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What to feed your fish during colder winter months
by: Brett Fogle
With air and water temperatures dropping in most parts of the country, now is the time to greatly reduce the amount of food you are feeding your fish.
When your water temperature starts falling below 65 degrees, you should consider switching your fish food to a more digestible wheat germ food. At lower temperatures, the good bacteria in your fish's digestive tract become less active, and have harder time digesting their normal high-protein diet.
In colder water...
Hand Feeding your Koi
by: Brett Fogle
One of the most rewarding and entertaining things about having a Koi pond is when your fish finally start eating out of your hand. There is no better way to learn each fishes' personality and temperament than to have them nuzzle your fingers when they are hungry.
The key to training your Koi to eat from your hand is patience and conditioning. Like any wild animal Koi have a natural distrust for anything that they think can hurt them, and you're plenty big enough to do...
Overwintering Pond Fish
by: Brett Fogle
The metabolism of koi and goldfish is controlled primarily by water temperature. As the water cools, pond fish require less protein in their diet. When koi and goldfish are fed high-protein food in cool water, the excess protein is excreted as ammonia from the gills. The microscopic organisms that make up the biological filter (and consume ammonia) also slow down in cooler water.
Improper seasonal feeding can lead to a build-up of toxic ammonia, which stresses fish and...
The String Algae Blues
by: Brett Fogle
Now that Spring is upon us and things are coming back to life in your pond with the warmer weather, many of us are battling with string algae. String algae is caused primarily by a combination of the buildup of organic nutrients in the water, and sunlight.
What happens is that during winter, when things slow down and many of us turn off our filters, decaying leaves and other organic matter (including fish waste) begin to break down in the pond.
The result is an excess...
Maintaining Oxygen Levels in Fish and KOI Ponds
by: Brett Fogle
Severe environmental stressors are the most frequent causes of sudden fish death in garden ponds or other fish habitats, and the lack of oxygen in the water is the number 1 stressor of all.
Two major factors contributing to fish-pond oxygen loss concern blooming algae. During daylight hours, algae make oxygen; during the night,however, the plants take oxygen. If algae are profusely blooming, the plants deplete all the ponds oxygen during the night, which in turn, causes...
Winterizing Your Pond
by: Brett Fogle
For many parts of the country, it's getting to be that time of year again. Time to start thinking about getting your fish and plants ready for old man winter...
Every year, as the weather gets colder and we start heading into winter, many of our customers ask us how to prepare their ponds for winter. Pond owners should be aware of several simple things to do in preparing their ponds for colder months.
Fish and plants need very different things in the winter, but can be...
Nymph Fishing Techniques
by: Brett Fogle
Small stream nymphing is a very productive form of fly fishing. At times, you will not rise a fish to a dry fly. Yet there are fish feeding actively below the surface. So, you put the fly (nymph) to the fish.
Nymph fishing is probably the most challenging of all fly fishing techniques. Since the fly is underwater and is often extremely small, nymph fishing can test the abilities of any angler, and often leaves the beginner angler extremely frustrated. Yet, the ability of...
Summer Pond Tips
by: Brett Fogle
Use an oxygen tester and air stones to keep your available oxygen level to at least 7.0 parts per million of dissolved oxygen in 90 degree F. water. Koi and goldfish start showing signs of stress at oxygen levels of 4.0 ppm and will start dying at 3.0 ppm. The higher the water temperature goes the less oxygen that's available. Water temperatures over 90 degrees will also affect fish health so keep the temperature under control by providing shade during the hottest parts of...
Selecting the Right Tackle
by: Brett Fogle
One of the most important things to consider when fly fishing is choosing your tackle the right way. Many people overlook this important factor and start with the wrong assumptions. They first buy the rod, then the line to match the rod, then the reel and then they buy the flies they will need to fish. The fact is the flies are the most important in determining weather or not you will be catching any fish.
The tackle selection process should go as follows:
First you must...
General overview about Trout Senses
by: Brett Fogle
When fly fishing for trout, it is of crucial importance to understand their senses. Trout are fish, after all, and make different use of their senses than we do. Understanding these senses can greatly increase the prospects of a successful fly fishing trip. Many anglers make the common mistake of thinking trout are not very smart. As far as hatchery born fish are concerned, this is mostly correct.
However, in Montana and many other prime rivers in the world, most of the...
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