I've found several threads on here about ponds. What if I want something just big enough for the kids to fish in? I would have marginal plants in the ground, but no pump or anything. Maybe some Blue Gills or some kind of other pan fish. We had a large pond planned but prices have gone up on everything and now thats on hold. I'm looking for someone to tell me __x__ feet, by __ feet deep to get a size fish can survive in. Any ideas? This is in WV.
i have no clue about the fish but around me they dig ponds for free as long as the digger gets to keep the dirt... The problem I have is that i told the to dig the pond 12 feet deep and i wasnt home so its now 20 ft deep...
We have one "mud hole"-just stopped up the drain pipe under the lower drive--maybe two feet deep--good frog and cat tail hole. The other is about 5' deep and 60'X70'. Lots of hybrid cats and Blue Gills. Third is nearly 200' long by 80' and 10' deep. There are Crappie in it with a dukes mixture of others. In my neighbor's woods nearby there are two spring fed "holes" maybe 50' across that never run dry. Oh yes, the hybrid cats that were not supposed to breed---did. Have a pond full now.
Well, I have a spot that has a spring that runs into it from the hillside. It already holds water and the spring runs into it then runs out the lower end of it. But its not very big right now and definitely not deep enough for fish. Since I need dirt to put in my new raised beds I'm wondering if I can deepen that hole and take the dirt for the beds. And wondering if it will be big enough for fish and how many it might hold.... I just have no idea.
And yes! I would love for us to be able to go swimming in it!!! Even if theres no room for a diving board, lol.
. Pond size, shape, and depth Size • The size of a prospective fish pond should be based on the purpose of the pond. • If the pond is meant to provide additional food for the family, then it need not be larger than 0.1 ha (1000 m2 ). • Larger ponds produce more fish and are usually more efficient producers of fish per unit of land than ponds less than 1000 m2 . • A pond of 0.2-0.3 ha (2000-3000 m2 ) is easily managed by a small farm family. Such ponds can be maintained with a minimum of effort. Shape • Rectangular ponds are usually the easiest to build and manage. However, ponds must sometimes be built with irregular shapes to fit the topography and shape of the available space. Depth • The best pond depth depends on the fish species, size of fish, and production system to be used. • The ideal depth for most ponds ranges from 0.75 to 1.2 m. • For the shallow end, the depth can be from 40 to 70 cm. The absolute minimum is 40 cm; however, 50 to 60 cm is best. Problems that develop in shallow ponds include predation, weeds, and low production. • The deep end can be from 80 to 120 cm deep, but the best for medium and large ponds is 90 to 110 cm. Areas deeper than 1 m are likely to be less productive: They are cooler than the surface, lower in oxygen, and can become stratified, so most fish will avoid them. • A small pond of 150 m2 (e.g., 15 m x 10 m) with dyke slopes of 2:1 should have a shallow end 50 cm deep and a deep end 75 cm deep. • The deepest point should be at the outlet. • The total height of the dykes of such a pond will be 80 cm on the shallow end and 105 cm towards the outlet. • Remember that sunlight can penetrate up to 1 metre into clear waters, for example in unfertilized ponds. In fertilized fishponds light penetration beyond 60 cm below the water surface is minimal. 5. The slope of the pond bottom • The pond bottom must have sufficient slope for good drainage. In general, slopes with a drop of 2 cm for every 10 metres along the pond bottom are appropriate. • If the slope is too gentle, the pond will not be easily drained. • If the slope is too steep, it may be too shallow at one end or too deep at the other end. http://pdacrsp.oregonstate.edu/pubs/featured_titles/Kenya_Manual.pdf
"They are cooler than the surface, lower in oxygen, and can become stratified, so most fish will avoid them." However, if the pond freezes over, you might want to go deeper to provide a place where fish can winter over in water warmer than the surface. If the feeding stream is sufficiently rapid when running, the lower levels will likely be mixed well enough to avoid anoxic conditions.
Call your local DNR office. Here in GA, they send a guy out to help you set your pond up and he shows you all the stuff to do. They even recommend the types of fish you need to stock and gives you a list of suppliers. After that, to get them going, you can set up automatic feeders to supplement Mother Nature until their eco-system settles down.
yes also u can call some of the local collages and they will come out and help you with your pond ... they will also tell u what u nee to putt in it to keep in clean {not muddy} but if you do have cat fish and ducks it will always be muddy .{so im told } Ive also been told {here i Lousian} if you let people fish in your pond LSU will stock it for free... Now how exactly it works im not sure ... but it woth looking into.
Yeah, in WV if you get State DNR help with your pond, its my understanding you have to let people come onto your property to fish. Thats not something we want to have happening here. If the whole point is to have fresh fish for our table I don't intend to be supplying it to others (except people I want to share with!)
In WV you can call your Cty Ext agent and they will come out and check it out and tell you how big of a pond you can put in (that is a recommendation based on elevation, water feed, and holding capacity of your soil, that is how much and how deep your clay goes before you hit rock). Our experience is that at fairly steep sides down the first 4 ft and then preferably on down to maybe 8-10 ft; the reason for the steep sides is to hinder cattails and weed growth which will take over your pond if it is shallow, and don't worry you don't even have to plant them, they will come.. In the deeper areas you can put in some old Christmas trees (wrap with heavy wire and a couple cinder blocks to sink them) they make great fish attractors, and great places to get snagged.. You may also want to go below the pond and put in a concrete stock tank, so your farm animals aren't missing up the pond, it is always so nice to have a picnic by a cow pile. The ext agent should be able to get you forms to use to do this. At one time they would also help pay for the stock tank,those days are probably gone, but it doesn't hurt to ask. And if the house, or barn/out buildings are about the same grade or down hill you may want to run a water line.
By they way you used to be able to buy fingerling fish from Southern States, they would have a fish truck come by 2 times a year.
I know here in Ohio, if the pond stands alone on your property, it's yours, no permits needed. If it has contact with ANY public waterway (creek, gully, river,ect) that even a minnow could swim through, it's public access, and everyone needs permits, even you.
this link might help; Build a homestead pond by Jeff Hoard from the March/April, 2010 issue of Countryside & Small Stock Journal . or this one; Once a pond a time by Jerri Cook from the March/April, 2010 issue of Countryside & Small Stock Journal
Go for it Kathy. You do not need a monster lake to supplement your food supply. 100' across would provide a lot and make it 4-5' deep. If your kids are older you might want to make it deeper. A friend lost his son in a back yard pond--tragic. Just a bit over his head and he drowned.
yes definatly go for it ...Be sure that atleast one part of the pond is under a good sturdy branch so the kids can have a good rope swing!!! Also im dont know what the land is like up there but if the pond is not going to be that deep you can go to a home rental place and rent a mini excavator for the weekend and dig it yourself for pretty cheap ... then u get to keep all the dirt... I must warn u excavators are alot of fun so know wen to stop cause it is easy to get cought up in having a good time and before u know it u have a mess and ur equiptment is 3 days late being returned!!!!
-06... that is tragic about your friends child. I have to watch my youngest every minute he's outside. Fears NOTHING. KAS... WV is a mix of red clay, gray clay, sandstone, limestone... and where we want the pond its about 3 feet of topsoil with clay under that which should work out ok since it needs to be deeper than that. Unfortunately the trees are cleared from that area ... but we're making a gently sloped area for the kids to swim in. I'm also investing in that safety netting with the floats to encircle the play area. That way I can sit and watch them at the edge instead of feeling like I need to stay out past them. We have rented equiptment several times to do our ditchlines etc... just ran out of time before we got to a pond .
