In Western Missouri there is a lake that doesn’t follow the standard private pond formula. Lake Deanna is a larger private lake with unique habitat, unusual depth, and an experimental fish community. The deep lake has been stocked with largemouth and smallmouth bass, walleye, and sunfish. Bluegill and Redear Sunfish are already pushing a pound, and bass have exceeded 8 pounds in just 4 years! However, the lake is not without its issues. In this episode, Wes discusses Lake Deanna with the Pond Boss, Bob Lusk, and the lake’s owner and visionary, Greg Graves. We’ll take you from inception and construction, through the development of the fishery, and even prescribe management for the future. So grab a beverage and join in, you don’t want to miss it!

Do you have questions or comments? Follow the Fish University Facebook community and chat with Wes or suggest future episodes!

Anglers know that many fish species depend on the structure that trees provide. Habitat, such as standing timber, blow downs, snags, and cypress trees are popular places to fish in lakes and streams. But what about when the river leaves the riverbed and enters the bottomland forest? It turns out that this “flooded forest” habitat is critical for many fish species. Most lowland rivers used to seasonally flood into the surrounding forests, which could remain inundated for months at a time. These areas were important to spawning, early life history, and feeding ecology of many important fish species. Today, many rivers have lost this connection due to river regulation for navigation and flood control, with consequence for many river species that depended on flooded forests. In this episode, Wes discusses the value of flooded forests and ways we can improve our highly regulated rivers with Dr. Sandra Correa.

Do you have questions or comments? Follow the Fish University Facebook community and chat with Wes or suggest future episodes!

This episode quacks me up. Fisheries management to produce quality fishing often requires actions that are counterproductive to attracting migratory ducks and vice versa. But in this episode, we’ll talk about some ways that you might be able to have the best of both worlds. Wes sits down with two leading experts in the duck realm, and they brainstorm on what can be done to bring more ducks to a small pond without necessarily hurting fishing opportunities. Any you’ll receive wonderful egg-splanantion on the intricacies of duck biology, including how to deal with pesky resident geese. If you migrate to the link and listen to podcast, I promise I will quit quacking duck puns.

Do you have questions or comments? Follow the Fish University Facebook community and chat with Wes or suggest future episodes!