It has been a few years since I have been around. We sold our property in North Texas that had the single half acre pond, so I have been pondless for a while. I have missed it. We are now in the process of building a house on our family cattle ranch in far Western North Texas. The good news is that this ranch has 20 or so ponds ranging in size from 1/2 acre to 40 acres. The bad news is that all of them are primarily for cattle to drink. However, all of them do have fish to some degree. Most of the smaller ponds are crammed full of stunted bass and have tons of vegetation due to the presence of the cows. I am excited to fish each of these ponds systematically to discover exactly what is in each. I will use this thread to possibly chronicle my efforts. I may try to manage the one or two ponds closest to my house site as best as I can around the cows.

Any advice on how to manage ponds that cows have access to? Keeping the cows out is not an option as it is a working cattle ranch. Most of the ponds are fairly deep to ensure they don't go empty and are positioned well to catch a lot of water. Most typically have one shallow spot the cows use to get in and the other 3/4 of the pond is relatively undisturbed. Would adding grass carp to these ponds help manage some of the overabundance of vegetation? Some type of solar aeration? Any other tips? Does anyone else manage any cattle ponds?

NTHA - North Texas Half Acre
Cattle Ranch Ponds