why electrofish?
Electrofishing is the starting place for stocking an existing pond.
Unless it's brand new and freshly filled, almost every body of water is bound to host some sort of fish life within. When stocking a pond, it's essential to know the specifics of the existing ecosystem so that we can supplement in a complimentary rather than a counterproductive manner. Otherwise, you may miss your goal with pond stocking entirely - or potentially even make it impossible to achieve that goal.
Is the pond already full of predator fish, and lacking forage? If you're looking to grow a trophy bass pond, it doesn't benefit to add additional bass to the mix if you already have a stunted overpopulation of sport fish that is hungry and underweight. These ratios are knowledge gained through an electrofishing survey. We now know that we need to cull down the bass population and supplement with forage fish. This is a simplified example, but established ponds should not be stocked with a one-size-fits-all approach or a cookie cutter package. That's where electrofishing comes in to create a stocking program custom tailored to YOUR pond and YOUR goals so you can achieve them more efficiently.
what to expect
What does the electrofishing process look like?
On the scheduled day of your electrofishing survey, our staff will arrive with the electrofishing boat and necessary equipment. We must be able to access your pond with the boat to complete the electrofishing survey. Depending on the size of the pond, a survey can take anywhere from a couple hours to a half day. While you are more than welcome to watch from the pond bank, we cannot allow anyone except our trained staff on the boat or in the water during the entirety of the survey.
We will photograph a representative sample of the specimens observed, as well as record length and weight measurements. Any notable health issues will also be recorded.
Once fish are counted and measured, they are safely returned to the water.
In the days following your visit, you will receive a written report via email containing our observations, measurements, photos, weight/length measurements and counts, and any other pertinent information noted about your pond's overall health and conditions during our visit. This report will also contain any supplementary stocking recommendations or pond treatment recommendations that we may have based on our survey combined with your goals for the pond.
What does it cost?
$600 flat rate within 30 miles of Caddo Mills, Texas
Beyond 30 miles, add $4.89 per mile after the first 30
Add-On Ponds: each additional pond on the same property is an additional $350. If additional pond is on another property, mileage of $4.89 per mile between ponds will apply.
a few fish we've shocked up on our clients lakes...
