September 7, 2006
 Kenton County Parks & Recreation and Kenton County Cooperative Extension Service will team up present a workshop on Pond Management and the use of Fish Attractors at Middleton-Mills Park on Thursday, September 7th. The program is free and begins at 6:00 pm. We will meet at Shelterhouse 1 on the pond as you enter the park.
Dan Allen, Agriculture & Natural Resources Agent for KCCES, will lead the Pond Management portion of the workshop. We will tour the park's three ponds and he will speak on ponds, fish, aeration, and aquatic vegetation control.
Participants will each receive the Kentucky Department of Fish & Wildlife Resources publication titled A Management Guide for Ponds and Small lakes in Kentucky. From that publication, "Most of us began our fishing experience on a farm pond. Traditionally, they have been important for agricultural use such as fire control, livestock watering, and irrigation. Equally important, landowners are now enhancing their property values by constructing ponds strictly for their recreational use." This workshop is intended to help you determine what you want from your pond and then how to utilize and maintain it for years to come.
In small ponds, with much of the natural cover deteriorating or nonexistent, it makes sense to provide cover and habitat for fish. Steve Trauger, Kenton County Parks & Recreation Programs Coordinator, will explain the use of artificial fish attractors and will construct two different models of attractors from kits. Donated by John Bower of J & J Habitats (Willard, Missouri), the kits are made from environmentally-friendly PVC and will not rot away or pollute the water. And, PVC will not "eat" or snag lures like cedar trees, which are often used as fish attractors. Visit their website at http://www.jandjhabitat.com.
Following the workshop, we will install the fish attractors in the Shelterhouse Pond and the Long Pond. The added bonus for you is that you will see exactly where the fish attractors will be located…but you may want to keep that information to yourself!
Middleton-Mills Park is easy to find. The address is 3415 Mills Road, Covington, KY 41015. From I-275, take the Covington/Taylor Mill exit (Exit 79). Go south on KY Hwy. 16 about seven miles to Mills Road. Turn left on Mills Rd. and go about one mile to the park entrance, which will be on your right.
Call Kenton County Recreation at (859) 525-PLAY (7529) to see how you can help – we are always in need of volunteers and funding sponsors for our programs! |
