We're looking at a piece of property with a small (1/3 acre?) pond. We do not believe the previous owner built the dam or ever stocked it in the last 4-6 years. Most of it is 3-4 ft deep and there is at least an 8 ft area in the middle. It's fed by a small creek, but we are unsure of the source. We can't find where it connects to another water body, so right now assuming its spring fed on an adjacent property.

We got permission from the agent to fish it yesterday and came up with a bunch of tiny green sunfish - nothing bigger than 3-4" long. The property has been unoccupied for a couple years; however, we saw evidence that someone has been hiking in through the unkempt growth and down to the pond. Could someone have fished it out or are lots of tiny fish normal for a small, unmanaged pond?

If you get a chance to fish it again, go around and check the depths. This could be a lot of its problems, thus bargaining power to lower price to fix. With a shallow pond, your more likely to get fish kills where only the smallest fish survive. Someone could have taken out all the big ones over a period of time and upset the whole balance. That's what you would call poor pond management.

If you don't have a boat to put in to check depth, then use a bobber with a weight. Keep adjusting the bobber until the weight hits bottom. Check in many places.

It could be spring fed, or is there a possibility it is filled with rain run-off? You might use google maps to look at it over the past 20 years to see if it has dried up during droughts. There is also a planimeter tool that you can use to measure its actual size for acres.

And of course, welcome to PondBoss. If you do get a pond anytime in the future, this is definitely the place to be to learn how to do it right!!!!!!!!!

---Jim

Like fish said, welcome to Pond Boss!!

Depending on how much time you spent fishing and with what baits and at what depths, times, etc., it's probably not enough to know whats really going on in the pond.

Depth sounding of the pond is, I think, a major factor in deducing if the pond can produce for you across a broader spectrum of goals. It's also one of the things you can definitively do in a meaningful amount of time, when considering purchase of a property. OF course, water testing can/should be done also.

My wife and I were out today scoping new potential properties. I brought some fish feed with me and threw it out at one place. Eventually, I saw some 3-4" bluegill. This was only spending 10 minutes at the water. Spend a few hours, and you'll see more.

Welcome to posting on Pond Boss.