Pond Boss Forums Thread Like Summary - Open Water Cover?

In the new build, there will be a significant amount of very deep water from the borrow pit. Thinking 2-3 surface acres that will be 20-40ft deep. The balance of the pond will be mostly 3-10ft with some deeper channels from the original creek bed that may hit 20ft.

In the deep open water section, would there be any benefit to adding cover?

We are planning on stocking HSB and TFS as open water species. Do either of these fish relate to cover in any way? Would creating shade in this area from a floating island or other source be beneficial to these species? Or are their needs pretty minimal outside of the right water conditions? We have a couple old 20ft deer blind frames that are likely to no longer see any action and could easily convert to fish habitat. I figure if I need cover that will stretch from the bottom of the pit to the upper levels of the pond these are the best bet.

There will be aeration, but will likely only run at night during the hot months, so not sure what stratification will look like at this point.

Deep water structure is critical. Don't underestimate its potential especially if you bring it up to within 4 ft of the surface. We did xmas trees + oak limbs structures (Ray Scott method) in 15 ft water up to abut 3 ft from the surface. Feeder was set to throw on top of the structure. HSB congregated there and ate pellets and ambushed shad all year. 75% of the HSB we caught came from those spots. LMB would hold on those structures for year-round fishing moving up and down depending on water temp. Many hours watching the Aquaview camara showed the results. You should make use of the entire pond and not ignore the deep parts. No question that bottom contours are a large part of the equation but added material on those contours make the difference.

Broke pond record today with massive HSB. Like most HSB at our place, it aggressively fed on larger pellets, especially Optimal Hand Thrown chunk Big boy hit a top water lure, likely due to excitement from feeding on large floating chunks.

My experience is that HSB, even the giants, will go anywhere with food.

Congratulations