I finally got curious enough to check my pond depth this weekend and wasn't pleased. I was informed by my contractor that they had hit solid rock during construction which is true. They also told me the pond would have a max depth of 8'. This is the issue I could not find any area of my pond that was over 7' and most of it was in the 4-6 area. My question is will my HSB and SMB be able to thrive in these shallow waters?

Any aeration in the pond? No expert but I plan to add aeration to my pond next Spring.

I believe studies have shown that SMB will do fine in warmer waters. HSB I am not sure will 'thrive' , especially if caught in certain temperatures but I think will do ok. Might need to limit when you target them for angling.


Have you already stocked the pond? Maybe need to re-evaluate stock qty etc...

Yes pond has been stocked for awhile now put the bass in last November. I guess I probably need to look into some sort of shallow water aeration maybe. I was looking at bottom diffuser type but doubt I will get good results with it in this shallow water.

As long as it is full or near full I think they will do fine. Your big issue is you don't have much room for drought times. Do you have a well or anything to help keep it full?

Its been full for about 2 years now and I have never seen it lose more than 6" of water between rain.