Hello everyone, just looking for a little advice here. I live in Rockport, Tx & of course an avid salty dog but for some reason I've always wanted a stocked pond. My property is all sand, does anyone have any pointers they can give on how to be successful at this. I've done a lot of research & heard many different opinions on what is best, (use plastic/don't...add this or that/don't etc). I live a couple of miles from the water, pond will be about one/1 1/2 acres, planning on going 14 to 16 ft deep, will be aerated, fed with good well water, & stocked with either hybrid catfish and/or whipers, fat head minnows & high protein fish food for food. Any pointers on digging a pond in the sand I would greatly appreciate it.

I'm not a dirt work person but I would think you would have to truck in clay and line it that way. I'm not a big fan of liners, too easy to puncture and expensive to replace/maintain. Perhaps someone else will chime in and offer more advice.

btw, Im headed to Seadrift Monday to do a little wade fishing. Love it down there.

You will need to have a soil content of at least 20% clay to hold water. Preferably 30%. Either get clay brought in or install a liner.

Check with nearby neighbors that have ponds...if there are any. Ask them how deep before they hit clay...if they found it. Ask them if they hold water. The clay depth varies considerably, for example in my sandy soils I hit good clay at four feet.

You can also get a soil test by someone equiped to use an auger to drill down to determine what you have.

I would seriously reconsider if you can not establish good clay on the site. The expense, trouble and trauma associated with liners, trucking clay in, etc. can be significant.

Will wiper live well in a pond?

Thanks guys for your input, I will try & find out where my clay is....if any. There are a lot of ponds around that have been dug. Some look like they worked out really well & some don't. Gonna have to knock on a few doors & ask some questions. @ Blues, yes everything that I've read about the whipers say that they do really well in small ponds & warm temperatures.

Read my story about them on my website. They have pros and cons...in my case the cons heavily outweighed the pros.

Shortlived, intolerant to warm water angling, high mortality after three years age, voracious feeder that will adversely affect LMB growth, unless you heavily artificial feed the hybrids, become very hook shy quickly, and high maintenance....but other than that, they do fine.

LOL, thanks for the info. I'm thinking more along the lines of the hybrid catfish anyway. I've never really cared too much for eating many fresh water fish. I'm just so used to saltwater species. I do go catfishing a couple times a year but they are not my favorite on the table. The best catfish I've ever had though have all come out of private stocked ponds with the fish being fed high protein dog food or fish food...awesome on the table...& fun for the kids too. Just something different to do I guess. From what I've read, largemouth bass need a little more room than a 1 to 1.5 acre pond? Dunno, I had a buddy once that had a very small pond with some very nice 5-6 lb Florida Hybrids in there.

in a 1 acre pond you can easily grow largemouth on feed pellets and get them to around 3-4 lbs. Bass that are not on feed are a little more difficult to raise in small ponds but it can be done with the proper setup and commitment.

Absolutely you can do that....actually relatively easily as compared to raising hybrid striped bass in ponds.

The cross between the Florida bass and the native (northern) bass is an excellent pond fish, will reproduce just like any other LMB, has excellent growth rates, is very aggressive, and requires very little maintenance. It isn't a hybrid in the same sense that a white bass crossed with a striped bass is a hybrid aka wiper... and sterile in ponds.

The Florida cross LMB(sometimes called Tiger bass) is fully reproductive and an excellent choice for ponds.

I just need to figure out if I want a bass pond or a catfish pond....or both. My plan is to stock a pond with a good table fish that is also fun to catch & relatively low maintenance. In a small pond, I don't know how well catfish & bass will live together competing for food? I'm going to feed them, & also stock prey species but still trying to decide what I want I guess. I'm learning.

If your looking for eaters.....CRAPPIE, CRAPPIE, CRAPPIE!

i installed a liner in my pond and love it! water clarity is great and didnt have to truck in clay and bentonite!

I'd stay away from crappie in a small pond.

hybrid catfish?

Yeh they're a cross between a channel & blue cat. They are supposed to be less prone to disease, grow faster with more meat on the bone, & be a little more aggressive.....at least that's what I've read. Sounded good to me anyway.....