Those Aren't My Fish!

Who knew that fish could be so entertaining? On quiet evenings, we make our way down to the ponds with a small scoop of floating catfish food. Getting near the pond and not in the pond requires planning, balance and a bit of luck. So far, I'm running about 50/50.


The first couple of feedings, we could see fish were eating the food, but we couldn't see the fish themselves. And then came Friday. My husband and I climb down the hill, then up on the bank so we can see directly down into the water. We toss a handful of fish food into the water and within seconds, a small (8") silver fish with a black spot behind it's gill and on it's tail swims up and starts gobbling the food. My husband is so excited to finally see our fish. He says, "that's not what I thought carp looked like." I don't have the heart to tell him that isn't one of the fish I bought. We laugh as the fish gobbles up the food, and we toss in another handful.

Suddenly, we see a wave heading toward us. I look at my husband as I plan my escape and say, "Don't get between me and the Kubota!" I think something big is in the pond and it is coming our way. Mud begins churning at our feet, and then several large catfish start fighting over the food and push out little silver guy. Gene comments, "Those are nice sized catfish." And now I have to explain that those aren't the fish I just stocked the pond with. Who knew that we had fish in the pond already? I just spent $75 on fish. Where are they?

The Fish Are In!

It is the subtle statements in the instructions that always seem to create a problem. I remember assembling a stationary bike and getting to a simple instruction to insert bolt B into the crossbar and frame. Sounds simple enough, but in fact, a person would have to have eight arms, hang upside down and be a certified Twister Champion to complete the task. That is sort of how it felt when we went to gather pond water for the coolers to pick up our fish. Seriously, how hard could it be? They really should underline that little statement on the instructions for picking up your fish.

Plan A: We gathered buckets, coolers and rubber boots and headed down to the pond. The water is quite low right now due to a mild winter and dry spring. You would think that that would make it easier to get the water out of the pond. Oh no. It turns out that when you try to walk on the former bed of the pond, it is actually a bog. We immediately sink up to our knees as our boots become encased in mud. Now the fun begins. Who helps who out first?

Plan B: Somebody is going to get wet. I volunteer. This won't be the first pond I have ever swam in. Two steps into the pond, the water is over my boots. Good enough. Nobody said that we had to have water from the middle of the pond. Gene holds one of my arms as I lean in to get "better" water. Gene carries the water to the cooler. Repeat. Somebody should have had a better plan to get OUT of the pond.

Picking up the fish from the fish truck seemed uneventful. After gathering the water, I decided I might need some help in getting the fish back into the pond, so I told my husband, "I need a man." As he deliberated his response (this man has been married to me for nearly 30 years, he knows trouble when he hears it), I explained that there was no way I could walk the coolers down to the pond by myself, and the fish couldn't stay in the warm water all day. It might stress them out. (What about my stress?) So I called a neighbor who agreed to go with me and help me load them into the pond.

The truck is parked in the farm store parking lot and two guys sit and wait for people toting pond water to arrive. With a net, they quickly load your coolers and you are ready to go. They seemed surprised when I whipped out my camera to take their picture.

Getting the fish into the pond went really well. I let Dean do it! He only got stuck twice.

I have been feeding the fish every evening with floating catfish food. It only took two days for them to come when I call them by pounding on the bucket. My fish are smarter than your fish.

We Are Expecting!

Tomorrow is the big delivery date. Our fish arrive! I studied, I Googled, I talked to friends and searched the internet and finally placed my big fish order at the farm store. I ordered 5 grass carp and 25 catfish. It is a bit of a bizarre process. You fill out the paperwork and then the clerk gives you a stern warning, "The fish truck will be here on May 18th from 10:00-11:30 a.m. You need to bring your own pond water and containers." Yes Maam! When I told the clerk that I was going to name my fish, she blinked, then promptly said, "Name one of the catfish Whiskers." So that gave me an idea. I'm going to name all the catfish with cat names, and all the carp after types of grass.


I'm looking for suggestions, so email me if you have a great name and I will add it to the list. So far, I have:

Catfish: Felix, Garfield, Cleo, Morris, Tom (cat) and Whiskers (19 more to name!)

Grass Carp: Blue (grass), Fescue, and Bermuda (2 more to name)

I feel like an expectant parent. Like any good soon-to-be parent, I have picked up all the supplies I will need. In this case, a 50 lb. bag of floating catfish food, a container to store it in, and a scoop. I'm sure I'm missing something, but I cannot think of what it would be. If history is any indicator, there should be loads of blog material in my fish delivery tomorrow. I will keep you posted.

Since posting this blog entry, I have had several emails with additional names:
From Dean and Kathy:
Just thought Kathy and I would try to help you out with naming your fish. We had a lot of fun while trying to come up with names and here is a list for you to consider; Wild cat (Wilde), Black cat (nicknamed Firecracker), Bob cat (nicknamed Skidloader), Kitty cat, Ali cat, Top cat, Cool cat, Kit Kat, Stray cat, Sylvester the cat, Puddy tat, Tigger, Smelly cat ("Friends"), Scaredy and Fraidy cats, Jinks the cat, cat Nip and cat Nap, cat O-Nine Tails, cat Scan M.D., cat Tails, cat Sup, cat Walk, cat Burgler, cat Ballou, cat Bird, cat “In The Hat”, cat Mandu, cat Chall, and cat Ewampuss. Oh, and don't forget the "A" team- Apult, Agory and Atastrphe!



We also came up with a few suggestions for Grasscarp names. How about; Pampas, Smokin’, Wax Your, and Your Ass Is? Hey, now I think you need more fish!

From Clayton:
Carp: St. Augustine and Cannabis. Drawing a blank on cat names. Will send them as I come up with them.  There is also Crabgrass if one is cranky, and in case you have a crazy one Nutgrass,or cohld even go with Lovegrass for the romantic one.



Cat names, only came up with one other name. Not sure how appropriate but Pussy cat. Best I can do for now will keep thinking.

My reply:
St. Augustine - good one. I looked him up on Google: He is the patron saint of brewers, printers, theologians, the alleviation of sore eyes.


And Cannabis - you got me on that on. Could you just have said marijuana? I'm going to call that one "Weed" for short!

Ponds, Scum and Fish

It is that time of year where people ask me, "What is that stuff on your pond?" How should I know? It is green and slimy, so I thought it was algae. Some people tell me it is duck weed, and yet others say it is something else entirely. If I had a clue what it was, I would deal with it. It starts growing in the spring and can nearly cover our pond, then dies off in the fall. Algae treatments don't seem to effect it. I looked up Duckweed on the internet. Looks like someone is going to have to get wet to check this out.

I have decided to try adding some algae eating fish to the pond. Let's be clear. I know slightly less about ponds than I know about fish. But Theisen's Farm store is advertising that it is time to order your fish. I'm in! Sell me some fish. So here is the problem. They are selling Bluegill, Sunfish, Catfish, Bass, Minnows (do people really buy minnows to stock ponds?), Carp and Koi. I've heard of some of these, but couldn't pick any of them out of a line up except Koi and Catfish. Which ones eat algae and duckweed? Which ones don't otters eat?

Then there is the fine print. "Bring your own pond water and container on delivery day." Are you kidding? In what? How big are these fish, and how much pond water do they need? Do I need a plastic bag, cooler or a tank? When you get a fish at the State Fair, they provide the bag AND the water.

"Suggested stocking rate for 1 acre pond." Um, how big is my pond? I know it is less than an acre. I figured this out by circling the pond on an aerial shot of our property and cutting 14 copies of the circle out. I placed them on the image of our 14 acre lot, and they didn't cover it; so I know it is less than an acre. Clever, huh! The pond is too big for a measuring tape, so I suspect that you need one of those gadgets with a wheel to measure it. What is that going to cost me? This should be easier.

I'm going to go spread some grass seed. That is something I know how to do.