“Build It – And They Will Come” was a line in the 1989 movie Field of Dreams movie starring Kevin Costner. In the movie, this line referred that if you built a baseball field – baseball players would show up to play. Well believe or not, this line also applies to process of building a new pond or lake!
Recent research has shown that waterfowl can ferry fish eggs between waterbodies in their poop! So, if you build a waterbody, it is possible that you will have fish show up in your lake or pond, which could be a species of fish that is not desirable.
There is a science, as well as some “art”, to the proper management of a lake or pond for the purpose of maximizing the angling opportunities. Which in plain language- a higher likelihood of catching BIG fish! One of the critical steps involved with this process is the establishment of the proper balance between the predator and prey species within the overall total fish population. Since waterfowl can transfer unwanted species of fish to waterbodies, it then becomes even more important to conduct routine electrofishing surveys for the proper understanding and management of the fish population. This is especially valuable when catching BIG fish is the objective. Electrofishing surveys should be performed annually and are available in the Spring and Fall, generally from April-May and September-October, respectively. Contact us if you would like more information.
