Any suggestions on how to retrieve largish rocks?

[mtravigne]

During the winter I noticed some of my larger rocks had fallen from the side of the pond to the bottom. I was wondering if anyone had any hacks to get them back. My pond is three feet deep and I know the net won’t handle the weight. I didn’t want to stress the fish by wading in to get them. Does anyone have any ideas?

 

[RobAmy]

I would just go in myself and physically lift them. Less risk of it hurting the liner. My fish love when I go in it. No stress on them at all. They actually comes as close as them at times.

You could tie wire and make a bowl of sorts with your net so the stress is on the wire and not the net

 

[j.w]

My fish don't care when I'm in the pond. They like to pick at your arms and legs to look for treats,lol!

 

[Lisak1]

Same here. I would just climb in. Well, not TODAY because it's SNOWING but generally speaking! My fish don't care a bit. If they're slippery, I'd make a sling out of an old bath towel so you have something to grab on to. Maybe a helper on the side could hoist them out.

 

[doobry]

well the real problem is and this is only my opinion why are they falling in the pond in the first place? can they not be anchored some how?
i just posted a thread on this ,

 

[addy1]

I didn’t want to stress the fish by wading in to get them. Does anyone have any ideas?

I wade in to get any of mine that the deer tend to push in, The only ones that fall in are on my rock berm wall, the up slope wall of the pond, it is stacked rocks. This year they moved some huge ones.
I wait until the water is warmer, no cold water for this body.

 

[mtravigne]

well the real problem is and this is only my opinion why are they falling in the pond in the first place? can they not be anchored some how?
i just posted a thread on this ,

I’m not sure. I think it had to do with the surface icing and thawing, pulling the rocks away from the side? But that’s just a guess.

 

[addy1]

I know why mine fell in, some critter decided to play. This is the rock wall (picture taken during build), I had to dig down 4 feet and build up 8 or more feet on the down side to make a level pond spot. I have some big rocks on the edge, been there 9ish years. This year some critter hit them just right to drop them.

 

[Lisak1]

You make a good point @doobry - I think the best case scenario in pond construction is that the edging rocks are not able to be moved, let alone fall in. But, as you are finding, that's not always possible. The rocks that make up the edge of our pond are "two man boulders" - and often it took three of us to move them. But we're all limited to what we can do, and for some that means using smaller rocks that have the potential to be moved.

 

[EricV]

If you can just get in and pick them up, that's the answer. But just to make you aware of another possibility: https://www.amazon.com/PotLifter-Gardening-Lifting-Equipment-Ultimate/dp/B002ECFFJ8?th=1

This thing is great. It allows two people to lift a rock in a much more ergonomic fashion. I wish I'd known about this when I ordered rocks, because I limited myself to feature rocks I could move by myself.

 

[Lisak1]

If you can just get in and pick them up, that's the answer. But just to make you aware of another possibility: https://www.amazon.com/PotLifter-Gardening-Lifting-Equipment-Ultimate/dp/B002ECFFJ8?th=1

This thing is great. It allows two people to lift a rock in a much more ergonomic fashion. I wish I'd known about this when I ordered rocks, because I limited myself to feature rocks I could move by myself.

We used a pot lifter for moving big rocks, but you'd need to still get in the water to use this for retrieving them. Another alternative to my towel as a sling idea.

 

[MajorDan]

You could just get a replacement rock and leave the big rock on the bottom to add some interest for the fish.

 

[doobry]

rocks falling in the pond could damage the liner or lights so on my set up ill be paying pacticular attention to the placement of them

 

[JamieB]

Once the fish realize your not after them, you’ll get them swimming around you legs, nibbling the bubble on you skin, examinening you for tasty bits.

 

[mtravigne]

Thank you all for your suggestions and feedback. I think I’ll wait for the water to warm up and get in there and pick them up.