This Sturgeon was caught on the Willamette River just below Oregon City two weeks ago.  It weighed out at over 1,000 lbs and measured out at 11’1″.  It was 56″ around the girth and took over 6 and a half hours, and 4 dozen beers, for the 4 guys taking turns at the reeling it in.  Any Sturgeon OVER six feet has to be released unharmed and cannot be removed from the water.  They are brood / breeding stock and probably older than most of us.

Here are some things to do for your pond in the meantime.  Walk around your pond and look for any fish mortalities that may appear and dispose of them in your compost pile.  Sad to say,  I suspect many pond owners will have unpleasant surprises resulting from the abundant snow cover and cold weather of this year.  Anytime that deep snow blankets a pond for more than a week, you can bet there will be “winter-kill” cases where the pond has been smothered by light-blocking snow cover, and dissolved oxygen in the water has dropped too low to support fish.

When you check out your pond, you may also notice that algae and aquatic plants are greening and gearing up for the year.  This is why we often stock the sterile white amur (grass carp) in February, since they can do a better job of vegetation control if given a headstart.  Once the amount of daylight becomes longer in February, plants start to grow again, regardless of the air temperature outside.

Dramatic, yet functional aeration for ponds.  When you combine energy efficient axial flow pumps and draw-tube technology to circulate and destratify a pond, it becomes possible to have both.  With a 1 hp unit as pictured above, energy costs are about $1.79 per day for continuous operation.  Visit  www.fwfarms.com for more info.

See products:  Draw Tube Technology, Geyser Fountain