# Starting a new pond, general questions



## exide9922 (Aug 9, 2010)

My father in law has decided he wants to put in a pond this year, and i'm pretty excited about it!

From my early research it looks like the proper ratio of LM Bass, Blue Gill and some channel catfish is the most successfull way to go. 

Has anyone had any success adding yellow perch? Crappies sound like a bad idea from what I read, they'll take over and be small. But has anyone tried Crappie?

What is a good depth to have?

last year I remembered a lot of people saying their fish had died off after winter, how do you prevent that?

again, just getting into this idea and dont know much yet! thanks for any info or tips


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## Slatebar (Apr 9, 2011)

Your father in law can go to his local county agent and get all the info on ponds he ever wanted to know but was afraid to ask... really the County Extention Agent is best for info on ponds or most anything agr.


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## Net (Apr 10, 2004)

ODNR pond handbook http://ohiodnr.com/Home/fishing/pond/default/tabid/6219/Default.aspx

First person I called when I wanted to build a pond on my property was the Morrow County ext agent. He had no materials for me to review and no advice other than to "dig a few test holes" and go from there. Gee thanks.


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## M.Magis (Apr 5, 2004)

exide9922 said:


> Has anyone had any success adding yellow perch?


Bad idea. They get out of control quickly.


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## exide9922 (Aug 9, 2010)

I'm sure my father law will get in contact with a pond management company or the county. I'm just jumpin the gun a bit here, he said he wanted to put in a pond this year and I'm all excited for it

So basically the yellow perch will ruin the pond the other species, and i'll end up with a little of small stunted perch? I wouldnt mind a pond full of nice sized perch...  Probably dreaming on that there.


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## Ben Fishing (Aug 2, 2010)

Stock golden shiners and fat head minnows in Year 1.

In year 2, stock bluegill, largemouth bass, and catfish.

That's all you'll ever need.


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## Salmonid (Apr 14, 2004)

Ill second or third the opinion that the county OSU agent turned out to be an 20 year old kid who was straight out of college and didnt know anything, lietterally and when he came out I taught him a bunch of stuff, LOL He was taking notes, seriously.

Anyways a pond in southern Ohio should be at least 8 ft deep and Northern Ohio would be 10 ft with the harder freezes. 

Bottom aearation is the key to keeping your fish kills to a minimum durring the winter, youll add enough oxygen to the whole pond to carry you over the winter and if you get a hard winter, you can turn it on and burn a hole through the ice in a few hrs to release CO2 gases.

I have a strange mix of fish in my pond as a weird experiment, after 6 years, so far all is well except my channel cats spawned the last two years and now I have way too many of them, been trying to reduce them every 1 I catch is gone, I had several cedar trees in the pond and thats the only structure but they are spawning under it I assume. I have Hybrid stripers, black crappies and Yellow perch, ( no LMbasss) so far the perch and black crappies are barely holding there own so i tend to have a fair amount of 9-11" perch and about the same with crappies. I have tons of fathead minnows and golden shiners in the pond and actually pellet feed all summer and also add between 25-40 lbs of fatheads every spring so they continually spawn all summer.

Oh yeah my pond is .75 acres and 12 ft deep, all excavated out of clay so its a big hole really. 

Salmonid


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## chopper (May 15, 2004)

I have built dozens of ponds in Ohio ranging from 1/2 acre to 5 plus acres. Just about what everyone has said has some important points. Use some of those agencies to give you some information.However, they are just that, information. Get a reliable pond builder to check your site. You just can't build a pond anywhere you want. You must have enough water to keep it filled but not so much that your pond silts in. If it is good site, you must dig test holes. This will show you what type of dirt that you have to deal with. Sand and gravel does not build a very good dam. Not at all. Keep the sides at least a 2to1 maybe a 3to1 sloop to at least 3 feet deep on the edge. If the sides are too straight up and down, they will erode. If you tapper them out and try to create a beach, you will end up a weedy mess. Make sure that you add alot of cover before the water fills in. Logs, stumps, tile, rock piles all work good. As for the fish, call pros after you can give them a size and depth. Don't go too small, bigger is better. Thanks for listening, Chopper


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## Lowell H Turner (Feb 22, 2011)

Most ponds generally have a deeper (8-15 fow) end and about the same size shallow end for spawning/ bedding fish, frogs, catails, ect. If you can manage to tap a cool spring you`re set...


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## exide9922 (Aug 9, 2010)

One other thing I thought of is the location of the pond. He is looking at 2 possible sites, one is closer to a creek than the other. Would the creek be good or bad? I would guess its 50-60 yards away and wouldn't be a danger for overflow. I was more thinking about the under ground 

Outdoor Hub mobile, the outdoor information engine


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## chopper (May 15, 2004)

You are correct about the underground. Too many possible sand and gravel veins. The other thing that you have to watch for would be field drainage tile running to the creek. If you miss one of those, i promise you that the water will find it and drain your pond. You are asking all of the right questions, you'll do fine.


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## [email protected] (Dec 22, 2006)

County Soil and water was great for watershed info and not bad locating existing tiles. They were also be helpful in determining the overflow size and design, soil types suitable for pond building etc. They're a good place to start once you have a size and location(s) in mind. I believe a paid a small fee for design review but the site visit was free and a great place to start.

After soil and water's input, dig test holes to verify the best spot. Develop a set of plans for the pond with specification of size, elevations, core design, etc. and supplementals for correcting sand/gravel veins, tiles etc. so you and your builder are on the same page and better budgeting estimates can be made. Also condsider what type of pond you want...Swimming pool clear with riprapped edges or natural looking with vegetation like lilies and cattails. This end goal should be condisered in the designing as well as swimming area, dock, structure placement etc. 

A couple of hindsight notes: Don't go steeper than 3:1 on slopes in the pond. I honestly see no difference in weeds on the 5:1 slopes vs the 3:1. Climbing out of 3:1 is tough enough. You more or less pay per scoop of dirt moved (and distance moved) and surface area increases carrying capacity whereas deeper really doesn't. You have to move a lot more dirt to get 3:1s vs. 5:1s. Make all slopes above water level no steeper than 5:1 for mowing. 

8-10' deep is plenty. Winterkill isn't really a concern for the first few years in a new pond of reasonable size. It takes some time for bioloading to increase to levels that oxygen levels can fall to dangerous levels in most cases unless the pond is heavily overstocked, overfed, has very high nutrient loading, etc. Keeping weeds under control, nutrient loading low and allowing light in during snow cover prevents winter kill. Aeration is an excellent insurance policy and provides other benefits but not really needed intitially.

There are ways to grow about any fish you can think of. I suggest prioritizing and creating a yearly budget on what is willing to be invested as far as supplemental feed/stocking etc. Perch and crappies are possible but bass and bluegill are ideal (channels optional though I suggest not stocking more than the family will eat in a year). Perch and crappie: same sex stocking could be considered or, eventually, I think triploids will be available to pond owners which uncomplicates management of them as they don't reproduce. 

Somewhat disagree with previous posts:
Fatheads and bluegills for the first year, bass/catfish the second. Golden shiners are an option with some drawbacks.

Spring uphill is fine. If a spring is found below full water level, safe bet is to plug it or run the risk of the pond level changing with spring flow.

See slope notes above.

Fish farms are not "Pros" at stocking ponds necessarily but pros at selling fish.


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## rustyfish (Apr 27, 2004)

Some people have good luck with yellow perch in ponds but I tend to warn against it. They can stunt out easy because they are the least fav food for your bass. Perch compete with your BG and the bass eat your BG first. Not a good idea if you value your bluegills. But you you cant mess up to bad as long as you dont stock flathead, lol. 

And any bubbler, fountain, agitator you add to your pond with help. Some are better than other and everyone has there own ideas on that, but something is better than nothing.

If you are planning heavy weed control then make sure to add structure to the bottom of the pond (sinking old christmas trees or piles of fallen branches work well.

A flat of gravel can make for better spawning for LMB and BG, but they will spawn without it. As for channels I would not add spawning "caves" for them. You dont need that many cats, if you follow standard stocking you will have what you need.


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