Small pond management?

[IHDiesel73L]

Just curious if anyone here has a small pond that they manage.* The rear of our property is basically a small valley where everything drains through, going north to south (from the hay farm down to my neighbor on the other side). The previous owner took what was basically swampland/a vernal pond and had an excavator dig it out to make it an actual pond about 25 years ago. He mounded up the spoils around the low side and put an 8" PVC drain in which drains to the south into the swamp on my neighbor's land.*

The result was this:

These images were taken late summer/early fall-the first two with my cell phone the second two with a trail cam I had posted back there. As you can see it is getting kind of weedy/grassy around the edges. One of my fears is that it will slowly turn back into a swamp, but I do realize that the grasses/weeds do provide cover for fish, so any information on what to pull/what to leave would be great. Here are some facts about it:

• Located in Northwest NJ
• Oblong shape - about 50' x 75'
• Pond is about 300' from the house so aeration would potentially be big $$$
• Average depth of 5' in the center, 3' as you get closer to the sides
• Very shaded
• Water is what I would describe as "tea colored" with a visibility of about 2'
• Level stays fairly constant with water almost always even with top of drain pipe-I saw it drop about 3-4" below the top of the pipe last August/September
• Water source seems to be mix of drainage from the fields and ground water (there is 25' hand dug well on the property up the hill from the pond-water level is fairly close)
• Bottom is fairly mucky-when I was doing depth measurements (from my canoe) I found that if I stiffened the tape measure I could jam it down another 6-8" and when I pulled it up it had that "swamp gas" smell
• This winter it probably froze 6" thick or more with no slushy or open spots

Given all of this, what can I do in order to manage this pond as a (relatively) mosquito free, fun fishing pond for my young (currently 3 and 6) daughters and their friends? Also, the long term goal is to make the clearing next to the pond a picnic/BBQ area with a grill, firepit, picnic table, etc... I don't really care what goes into the pond (sunnys, bass, catfish, carp) as long as it provides some fun for my girls. The previous owner said that he would catch fish elsewhere and throw them in but didn't really apply any thought to it. We haven't seen any signs of life beyond frogs, tadpoles, and one medium sized snapping turtle. Looking forward to learning a lot as a new pond owner and hopefully finding some ways to get more out of this little pond.

 

[wjmst]

Aeration will be the key to maintaining life in the pond.
I suspect you will find most of the information you need here:
Pond Boss Magazine: PondBoss Magazine

 

[MossRoad]

Nice!

Lot's of folks recommend the pondboss website. There's a lot of questions pre-answered over there, plus a forum.

Pond Boss Magazine: PondBoss Magazine

 

[MossRoad]

Well, that's two votes for pond boss! :laughing:

 

[plowhog]

What area are you in and what is your climate like?

An average maximum depth of 5' plus 6 inches of ice in winter is going to be problematic for fish. The pondboss forum is an excellent resource.

I stocked my pond with bass, bluegill, and catfish. That combo (around here) is a good, sustainable mix.

 

[IHDiesel73L]

What area are you in and what is your climate like?

An average maximum depth of 5' plus 6 inches of ice in winter is going to be problematic for fish. The pondboss forum is an excellent resource.

I stocked my pond with bass, bluegill, and catfish. That combo (around here) is a good, sustainable mix.

I actually put up a post on Pond Boss as well but figured I'd see what I get here since Tractorbynet'ers love their ponds too. I'm in Northwest NJ BTW. At least in terms of temperatures, last winter was pretty average. Summers tend to be hot and humid, but the pond has a lot of shade.

 

[GLyford]

If you have a snapping turtle, you won't have fish for long...

 

[oosik]

All things considered - -

- its going to be quite difficult to maintain a year round "livable aquatic condition" with a pond that small and shallow

- aeration will be REQUIRED if you want even a chance for fish to make it thru the winter aeration will be required 24/7/365

- IF you go the aeration route - install and operate the aeration for a FULL YEAR prior to planting any fish The aeration will stir the organics up off the bottom of the pond - the organics will use every bit of oxygen you can generate just in their breakdown process. If there are fish in the pond during this process - - they will die.

- you best consider fish that are very tolerant to low oxygen levels - - carp, catfish, grass carp, gold fish - - try bass but don't be surprised if they don't make it thru the winter.


View attachment 561854 This is my pond viewed off my front porch. Its ten acres - five acres of open water, five acres of cattails with water depths from three to eight feet. The pond is 80 feet deep. About every 20 years, or so, we will get an early winter and long spring. Even this pond can winter kill in these conditions. I've had it happen once in the 36+ years I've been here.

I had five acres of dead bass floating on the little pond.

 

[Beltzington]

My pond is very similar to yours in the fact it basically a dam across a natural watershed. It sat untouched for 15-years before I purchased the property, like yours it was overgrown. My advice to you is buy about six 8" sterile grass carp from a local fishery, I added 12 to our pond several years ago and it is amazing how much grass they eat. We don't live on the property so they are pretty much self sustaining, we occasional throw in some fish food which they eat. Out of the 12 there are only three left but they are bout 3' long. Winter freeze will be an issue but your local fishery or extension office can help you with the details. It is low on my project list but sediment removal and aeration will be my next steps with our pond.

Good Luck!

 

[rekees4300]

+1 for sterile grass carp. Put 12 in our 1 acre pond in 2015, now ALL weeds (including cattails) are gone. Also if there are trees growing on the dam they should be removed because eventually the roots will cause the dam to leak.