Andrew, Ewest said it all about these things not being all that self sustaining. And, done right, 15 acres of water and fish can be a lot of work.
It's about like the goats, cows and chickens. You just can't see the manure and things aren't as obvious until something goes wrong. Of course, lots of people hire pond managers like Greg Grimes to be their caretakers and have a wonderful experience.
Eric (Ewest) spoke about goals. Be very specific and clear about those goals. Make sure that you inderstand what you want and what level of commitment(effort and cash) you are willing to provide to meet those goals. For some people, a one acre pond the size of a football field is about perfect.
Regarding the size of the potential lake, I just laid out a plan this morning for a guy who has a 15 acre lake. He went into shock concerning the price of initial stocking of $6,000 to $7,000. That only covers Bluegills, fathead minnows, and channel cats. For what he wants, we will then toss in about $2,000 for bass next year. The year after the bass, we will look at more stocking expenses of either threadfin shad or tilapia. Of course, it will raise the value of his land much, much, more than that in about 3 to 5 years.
