Pond Netting - 3 Questions

[j.w]

Hooks that push open on the top corners and S hooks around the bottom attached to a short wire fence, easy to just lift the net up when I want to enter the pond. Wide weave 4" net on metal fence posts hammered in till sturdy enough. Heavy rope around the top edge of net and two across the center top for strength. Been up for like 15 yrs. Net tho is starting to deteriorate w/the sun and the snow that weighs it down now.
Photo's over the years:

 

[GBBUDD]

Hooks that push open are called caribeaners now if I spelled itcorectly is another question. But I will say this there is a BIG difference in cost of caribeaners. Some are made to save a man's life when rock climbing and they slip. While others are for like this hold up a little netting the pricesvary greatly

 

[addy1]

JW did a real neat job! I just wrapped the rope around the posts.

 

[TJeep_1999]

Hooks that push open on the top corners and S hooks around the bottom attached to a short wire fence, easy to just lift the net up when I want to enter the pond. Wide weave 4" net on metal fence posts hammered in till sturdy enough. Heavy rope around the top edge of net and two across the center top for strength. Been up for like 15 yrs. Net tho is starting to deteriorate w/the sun and the snow that weighs it down now.
Photo's over the years:

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I'm going with a VERY similar setup. I bought S hook style caribeaners and U-Posts I'm planning to paint black. However, I'm a bit worried the U-Post will not be strong enough for the weight. What style posts did you use? How far did you put them into the ground?

 

[j.w]

I'm going with a VERY similar setup. I bought S hook style caribeaners and U-Posts I'm planning to paint black. However, I'm a bit worried the U-Post will not be strong enough for the weight. What style posts did you use? How far did you put them into the ground?

The posts are the metal green ones sold at Lowes or H-depot etc. Not sure what length I bought, was a long time ago but think they were 6 or 8ft tall. Pounded them in maybe a foot or so till I felt it was real sturdy. Mine pounded in come up to my shoulder and I am 5" 6" tall. They have never bent over or come out of the ground even w/heavy snow on the net and the ropes. You can see my posts up in that 2nd photo that I posted above. That front post on the left I can hang a rolled up garden hose on a big hook on it so it is strong. Just make sure when you pound them in they are nice and straight and feel very strong when you try to move them. The taller the better I would say so you can pound them in a lot.
Here is what they look like, similar to mine:

 

[TJeep_1999]

The posts are the metal green ones sold at Lowes or H-depot etc. Not sure what length I bought, was a long time ago but think they were 6 or 8ft tall. Pounded them in maybe a foot or so till I felt it was real sturdy. Mine pounded in come up to my shoulder and I am 5" 6" tall. They have never bent over or come out of the ground even w/heavy snow on the net and the ropes. You can see my posts up in that 2nd photo that I posted above. That front post on the left I can hang a rolled up garden hose on a big hook on it so it is strong. Just make sure when you pound them in they are nice and straight and feel very strong when you try to move them. The taller the better I would say so you can pound them in a lot.
Here is what they look like, similar to mine:

View attachment 156336

Thank you for the quick reply! I'm using the same style so I think I should be good to go!

 

[addy1]

I used the same, only one had to repounded in it was not real deep. Like 6 inches or so.

 

[GBBUDD]

They are generally 4 foot tall, I have never seen taller in this style an other option is gray pvc 2 inch bury to the depth you like for your soils then fill with concrete place a large eye screw in the top and you can secure the netting there and zip ties around or slide the net around the post they also have these but they need help driving them in the ground , a tube driver can do the job.

 

[addy1]

a tube driver can do the job.

I have a fence post driver, love that thing, slams the posts right into the ground.

 

[j.w]

The green metal ones come in 36", 48", 60", 72" and 96" tall. Think they are different dimensions wide too.

 

[Nia Roo Studio]

I just had a Heron eat all my fish over the past 3 days. He flew away just as I got to the door this morning, but I was too late. I now no longer have any fish. I know a net is the best option for keeping them out, but I put off netting the pond for a couple of reasons. including that I've seen netted ponds and they never look good/natural to me.

Is there a way to net the pond and still:
1. My pond was overstocked so I netted out fish waste from the bottom of the pond every 2-3 days to keep the bio load down. I'll need a net that is easy to remove for cleaning every 2-3 days.
2. I have a lot of pond plants that grow in and around the pond edge. How I can I set up the net to be removed every 2-3 days w/o damaging my pond plants that grow up through it?
3. I want a solution that is not so ugly I start to hate the pond. I'm already pretty frustrated with it currently and very close to deciding to just fill it in and be done with it.

Link to pond build for an idea what it looks like:

My Pandemic Project: Pond Build

I spent a lot of time on forums (including this one!) and YouTube sorting out what and how I wanted to build my pond. I have to admit there were some changes along the way and I'm not 100% I would tackle this again on my own. It was A LOT of work. It does feel good to have it built now though...

www.gardenpondforum.com

Like yourself I too lost a lot of fish to a Heron, now I use the very fine black netting (the kind they use to catch small birds for ringing and releasing). I also planted a fair amount of tall plants around the sides. It is said that if you use a fountain or waterfall to break the water surface that this makes it hard for the Heron to gauge where the fish are, I hope this helps.
I forgotten to say that the netting is made out of fine strengthened string.

 

[TJeep_1999]

Net is up. I'm still not happy about having to net the pond, I miss the look of it w/o the net, but about 30 min after putting a few new fish into the pond the heron showed up. I don't know how he knew... maybe he was watching me stock the pond? I scared him off so I don't really know how well the net would have worked, but I've decided that there is no going back now. I was really pissed off with the heron earlier, but my son and wife made a good point. We have a river about 8-10 miles away from us and they recently started construction on 3 new neighborhoods on the river. They clear cut the land and each one is several thousand acres each. They are all huge. This is likely what is driving the heron so far inland especially after 3 years of no issues. I can't really be mad at the heron for that. I'm also not going to keep feeding him either.

Anyway, if I have to have a net this seems to be a pretty good setup so I wanted to share for anyone who finds this thread in the future. I went with the 3' u-posts and painted them black to help them blend. I used a nylon soccer net with a square pattern (square holds it's shape better then diamond) 4" weave. I'm using "S" caribeaners so I can detach/attach from either the pole or the net very easily which is proving very handy especially for making adjustments. I can't say enough good things about the company where I got the net (Gourock). I highly recommend them if you are looking for a custom net. The only additional advice I could give is order extra net than you think you need as it's nice having extra to hang over the sides and once in the field I found myself making changes I didn't account for in the planning stages. I also strongly recommend that you try to keep the net shape as close to a square/rectangle as possible. It makes it a lot easier to keep it taunt and it looks better on the edges.

Hope this helps anyone who finds this in the future and thank you again to all the posters here who helped with advice along the way!

 

[soundguy]

We had a heron clean out our pond about 7-8 years ago. Since then I surround the pond with monofilament fishing line about 8-10 inches off the ground and we haven't lost a fish since. Herons won't land in the water. They land on the bank and walk in. When they feel the line on their legs, they spook away.

 

[PondGirl2021]

I just had a Heron eat all my fish over the past 3 days. He flew away just as I got to the door this morning, but I was too late. I now no longer have any fish. I know a net is the best option for keeping them out, but I put off netting the pond for a couple of reasons. including that I've seen netted ponds and they never look good/natural to me.

Is there a way to net the pond and still:
1. My pond was overstocked so I netted out fish waste from the bottom of the pond every 2-3 days to keep the bio load down. I'll need a net that is easy to remove for cleaning every 2-3 days.
2. I have a lot of pond plants that grow in and around the pond edge. How I can I set up the net to be removed every 2-3 days w/o damaging my pond plants that grow up through it?
3. I want a solution that is not so ugly I start to hate the pond. I'm already pretty frustrated with it currently and very close to deciding to just fill it in and be done with it.

Link to pond build for an idea what it looks like:

My Pandemic Project: Pond Build

I spent a lot of time on forums (including this one!) and YouTube sorting out what and how I wanted to build my pond. I have to admit there were some changes along the way and I'm not 100% I would tackle this again on my own. It was A LOT of work. It does feel good to have it built now though...

www.gardenpondforum.com

Since putting blue pond dye in my pond I don’t need a net. As it makes the water have a mirror effect and keeps the birds/foxes away.

 

[addy1]

They land on the bank and walk in. When they feel the line on their legs, they spook away.

Mine walked right though the fishing line, landed right in the water, ducked under the net. They did not follow the rules.

I don't know how he knew... maybe he was watching me stock the pond?

They have a good memory, once they find fish, they come back. They still fly over our house, you see them pause and look down quite often.