Pond Boss Forums POND CONSTRUCTION Creating habitat placing cover

Bruce:
I see ... Dentists put really good magazines in the waiting rooms, but light-fingered patients remove the best ones. Thanks for explaining that, Bruce.

For years now, I have mistakenly thought my Dentist felt publications like "Ferns Monthly" and "Balkan Dirt Diving Illustrated" were interesting. You have set me straight.

AM (nice handle): Your Oak trees (even the stumps) should make great, long-lasting cover. Not being a resident of the Great State of Texas (no Bruce, I'm not going to start that now) I assume they will provide wide spread (open-ish) cover favored by larger bass. You may also want to place some tighter weave/denser cover for small, forage fish.

It is generally recommended to 1) have cover in about 20% of the pond, 2) place it at various depths to accommodate different species/sizes of fish, 3) use it to provide "corridors" of safety from deep to shallow water, 4) think about how you will fish your pond and place the structure to enable your anticipated fishing methods (shore, small boat, float tube, ???).

You can find some great articles on pond management in general and cover in specific at BassResource.com - many of the best are reprints from Pond Boss. My one personal experience recommendation is that you take many, many pictures of your pond, showing the placement of structure and other features, before it fills (especially wrt landmarks/references above the final water line). You will find them invaluable to help locate everything after the water has covered them up.