I'm in a coastal area of Northern California, with very temperate weather. No snow in winter, but almost never above 80F in summer. The site I'm considering has a spring with small creek that flows into a swampy field which I'm planning to turn into a 0.4 acre pond.
My objective is recreational fishing a few times a month for fish that are good to eat, with zero maintenance. No aeration, pellet feeding, etc. Rainbow trout (which do fine in my area) and gambusia mosquitofish are my only options stocked locally, but I'm sure I can get most other common fish with enough effort and/or expense.
I would love to hear some opinions on the best approach to my objective. I really do like the taste of crappie, but have read plenty of warnings on this site regarding small ponds.
