Aquatic biologist

Aquatic biologist Lake management and consulting
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09/01/2026

It’s just the T’s

It’s real in the fieldThis was Tex’s six-acre pond last year. A one-inch mat of salvinia and duckweed across a 6 acre po...
08/31/2026

It’s real in the field

This was Tex’s six-acre pond last year. A one-inch mat of salvinia and duckweed across a 6 acre pond represents approximately 807 cubic yards—or 163,000 gallons—of vegetation.

University Extension reports that duckweed can double in as little as 24–48 hours. The USGS reports that giant salvinia can double its biomass in approximately three days under ideal conditions.

Even assuming an extremely generous removal rate of one cubic yard per person-hour, clearing this pond would require about 800 labor-hours. That is more than 100 eight-hour days for one person—or 25 full days for a four-person crew.

If only 1% remained, it could theoretically rebuild the population in roughly 7–21 days. The pond would require major removal two to four times every month, while nutrients continue entering from thousands of acres of cotton fields.

“Just rake it out” is not a serious management plan.

I get a lot of comments citing Lake Austin as proof that hydrilla benefits bass health and growth.I reviewed the TPWD el...
08/30/2026

I get a lot of comments citing Lake Austin as proof that hydrilla benefits bass health and growth.

I reviewed the TPWD electrofishing data with ChatGPT analyzed from 1997–2022. It shows that bass body condition began declining during 2011–2013, when hydrilla coverage was at its highest—not simply after submerged vegetation disappeared.

Could poorer parental condition have affected reproductive output or offspring quality, contributing to the apparent recruitment problems observed later? The study did not test that hypothesis, so it cannot be presented as fact. But it is a biologically plausible variable that should be considered.

The later decline cannot automatically be reduced to “less vegetation meant fewer bass fry.” Lake Austin demonstrates the need for balanced vegetation management—not proof that an invasive hydrilla monoculture is beneficial.

Memories from the feedPhoto from 11 years ago. I was fishing De Puy Spring Creek near Livingston, Mt. I caught glimpses ...
08/28/2026

Memories from the feed

Photo from 11 years ago. I was fishing De Puy Spring Creek near Livingston, Mt. I caught glimpses of fish darting around my feet. Put the camera down and captured some trout fingerlings.

Thought it was cool then, still like the capture now.

Why don’t I just stock 1,000 bass per acre so fishing is easier?The answer is carrying capacity.Every pond or lake has a...
08/28/2026

Why don’t I just stock 1,000 bass per acre so fishing is easier?

The answer is carrying capacity.

Every pond or lake has a limit to how many pounds of fish it can support. One of the easiest ways to understand this is to think of the available forage as an apple pie.

If I bake one pie and invite one neighbor over, there’s plenty of pie for both of us.

But if I invite 100 neighbors over, the amount of pie hasn’t changed. Now everyone gets a tiny piece.

Forage works the same way.

As the number of bass increases, the amount of food available to each individual bass decreases.

I’ve seen what happens when pond and lake owners don’t understand this. Put far too many bass into a pond, and eventually there simply isn’t enough forage to support good growth.

I’ve seen ponds where bass stocked at extremely high densities grew to around seven inches and then barely grew beyond it.

The pond may be full of bass, and they may be easy to catch—but they’re all competing for the same limited amount of food.

Their growth slows dramatically because the forage base can’t support that many predators.

This is called stunting.

Idealistic vs. RealisticI get a lot of pushback when I talk about aquatic herbicide and algaecide use. I’m not defending...
08/27/2026

Idealistic vs. Realistic

I get a lot of pushback when I talk about aquatic herbicide and algaecide use. I’m not defending putting chemicals in the water. When I use them, it’s because I’ve exhausted the other practical options.

What many people don’t realize is that these products aren’t restricted use. Anyone can buy them and put them directly into our water.

Ideally, I think aquatic herbicides and algaecides should only be used by trained professional applicators.

But that’s idealistic.

Realistically, these products are available and people are going to use them. So I’d rather be available to help people use them as safely and responsibly as possible.

When I wander into pond-management groups and I’m often horrified by the chemical advice being given by people with no professional training.

Ideally, that wouldn’t happen.

Realistically, it does.

And that’s exactly why I talk about it.

How do you grow healthy bass in a pond with no weeds?These basic diagrams explain the pond food chain. Notice that aquat...
08/24/2026

How do you grow healthy bass in a pond with no weeds?

These basic diagrams explain the pond food chain. Notice that aquatic plants aren’t included—and there’s a reason for that.

Aquatic plants compete with plankton for nutrients. When plankton production declines, fewer larval fish survive because plankton is their primary food source. That’s one reason we don’t want excessive aquatic vegetation in a pond.

Do aquatic plants provide habitat for larval fish? Yes.

Can excessive aquatic plants reduce the number of larval fish the pond produces and supports? Also yes.

Both things can be true at the same time.

The confusion usually begins when someone hears a fact about a huge, complex, multi-species ecosystem and tries to apply it directly to a small pond.

For example, eelgrass is important for bass recruitment in the St. Johns River. But the St. Johns contains hundreds of fish species, freshwater and saltwater predators, and a long list of invasive species. It’s a completely different ecosystem from your pond.

Fortunately, your pond is not the St. Johns River, so it doesn’t require the same management strategy. We don’t need eelgrass in your pond to grow healthy bass.

Is eelgrass important in the river? Yes.

Is it necessary in your pond? No.

Once again, both things can be true at the same time.

08/22/2026

Winter drawdown

Understanding Water ClarityClint sends in another nice catch from our example pond, Sugar Hill Outdoors. But look at the...
08/22/2026

Understanding Water Clarity

Clint sends in another nice catch from our example pond, Sugar Hill Outdoors. But look at the color of that water.

That green color is a plankton bloom—the foundation of the pond’s food chain.

We can measure that plankton with a chlorophyll-a test, which helps us understand how productive the pond is and how many pounds of fish it can support.

In Georgia, an unfertilized pond might support around 100 pounds of fish per acre. Proper fertilization can increase plankton production and potentially push that toward 300–350 pounds per acre.

Now flip that around.

Allow aquatic plants to overgrow, and they compete with plankton for nutrients. The water gets clearer, plankton production drops, and suddenly you may have 350 pounds of fish living in a system capable of supporting 75 pounds per acre.

The result? More competition for food and skinny fish.

More plants don’t mean more fish, more plankton means more fish and it’s a significant difference. Plants that clear to water to vodka clarity are taking food from the fish

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