- My Forums
- Tiger Rant
- LSU Recruiting
- SEC Rant
- Saints Talk
- Pelicans Talk
- More Sports Board
- Winter Olympics
- Fantasy Sports
- Golf Board
- Soccer Board
- O-T Lounge
- Tech Board
- Home/Garden Board
- Outdoor Board
- Health/Fitness Board
- Movie/TV Board
- Book Board
- Music Board
- Political Talk
- Money Talk
- Fark Board
- Gaming Board
- Travel Board
- Food/Drink Board
- Ticket Exchange
- TD Help Board
Customize My Forums- View All Forums
- Show Left Links
- Topic Sort Options
- Trending Topics
- Recent Topics
- Active Topics
Started By
Message
New pond construction advice for future trophy bass management
Posted on 2/6/26 at 3:32 pm
Posted on 2/6/26 at 3:32 pm
We are currently clearing some land next to the interstate in the Albany area to build a new business. We need some dirt to raise spots and build a pad for our store and our shop. We are outdoorsmen so we figured why not make the most out of what we’re doing and try to make this pond the best a small pond can possibly be for trophy bass one day. I’ve watched a lot of videos and I know structure will be a key part, stocking, managing by culling fish, getting plenty bait through stocking and all that, but I was surprised how similar it is to foodplots as far as liming and fertilizing it to promote optimal plankton growth.
Where I’m at right now is we’re about to start digging. The pond will only be roughly an acre so what is the optimal layout or shape to make the pond. Well obviously have the middle dug as deep as we can for dirt, but would like to create different depths and underwater step ups and channels to give bass places to ambush bait, but also places for bait to get away from bass and spawn.
Is there any pond biologist I should call before we break ground? I know you can only do so much with a small pond, but we’d like to optimize it to be as good as it can be.
Thanks
Where I’m at right now is we’re about to start digging. The pond will only be roughly an acre so what is the optimal layout or shape to make the pond. Well obviously have the middle dug as deep as we can for dirt, but would like to create different depths and underwater step ups and channels to give bass places to ambush bait, but also places for bait to get away from bass and spawn.
Is there any pond biologist I should call before we break ground? I know you can only do so much with a small pond, but we’d like to optimize it to be as good as it can be.
Thanks
7
Posted on 2/6/26 at 3:38 pm to Dylan
Paging NASCAR…
Posted on 2/6/26 at 6:34 pm to Dylan
Never mind. I didn’t see the 1 acre part
This post was edited on 2/6/26 at 6:39 pm
Posted on 2/6/26 at 6:49 pm to Dylan
Crawdude will be along shortly to give you the resources available, there’s plenty available to help.
As someone who is the defacto manager of several ponds from an acre to four, best advice I can give you is don’t fall into the trap of thinking you can ever achieve balance in a small pond, especially if you want trophy bass. It is not a natural system and you will never be able to set it and forget it, they have more in common with an aquarium than a large lake. It’s not backbreaking work but you do need to keep up with liming and fertilizing and especially removing fish if you want to see it thrive.
As someone who is the defacto manager of several ponds from an acre to four, best advice I can give you is don’t fall into the trap of thinking you can ever achieve balance in a small pond, especially if you want trophy bass. It is not a natural system and you will never be able to set it and forget it, they have more in common with an aquarium than a large lake. It’s not backbreaking work but you do need to keep up with liming and fertilizing and especially removing fish if you want to see it thrive.
Posted on 2/6/26 at 7:07 pm to Dylan
Posted on 2/6/26 at 7:25 pm to Dylan
I'll add... you need a feeding program for the bluegill which is easy in a lake that size. More bluegill food = bigger bluegill = they lay exponentially more eggs with each inch of size = more food for bass = bigger bass. Basically, big bluegill and big bass (assuming you cull enough bass annually to keep them in check).
No vegetation on the dam other than grass and you'll need to keep that maintained/mowed. No trees or anything shrubby/woody.
Contrary to what Crawdude said, I would avoid getting the government involved in any aspect if you can afford to use private companies to answer your questions and plan things for you. You don't want your lake to start showing up in public records and you don't want government inspectors showing up all the time to make sure you are doing all your required maintenance and upkeep. Much of that depends on what is downstream of your lake.
No vegetation on the dam other than grass and you'll need to keep that maintained/mowed. No trees or anything shrubby/woody.
Contrary to what Crawdude said, I would avoid getting the government involved in any aspect if you can afford to use private companies to answer your questions and plan things for you. You don't want your lake to start showing up in public records and you don't want government inspectors showing up all the time to make sure you are doing all your required maintenance and upkeep. Much of that depends on what is downstream of your lake.
Posted on 2/6/26 at 9:48 pm to deeprig9
I'll add ...
If you feed the bluegill, their excrement fertilizes the pond for you. Plenty of plankton and a healthy ecosystem from the bottom up.
quote:
surprised how similar it is to foodplots as far as liming and fertilizing it to promote optimal plankton growth.
If you feed the bluegill, their excrement fertilizes the pond for you. Plenty of plankton and a healthy ecosystem from the bottom up.
Posted on 2/6/26 at 11:44 pm to TheDrunkenTigah
Do you run into much trouble with beavers or otters.
I have a fairly new pond of about 2years old.Lots of beavers in the bayou that’s a boundary.My next door neighbor has a creek that the beavers keep damming up.
There are otters in the bayou,I read they can decimate the fish in a pond.
I’m prepared to buy a thermal riflescope if I have to but I’d rather not have to deal with all that.
I have a fairly new pond of about 2years old.Lots of beavers in the bayou that’s a boundary.My next door neighbor has a creek that the beavers keep damming up.
There are otters in the bayou,I read they can decimate the fish in a pond.
I’m prepared to buy a thermal riflescope if I have to but I’d rather not have to deal with all that.
Posted on 2/7/26 at 5:33 am to Dylan
A good bream population is key, they survive well in pond conditions and are probably 75%+ of the pond bass's diet where we live.
Texas
Texas
Posted on 2/7/26 at 6:00 am to Dylan
Leave some peninsulas going out into the pond.
Posted on 2/7/26 at 11:18 am to LSUA 75
quote:
beavers
Caused dam failure in a friend of mine’s pond that will cost a shite load to fix, still sitting at half pool because of the sticker shock from the quote. Shoot beavers (and nutria) if they’re in the pond and hopefully they get the idea to stay in the bayou.
quote:
otters
I got nothing on this one. A few came through one of our ponds but didn’t stay. The good news is they don’t seem to stay in one place too long. The bad news is they’re too smart to hunt effectively, and are furbearers in most states so regs are tighter.
This post was edited on 2/7/26 at 11:19 am
Page 1 of 1
Popular
Back to top
Follow TigerDroppings for LSU Football News