Would You Sell It All For Your Own Pond?

[Paradice]

I'm planning to put in a fish pond on my property this summer.  I have been working with a fish/pond/water guy the past few months, and I think it'll work out.  Here's my question.  If you guys could grow your favorite fish in a pond on your property, would you give up public water ice fishing?  

I'm seriously considering it.  It really only matters when you consider whether you were planning to build storage for a boat and a fish house some day.  There are clearly many advantages a pond won't have, but there are also many advantages a pond will have that public waters won't.  

-no littering, no crowding, no poaching, no mob harvesting, no broken axels, no wheelers or sleds, no huskers or hawkeyes (just kidding guys), no licenses, no gas costs etc etc etc.  

What do you think?  

[perchking]

Nope, way to predictable. I like the idea of a pond but no way would I give up public lakes. Being out there all alone is boring:) 

[Agronomist_at_IA]

How big is the pond? 

While it would be fun for a few bass blue gill catfish mix it leaves a lot to be desired........large lakes for walleye is hard to beat.

[ZachD]

8 hours ago, Paradice said:

I'm planning to put in a fish pond on my property this summer.  I have been working with a fish/pond/water guy the past few months, and I think it'll work out.  Here's my question.  If you guys could grow your favorite fish in a pond on your property, would you give up public water ice fishing?  

I'm seriously considering it.  It really only matters when you consider whether you were planning to build storage for a boat and a fish house some day.  There are clearly many advantages a pond won't have, but there are also many advantages a pond will have that public waters won't.  

-no littering, no crowding, no poaching, no mob harvesting, no broken axels, no wheelers or sleds, no huskers or hawkeyes (just kidding guys), no licenses, no gas costs etc etc etc.  

What do you think?  

No license? pretty sure you need permits to stock and what not

and I believe once you build it, it becomes a natural resource so you would need a license to fish it and abide by the rules of the dnr.

Kind of like when I plant pheasants on my property I have to abide by the rules of the land.

[Wanderer]

It would be a cool Monday - Friday thing to spend an hour or so playing in but wouldn’t hold me for my only fishing.

But with Wanderer as a handle you could probably figure that. 

[rundrave]

I would like the convenience of just having fish in the backyard and being on the water in minutes.

I don't think I could give up public fishing though. Part of the thrill at least for me is the challenge that comes with hole hopping on the ice or trolling in the summer in pursuit of fish and trying to find them. It just makes it that much more rewarding when you put the work in.

[Big Dave2]

I would. The only thing that would make me want to fish public water is to go on a trip with friends or family. 

[nofishfisherman]

We have some family friends that own a large farm in Wisconsin and over the years they've built up a great pond.  It has a small beach for swimming, a dock, a small island accessible by bridge, and they've done a great job building up the fish population.  You can sit on the dock and catch 8-9 inch sunfish all day long without ever waiting more than a minute for a bite.  You'll also get rewarded with an occasional monster.  I've caught 2 over 12" so far and several over 10".  I believe these are all hybrids as I believe they said thats whats most commonly available for private stocking like that.  The pond also has a nice bass population full of 2-3 pounders with a decent number of 4-5 pounders mixed in.  My biggest out of the pond is just a bit under 6 lbs.  I was told they also stocked pike in the pond years back but only a few survived.  I'm pretty sure I had one of the few remaining pike on my line a few years back.  I never saw the fish but the only other thing it could have been was a bass and I've never seen a bass pull half has hard as that fish did.  It eventually cut my line so I'll never know for sure how big it was.

The pond is truly a gem for fishing.  We've gone for a visit and camped out by the pond for 3-4 days in a row and did nothing but fish, swim, and sit around the fire pit.  Its a lot of fun.

With all of that said by the end of the last day I'm usually pretty bored with catching the same fish over and over even when i know i'm likely to catch a large one in the process.  It gets to the point once you figure out the body of water that the challenge is gone.  Its as close to shooting fish in a barrel as you'll ever get.  It can be a lot of fun and I wish I had one on my property but I don't ever see it totally replacing the desire to get out on different lakes and chase different species and use different techniques. 

 

 

 

[Tom7227]

A pond needs work beyond just setting it up.  The big issue is creating a balance between the types of fish, and then providing them with enough material to eat.  You can find info about how many fish per acre  by type of fish, how much they need for feed, how many you need to harvest each year.  Then there is the question of freeze out.

[Getanet]

I realize this is a hypothetical, but in reality you won't have to give up public water fishing and you'll hopefully have the best of both worlds - your pond stocked with bruisers, and the ability to hit all the public lakes your heart desires.

While there is great appeal to the idea of having a body of water all to myself, unless the pond was pretty large I don't think it would take me too long to get bored. No much structure to fish or new areas to try out. I guess in my mind a pond is only about an acre.

 

 

[delcecchi]

I can see both points of view.   Part of the fun of fishing for me is figuring out where the fish are and what they are doing.   But the other part is actually catching something.   

Edited November 29, 2017 by delcecchi

[ozzie]

Private ponds aren't always a guarantee on catching fish.  I have a friend that has stocked his pond in the past and at one point had nice 5 lb walleyes and 14-16" crappies in it.  During the winter it was very difficult to catch fish.  Later he talked with a biologist and found out that in certain pond situations winter fishing is very very difficult to say the least.  I have another buddy that's family had a black dirt farm and the pit is now a lake.  they catch monster crappies in it and big bass but in the winter the fishing becomes very difficult also.  So in my experience as much fun a pond can be in the summer fishing them, it is not something I would want to stake my rest of my life's ice fishing on.

also there is a way that with fish in your pond, if the dnr clears it, that you could stock your pond and keep what ever you want. but if you don't have the DNR sign off on the deal (they make sure there are no fish in it currently as those would be "owned" by the state) then you have to play by state rules even if you legally buy fish to stock and raise them they would still be considered the states.  At least that is how I was explained to by one of the pond owners.

[Paradice]

Good feedback all.  I don't know that I'd completely give up on public water fishing.  I would likely do a lot less, and like BigDave2 said, I'd also focus more on group trips when I did go public.  A big driver for me is to have an extra activity on the recreational property.  

I do look forward to having my own pond though.  I envision my pond being a quarter acre or less.  Hoping for upwards of 9' deep if I can make it work in the space I'm willing to use.  

[ozzie]

Good Luck!  It is a fun recreational project and if you succeed in the development of a few fish species it can be a blast!! 

[nofishfisherman]

One thing to consider if you plan to ice fish on the pond is ice safety.  With a small pond you may end up needing some sort of aeration to protect your investment from winter kill.  That could make the ice sketchy if you plan to fish it. 

The pond I mentioned previously is spring fed and is a little over an acre with max depth in 2 spots around 11 feet.  With the springs feeding the pond I would not feel comfortable out on the ice based on the conditions I've seen.  Wouldn't be worth the risk to catch the same fish I know I can catch all summer long.  

[vtx1029]

Heck if you really wanted to ice fish it make peer with a shelter over the end so you could fish any time of the year. make it floating or suspend it from 4 huge pilings.

[Paradice]

5 hours ago, nofishfisherman said:

One thing to consider if you plan to ice fish on the pond is ice safety.  With a small pond you may end up needing some sort of aeration to protect your investment from winter kill.  That could make the ice sketchy if you plan to fish it. 

The pond I mentioned previously is spring fed and is a little over an acre with max depth in 2 spots around 11 feet.  With the springs feeding the pond I would not feel comfortable out on the ice based on the conditions I've seen.  Wouldn't be worth the risk to catch the same fish I know I can catch all summer long.  

Great point.  I've had a talk with my pond guy about that already.  Apparently there is a lot of thinking that goes into proper placement of an aerator.  

[Bobby Bass]

20 hours ago, Paradice said:

Good feedback all.  I don't know that I'd completely give up on public water fishing.  I would likely do a lot less, and like BigDave2 said, I'd also focus more on group trips when I did go public.  A big driver for me is to have an extra activity on the recreational property.  

I do look forward to having my own pond though.  I envision my pond being a quarter acre or less.  Hoping for upwards of 9' deep if I can make it work in the space I'm willing to use.  

bubbles, I love it