As I drive to and from work there is a pond that I pass. It is about ten acres in size and every once in a while I will see a fisherman trying his hand at catching something. As I drive past this pond I often think to myself that would be a nice little pond to own. However, as with owning any type of recreational property, there can be a lot of work involved.

I have been very fortunate over the years to fish all types of small ponds. Some of them have been just phenomenal and provide huge catches of quality fish. Others are nearly void of life, while still others are completely out-of-balance. The latter issue I ran across quite regularly.

Pond owners face a daunting challenge if they want to make their little watery paradise the fish-producing machine it can be. The size of the pond determines how much management it will take to keep it in balance. If the water that you own is over twenty acres in size the management issue is much easier. The pond is more apt to self-regulate fish populations. Small ponds are quite the opposite though.