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Lunker
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Just curious. At what point does a pond become a Lake. Is there definate line drawn between a pond and a lake. I drove though Wisconsin a few weeks ago and The WDOT dug Some massive ponds. One of them is said to be 50ft deep. I would think something that big would be a lake as it is huge. Just got me thinking what the definition is for a pond vs a lake.
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Ambassador Field Correspondent Lunker
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Ambassador Field Correspondent Lunker
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It's a lake if it's mine. It's a pond if it's someone else's.
12 ac pond in NW Missouri. 28' max depth at full pool. Fish Present: LMB, BG, RES, YP, CC, WB, HSB, WE, BCP, WCP, GSH.
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Editor, Pond Boss Magazine Lunker
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Editor, Pond Boss Magazine Lunker
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Founding editor Mark McDonald used to love this question and his answer is a classic. He said, "If it is three acres and yours, it's a pond. If it's three acres and mine, it's a lake." I'll always remember chuckling the first time I read that, back in 1992. The 'standard' is if it is less than 5 acres, it's a pond.
Last edited by Bob Lusk; 10/29/09 09:33 PM. Reason: I boo-booed...changed one word that makes the sentence work better.
Teach a man to grow fish... He can teach to catch fish...
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Lunker
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Lunker
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I have the Michigan legal answer since I am a graduate of the LAKE & STREAM LEADER INSTITUTE: In Michigan anything over 5 acres is considered a lake and 9ft deep, it is considered a water of the state. That means you have to follow the DEQ rules and pay for permits to treat, etc. If you have an outflow to another BOW it makes it worse. We had to have 2 permits and 2 licenses to do our fish kill. However, since we are not a natural body of water we have no legal Riparian rights like those on "real" lakes. We do fall under the Inland Lake Act or something to that effect. It is all so complicated.
HUSBAND AND CAT MISSING -$100 REWARD FOR THE CAT! I subscribe too, but tried and failed at the fish logo.
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Moderator Ambassador Field Correspondent Lunker
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Moderator Ambassador Field Correspondent Lunker
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So, if I lived in Michigan, and dug a 5.1 ac lake on my property that didn't link to any other body of water, the pond wouldn't technically be mine? (I'll bet Mi. wouldn't help with the property taxes at all tho!)
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Joined: Aug 2008
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Lunker
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Lunker
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It is crazy isn't it? Michigan has some wild and strange laws. Last week the DNR & MDEQ merged. It was like that about 15 years ago, theymerged the 2 agencies like they used to be. Ten acres is another benchmark, at under 10 you get treated under a certificate, over 10, you are under a permit. The certificate allows for whole lake treatments, water dye, etc. That is surface acres, not depth of water, really strange. Poor treatment guys have to post every single home, between the water and the back of the house, each time they treat. I posted with Fav Guy last summer, it is a dangerous duty, rotting stairs, vegetation that can hit you in the eye. Then the idiot residents who complain about "a staple in my birch tree," "these staples can fall out of a tree and someone can step on them," and on and on. Makes you wonder.
HUSBAND AND CAT MISSING -$100 REWARD FOR THE CAT! I subscribe too, but tried and failed at the fish logo.
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Ambassador Field Correspondent Lunker
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Ambassador Field Correspondent Lunker
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Founding editor Mark McDonald used to love this question and his answer is a classic. He said, "If it is three acres and yours, it's a pond. If it's three acres and mine, it's a lake." I'll always remember chuckling the first time I read that, back in 1992. The 'standard' is if it is less than 5 acres, it's a pond. My three acres are a lake. Based upon two undisputed facts: 1. It's three acres and it's mine. 2. The local folks named it Hidden Lake and I'm not gonna argue with the local folks. As you can see, when I created my screen name I was being modest.
JHAP ~~~~~~~~~~ "My mind is a raging torrent, flooded with rivulets of thought cascading into a waterfall of creative alternatives." ...Hedley Lamarr (that's Hedley not Hedy)
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Lunker
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Lunker
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I've always heard that only God can make a lake and everything man made is either a Pond, Tank, or Resevoir.
The realtors that I know will market anything over an acre as a lake when selling a property.
My 4 acre body of water is a lake because it's mine, I dug it, and I named it Lake Marabou.
Eddie
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Lunker
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Lunker
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I was always told if you can walk across at its longest points its a pond. Hummm go figure.
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Moderator Lunker
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Moderator Lunker
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Except when I'm logging on here, they are all tanks.
It's not about the fish. It's about the pond. Take care of the pond and the fish will be fine. PB subscriber since before it was in color.
Without a sense of urgency, Nothing ever gets done.
Boy, if I say "sic em", you'd better look for something to bite. Sam Shelley Rancher and Farmer Muleshoe Texas 1892-1985 RIP
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Lunker
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Lunker
Joined: Aug 2009
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Just curious. At what point does a pond become a Lake. Is there definate line drawn between a pond and a lake. I drove though Wisconsin a few weeks ago and The WDOT dug Some massive ponds. One of them is said to be 50ft deep. I would think something that big would be a lake as it is huge. Just got me thinking what the definition is for a pond vs a lake. This is the best defenitione I'w found http://www.aquahabitat.com/ponds.lakes.ed.html
Last edited by andedammen; 11/01/09 09:50 AM.
PAUL
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Hall of Fame Lunker
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Hall of Fame Lunker
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The author of that website (I've spoken to him on the phone) makes some good points but I disagree with the following two criteria that try and differentiate between ponds and lakes.
Roughly the same water temperature top to bottom
Deep water is much colder than surface during summer
I've seen temp differences in even small ponds from top to bottom and especially in summer, and I know so have others here. I've actually seen a thermocline in less than 2 meters of water!
The difference between ponds and lakes can be hazy and there can be quite a difference in opinion from person to person. In New England I've even seen 100 acre bodies of water called "ponds."
Last edited by Cecil Baird1; 11/01/09 10:05 AM.
If pigs could fly bacon would be harder to come by and there would be a lot of damaged trees.
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Ambassador Lunker
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Ambassador Lunker
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Definition of a pond: Someone who has a pond. Definition of a lake: Someone who has a lake. WHAT ME WORRY
Last edited by adirondack pond; 11/01/09 11:41 AM.
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Ambassador Field Correspondent Hall of Fame Lunker
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Ambassador Field Correspondent Hall of Fame Lunker
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Lakes are made by nature and have wave action.
Ponds are made by nature and don't have wave action.
Reservoirs are made by man and have wave action.
Tanks are made by man and don't have wave action.
OK, that's my opinion on the matter. But I still would call any body of water I owned a pond or lake. Anything over 10 acres is a lake in my book.
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Lunker
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Lunker
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I was in the store the other day and I head these people talking about the rain and they were saying the store needs to do something about the lake in the parking lot!! Humm go figure.
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Moderator Ambassador Field Correspondent Lunker
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Moderator Ambassador Field Correspondent Lunker
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Lakes are made by nature and have wave action.
Ponds are made by nature and don't have wave action.
Now the question becomes what is the defination of a wave?
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Lunker
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Lunker
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Lakes are made by nature and have wave action.
Ponds are made by nature and don't have wave action.
Now the question becomes what is the defination of a wave? I wonder when does a lake become a sea or a sea a lake??????????
PAUL
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Ambassador Field Correspondent Hall of Fame Lunker
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Ambassador Field Correspondent Hall of Fame Lunker
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A wave, something big enough to swamp your boat? Big enough to surf... HAHA
I'd say a lake becomes a sea when it has noticeable tides. I know some of the Great Lakes have mini tides, but most of the fluctuation in water level is do to wind action.
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PAUL
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Ambassador Field Correspondent Hall of Fame Lunker
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I like Black Lake better... HAHA
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Lunker
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Lunker
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there a lot of inland seas around the world that are a lot smaller then the grate lakes
PAUL
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Ambassador Field Correspondent Hall of Fame Lunker
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Ambassador Field Correspondent Hall of Fame Lunker
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Yes, they should be called lakes...
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Ambassador Lunker
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Ambassador Lunker
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Didn't we have this discussion about the appearance of the chicken or the egg. Nobody can say we don't have deep thinkers here on pond boss.
Last edited by adirondack pond; 11/01/09 07:28 PM.
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Lunker
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Lunker
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That link gave me an idea to siphon all the water and then start a forest fire to deepen my pond/lake/tank/resovior/sea.
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Fingerling
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Fingerling
Joined: Apr 2009
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My man-made body of water is about 2 acres. I live in the western North Carolina mountains, and have struggled with the issue for calling my BOW a lake or a pond. Somehow I thought it was classier to have a lake rather than a pond, but 2 acres just isn't enough by the standards listed in this thread to make mine a lake. So I have decided to call my BOW a TARN - which is a fancy literary word, I learned today, for "a small mountain lake." tomte
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Algae
by Boondoggle - 06/14/24 10:07 PM
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