Where are you located?

Often it is unnecessary to kill out a pond before starting management.

You need to determine if everything is in place for your pond to work right. Depending on your location, ponds should have: 8-12' max depth at a minimum, no vegetation problem, some sort of structure/habitat, an adequate watershed, and an alkalinity of at least 20 ppm. This is to start.

You can learn a lot about what's in your lake by fishing, but an electrofishing survey is the sure-fire way to get you on the right path, if you chose your pond manager well.