So I recently purchased a home with a 1.25 surface acre pond - average about 8 feet deep a few sections goto 30 feet. Neighbor tells me there are some big LMB, seen large 3 foot long Catfish as well.

Also seen a Heron stop by for a snack from time to time not sure if that means lots of fish or the Heron has picked it over. Friendly neighbor tells me he throws Fire Crackers at Heron & Geese to scare them off. I think he also throws some lead but won't admit it just yet.

Found a Craigslist post for "10 Free 10-12 inch Black Koi" where the homeowner bought a house with an overwhelmed backyard Koi puddle i.e. about 3 feet x 5 feet. So I dropped those in the pond a few weeks ago but haven't seen them since. They could be down in the weeds (Hydrilla & WaterShield) having a feast or become a feast for something else.

Here is the question
Not sure how far I want to dive into this potentially all consuming hobby. There is a good chance in about 3 years I will be moved into a job that requires frequent out of state travel so I will have to put the pond on auto-pilot. Is that just setting myself up for lots of work to be redone in the future? Or is an auto-pilot possible?

Last edited by DogFather; 05/24/21 02:47 PM.
1.25 Acre Pond 8 Feet Deep

Some Koi & Large Mouth Bass