Holly Lake Ranch, Texas

Ranch

Information

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Holly Lake Ranch Association hired Southern Sportsmen Aquatics and Land Management to manage our lakes.

Six visits will be made - a summary report is made after each visit.

The  Reports are filed by date and listed in the attached table.

To view the report - click on the report date  


The reports are in PDF format (except May 31st) and

may take a few minutes to down-load

and you must have Adobe®Reader® installed on your computer  

(For free copy of Adobe®Reader® click here )


Questions should be directed to the Administration office at

 903-769-3646 or Fax at 903-769-3685.



  Report Date:






Lake

Management


May 31, 2011

Rob,

I arrived Tuesday, 31 May 2011 around 9:30 AM and left around 2:30 PM, which included a one hour meeting with Russel.  Since this was an extra site visit I did not take water chemistry as it was taken three weeks ago and will be taken again in two weeks.  I treated all of the Elodea I could find and I sprayed the small trees on the dam.  Once the trees brown, they can be mowed, cut or weed whacked down by the maintenance people who mow.  I did not treat other vegetation, as I want to document the treatment of the Elodea, and there were very few areas of algae, coontail or fanwort that needed treating at this time.  I put the Aquathol Super K granular herbicide out by hand, sprinkling it over patches of Elodea I found along the shoreline.  I used approximately 10- 12 lbs of the Aquathol Super K.  I believe broadcasting by hand reduces waste of the herbicide since there are lots of small patches and not large blocks to be treated, and it is very expensive.  There were a couple docks and private swimming areas, around the boat ramp, along the dam and along the point between the East and West Forks being where the largest patches were found.  I would call the areas I found Light to Light/Moderate infestation at the most.  The treatment with liquid Diquat from three weeks ago did well in areas we had subsurface sprayed, as the plants were white or not present.  

 I want to come back in two weeks to asses the treatment of Elodea with the Aquathol Super K granular herbicide I used yesterday and perform the June monthly treatment and collect water chemistry.  Aquathol Super K is much more expensive than the other herbicides we use on the algae, coontail, fanwort and pond weed.  One 25 lbs bucket costs $405, which is almost half of what we charge Holly Lake Ranch per month.  Since we are just getting into attacking the Elodea I’m not sure how much herbicide will be required to treat it during the growing season.  Since yesterday’s treatment is experimental, I will pay for the first bucket of Aquathol Super K, however additional herbicide for aggressive treatment of Elodea will need to be billed to Holly Lake Ranch (herbicide only (our cost), application is still under original agreement).  If additional site visits are required (which I do not foresee at this time) would also need to be billed to Holly Lake Ranch.  I believe we can adequately treat the current infestation of Elodea with the current number of visits.  I want to make sure this herbicide works before buying more.  Aquathol Super K was dispensed at 26.4 lbs per acre and I feel the depth at which it is currently averages 2 feet (some is at the surface and some three feet below the surface).  If this herbicide does not work, Sonar does well, but is more than double the price of Aquathol.  I am hoping with an algae bloom and us treating aggressively during our monthly visits it will remain in check this year.  Next year we can target the Elodea in March and possibly late February and not give it a chance to become an issue.  With us treating from here on out every patch we see, I do not see it becoming an issue this year either, unless the water turns crystal clear, then it could quickly become an issue.  Also, under stocking grass carp (under stocking because there are lots of plants we want to keep for fish habitat) would help with Elodea maintenance as it is one of their favorite sought after plant species, however I do not recommend carp until conventional herbicide treatment proves ineffective and I do recommend under stocking apposed to adequate or over stocking to protect the quality fishery that appears to be developing.

 There are some docks up the East fork that have white lilies around them, and I wasn’t sure what to do.  We treat inside the boat slip and out in front of the docks, but have been leaving on the sides of the dock.  I could spray a 10-15 foot swath along both sides to clear up, but I also don’t want to treat if the landowner likes and wants to keep them as they are great filters and are aesthetically pleasing to many people.  

 Russel asked my overall assessment of the water chemistry and vegetation present.  I think the lake is in very good shape.  I do not feel any vegetation is an issue at this time.  Since we come only monthly, there are a few spots we did not see or was not present last visit that we treat during the next visit, and it is taken care of.  The only way to reduce that would be treat every two weeks apposed to our current four week (monthly visit).  I was happily surprised the Diquat helped knocking back some of the Elodea and how well we have done on the algae and coontail.  I did not see the lake last year until almost October, but many of the lakefront land owners have talked to us saying how much better the vegetation is this year than last year at this time, so from that I assume we are doing a good job so far.  

 I would like to come back out to take water chemistry and treat all vegetation needing it around June 14th and then possibly treating again around July 1 if necessary as I will be in the Southeast working with our FL, GA, AL and MS clients for a couple weeks.  Then when I get back in late July, I will probably come back out to treat any stragglers again.  Staying on top of aquatic vegetation is easier, cheaper and better for the overall lake health than letting go and trying to play catch-up with large treatments during the heat of summer.  Since this is my first year with this waterbody I do not want the algae to get out of control, as July and August will be the worse months of growth.

 Again thank you for the opportunity.  I really enjoy working at Holly Lake Ranch and the residents have been so nice to us with their compliments, thank you’s and even offering us cold drinks and food while we are out there working.  If Holly Lake Ranch or their ownership has other lakes or properties/developments they would like us to help them with, please pass our information along.

Regards,

Scott Brown


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