Building a Fish Pond

Enlarge Image Image Gallery After you're finished building a fish pond it might look something like this. INSET: A successful catch. PHOTO: DAN RUSSELL

A fish pond (some folks call such bodies of water farm ponds, but I say that you don't have to live on a farm to construct your own fishin' hole) can provide many hours of pleasant recreation, enhance the beauty of (and variety of wildlife on) a homestead . . . and significantly increase the property's resale value in the bargain. Yet a lot of landed folks are intimidated by the thought of building a fish pond because the project seems too imposing.

The truth of the matter, though, is that making and managing your own fishpond isn't really difficult at all. There must be over a million "outdoor aquariums" in this country already, and — if you want to add one more pond to the number — the chances are pretty good you'll be able to do so.

Site Selection

A good fish pond should cover no less than half an acre and be six or eight feet deep over at least a quarter of its total surface area. The ideal spot for locating a mini-lake is in a well-banked gully that can offer five acres of watershed for each acre of pond surface. Such a land hollow will provide a ready-made basin for your little reservoir, and any narrow section of the draw will present a logical site for your dam.

Of course, it's likely that you don't have a "textbook perfect" pond spot on your own property, but — with a little bit of chin-scratch cogitating — you can probably design a pond that will meet the demands of the location you do have available. For instance, I know of a man who built a very successful fishpond by erecting two dams, one at each end of along valley. And I watched another fellow scoop out his future fishery right in the center of a level field. (At the time, I wondered what that man was going to use for a water source, but the clever fellow just borrowed a bunch of irrigation pipe from his neighbors and pumped his pond full . . . from a creek located over a quarter of a mile away!)

The point is that, if you're truly set on having your own fishpond, I'm sure you can find a way to make one. Keep in mind, though, that it's always best to move the least amount of dirt to the spot where that earth can back up the greatest amount of water . . . and that other considerations, like a desire to use the lake to irrigate crops or to water livestock, might affect your pond's placement.

When you're first choosing a site for a fishing hole, you can use stakes, string, and a level to predict the general shoreline that will be created when a dammed up area is filled. Just as important, though, is the need to figure the total volume of the projected body of water (you'll need such information to help you properly stock and manage your fishery). The easiest way to determine the capacity is to first calculate your lake's surface acreage. (If the pond's contour is irregular, you can estimate that area by sections and add the segments together . . . just remember that one acre equals 43,560 square feet.) Then take several measurements at different spots until you can reasonably approximate the average depth of your pond. Finally, multiply the latter figure by the surface acreage, and you'll have the pond's total volume in acre-feet. (For instance, a one-acre pond that averages six feet in depth would have a volume of six acre feet.)