I've dealt with HOA ponds since I was a kid. I grew up learning on 4 ponds in the brand new neighborhood my parents moved to when I was 10. I was lucky, nobody in my neighborhood cared and I had all 4 ponds to myself. They were barren of fish and stocking them was a learning experience as was the subsequent management of them. When my parents moved to a new neighborhood 10 years later, it was the same thing. Every summer when I was home from college, they were my little projects. One pond was over 6 acres and within 5 years I had bass over 8 pounds in it. Again, everyone I talked to thought it was just a nasty storm water retention hole. Who'd want to fish anything like that? I just laughed and said yeah, must just be bullheads and GSF in there! Forking out a pile of money for a pond that isn't yours and isn't under your control can be risky. I am again in the same situation now. I have 2 ponds in the neighborhood I live in. Like the ponds in this situation, they are simply storm water management ponds. Fortunately, they are not close to the homes in the neighborhood and sort of secluded. So most people in the neighborhood don't even know they exist. I am not forking out a lot of money to put fish into them, but I am still confident I can turn them into good fisheries. For now, that is all I have. Land around me runs 20-40k an acre, not easy to afford land big enough to build a pond even in this real estate market so I am doing the best I can with what I have. I wouldn't say don't do anything. Just keep your stocking plans to yourself and don't tell every neighbor about it. I went so far as posting signs that said fish consumption not advised due to pollution. It seemed to work!
