Pond Boss Forums INTRO New Forum Member Introduction New pond owner, Old pond

Hello all, I'm James. As the title says I'm a new pond owner of an old pond in East Texas. I'm a city boy that got convinced by my 3 boys and East Texas wife to buy a 14 acre property with about a half acre pond. The place is beautiful, heavily wooded and isolated at the end of a country road. Initially I thought how cool it would be to have our own fishing pond. After all once the fish are in there, what else do you have to do but sit back and enjoy. HAHA. I found this forum about the time we were closing on the property and after reading through the posts I'm wondering what did I get myself into. Now when I look at the pond I'm a bit overwhelmed just trying to figure out where to start.

The pond is about 40 years old. The couple we bought the place from were in their 70's so nothing has been done as far as maintenance in years if ever.

Some of the issues that I see and there are many. Water levels way lower than the banks and dock indicate it should be, water levels fluctuating drastically, one to two feet in a couple of days, weeds and grass growing right through the middle of the pond, eroded banks, trees growing in the water, trees and vegetation covering the dam, no aeration, probably stunted fish and one 5 foot alligator to boot.

I realize it won't be an overnight fix, so I just have to keep telling myself it'll be a life long commitment, as we see this place as our retirement home. Eventually my boys will be old enough to help, They're all under 8 yrs old. So it'll be awhile.

We've already enjoyed the pond as it is, catching LMB and some other pan fish that I haven't yet identified. Skipping rocks, hiking around the place, and playing with my son's remote control boat, that is until we saw the gator.

My goal is to have a clean healthy pond for fishing. Not looking for trophy bass just fun, easy catch and release fishing for my boys and the occasional fish fry, preferably some sort of pan fish.

Not sure where to begin as far as maintenance, but will try to post in the appropriate threads and tackle our issues one at a time. I appreciate any help from the forum. Makes me feel a little better to have a group like this to ask for advice.

Thanks for reading, future posts wont be as wordy:-) Will see if I can post some pics later.

Welcome to PBF!

I am not an expert but I am sure some will be along to help you sort things out. I suspect one area they will zero in on regarding your water level is ...



Good luck with the pond and, again, welcome!

Bill D.

Another welcome to PB, you have found the best place for all your questions, so don't be bashful.

The best thing you can do right now is get out there and start enjoying the pond, in whatever shape it is in. Fish it, and see what is in there. Take pics of what you catch, record lengths and weights for future reference and guidance. Start working on getting rid of the smaller brush on the dam.

If the pond does dry up/ gest low, and the fish that are in there aren't terrific, you might want to have plans made on renovating the whole pond and take advantage of the drought. Like I said, depends on the condition of the fish, and that means fishing (terrible huh?) .

Lots of members down in Texas, your not alone.

Howdy James. Relatively new land/pond owner myself in your neck of the woods. Like everyone else said...lots of good info here. Welcome.

Welcome L's.

A gator! How cool is that!

The bright side to that is you likely don't have problems with pesky geese like some of us do. I could use a gator for just a few days.

Ponds can be enjoyed in just about any condition they might be in. There will always be some sort of wildlife that utilizes them to observe and enjoy. A person can put a lot or very little work into the pond, just depending on the goals of what they want from the pond.

A gator; cool! There is probably a shortage of turtles and water snakes.

What is the nearest town? Lots of East Texas guys here. Post some pics when you get a chance.

The fluctuations are probably from the trees on the dam. But, it's not a sure thing.

I believe my first step would be clearing the areas around the banks so I and the family wouldn't get a nasty surprise from the big lizard.

Don't fret, you'll have a blast with your boys
and make lots of lifelong memories around that pond.

And remember.....

Welcome aboard You are going to love this place.
Live by what zep posted it is the journey not the destination.

First, do what Dave said make it easy to get to no one will come very often if they have to carry a chain saw with them, Keep an eye on the waterlevel, and post some pictures,

Welcome board good advice already. Don't make work out of something that is fun.. True you gotta do something but not all at once. There are a few folks that really take the pond thing seriously and others are more laid back. Ask lots of questions and post pictures if you can, you will meet new and good friends on here. I've met some fine folks here and gained a lot of knowledge from them . Have fun!



Pat

Hi have some questions as to pond care. Our pond has been taken over by phragmites. We have tried cutting them down then our pond guy comes out and treats and that made no difference. We dug them all out with loader and that seemed to make it worse. Alot of people around here have been telling us to use the Karmex but ive been reading a lot of bad things about that. We are not so much worried about the algae which there seems to be alot of as well but the phragmites have made it to wherrr we can swin or fish in it. Yesterday and the day before we cut them all down and burned all the way around the 300x400 pound and really need so ideas before it all starts growing back in. Thank you. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you very much. im new to this site it there a way to repost on the othe link or do I just rewrite a post on it.

Welcome James. Where in east Texas are you?

Might be a good idea to have a dirt work guy come out and give you an estimate to rework the pond.