I spoke with my contractor about building a small forage pond and this summer we hope to get it built. Due to location it will have to be seined to remove the forage fish. So, anyone have any advice on what size it might be? Plans are to build it like a paint roller pan. And where is to be located it should get plenty of water both ground water and runoff.
Be careful with the runoff amount. Excess flow through can make for very difficult management and stress on the fish.
My forage pond is 1/20th of an acre and for a low management pond that is as small as I would want to go. It gets limited runoff and has worked pretty well.
I have also used my 1/10th acre sediment pond to grow out some CNBG. It worked in a year that did not have a lot of big rains. Last year and this year it would have been a disaster. Being a sediment pond its purpose is to settle out stuff. But its main feature is that it takes in lots of water, slows it down, then deposits it in the main pond. During a big rain event it could have multiple complete water changes. Think about an aquarium where you put the faucet in the tank and exchanged all the water several times over all at once. Probably end up with a bunch of dead fish.
My forage pond does not get that type of rapid water exchange. They sit within 50 feet of each other but are night and day difference in the way fish thrive.
My point is, more isn't always better when it comes to water inflow into a pond. If your location is going to have huge runoff for the size of the pond, consider a diversion terrace or some mechanism where you can reduce the inflow if needed to modest amounts. Or control it with a pump. Too much water flow through too quick in short bursts can be detrimental to pond fish.
Specialty ponds
