Landowners: Sometimes Renovating a Farm Pond is the Only Way to Ensure its Success

Deciding to renovate a pond is often a difficult decision for landowners, Scott Jones, small impoundment Extension specialist at the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff, said. In the simplest terms, “renovating” a pond means draining and recreating the entire pond. While the process is unsightly, time-consuming and costly, there are several situations where the procedure can pay off and provide years of good fishing.  

“Everything wears out eventually,” Jones said. “Ponds are sediment and nutrient traps that eventually fill in, making them progressively weedier and shallower until they are no more than a soggy depression in the field. Some ponds may only remain effective for a few years, while others may last for centuries depending on numerous variables.”

There are several situations in which renovation is the best course of action for the landowner. This process entails fully draining the pond, excavating accumulated sediment, rebuilding worn shorelines, dams and drainage structures, and finally, refilling and restocking the pond.

“Sometimes the fishery in a pond gets so hopelessly out of balance, either from years of poor management or from a fish kill, that renovation is the only course of action certain to succeed in a reasonable time frame,” Jones said.

Jones said landowners should consider a complete pond renovation in the event of:

• Significant leaks or failing dams – these are cases where renovation is almost definitely needed. Permeable soils, poorly compacted basins or dams, broken or worn-out drainpipes, or storm, animal or flood damage to the dams are all potential culprits that cripple the viability of a pond.

• Average depths less than 3 to 4 feet – this can lead to endless aquatic weed issues that require significant annual expense and time investment to keep under control. Shallower ponds also tend to get hotter, which is more stressful on fish, encourages harmful blue-green algae species to dominate the plankton community during summer and may actually reduce livestock fitness from consumption of lower-quality water during summer when they need it most.
• Shoreline slopes degraded to less than 1 foot deep for every 4 feet from shore – this encourages wide bands of aquatic weeds to grow along the edges of the pond. It can make fishing from the shore near impossible and increases annual expense and time investment to keep the shoreline clear of weeds.
• A majority of non-desirable fish species – when the fish community in a pond is dominated by common carp, buffalo, gar, bullhead catfish, green sunfish and/or gizzard shad, the best solution is to drain the pond and restock from scratch. Once established, non-desirable species such as these are extremely difficult to eradicate from a system without draining it. Even if eradication is achieved without draining, it may take several years of corrective stocking and harvest to reshape the fishery back into something desirable.
• The fishery not improving even after corrective measures – if the pond has not improved after controlling weeds, corrective stocking and corrective harvest, full renovation is likely the only remaining practical option. Some poor-fishing ponds can be fixed with a few years of stocking an underrepresented species or group of species, as well as harvesting overrepresented species. However, it is difficult to predict how long these projects will take to succeed, if they ever succeed at all.

“Full renovation of a pond will result in good fishing in around three or four years if the renovation and stocking process is done correctly,” Jones said.

For more information on pond renovations or pond maintenance, contact Jones at pondmanagement@uapb.edu or (870) 575-8185.

The University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff offers all its Extension and Research programs and services without regard to race, color, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, national origin, religion, age, disability, marital or veteran status, genetic information, or any other legally protected status, and is an Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity Employer.