Do you know what this is?

[Mirror Lake 444]

I guess our posts crossed.

Now that is one fat brook trout!

How about this yellow perch I caught out of my biggest pond ice fishing? She would have shattered our state record by 5 ounces if my DNR would have let me enter her.

She was 16 1/4 inches and weighed 2.81 lbs.

 

[ASPCA4EVER]

Yes it is! You can make just about anything you want out of it with the right fittings and not just plumbing. And it's not that expensive.

Here are six of my floating cages in the biggest pond built out of PVC where I have sorted yellow perch and bluegill by size and sex.

Excellent...a cousin raises channel cat as a 'farm raised product' and he keeps me supplied with that type of fish. Much safer then eating those bottom feeders out of our steams and ponds.

I'm in the process of building a expandable chicken pen that will attach to the side of the metal chicken coup {with pve ½" and loads of netting}...it'll telescope out as a larger area as needed and I can secure it during the day and then move it back up against the building during the night when the chickens are put up to roost!

 

[Mirror Lake 444]

Excellent...a cousin raises channel cat as a 'farm raised product' and he keeps me supplied with that type of fish. Much safer then eating those bottom feeders out of our steams and ponds.

I'm in the process of building a expandable chicken pen that will attach to the side of the metal chicken coup {with pve ½" and loads of netting}...it'll telescope out as a larger area as needed and I can secure it during the day and then move it back up against the building during the night when the chickens are put up to roost!

Sounds cool. I've thought of raising some chickens again (When still I lived at home we did it for the meat and the eggs). Have you noticed that 2 inch PVC slides inside 3 inch and 3 inch slides inside 4 inch PVC? That is how the axle is made on the above biofilter.

You could always do this too. Use the chickens to fertilize the water for fish production. It's done this way in some parts of the world. Some even build their houses above the fish pond and... well you can figure it out.

Photo from Small Scale Aquaculture Steven Van Gorder.

 

[ASPCA4EVER]

Excellent idea about utilizing that by product {chicken waste for the fish...hadn't thought about that application} I'm going to be recycling my chicken sh!t into my old chest deep freezers that are going to be worm beds & mushroom boxes {morrell & portabella}. I've got an excellent connection for rabbit manure just around the block from my place and I've hauled many a load of that manure for my huge compost pile/thorn-less black berry & blue berry bushes and now I've got 2 old iron rimmed tractor tires that will be ready for strawberries next spring!

And that telescoping reductions sized PVC is exactly how my chicken pen will expand and contract...the netting will be the thing that will cause me the difficulty in gathering it up while moving the pen in & out...but I'm working on a system that will make it a one person job! I'm getting 24 chicks this spring so I've got to get this idea down on a paper blueprint soon!

 

[pocketfullofshells]

we have small pond, very small for Coy and and such in my dads back yard...but it gets to 45 below zero here lol so some of that stuff would be hard to do here. but fish do say alive in it over the winter with the airrator sysem in place

 

[Bunz]

I have some serious concerns about fish farms. Unless they are done in a completely hydrogically isolated body I have many reservations. Being a long time purely wild salmon fisherman I have seen first hand not only the growth in market share of poor quality product and an increase in biological problems with escapees from fish pens.

If this is some pond or farm that again is isolated from other water bodies like stocked isolated lakes I dont take much issue.

Here in Alaska we are having many issues resulting from such efforts legal and illegal. There are a few drainages that have become so infested with introduced northern pike that are not in thier historic range and are taking a massive toll on the salmon smolt poppulation to the point where restrictions in the harvest of adult salmon returning to the same rivers is severly limited or even closed.

Then there is the issue of habitat destruction by industrialization such as the massive Pebble Mine near Iliamna, AK which has suggested that it will replace the few million wild existing salmon that hatch out of any area they want to dig 3,000 ft deep with hatchery salmon is somewhat of a slap in the face.

So, in closing, I have little problem with properly and responsibly stocked water bodies. But I absolutely detest some of the practices that are routine today.

 

[Mirror Lake 444]

I have some serious concerns about fish farms. Unless they are done in a completely hydrogically isolated body I have many reservations. Being a long time purely wild salmon fisherman I have seen first hand not only the growth in market share of poor quality product and an increase in biological problems with escapees from fish pens.

If this is some pond or farm that again is isolated from other water bodies like stocked isolated lakes I dont take much issue.

Here in Alaska we are having many issues resulting from such efforts legal and illegal. There are a few drainages that have become so infested with introduced northern pike that are not in thier historic range and are taking a massive toll on the salmon smolt poppulation to the point where restrictions in the harvest of adult salmon returning to the same rivers is severly limited or even closed.

Then there is the issue of habitat destruction by industrialization such as the massive Pebble Mine near Iliamna, AK which has suggested that it will replace the few million wild existing salmon that hatch out of any area they want to dig 3,000 ft deep with hatchery salmon is somewhat of a slap in the face.

So, in closing, I have little problem with properly and responsibly stocked water bodies. But I absolutely detest some of the practices that are routine today.

Agreed! I feel the same way you do! This is also why I am shifting towards a completely closed system although my fish do not go anywhere but on my property, and I don't raise fish for stocking other waters except some excess I have given away to stock private ponds. My fish either are sold frozen or go to closed large aquarium systems. Hatcheries can be polluters too and destroying habitat and saying they can make it right by building a hatchery is not the answer.

 

[pocketfullofshells]

I have some serious concerns about fish farms. Unless they are done in a completely hydrogically isolated body I have many reservations. Being a long time purely wild salmon fisherman I have seen first hand not only the growth in market share of poor quality product and an increase in biological problems with escapees from fish pens.

If this is some pond or farm that again is isolated from other water bodies like stocked isolated lakes I dont take much issue.

Here in Alaska we are having many issues resulting from such efforts legal and illegal. There are a few drainages that have become so infested with introduced northern pike that are not in thier historic range and are taking a massive toll on the salmon smolt poppulation to the point where restrictions in the harvest of adult salmon returning to the same rivers is severly limited or even closed.

Then there is the issue of habitat destruction by industrialization such as the massive Pebble Mine near Iliamna, AK which has suggested that it will replace the few million wild existing salmon that hatch out of any area they want to dig 3,000 ft deep with hatchery salmon is somewhat of a slap in the face.

So, in closing, I have little problem with properly and responsibly stocked water bodies. But I absolutely detest some of the practices that are routine today.

I agree 100%, some people fail to see how small changes in the balances of a ecosystem can have huge bad effects...part from ignorance, and part willful ignorance due $$$$$

it would be like me deciding I wanted to raise Carp on one of my local lakes, and then having a few get out...and watching them destroy the whole weedline system and tear up the bottom...killing the hiding places for small fish, leading to lack of food for larger fish...and then no more bass fishing ( catch and release only )

 

[Mirror Lake 444]

Speaking of carp has anyone been following the impending tragedy with the big head carp that are very close to Lake Michigan? If they get into the Great Lakes, game over! What little phytoplankton there is, which is the base of the food chain, may become depleted. Not only can the bighead carp handle cooler water it's quite plankton grazer.

Governor, AG & Groups Call For Asian Carp Legal Action - Dec 2: Governor Granholm and Lt. Governor John Cherry urged Attorney General Mike Cox to vigorously pursue every legal means to prevent Asian carp from entering the Great Lakes. In a letter delivered to Cox, Granholm and Cherry said, "The Great Lakes' ecosystem is at risk and because of the importance of the Great Lakes to Michigan's economy, we urge you to vigorously pursue every legal tool at your disposal as Michigan's attorney general to prevent the ecological disaster that will occur if Asian carp are allowed into the Great Lakes. Michigan's $4.5 billion sport and commercial fishery is in jeopardy."
The letter continued, "We believe that emergency action to close the Chicago Sanitary Shipping Canal locks, and ultimately, the permanent biological and/or hydrological separation of the Great Lakes from the Mississippi system via the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal must be fully explored and appropriate legal action pursued as quickly as possible."
According to a release from the Governor, Lt. Governor Cherry recently wrote the Undersecretary of the Army to urge additional actions to protect the Great Lakes, including the completion of the second portion of the new barrier, full utilization of the existing barrier now operating at minimal levels, creating a physical barrier to block carp from entering via other waterways during flooding, and using all existing congressional authorities to block the carp's entry.
Attorney General Cox also issued a release saying, that his office has contacted authorities responsible for overseeing Illinois waterways infested with Asian Carp and demanded a full explanation of their immediate plans to protect the Great Lakes from this looming threat. Cox said, "With Asian Carp literally at the front door of the Great Lakes, we will not get another chance to protect our greatest natural resource. The Great Lakes are a vital part of our economy, our way of life, and our future. They are an essential part of turning Michigan around. Allowing the lakes to be decimated when authorities knew of the danger for years would be a colossal failure."
Cox said that his office in recent weeks has been reviewing its legal options to force authorities responsible for the Chicago Ship and Sanitary Canal to take more aggressive action to stop the Carp from entering Lake Michigan at Chicago. He said he sent a letter to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the State of Illinois, and the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago demanding that they take action in the immediate and long term, including, potentially, the closing of the locks to ensure the Carp never enter the Great Lakes. In the letter, Cox indicated that he is prepared to take whatever legal action is necessary to protect the Great Lakes. On December 1, the State of Illinois announced that A task force of Federal, regional state and local agencies had developed a Rapid Response Plan to address Asian Carp threat to the Great Lakes [See WIMS 12/2/09].
Cox also sent a letter to Governor Granholm requesting additional information about the effect closing the locks would have on Michigan's faltering economy and about the Michigan Department of Natural Resources' cooperation with the state of Illinois in efforts to eliminate the Carp [See WIMS 12/1/09].
Conservation groups, including Alliance for the Great Lakes, Great Lakes United, Healing Our Waters-Great Lakes Coalition, Michigan United Conservation Clubs, and National Wildlife Federation; in a separate letter to Attorney General Cox, said, "We support Governor Granholm's request that you take legal action to close, at least temporarily, all Illinois locks providing access to Lake Michigan until the state of Illinois and federal agencies can demonstrate that Asian carp will not swim into Lake Michigan."
Additionally, Henry Henderson, Director of the Natural Resources Defense Council’s Midwest Program (and a former Commissioner of the Environment for the City of Chicago) said, “We support the call from Governor Granholm of Michigan to re-open the U.S. Supreme Court’s review of threats posed by the Chicago Diversion to the well-being of the Great Lakes ecosystem. The other Great Lakes states should join Michigan in pursuing all available legal steps to permanently separate the Great Lakes from the Mississippi River watershed. There are legitimate shipping and business concerns about the impact that this would have on barge traffic. You would hope that these would be short delays -- but frankly the interests of the multi-billion dollar fishing industry and the quality of 1/5 of the world’s fresh water should really take precedence.”

 

[PLC1]

Speaking of carp has anyone been following the impending tragedy with the big head carp that are very close to Lake Michigan? If they get into the Great Lakes, game over! What little phytoplankton there is, which is the base of the food chain, may become depleted. Not only can the bighead carp handle cooler water it's quite plankton grazer.

Governor, AG & Groups Call For Asian Carp Legal Action - Dec 2: Governor Granholm and Lt. Governor John Cherry urged Attorney General Mike Cox to vigorously pursue every legal means to prevent Asian carp from entering the Great Lakes. In a letter delivered to Cox, Granholm and Cherry said, "The Great Lakes' ecosystem is at risk and because of the importance of the Great Lakes to Michigan's economy, we urge you to vigorously pursue every legal tool at your disposal as Michigan's attorney general to prevent the ecological disaster that will occur if Asian carp are allowed into the Great Lakes. Michigan's $4.5 billion sport and commercial fishery is in jeopardy."
The letter continued, "We believe that emergency action to close the Chicago Sanitary Shipping Canal locks, and ultimately, the permanent biological and/or hydrological separation of the Great Lakes from the Mississippi system via the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal must be fully explored and appropriate legal action pursued as quickly as possible."
According to a release from the Governor, Lt. Governor Cherry recently wrote the Undersecretary of the Army to urge additional actions to protect the Great Lakes, including the completion of the second portion of the new barrier, full utilization of the existing barrier now operating at minimal levels, creating a physical barrier to block carp from entering via other waterways during flooding, and using all existing congressional authorities to block the carp's entry.
Attorney General Cox also issued a release saying, that his office has contacted authorities responsible for overseeing Illinois waterways infested with Asian Carp and demanded a full explanation of their immediate plans to protect the Great Lakes from this looming threat. Cox said, "With Asian Carp literally at the front door of the Great Lakes, we will not get another chance to protect our greatest natural resource. The Great Lakes are a vital part of our economy, our way of life, and our future. They are an essential part of turning Michigan around. Allowing the lakes to be decimated when authorities knew of the danger for years would be a colossal failure."
Cox said that his office in recent weeks has been reviewing its legal options to force authorities responsible for the Chicago Ship and Sanitary Canal to take more aggressive action to stop the Carp from entering Lake Michigan at Chicago. He said he sent a letter to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the State of Illinois, and the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago demanding that they take action in the immediate and long term, including, potentially, the closing of the locks to ensure the Carp never enter the Great Lakes. In the letter, Cox indicated that he is prepared to take whatever legal action is necessary to protect the Great Lakes. On December 1, the State of Illinois announced that A task force of Federal, regional state and local agencies had developed a Rapid Response Plan to address Asian Carp threat to the Great Lakes [See WIMS 12/2/09].
Cox also sent a letter to Governor Granholm requesting additional information about the effect closing the locks would have on Michigan's faltering economy and about the Michigan Department of Natural Resources' cooperation with the state of Illinois in efforts to eliminate the Carp [See WIMS 12/1/09].
Conservation groups, including Alliance for the Great Lakes, Great Lakes United, Healing Our Waters-Great Lakes Coalition, Michigan United Conservation Clubs, and National Wildlife Federation; in a separate letter to Attorney General Cox, said, "We support Governor Granholm's request that you take legal action to close, at least temporarily, all Illinois locks providing access to Lake Michigan until the state of Illinois and federal agencies can demonstrate that Asian carp will not swim into Lake Michigan."
Additionally, Henry Henderson, Director of the Natural Resources Defense Council’s Midwest Program (and a former Commissioner of the Environment for the City of Chicago) said, “We support the call from Governor Granholm of Michigan to re-open the U.S. Supreme Court’s review of threats posed by the Chicago Diversion to the well-being of the Great Lakes ecosystem. The other Great Lakes states should join Michigan in pursuing all available legal steps to permanently separate the Great Lakes from the Mississippi River watershed. There are legitimate shipping and business concerns about the impact that this would have on barge traffic. You would hope that these would be short delays -- but frankly the interests of the multi-billion dollar fishing industry and the quality of 1/5 of the world’s fresh water should really take precedence.”

That on top of zebra mussels and New Zealand Mud snails. Double whammy.

 

[pocketfullofshells]

yea I heard about that, also there is that like walking catfish down south spreading as well, was imported for food, now getting in the food chain. Eurasian milfoil has hurt some lakes here, so we are very careful if we take boat out to check boat for any plants that may travel with to some other lake down the line. few other fish in the Mississippi now doing damage as well...of course the pollution does more still...can't even drive near parts of teh river it smells so bad.

 

[ASPCA4EVER]

PLC1 said: That on top of zebra mussels

Very problematic in this area...due to many sports orientated bass fishing contest by lessor thinking drunked up good-ole boys who didn't think to clean their boats & trailers prior to pulling out to go on down the road to another contest. Now we've got flood gates that can't be closed do to the numerous zebra mussels clinging to the equipment...darn things are getting out of hand!

 

[dahermit]

How about this yellow perch I caught out of my biggest pond ice fishing? She would have shattered our state record by 5 ounces if my DNR would have let me enter her.

She was 16 1/4 inches and weighed 2.81 lbs.

Food of the Gods! The finest eating fish known to man.

 

[Mirror Lake 444]

Food of the Gods! The finest eating fish known to man.

Yes it is and I have lots of them as I hatch them myself in a special pond.

The one on the left in the back of the property. The females are worth too much to eat so the only ones that are eaten are the males.

 

[Bunz]

I have seen footage of those Asian Carp jumping like crazy out of the Mississippi River.
Apparently it is legal to bowfish them which is fun otherwise but with all of these aerial targets that would be a challenge and a lot of fun.
It would seen to me if the point is to eradicate them from various water bodies that they might want to introduce being able to use a shotgun! That would be a hoot to say the least. I think a 20 gauge with some #8 shot would be ideal.