Pond Boss Forums INTRO Questions & Observations Pond Uses

I was just curious on what some other Pond Bosses use their ponds for other than the usual...fishing, swimming, ect. and if they built their ponds around that use. For example, I built my main pond for fishing, waterfowl hunting and dove hunting. Less than 1/2 of my pond is over 4' deep with the deepest part being 14'. Most of the rest is cut to 18-24" to draw in waterfowl. I plant Japanese Millet and wild rice along some shallow flats we incorperated into the pond. I also had my builder make a little earthen walkway to the middle of the pond to my duck blind which is made from the sod we scraped from the pond basin. We stacked it up and used hog wire to hold it in place. I plant food plots along the shallow portion and disk sections along the bank to attract doves.

I also use mine for livestock water (that's probably one of the usuals) and as a Blacksmith Placator (he goose hunts).

My folks enjoy bird watching as their hobby, the pond helps bring in a wider variety of birds with the pond being there that they would not see if the pond was absent. We occasionally have a few American White pelicans (108" windspan) show up during the migration as well as a large variety of waterfowl and shore birds. Two years ago we had a Scarlet Tanengier that showed up and hung around for a week.

Social gatherings next to the pond are another use. My folks have hosted the annual UNL Sociolgy dept. picnic/party at their place for a number of years. Between myself, my brother and two sisters we have had four pondside weddings. BTW - my wife caught the first LMB of our marraige while she was still wearing her wedding dress.

I have seven ponds. Two at the top (70'x 100') are fed strictly with a water well. Their purpose is to raise fish for sale to complement my business. They drain directly into a small pond,(.2 ac) designed to grow several types of aquatic plants which I plan to use in business. This pond has a shelf all the way around it, in water 18 inches deep. Next spring, we will plant as many plants in pots as we can, keep them flooded, and grow them to use somewhere, sometime. This pond overflows directly over a pretty waterfall, water cascading downward, into our designated fishing pond, currently stocked with feed trained bass, big bluegill, 8-10 giant channel catfish and the princess Debbie's 24 big colorful koi. This pond covers about 3/4 acre. It sits in a beautiful valley, with oak covered hillsides all around. This pond has benches, and a small, rustic dock. This pond flows directly into Lake Debbie, our one acre pond, directly below the slab formerly known as Lusk Lodge. This pond is for fun. We have a great dock, zip line (Debbie tested it first), lots of small bluegill and bass...this pond has only been built for a year and a half. The upper 1/3 has lots of cover, trees, brush, stumps and stuff. Debbie likes shiny things and wishes to stock some of those pretty silver fish, the famous Hybrid Striped Bass. (She says they are pretty, like jewelry). This pond leaks, but not because the dam wasn't built right. It actually runs around the dam, way beyond where the dam was tied into the hillside. Water runs through the adjacent hill, into an excavated pond which covers about a quarter acre. This pond may be designated as a male bluegill only pond, like what the amazing Bruce Condello has. Lake Debbie overflows into a square excavated pond at the very bottom of our property. (We have about 90 feet of fall from the top of our property to the bottom, southwest to northeast, not far from Lake Texoma. The square pond covers about an acre, and is stocked with 12 walleye, 13 smallmouth bass, 250 channel catfish, lots of bluegill and some largemouth bass. We feed these fish faithfully. Plan to seine it next week to see what we have, going into spring.
Let's see...12 acres of land, and probably 5 acres of water. Cool beans.

My ponds are used to water livestock and have never been formally stocked with fish. If they ever fill completely, I'll try to get the stocking done. I fished extensively many long years ago when I was young, but have lost interest as I've gotten older. Interests tend to lean more toward golf, beer drinking, bar dancing, and bridge playing now.

Wow Bob, you kinda sound like me. Can't get enough water. I am in the process of enlarging my largest pond ( mentioned above ) from 2 acres to 4. I worked out a deal with a local hauler....he gets the dirt/clay, I get the larger pond. I have 27 acres and currently I have about 5 acres of water in 6 ponds. I have been in talks with the NRCS and they want to dam off a creek that runs thru my property for flood and erosion control. I like the idea of about a 10 acre lake, but don't like the fact I'll lose about 90% of my trees in the process. One of my ponds is for my daughters horse and FH production. 2 are wildlife ponds and are not stocked.One of them sits along my creek and is home to 2 nesting pairs of wood ducks. The other really draws in the deer to the lespedeza, ladino clover and rye grass I planted around it. Pond #5 is for my wife's goldfish( don't tell her , but I seine them out for CC bait ) and Pond #6 is a RE,BG and FH pond for my boy. I also use this pond for forage for my largest pond. This is the pond I will be trying to raise creek chubs in too.

Pond benefits and uses in no particular order:
• Fishing
• Swimming
• Boating
• Wildlife
• Livestock
• Irrigation (garden)
• Floodwater abatement
• Sediment retention
• Groundwater recharge
• Bait (fathead minnows)
• Crawdad and salamander sales
• Marketing (recreation)
• Outdoor classroom (school kids, group tours, etc)
• Aesthetics

Just to mention a few reasons for having a pond.
Other than that I really don’t care for em.

Ed

IT`S ALL ABOUT THE KIDS. ON THE WATER - OFF THE STREET.

Nice thread. Sure hope I can one day have many ponds. I have one pond that is 1/2 acre. I built it in order to have a source for black dirt to landscape my yard with. I designed it to attract wildlife as well as to stock. I have it stocked with HBG, LMB, and Crappie. I have a shallow end planted with water celery and giant burr reed to attract ducks. I have 3 wood duck houses that are regularly used. I have a pair of geese that nest each spring. I used some of the spoils to build areas next to the pond where I plant food plots for deer. The pond shape was designed to fit in with the landscape and to provide maximum shore fishing spots. We regularly have friends over for fish fries. We fish and picnic by the pond. I always make sure to invite as many kids as we can find. My pond is two sections with a 15 foot narrows in between. I have a foot bridge across the narrows. Also have 3 fishing docks. Along the shoreline that is right in my back yard we've planted various types of water iris along the shore as a perennial garden. I hope to build another 1/4 acre pond this year for raising forage minnows. We do some canoeing in the pond although it is small. I train my retriever in the pond. I will swim in the pond during hot weather while no one else in the family will (too many fish they complain!). The pond is the best thing I ever did on my property. I've got a five acre spot that I hope some day can be turned into a pond. I'll keep dreaming.

My pond dam is probably the most level ground connected to a great backstop [an existing hill],so it's used as a target range for both the kids & adults. We can shoot almost any caliber they bring out. Also,out from my dock, I teach the kids how to handle an overturned canoe. Great fun,but also instructional. As the other Pondbosser said,"keep them off the streets & on the water".

Built my pond 4 years ago. When I retire and finally build my house on it, I plan on installing a windmill driven pump. Will use it to fill an elevated cistern, which in turn will be used to water my garden and yard.

Currently, our ponds our mainly for our cattle's water needs. I would like to add more ponds to store the precious resource, water. I like to see wildlife thriving near/in/on the water and enjoying the great habitat that water forms. I would also like to create islands on the ponds for waterfowl, such as the canadian geese that have been nesting here the last few years.

Someday, when I have better established ponds, I would like to be able to fish the ponds for food.