Pond Boss Forums INTRO Questions & Observations First time pond owner

Greetings All,

Hey, I just recently found this site....cool place!

Hoooooboy, do I have questions! I'm really anxious to get this pond, using a longterm approach, into a healthy and even better body of water.

I'm a recent pond owner (bought it just over a year ago), so a total newbie when it comes to pond management. I share it with 20 some other owners-each owner has an equal say over the management of it.

Anyway, here are the basics of what I'm working with. The pond was built from a wetlands or swamp in the mid 70s. I'm told there was a stream meandering thru there. I'm not entirely sure of the exact size of the body of water. Its a rectangled shape, guesstimating the size of 1.5 football fields wide (north and south ends) and 3 football fields long (east and west sides). I made a rudimentary depth map of it recently. Its deepest hole that I could find is almost 10 feet. Its not a significantly sized hole. The rest of the lake mostly ranges from 2 to 6 feet with a little hole here and a more shallow area there. I do have a large intake pipe in the NW corner that flows pretty good with a nice rain otherwise the flow is slow but still there. I have no idea where this piped-in water comes from. The outflow is in the SE corner, going into a sewer and then immediately into a golf course. At one spot a gigantic rock comes just to the surface. There are also 6 aerators place strategically in the pond. Its a hell of a place, a dream come true.

I know its got a forage base of shad.....some are huge, like 15 inches. There appears to be a decent population of LM bass, some to 7 lbs, with decent number of pure BG and pumpkinseeds, again with some nice sizes to them. I've heard of Channel cats being caught to 15 lbs. There are a few crappies too but not many. All the fish I've caught are very strong and healthy looking. There are also some big carp that I've seen flopping around last spring. Those wont be around for long-my buddy is a crack shot with his bow. It also has A LOT of clams. I know this because the muskrats are eating like kings-clam shells all over the bottom and shoreline. A few leopard frogs and toads are around too.

I believe the pond is treated at least once a year with some sort of weed abatement chemical.

Some things that I've noticed so far or have concern abou......the pond has little or no structure (outside of the gigantic rock). It seems to be sorta like a bathtub with some weeds here and there with no significant beds, just sporatic weed clumps.

I'm thinking of making rock piles and/or rock fields with field stone that I've collected with the thought that it'll hold LM bass and BG. Good idea? When I was taking depth soundings, the electric pipe conduit I was using sometimes sank up to a foot in muck in some areas.....so I think I just might be wasting my time in that effort.

The input pipe is definitely dumping a lot of silt and sediment. There is a gravel bar 20 feet down from the pipe, to the side of its current. The northern side was dredged a few years ago. Honestly, I cant really tell where though. Its pretty darn shallow (2-4 feet) except in one area where it gets to 7 feet. Is there anything to mitigate sediment deposits in the lake?

I also want to let some frogs go around the pond, of course following local laws that apply in my area. Good idea? If so, any suggestions as to what kind? I want to hear the frogs do their singing.

Also, I think the pond absolutely needs to be deepened somehow. The shoreline tells me that this pond used to be 2 feet deeper. Since I live in northern Illinois, I believe the fish to be in serious danger of a fishkill due to a bad winter or an overly hot summer. Last year, the pond got to 87 degrees at the height of summer. Is my line of thinking here correct? I know dredging is an option, but not sure if the other owners on the pond will think kindly of the idea. I'm so tempted to fiddle with the drainage in the southeast corner but I know that would be a temporary solution at best.

Any help or insight into what should be done or watched out for would be greatly appreciated. Dont hold back, tell me straight.

Mr. Paul, I ain't no genious, but pride myself with havin some common sense. From yer description of the fish conditions, sounds like a fairly healthy pond. That don't mean it can't be better. Sounds like ya are wantin ta grab the reigns, and steer the wagon yerself. More power to ya. However, ya mentioned some weed control, so someone is already payin some attention to it. Find out who, and try ta work with em, as opposed ta independently. That goes especially ta "fiddlein with the drain". Dude, ya just DON'T go messin with a pond that 19 other folks have a say in, without havin a majority agreement. It's easy ta po people, I do it all the time without even tryin. If I was you (fortunately fer you, I aint), the first thing ta do is ta go round and meet, and explain yer intentions ta ALL the other interested parties. Go slow, kinda like approachin folks ta hunt their land, or fish their water. Try ta get as many as possible ta visit this site, and subscribe ta the magazine. (it's easier ta deal with informed people) Don't go in sayin we should do this or that, but try ta get a feelin of how many others are at all, or how heavily interested, and focus with them. Good luck, be patient, and diplomatic. Bob-O

Thanks Bob-O for your reply. Yeah, the pond does seem to be pretty healthy and there are people marginally involved in managing it. Ya know, I'd never really fiddle with the drainage, thats just not my style. Its funny though, I seem to be one of a handful of others that actually USE it. In the past year, I've seen two other boats out there besides mine. I see 3 other guys fishing it. That leads me to believe that most other folks arent really interested in maintaining its healthy status. I'll do my best though to do some consensus building as you suggested.