New Willard Pond?

[Gone Forever]

I know some folks have been to Willard, has anyone checked out the new pond they built along the creek at the North end Yet?
The stocking report says they have put a few hundred SNITS in  but nothing else yet.  I imagine the kitties will come later in the year when they start getting them in and it warms up some.
Anyone hear anything else on the new pond?

[Kent]

The stocking report says they have put a few hundred SNITS in  but nothing else yet. 

Am I the only one who doesn't know the definition of a "SNIT"?  I see they have planted rainbow trout, but please explain "SNIT".

[a_bow_nut]

Stocked Nine Inch Trout

[Kent]

Stocked Nine Inch Trout

Wow, how could I have missed that?

[Gone Forever]

Correct.

[Anglinarcher]

I have sent an email to the "inside source".  He is busy so he does not get to his personal email all that often, but I will try to call him later.

[Fishhound]

Stocked Nine Inch Trout

Wow, how could I have missed that?

There's always an acronym - There's an acronym for everything

[Kent]

Stocked Nine Inch Trout

Wow, how could I have missed that?

There's always an acronym - There's an acronym for everything

True, but finding out what a particular acronym means, at times, can be daunting if not impossible.

[Fisheneer]

I know some folks have been to Willard, has anyone checked out the new pond they built along the creek at the North end Yet?
The stocking report says they have put a few hundred SNITS in  but nothing else yet.  I imagine the kitties will come later in the year when they start getting them in and it warms up some.
Anyone hear anything else on the new pond?

The plan is to add the following:

Bluegill and Perch for both fun and food base.
Large Mouth Bass as the habitat kicks in.
Channel Cats.

They May add Small Mouth Bass since the habitat has been provided for spawning.

When the pond was in design, they didn’t think trout would do well. However, the design engineer disagreed and showed the temperatures, water quality, oxygen, and insect base said otherwise.  

With the drought etc, the pond has taken longer than desired to fill.  However, it is close now.

[SkunkedAgain]

So is this pond like a community pond? Kind of an area for the campers kids to hang out while Dad hits the big pond in the boat??? Is it inside the state park so you need a paying pass to access it? Can you use floatation devices like pontoons on it? Looked like they did a lot of structure as they were building it, will be fun to see how things turn out...Later J

[wiperhunter2]

They are fencing in the pond and you have to go through the pay station to get to the new road leading to the pond, so I would be very surprised if it is free. If you are camping or have paid to get past the gate, I doubt there would be any additional charge. It was made only for shore fishing and float tube, pontoons and kayaks, there is a nice concrete launch ramp.

[Tin-Can]

I just did a drive by recon of Willard north today on the way home from the BRBR. That new pond looks like it's gonna be nice when completed. But the water level only looks to be about maybe 25% . I kinda think it may not officially open until much later this year, or maybe next year after ice off. 

[SkunkedAgain]

Thanks for the info Curt and Forest... It will be fun to see how a controlled environment does... Looks deep enough that it will be fun to see what grows up in that pond... Later Jeff

[catchinon]

Stocked Nine Inch Trout

I just call them plantbows.

Kent, I agree there are too many TWAs* and such.




* Three word acronyms.

[wiperhunter2]

I guess we will see what happens next but IMO the new pond is full. From week to week I've been watching the water level rise, it went over the berm, by several feet, where there is nothing but sandy beach above, then they let the water level drop. I don't think they would have let the water level drop, if they were still trying to fill it. On another thread I stated what the Willard park manager told me last year, the plans was to have it open and stocked by Memorial day this year. Since I talked to him last Fall, those plans could have changed but just looking at the amount of work they have done this years there, I'd be surprised if it did not open soon.

I was also told the pond would be stocked with the same pan fish that are in Willard. If they have not stocked anything but trout at this point, I can only assume they were not able to get the pan fish stock they wanted to get before the pond opened, so they put trout in there, just for Memorial day.

[Anglinarcher]

I know the design engineer so I have some information as to what is the intent.  Keep in mind that once it leaves design, other powers make the final decisions.  

1) Yes, the pond is full.  It is actually a little fuller than one would expect based on the level that Willard Creek was pre-pond.  The sand above is for beaches, as requested.  This low water year did slow the fill rate substantially.

2) The pond was 15' deep before the work started.  It is now 45' deep.  An Aerator was installed recently that pulls the cold water from the bottom and drops it over a  

online pic share

cascading rock waterfall.  This should keep the trout healthy all year around.


3) Only about 400 trout have been planted, 100 each in 4 plantings.  It seems like a waste of time and money to drive there with just 100 fish at a time, unless it is for something else.  I have seen this done after killing off water to confirm the water is now safe to stock.

4) Baby Bluegill were reportedly stocked, from out of state, in exchange for walleye eggs.  The local certified source for Bluegill, crappie, and perch is Pineview.  Unfortunately, with Pineview down so low, the panfish are not in cover and when they tried to shock up some transplants they pretty much failed.  

5) I seriously wonder how many trout actually survived with all of the Grebes and Cormorants that hit the pond.

6) Fisheneer has it right regarding the stocking plans, opening plans, etc.,  but I bet he will admit that one rolls with the punches when we have water conditions like this year.

[wiperhunter2]

Wow, a cascading rock waterfall, I was wondering what that line of rocks were for, cool idea. It wasn't working when I was last there, any idea when they will turn it on? If the DWR wants to get all those fish from Pineview, it seems like the best solution would be to have fishermen catch them there. Last Fall we caught plenty of crappie, perch, even a few bluegill at PV, most were too small to keep but I'd be willing to bet we could get a number of fisherfolks together on a Sat if they were interested in giving it a try this Spring, before they start charging to launch there or better yet have them wave the launch fee for one day so they could accomplish this goal.

[Anglinarcher]

They turned it on on Friday.  I don't know if it was intended to stay on for now or just a test.

You have a point about the fishermen.  I don't know how long it would take to get this organized and I don't know how long before they start charging fees, is that not this next Saturday?

I think Fisheneer has connections within the Fisheries department so if you can tell me when the fees start and give me an idea of organization time for BFT, maybe he can see if the State can react that fast.

I tried to post a video of the energy dissipater at the top, but it won't load.  I included a still instead.

[wiperhunter2]

They turned it on on Friday.  I don't know if it was intended to stay on for now or just a test.

You have a point about the fishermen.  I don't know how long it would take to get this organized and I don't know how long before they start charging fees, is that not this next Saturday?

I think Fisheneer has connections within the Fisheries department so if you can tell me when the fees start and give me an idea of organization time for BFT, maybe he can see if the State can react that fast.

I tried to post a video of the energy dissipater at the top, but it won't load.  I included a still instead.

I think it's already too late to launch for free but if not it will be by this coming Sat. It would be great if the DWR could work out some deal with the contractors of the PV launch to allow members to launch one day for free on a weekend but there are a bunch of members that are retired that could go during the week. If all else fails, this idea would work this Fall after the contractors stop collecting fees. 

What is this energy dissipater you are talking about.

[Anglinarcher]

They turned it on on Friday.  I don't know if it was intended to stay on for now or just a test.

You have a point about the fishermen.  I don't know how long it would take to get this organized and I don't know how long before they start charging fees, is that not this next Saturday?

I think Fisheneer has connections within the Fisheries department so if you can tell me when the fees start and give me an idea of organization time for BFT, maybe he can see if the State can react that fast.

I tried to post a video of the energy dissipater at the top, but it won't load.  I included a still instead.

I think it's already too late to launch for free but if not it will be by this coming Sat. It would be great if the DWR could work out some deal with the contractors of the PV launch to allow members to launch one day for free on a weekend but there are a bunch of members that are retired that could go during the week. If all else fails, this idea would work this Fall after the contractors stop collecting fees. 

What is this energy dissipater you are talking about.

When water is pumped, it develops pressure.  If the pressure is not consistent, either to the depth of the pond, a power surge, etc., it can cause overflow and erosion at the drop point at top.  On water pipes for commercial or residential use they have baffles to prevent the surges (often called water hammer) that happen more often than you think.  For this system, the dissipater serves that purpose without requiring pre-pressured baffles.

It is located at the top, at the outlet of the waterfall.  When open, we can actually walk to it and look into the grate.