How would you make a pond for bass fishing?

Question

I'm mainly concered with what kind of soil keeps water in the best? Also, If i stocked it with bass myself would I have to feed them or would insects jump in for them to eat naturally.

Answer 1

Building a pond is no small undertaking at all. The soils composition in your area will have alot to do with it. Too much sand or substraits and it will not hold water. Proper dam construction is also a major factor as to holding water and future law siuts if something goes wrong...lol.

But start with selecting an area that already has good drainage fields... a low spot that water gathers after a storm.... a ravine, gully large ditch, etc.... otherwise you may not get enough water into it during the year. You can get some assistance from the Corps of Engineers Office or the State Environmental office in your area.
You will have to remove most of the trees from the area considered depending upon what they are... some trees when they die after being submerged in water tend to release chemicals that will turn the water black over time (seven or eight years). Surveying the area can determine how high the water will be when the dam is finished. We marked ours with little red survey flags.... then cleared only what we needed to as to leave structure behind for the fish to breed and feed from.

When you consider the dam, remember that the larger the area of water you are containing, the more hydrostatic pressure will be on it.... the same goes for depth. We built a 17 foot tall dam that is 9 feet across at the top and 20 feet wide at the base and 115 foot long. Primaraly constructed of compacted clay, it is re-enforced with sand grid throughout. In NC we had to have to have the environmental folks and Corps of Engineer inspect it because of its size. The dam contains a 15 acre pond.

Once constructed, we stocked it over a three year period.... adding 500 largemouth bass, 200 crappie, 200 bluegill and 10000 minnows each year.... then we didn't fish it for two years. All along we fed them fish pellets at a rate of two pounds per day. It has paid off when we take kids out there and they catch fish for hours on end. It has been 9 years since we built it and today you can catch 4 and 5 pound largemouth all day long.... and an occasional seven to ten pounder....

Answer 2

clay soils tend to keep water in ponds/dams better. There are some products that can line the pond/dam to help. evaporation is a problem. You would need to build a large pond or small dam to consider taking on the fish. Manual feeding will be needed at times. if the biology of the dam/pond is good depending on stocking rate you may find some areas where insects and marine creatures are sustainable. Through summer periods bugs will tend to drop/drown in the water at night or dusk and fish activity should start.

Answer 3

depends a lot of how big a pond you are talking about. It would be best to contact a fish biologist and have him advise you on the building. He can also test the water to see if fish will survive before spending a lot of stocking money. He can give you a ideal on how many bluegills to stock to so many bass, ect so you will get the right ratio of fish. good luck

Answer 4

we built one on our land. A backhoe had to come in and dig this huge hole. Once it was filled with water we waited 2 months before we put the fish in there. Eventually frog, bugs and other insects came, I assume they eat that stuff becuse the bass are pretty big.

Answer 5

Only bass I know of are marine fish and much too big to keep in a pond.

Answer 6

ponds naturally feed fish. as long as you have stuff growing around the lake should be no problem.

Answer 7

nygirl is correct