Reprinted from Mechanix Illustrated.
This short story follows a fisherman as he recounts the process to stock a pond with fish in his own backyard.
I step right out my back door into a fisherman’s paradise. It’s a small, homebuilt water hole so overflowing with mouthwatering bluegills that I can take out as many as 30 to 40 at a time.
A home fish pond is easy to build because it needn’t be fancy-fish aren’t fussy. Soon you have hours of relaxing fun as well as fresh, golden panfish such as you’ve never tasted before.
My pond is simply a shallow, irregular saucer scooped out by a tractor with a blade. No bulldozer is necessary. The sides are lined with a 1-2-3 mix of concrete. A bed of sand or gravel and steel reinforcing mesh is advisable in frost areas. A drainpipe allows water to be drawn off and replaced to keep the pond fresh. A tub of water lilies provides cool shade for the fish on hot days.
Stocking your fish pond is easy. To stock the pond, fingerlings can be obtained inexpensively at any state hatchery. I bought bluegills because they multiply like crazy. In a small pond, some extra food is required to supplement the natural supply — about a pound of chopped liver a week. The fish love it. U.S. Department of Agriculture Bulletin No. 1983 gives valuable information on raising fish in home ponds.
Originally published as “I Fish in my Backyard” November/December 1977 MOTHER EARTH NEWS.
