Aquashade Lake and Pond Dye

Aquashade is our best selling and the industries highest quality lake and pond dye! It is made by Applied Biochemists and is the only lake dye on the market registered with the EPA.

Aquashade contains a blend of blue and yellow dyes specifically designed to screen or shade portions of the sunlight spectrum (red-orange and blue-violet) required by underwater aquatic plants and algae to grow. This action effectively inhibits photosynthesis in young, bottom growth and may prevent development altogether if applied early enough in the season. Aquashade is primarily effective at depths of 2 feet or greater.

We not only use Aqua shade to inhibit lake and pond weed growth, but we mainly use Aquashade to give ponds and lakes a natural deep blue look. We have used every lake dye product on the market, and Aquashade looks the best and lasts the longest!

Application Tips:

Aquashade is easy to apply by simply pouring in along the water's edge or from a boat. Natural water movements will quickly disperse the product in less than 24 hours until even coloration is achieved throughout. Aquashade is non-corrosive and will not stain bathing suits, fountain surfaces or other water features at use dilution.

Application Rates:

For effective control of lake weeds, 1 gallon treats 4 acre-feet of water. To calculate how many acre feet your pond has, you need to determine your acreage and average depth. For example, if your pond is 1 acre with an average depth of 8 feet, than you have a total of 8 acre-feet. You would need to initially apply 2 gallons of aquashade to effectively filter out the sun's light. Than you will on average need to apply 1/2 of your initial dose (or 1 gallon in this case) every month until the end of the growing season.

For most of my Aquashade applications I do not want to completely filter out the sun's light, I just want to make the pond or lake look more aesthetically appealing. I typically just apply 1 gallon of Aquashade per surface acre initially, and then 1/2 gallon per acre every month of the recreational fishing and swimming season.

A typical one acre pond in the Midwest has a 6 month season and will need 4 gallons of Aquashade to keep the water looking great for the season!

Another example: For an 8 acre lake I will initially apply 8 gallons of Aquashade. Then I will apply 4 gallons per month until the season is over. During a 6 month season I will use 28 gallons of Aquashade.

Water Use Restrictions:

Aquashade is completely safe for fish, animals, irrigating, drinking, fishing, and swimming. It has absolutely no water use restrictions, but I would recommend waiting 24 hours to use the water after treatment, to allow the dye to evenly disperse throughout the water column.

Where to Buy Aquashade:

Aquashade can be purchased in single gallons, 4 gallon packs, 8 gallon packs, 12 gallon packs, and even 24 gallon packs at Herman Brothers Pond Management Online Store

Also available at Herman Brothers Lake Products Ebay Store

Sonar A.S. Aquatic Herbicide- Kills most Lake and Pond Weeds

Sonar is an aquatic herbicide that is effective for the control of a variety of aquatic plants. Its active ingredient is 41.7% fluridone which effectively disrupts the process of photosynthesis, virtually starving the plants to death.

Sonar can be very selective with proper dosage rates and timing of applications. Sonar provides season-long control with an early spring application just after plants begin to grow.

Sonar effectively controls the following types of aquatic vegetation: duckweed, watermeal, cattails, eurasian watermilfoil, water lillies, american lotus, and most other pondweeds.

Application Tips:

Sonar A.S. is not a contact herbicide and should not be sprayed directly onto the vegetation. It is rather a whole lake treatment that needs to be diluted into the entire water column. The easiest and best way to apply Sonar is to pour approximately 16 oz of Sonar into a 5 gallon bucket of water and simply pour the mixture around your lake or pond. It works best if applied early in the growing season, and needs to be in contact with the lake weeds at the desired ppb for at least 21 days.

Application Rates:

• Watermeal - 90 ppb or typically 1 quart per acre
  
• Duckweed - 75 ppb or typically 24 oz per acre
• Cattails - 75 ppb or typically 24 oz per acre
• Water Lilly - 75 ppb or typically 24 oz per acre
• Eurasian Watermilfoil - 50 ppb or typically 1 pint per acre
• Curly Leaf Pond Weed - 50 ppb or typically 1 pint per acre

Water Use Restrictions:

Sonar is very safe for fish, fishing, animals, and swimming, even the same day of application. The only water use restriction it has is that irrigating is not recommended for 21-45 days following application. The fluridone could kill your plants if you use enough of the water for irrigating!

Sonar A.S. can be purchased in 8 oz bottles, pints, quarts, and gallons at www.hbpondmanagement.com It can also be purchased from our Ebay Store

WhiteCap Aquatic Lake and Pond Herbicide

WhiteCap Aquatic Herbicide is a 41.7% fluridone based aquatic herbicide that effectively kills most lake and pond weeds. It is very safe and simple to use, lasts all season long, and is our best selling and overall most favorite herbicide. The fluridone in white cap does not immediately kill the weeds upon application, but rather starves the plants and keeps them from growing by interrupting their process of photosynthesis!

We use White Cap at varying doses to effectively control the following types of aquatic vegetation: duckweed, watermeal, cattails, eurasian watermilfoil, water lillies, american lotus, and most other pondweeds.

Application Tips:

White Cap is not a contact herbicide and should not be sprayed directly onto the vegetation. It is rather a whole lake treatment that needs to be diluted into the entire water column. The easiest and best way to apply white cap is to pour approximately 8 oz of white cap into a 5 gallon bucket of water and simply pour the mixture across your lake or pond. It works best if applied early in the growing season.

Application Rates:

• Watermeal - 90 ppb or typically 1 quart per acre
  
• Duckweed - 75 ppb or typically 24 oz per acre
• Cattails - 75 ppb or typically 24 oz per acre
• Water Lilly - 75 ppb or typically 24 oz per acre
• Eurasian Watermilfoil - 50 ppb or typically 1 pint per acre
• Curly Leaf Pond Weed - 50 ppb or typically 1 pint per acre

Water Use Restrictions:

WhiteCap is very safe for fish, fishing, animals, and swimming, even the same day of application. The only water use restriction it has is that irrigating is not recommended for 21-45 days following application. The fluridone could kill your plants if you use enough of the water for irrigating!

White Cap can be purchased in 8 oz bottles, pints, quarts, and gallons at Herman Brothers Pond Managements Online Store

It can also be purchased from our Ebay Store

Pheasants Forever Hunt: One Last Hurrah for the Dogs

On Saturday my brothers and I were invited out to one of the neatest pheasant habitat lands in central Illinois. It is owned by the Gilles brothers over by Princeville. The Gilles boys are very actively involved with the Pheasants Forever organization and their property would definitely be one to showcase! 

Our mission for the day was to get Jeff and the Farmer's dogs Hawk and Indy out for one last hurrah on the certified dog training fields on the property. My oldest brother Chad was the designated camera man for the day, the Farmer was working his dog gunless due to a shoulder injury, so that left all the shooting up to Jeff, Justin, and I. 

We had great weather and an absolute great time! Indy and Hawk are some really great dogs to hunt with.

Fish Population Analysis consists of Electrofishing, Trapnetting, and Angler Surveys

In order to create the perfect fish management plan for your body of water, it is best to take an inventory of what fish you already have. Fish Population Analysis is made up of three main ingredients- Electrofishing, Trapnetting, and Angler Surveys. There are many other factors like water clarity, fertility, and invasive aquatic vegetation present that need to be considered when creating fish management plans, but I can usually pick up on those just by looking at the pond while we are determining what fish are present.

Electrofishing or Electro fish shocking is a specialized boat we use to temporarily stun fish in an electric field fairly close to the boat. The stunned fish float up to the surface and we collect them with fiberglass dipping nets. At the end of our electro shocking session, all fish collected are counted, weighed, measured, analyzed and then safely returned back to the pond. At the owners request, we also tag a handful of the collected fish!

Although not a fool proof method that does have some limitations, we have learned how to accurately assess entire fish populations based off of our electrofishing surveys. Important factors to consider when electrofishing are the time of year, the time of day, the conductivity of the water, the barometric pressure, the weather, the shoreline, and the depths.

Trapnetting is setting up commercial fishing nets from the edge of the pond. The fish swimming around the pond eventually end up trapped in the net. We leave the nets out overnight, and collect and analyze the fish the very next day. At the owners request, we also tag a handful of the collected fish! Time of the year is critical for effective trapnetting surveys.

Trapping fish with nets is a great way to analyze 1000's of fish, especially in lakes that we cannot get our electrofishing boat into, or the water is not very conductive to electricity. We sometimes use trapnetting surveys along with electrofishing. Trapnetting is the most productive in the spring.

Angler Surveys are extremely important when evaluating a private fishery. I will always quiz the owners about their angling experiences on their lake for as far back as they can remember. I have a series of questions to ask the owner, and I have actual written surveys for lakes with multiple owners.

Just like the above mentioned methods of fish population analysis, there are some flaws with angler surveys like bad memories, inexperienced anglers, fish stories, etc. I have however learned how to correctly interpret the necessary data from most Angler Surveys.

Oftentimes I can accurately evaluate a fishery just by looking at the lake and talking with the owner, but by combining the key elements of electrofishing, trapnetting, and angler surveys, I can tell you exactly what is in your lake!

Just gathering and interpreting the necessary data is only the beginning of creating a fish management plan. The most important and often most overlooked aspect to successful fishery management is the goal of the lake or pond owner. I don't just give out a management plan based on the results I see. Not only is every pond unique, but every owner is unique as well. Everybody wants something different from their body of water. Here are just a few of the most popular types of ponds and lakes that we manage for clients:

Trophy Bass Lakes- Growing the biggest bass possible is the goal!

Trophy Bluegill Lakes- Growing the biggest bluegill possible is the goal!

Natural Balanced Population- Create a fishery that keeps itself relatively balanced with little or no maintenance.

Diverse Fishery- Have as many species thriving as possible.

Specialized Fishery- Have the fishery focus on a certain specialty species of fish like Walleye, Catfish, Perch, Muskie, or Smallmouth.

Kid Fishing Pond- Create a fishery that does not focus on trophy fishing, but kid friendly fishing with lots of action.

These are just a few of the most popular types of lakes and ponds we are helping clients create. Each one of these scenarios takes completely different management plans from the next. Contrary to popular belief, there is way more than one way to manage a body of water for fish!

Summary- What you have+What you want+How long you want to wait to get there+How much time you want to devote+How much money you want to spend to make it happen= Your custom fisheries management plan.

For more information about Fish Population Analysis please visit hbpondmanagement.com