly fishermen in the winter months when streams in other parts of the state are inaccessible.”
    The city wants to add boulder clusters in the Arkansas River from the Juniper Bridge just below Pueblo Dam to Dutch Clark stadium. Agreements reached among water users in 2004 provided greater assurance of flows in winter months by curtailing exchanges when river levels are low.
    A new project, which could cost up to $300,000, would make improvements to the banks, add J-hook jetties and revegetate some areas. Improvements on the previous work and other features would be added.
See the dozens of unique artificial fish habitat models, fish attractors and fish cover used at fishiding.com, the leader in  science based, proven, fish protection.
     The features allow fish to survive and feed during a variety of conditions along the river.
     “The state grant would be $200,000, but we’re still deciding on whether to break up the project in a couple of parts,” Hobson said.
    The rest of the money would come from fines collected by the state and a small amount from Trout Unlimited.
   The grant is expected to be submitted in March.
    The first part of the restoration of the river was done in 2005-06 as part of the Arkansas River Legacy Project, a long-term effort to improve the river.

By CHRIS WOODKA

DNR continues fish crib project on Cedar Lake

It’s a cold crisp Saturday morning in mid-January and the ice off the north boat landing on Cedar Lake is alive with the sounds of chain saws and Bobcats.

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Volunteers line up the lumber for a fish crib. See the dozens of unique artificial fish habitat models, fish attractors and fish cover used at fishiding.com, the leader in  science based, proven, fish protection.

It’s a cold crisp Saturday morning in mid-January and the ice off the north boat landing on Cedar Lake is alive with the sounds of chain saws and Bobcats.

On the horizon, shantytowns harbor diehard fishermen trying their luck through 16 inches of ice. However, the largest and loudest population on the ice this morning consists of volunteers from Star Prairie Fish & Game and the Cedar Lake Management District, along with concerned local anglers, who are working together with staff from the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources constructing 45 new fish cribs.

John Bush, a volunteer from SPF&G, sits behind the wheel of a four wheeler waiting for a crew of his fellow volunteers to position one of the completed cribs on his sled. His job is to tow cribs to one of three staging areas located on the south end of the lake.

Wearing a fashionable blue hardhat and bright green safety vest, Barbara Scott with the DNR props herself up against several rods of rebar.

Surrounding her are numerous cribs in various stages of completion. They look like miniature log houses with no roofs stuffed full of brush and tree branches.

Scott explains part of the process; The logs are placed on top of each other leaving about an eight-inch gap between each layer.

“Once the logs are in place, we bend the tops of the rebar over to hold it all together,” Scott said. “Then we place branches in between the layers to create the fish habitat. After the cribs have been towed into place, we tie cinder blocks on top to prevent them from moving once they sink.”

The cribs will sit in place out on the ice until spring thaw. As the ice melts, the cribs slowly settle into place at the bottom of the lake.

Fish techs from the DNR were out on the lake in the fall determining the precise locations where the cribs would be located.

Daryl Berg, with a pipe in hand, is hard at work bending rebar. Besides being a self-appointed “log loader and brush builder,” Berg is a local fisherman who makes time to help with this project because he “cares about the fish habitat.”

Marty Engel is a biologist with the DNR’s Lower Chippewa and Central Wisconsin Fisheries Team. He operates out of the DNR office in Baldwin and this morning he’s in charge of making sure the cribs are correctly constructed and delivered to the correct locations. The plan is to sink up to 500 cribs throughout Cedar Lake over the course of the next 10 to 20 years.

“Cedar Lake is clear enough to grow weeds in the spring, but by around June 15th, the algae begins to come on strong. When the lights go out, the plants don’t grow,” Engel said. “By mid-July the weeds are starting to die back and by August they’ve all but died off. Cribs are one way to create alternate habitat in green lakes.”

Creating log cribs provides a place for fish to migrate to when the weeds die off. According to Engel, the center of the cribs provides cover for smaller fish like bluegills, perch and crappies, while the extended branches on the perimeter provide hunting areas for larger species like northern pike, walleyes and muskies.

“Once they go through the ice, fish will gravitate to them instantaneously,” he said.

The results of the project have been promising.

“There wasn’t a lot of good pan fishing on this lake 10 years ago,” Engel recalls, “But now you can tell the results just by seeing the number of ice shacks out on the lake and talking with the people.”

Ever wonder why all the shacks seem to congregate in just a few areas on the lake? Individual cribs are installed in “colonies” to mimic habitat like a weed bed.

By the end of the day, Cedar Lake will be home to numerous colonies consisting of 325 individual cribs. The fish, both predator and prey, move to where the colonies are. The fishermen follow the fish resulting in a landscape of shantytowns right on top of the cribs.

Marty reports that the DNR working in conjunction with several other volunteer groups, including students from Somerset High School, is starting crib construction initiatives on two other local lakes, Bass and Glen. In addition to the winter crib construction programs, the DNR will also be creating “near-shore” structure on Bass Lake once the water opens up by dragging 80 oak trees out into the lake so that the crowns of the trees rest in about eight feet of water.

By: By Tom Lindfors, New Richmond News

Michigan firm expanding with Fishiding Habitat products

This Michigan company has the help you need to manage your lake or pond. Get professional advice with proven results along with cost effective methods and products at Tri-county Aquatics.

Tri-County Aquatics, Inc. is a full service aquatic management company, specializing in superior waterway management programs. The friendly staff regularly controls nuisance aquatic vegetation, weeds, and algae in small backyard ponds, inland lakes, canals, marinas and other waterways. Tri-County Aquatics’ goal is to create a management program designed to control your specific aquatic need. With years of experience in the aquatics industry, These folks have the solution to your pond and lake needs.

See the dozens of unique artificial fish habitat models, fish attractors and fish cover used at fishiding.com, the leader in  science based, proven, fish protection.

Tri-County Aquatics, Inc. services include, but are not limited to:

  • Aquatic Vegetation Control
  • Aeration Systems (sales, service, and installations)
  • Floating Fountains (sales, service, and installations)
  • Water Quality Testing
  • Pond and Lake Consulting
  • Fish Stocking & Population Management
  • Equipment Sales
  • Pond & Lake Consulting

    Problems with your pond or lake? Contact Tri-County Aquatics and have one of their trained technicians meet with you to set up the best management program for your waterway. Whether you’re dealing with nuisance aquatic vegetation, high bacteria levels, or just looking for a beautiful floating fountain or some professional advice, we can help you with any of your aquatic needs.

  • Tri-County Aquatics, Inc. specializes in the control of nuisance aquatic vegetation in ponds, lakes, canals, marinas and many other waterways. 
  • Aquatic vegetation can inhibit the recreational uses of any waterway, and become very aesthetically unappealing.
  • Tri-County Aquatics, Inc. has years of experience in the aquatics industry. Controlling aquatic vegetation is our specialty. With hundreds of water bodies being managed by us annually, we have the experience, knowledge, and tried management techniques to solve your waterway problems.
  •  Full service water testing for bacteria levels, organics, and total water quality index. 
  • The products used to control nuisance aquatic vegetation, whether herbicides or algaecides, are all approved and labeled for aquatic use by the United States Environmental Protection Agency and the Michigan Department of Agriculture. All waterway treatments and applications are performed by trained, state certified, and licensed applicators. We use specialized and waterway specific management techniques to manage your waterway in the most efficient and effective manner.

Wonder Lake Sportsman’s Club adds over 50 more Fishiding artificial fish habitat

 
Published 17th Nov 2011
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a15veu8Onlg&feature=player_embedded
Members of the Sportsman’s club are at it again, enhancing their lake with more long term habitat, teamed up with Fishiding, 56 units of all varieties were dropped in a key area adjacent to spawning grounds. About 10 shallow Cradle models were sunk in 3-5 feet of water, with a line of Safehouse structures leading out to deeper water. The Cradle model consists of hundreds of fine strands of reclaimed PVC designed to give fry and baitfish areas to grow and hide from predators. When the fry have adequate habitat, they are given time to grow to the preferred size of 4-6 inches before venturing out into deeper water to become forage for predators.See the dozens of unique artificial fish habitat models, fish attractors and fish cover used at fishiding.com, the industry leader and only science based, man made and artificial fish habitat, proven to provide all fish with cover they prefer to prosper.

The key is to make sure there is a continuous line or “tree row” of habitat from shallow spawning grounds out to deep water.

If the fish have to swim from shallow areas out to deeper cover without cover to hide in, they get eaten prematurely, or before growing large enough to best benefit the larger predators like bass, walleye, crappie and musky.

The club members clipped structurespot markers to each unit as it was dropped, to see where each one lands to ensure the continuous coverage.

When all units are installed, they took some pictures to refer to the shape and design they created.

After the pics, they simply pull the clip free on the structurespot markers and wind them  up to re-use.

The Safehouse models were installed from about 5 feet deep out to 8 feet and deeper where a huge cluster of the largest Keeper models were dropped.

Algae begins to grow immediately in this dark, fertile water and the club will be fishing over them this winter through the ice.

To date, over 125 fishiding fish habitatunits have been installed, with more being put together by members, donated by fishiding.

Wonder Lake, at 830 acres, is the largest private lake in Illinois and Wisconsin.

Through many different fund raising events, the club stocks fish twice a year as well as building and installing over 100 Wood duck houses, maintaining them and even video recording the hatching of chicks too.

Annual lake cleanups, fish shocking surveys, carp derbys and kids fishing events are just a few of the things the club does for the lake and the community.

Boat Docks: Man-made Fish Attractors

Boat docks and old piers situated relatively close to deep water are very appealing to largemouths, particularly on reservoirs where aquatic vegetation is sparse.

Aquatic vegetation such as hydrilla, milfoil and coontail will year-in and year-out produce big stringers of bass on lakes across the United States. But by no means is that to say “grass” is the only thing that’ll hold viable concentrations of largemouths.

Shoreline structures will harbor good numbers of fish, too. This holds especially true on reservoirs that don’t have much aquatic vegetation, which in Texas includes many of our older, silted-in impoundments as well as those reservoirs geographically situated in areas that are not conducive vegetation growth.

Some of the more obvious forms of shoreline structure are boat houses, piers and docks. And truth be known, they are also some of the best.

Try as you may to find fish on other forms of structure like creeks, rivers, points and humps. If boat docks are available in substantial number on a lake where vegetation is sparse, that’s invariably where most of the bass are going to be caught and, where many of the tournaments are going to be won.

Now don’t be mislead, here. Not all docks are going to hold concentrations of bass. Some are naturally better than others, be it due to location, construction, size, age or a combination of the four.

Where a dock is located on a reservoir can a make a big difference in whether it will hold bass or not. It has been been my experience that structures built in the backs of creeks on top of shallow flats are the most reliable during the spring months. This this true mainly because they provide the fish some security for spawning.

Once spring gives way to summer, however, shallow docks lose some of their magic. Bass like to hang out close to deep water during the summer months, thus explaining why docks built in the mouths of creeks on mainlake and secondary points are usually the most productive. The ideal dock could be one situated in 8-10 feet of water along the edge of deep creek channel.

Another element to consider about boat docks is the manner in which they are assembled.

We do a lot of fishing around docks on Midwest impoundments during the summer months, and those “stationary” docks built on buried pilings are almost always more productive than those that float. The reason is that the pilings provide the fish with obstacles to relate to or hold against, which in turn means more targets to chunk at.

The size of an individual dock doesn’t make much difference when is comes to attracting bass, but it can sure have some influence on how many fish will be present.

As a rule, larger docks with several stalls will harbor more bass than one-boat units. Obviously, these types of docks will have more pilings beneath the surface for the bass to relate to, which means more good places to put a lure. Plus, the larger docks naturally provide the fish with more shade.

The age of the dock can also be critical. It has been my experience that older, more weathered docks tend to hold more bass than do new ones. These tend to have more algae growing on the framework, which in turn attracts bait fish. Older docks also are apt to have more brushpiles submerged around them. Dock owners often sink brushpiles to attract concentrations of crappie, but they act as bass hotels as well.

Some other telltale signs of a productive dock are lights, chairs and maybe a rod holder or two. These are all good indicators that someone fishes off the dock with regularity, which means there is more than likely going to be plenty of submerged brush in the area.

When I’m practicing for a tournament on an unfamiliar reservoir that has a good number of boat docks, I usually don’t spend near as much time looking for bass around docks as I do looking for brush. Find the brush and the bass will be there, sooner or later.

Depthfinders and LCR units definitely come in handy for locating structure. But when it comes to turning up brushpiles around boat docks, they aren’t of much use to me.

Probably the single-most effective technique I’ve found for finding brush around docks is the Carolina-rig. Not only does it allow me to probe an area thoroughly, but it enables me to do it quickly.

Once I locate some brush, then I’ll switch to a Texas-rigged plastic worm or Stanley jig/craw combo. My preferred worm in this case is a red shad, junebug or black/redflake Zoom Dead Ringer plastic worm or maybe a four-inch Big Critter Craw. A deep or medium-diving crankbait like the Norman Deep Little N is another option around docks. See the dozens of unique artificial fish habitat models, fish attractors and fish cover used at fishiding.com, the industry leader and only science based, man made and artificial fish habitat, proven to provide all fish with cover they prefer to prosper.

In summary, boat docks are man-made fish attractors. However, not all of them are going to hold bass consistently during the course of the year. The best summer docks are typically located adjacent to deeper, cooler water and they’ll have an abundance of brush submerged around them.

Find these docks and fish them correctly and you’ll invariably catch more bass, especially on reservoirs where they are available in abundance and grass is relatively scarce.

New Habitat for fish

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These full size fish attractors are the largest model of artificial habitat Continue reading “New Habitat for fish”

Millions more for fish habitat

Pool 9 project will benefit fish and wildlife

LANSING – A $10 million habitat improvement project on Capoli Slough in lower Pool 9 of the Mississippi River will benefit fish, waterfowl and other wildlife, officials say.

The dredging and island building project, scheduled to start next spring, “will be good for everything on the river,” said Mike Griffin, a wildlife biologist with Continue reading “Millions more for fish habitat”

World Record***** 2,649 Fish in 24 Hours…To Expose Kids to the Outdoors!!

Angler Nets 2,649 Fish in 24 Hours, Sets Record

Jeff Kolodzinski broke year-old world record

Updated: Sunday, 31 Jul 2011, 12:08 PM CDT
Published : Sunday, 31 Jul 2011, 12:07 PM CDT

MINNETONKA, Minn. – A Minnesota man spent 24 consecutive hours fishing off a dock at Maynard’s on Lake Minnetonka, and in that time he was able to net over 2,000 fish and set a new world record.

Jeff Kolodzinski completed the marathon fishing event as part of Fishing for Life, a non-profit organization that exposes kids to the outdoors and creates a sense of community through fishing.

The new record is now 2,649 fish caught in a 24-hour period.

The previous record was set last year at the same spot.

See the dozens of unique artificial fish habitat models, fish attractors and fish cover used at fishiding.com, the industry leader and only science based, man made and artificial fish habitat, proven to provide all fish with cover they prefer to prosper.

Ravine study sees healthier fish habitat

BY CHARLES BERMAN cberman@pioneerlocal.com July 25, 2011 8:26PM

Story ImageShawna Herleth-King, of the United States Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), inspects Rainbow Trout that were netted July 14 at the mouth of the Rosewood Beach ravine. Five fish species, including two listed by the state as “species in greatest need of conservation” were found in the Highland Park ravine system. | Photos courtesy of the Park District of Highland Park
ARTICLE EXTRAS

Updated: July 28, 2011 3:17AM

The Park District of Highland Park’s ravine restoration program continues to show signs of healthier local fish habitat as two endangered species were recently found to be hatching eggs in the city’s stream system.See the dozens of unique artificial fish habitat models, fish attractors and fish cover used at fishiding.com, the industry leader and only science based, man made and artificial fish habitat, proven to provide all fish with cover they prefer to prosper.

Longnose Dace and Lake Chub baby fish — both included in the Illinois Wildlife Action Plan — were noted in the latest ravine study conducted by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers near Rosewood, Mallard and Moraine parks.

Baby White Suckers also were found this month, officials reported, and were likely hatched in the ravine streams as a result of spring migration by the adult fish.

Scientists made the series of discoveries July 14, while continuing its larger analysis of Highland Park’s lakefront parks and preserves.

Funded by the Environmental Protection Agency’s Great Lakes Restoration Initiative, local improvements have included the installation of natural cobbles to create pool and riffle habitat; steel groynes at the outlet to the lake were cut lower to allow easier fish access; and sheltering overhangs were built using large stones. Native trees and plants now provide additional shaded areas while also providing soil stabilization along the stream banks.

Rebecca Grill, the Park District’s natural areas manager, explained that rising water temperatures over the years has worked to suppress fish vitality.

“The only way we could really change anything about water temperature is to provide shade to make the water cooler, or make it deeper,” she said. “We knew Rainbow Trout were hiding (in our streams), but we were really excited because they found those other species, too.”

The district’s long-range goal is to ensure Highland Park’s streams remain safe havens for fish to find shelter from the lake to hatch eggs.

“To know they can be successful here is really exciting,” Grill said. “We are hoping it also helps people understand our connection to Lake Michigan. The lake is a huge resource for northern Illinois and the nation. It’s our source of drinking water, and we should care about its health for our own health.

“And to think we can support these fish species, these living creatures at the base of our ecosystem, that’s miraculous considering how urbanized we are.”

The fish-friendly habitat restoration project also brought in volunteers from the Gary Borger Chapter of Trout Unlimited, a national conservation organization, and was designed by Northfield-based Shabica and Associates, and constructed by V3 Companies of Woodridge.

“Nobody on the federal level suspected that fish could be in these streams and have reproductive success,” Grill concluded. “We’re going to show that with a little bit of work, they can. It’s been very rewarding.”

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