Fish out the pond

[Kayleigh]

We have four fish in our small wildlife pond. I will have to drain the pond as the fish are green tench and are imposible to see to catch with a net. They have got too big for the pond now and they need to come out. When is the best time to drain it. The Toads will be mating soon and in summer the newts lay egg in there. In autumn the young newts still have the gills so are still not breathing air and I don't want to kill them.
I want it just to contain wildlife. We have a home for the fish in my friends bigger pond.

I thought about tring to catch them with a maggot (my hubby likes that idea) but the newts might go for it.

Any ideas

[AlphaZeroOne]

Thats a bit of a tough call Kayleigh. Is there ever a good time. In the past I have had to do the same job - drain and clear a natural wildlife pond. The only thing that I was able to do was to leave the dredging near the side of the pond in the hope that the wildlife would be able to find its way back.

In terms of catching the fish, this is a good time of year while they are still not quite so active. I can only suggest that as you drain the water out that you might pre-sieve it through a large fishing net first. This assumes that you are not using a pump to empty the pond but will rely on gravity fed.

If you are thinking of catching the fish with rod and line - minus hook - you could be in for a very long wait. Either way that you look at it, it is a delicate operation. Be interested to hear about your collective progress. Good luck

[smartie]

There really isn't a very good time to drain your pond - whenever you do it the wildlife will be disrupted one way or another. If you must do it, the autumn - after the plants have stopped growing and before the tiny beasts go into hibernation - is probably the least destructive.

Do you feed the fish? If so, could you arrange a way of trapping them in the area you use for feeding to make it easier to net them? I'm clutching at straws - I know how difficult it is to catch them even in a small pond.

[Kayleigh]

Originally Posted by smartie

There really isn't a very good time to drain your pond - whenever you do it the wildlife will be disrupted one way or another. If you must do it, the autumn - after the plants have stopped growing and before the tiny beasts go into hibernation - is probably the least destructive.

Do you feed the fish? If so, could you arrange a way of trapping them in the area you use for feeding to make it easier to net them? I'm clutching at straws - I know how difficult it is to catch them even in a small pond.

No we don't feed them, They are bottom dwellers they eat what they can find. Maybe if I drain it now before the newts and toads breed might be best. I will have to use a bucket and childs paddling pool.

Anyone willing to give a hand

[chkm8]

Try to pump as much as possible into a paddling pool / buckets / barrels etc. The rest just pump to waste. When you get to the last 2-3" it should be easy enough to catch the fish. Then trickle the water back in to cause as little disturbance as possible. Allow the rain to fill the pond the trest of the way and there shouldn't be a problem. The containers such as paddling pool cn be left out to collect rain water. It won't take long to refill it.

John.