RECREATIONAL
POND MANAGEMENT
Satisfaction
and enjoyment from a pond begins with proper design and construction.
Pond sites should possess three characteristics: an adequate
supply of good quality water, topography that can be economically
converted into a pond and soil that will hold water. The local
office of the U.S. Soil Conservation Service can provide valuable
assistance in determining if soil types and proposed locations
are suitable for pond construction.
Most ponds
in Louisiana are ‘watershed' ponds, which depend totally
on rainfall runoff across pastures or woodlands to fill and
maintain water levels. Watersheds must be well vegetated to
keep pond water from becoming turbid with mud. Runoff from
cropland is not suitable for ponds because of potentially
harmful fertilizer runoff and excessive turbidity. Pastures
make good watersheds, but too many animals on a pasture will
result in excess nutrients entering the pond and cause serious
problems with water quality. Water from pine forest watersheds
is usually a bit acidic (low pH), and the addition of limestone
may be required in some ponds receiving this water.
Canals,
streams and rivers may also be used as sources for pond water
if certain precautions are taken. Water must be free of contaminants
and should be carefully filtered with a fine mesh screen to
minimize the possibility of stocking ponds with undesirable
species of trash fish like green sunfish, carp and bullhead
catfish. Water wells must be used when surface water sources
are unacceptable or not available. Wells are expensive to
install and operate and must be of sufficient size and discharge
capacity to be useful. Ground water often contains dissolved
gases like carbon- and sulfur dioxide and minerals like iron
and calcium. Ground water also contains no oxygen. Aeration
of well water by splashing through a series of screens will
add sufficient oxygen and take care of problem gases and minerals.
Fertilization
increases the capacity of a pond to produce fish. Nutrients
provided from fertilizer increase production of microscopic
plants (phytoplankton) that in turn serve as food for microscopic
animals (zooplankton) and aquatic insects. An abundance of
these small creatures give ponds a shade of green color and
is called a "plankton bloom". Plankton and insects
serve as food for bream which are in turn eaten by bass. Fertilization
increases the production of natural fish food organisms in
ponds and so results in greater fish production and better
fishing.
Proper
use of fertilizer can increase fish yields 2 to 5 times. Fish
are easier to catch in fertilized ponds because plankton turbidity
limits their vision causing them to be less wary. Plankton
blooms also reduce light penetration to pond bottoms, preventing
growth of troublesome aquatic weeds. Muddy ponds and ponds
with excessive amounts of water flushing through cannot be
fertilized effectively. Ponds with soft, acid water may need
to be limed before fertilization may be effective. Your local
Louisiana Cooperative Extension Service office can provide
assistance in submitting soil samples for liming recommendations.
Too much
fertilizer can also be a problem. Most fish kill incidents
in recreational and farm ponds are the result of oxygen depletions.
Dissolved oxygen levels depend on temperature, pond depth,
productivity and fertilization, and water movement. In almost
any aquatic environment, fluctuations in natural nutrient
cycles create imbalances which can lead to oxygen depletions
and fish kills. Generally, these fluctuations are difficult
or impossible to predict, but high nutrient levels from feeding
or over-fertilizing almost always compound problems with oxygen
management.
When considering
what fish to stock, pond owners should consider their objectives
in terms of food production, recreation, aesthetics or trophy
angling and how much time they will have to devote to pond
management. Small ponds (less than 1 acre in area) provide
the best fishing and the most food on the table when stocked
with 200–400 catfish per acre. Bass-bream combinations
are not recommended for ponds less than 1 acre in size due
to problems in maintaining a balance between these predator
and prey species. Bream populations tend to become overpopulated,
resulting in stunting and eventually interfering with or preventing
bass spawning. Crappie, sac-a-lait or white perch populations
cause even more severe problems, and this species should not
be stocked in any recreational pond.
