Jill Older

Heather Stovall wrote:I'm planning on having rocks and tree branches in the pond for habitat and some aquatic floating plants, so this would probably make netting the whole pond difficult, but maybe the cove could be free of obstacles and a net could be used there. I'll probably have a friend that's familiar with fishing help me out the first time.

I had a salt water set up with a lot of obstacles with red snapper. The tank was 215 gallons. One of the things that I found interesting was if I had fed the fish and stuck my hand in the tank on a daily bases, I could catch them with my hands. I have also found any fish in the carp family seems to automatically "want" to be hand fed. lol

I do realize that you can't do that with a pond due to the predator issue.

I look forward to hearing how it goes for you.

I love my cookbook "The Eat-A-Bug Cookbook" by David George Gordon.

I have only had luck breeding meal worms so far. I have tried breeding crickets & super worms but the production is just too small and too slow.

I prefer them roasted then they can be used in a variety of foods. The added bonus is if you breed too many of them they are great chicken food, especial in the winter months when they don't have a real protein source.

Although the carp will grow well, breed well it can cause a whole lot of other issues. It is my understanding the part of the permaculture idea is to grow/produce what is native to an area. Asian Carp is not.

Do not feed any critter something that you would not eat yourself. The idea is to breed something that is good for you. Dog food is not.

My suggestion is to find out what is local in your ecosystem. The find out if you are "allowed" to breed it. Often by-laws will not allow you to catch & breed but you are usually "allowed" to raised fingerlings for food from a certified supplier.

Heather Stovall wrote:Thanks Michael. I hadn't heard about making a cove for that purpose. It's good that I'm asking before digging my pond. I was thinking of using a funnel type trap. I haven't gone fishing since I was very young, so this should be quite an adventure. What is the best way to kill the fish? Hitting them on the head? I was also thinking maybe a good way to harvest some of them would be to have people pay me to come fish at my pond.

Hitting them is a fast & easy way to kill fish. If the first couple of times you have a problem, take it by the tail and smack it against a hard surface. Sounds cruel but it is very quick.

I have found that a large net works just as well as anything when working with a "smaller" pond or pool. A gill net can be used, dragging it from one end to the other.

Hello Kevin
It depends on what type of fish that you plan to have. Some will eat things like crickets, meal worms, blood worms, beef heart (makes the water rather dirty very quickly). In the way of veggies, there is zucchini & sea weed. And of course other fish. One of the things that I learned over the years is that a few things when given to fish will act as a "cure". Peas helps with swim bladder and constipation.

At one point in time I had 22 tanks going. I found that duck weed will take over your tank/pond but is it easy to skim out & makes great compost.

Kate,
I am trying to work out if I can come back up and help. I will trade off my building skills for your critter skills. I will try to put together an old fashioned building "party" if I can make it up in the next few weeks.

Hey Kate
We met a few weeks back when I came for a short visit with Max. I have since mentioned what you are looking for to several people that I know that are in search of some land.

All have said pretty much the same thing. They want/need part ownership (I told them it was not possible) and they want contracts stating the rights, rules and what is expected of all parties involved.

I was wondering if you considered the WWOOF program? That way at least you can get a bit of help. http://www.wwoof.net/how-it-works/