A bass fishing friend of mine is looking to buy land with a pond. The one he is looking at now has a pond of about 5-6 acres, I think.
What would be the smallest size pond that could support good Largemouth, Crappie and Bluegill fishing? 1 acre? 2? maybe 5 acres???
Say a pond that looks like this? (This pond is only a hypothetical pond, of course. Any resemblance to an actual pond is a mere coincidence. The image is only for instructional purposes only.;))
I would contact your state Fish and Wildlife Div. I am certain that they would be able to tell you.
I have a friend with a lake 3/4 of an acre and he has bass but I am certain he did not do any homework as to what and how many his lake would support.
Respectfully,
Sean
Some if the best ponds where I live are 1/2 acre and less. I had a place myself a few years back the had a 1/10 acre pond that I managed myself and had more fish in it than I could ever think about catching.
I have taken 5# plus bass out of 1/2 acre ponds as well as many good bluegills. Have caught crappie in ponds smaller than 5 acres. I would agree though, talk to state people and they could advise as to optimal management of a pond.
Most of the ponds I fish are smaller than that. They way yu maange the number of fish taken out and the fertility of the pond are two things that will effect the fishing alot.
Rick
I agree with the above posts. I fish a handful of 1/3 and 1/2 acre ponds that produce 8-10 inch gills and 3-4# bass. Two of which are managed properly and you can tell it makes a difference.
I had to look again to make sure Mashtom doesn’t live near me! You can find some real “small” gems out there. I have taken gills & redear up to 11" out of 2 small ponds…both of which yield 9 inchers with surprising regularity. Also dandy bass, both in size & numbers. As Rick said, pond management & fertility are key.
Mike
First I’d like to welcome Doublewide aboard. New guys have to make the coffee and be sure and wipe your feet!
Pay attention guy’s!!
I do not know what the minimum size is for a good fishable pond - the other folks have offered some good advice.
There are several small ponds, and some stocked storm-water retention ponds within several minutes drive of my house. They are all good fishing, bass, crappie, catfish, bowfin, pickerel -and all caught on a fly.
My goal is to catch that darned big Koi I have seen swimming around in a local pond - a storm-water retention pond.
That hypothetical pond looks good, how ever there is a river that looks like it is connected to the pond by an old semi dried channel, if I owned that pond I would double make sure that any thing I put in it would not escape,and that the proper authority’s are ok with what I put in it, if they do escape than there may be trouble with native fish populations in the river…
Basically cover all your bases and you will have a great fishery…
Doublewide,
WELCOME! Sorry, I missed this being your 1st post here. It’s a great place, made even better by ol’ nags like Jack to remind us when we’ve missed something. BTW, are you in Jack’s vicinity? He & Warren are in Tullahoma.
Mike
As Rick said, smaller ponds can maintain a very good population of fish. My limited experience suggests that the problem is more the people who fish it. On small ponds, a couple of fisherman, particularly if they are using bait, can clean out just about every bass in the place if the fish are really hungry and feeding. I have a shallow pond of less than one acre which I have permission to fish once in a while. I arrived on a spring afternoon to find three teen “poachers” who had two five gallon buckets filled to overflowing with largemouth bass of all sizes. By the time I notified the owner, the teens and the fish were gone. The pond has never been the same and now contains hundreds of stunted brim. You really have to manage both people and fish. Keep all the brim and put back all the bass. 
I think it more important to look at the prospected pond in terms of it’s structure and layout…There is one particular Pond I visit that from first glance…one might just not bother tossing a line in it…As it’s quite small…but deep! The spring creek that feeds it, Is seldom more than a trickle…But provides cooler temps in the heat of summer and good oxegenated water…and there are several spots that have ridges and other contour differences across the ponds length…This is my #1 choice for big bull gill fishing! and the larget Bass, I’ve encountered in this area…I’d guesstamate it’s size at 1/2 to 1/3 acre.
8T,
I agree, although I keep gills only a couple times a year from each small pond, & I release all 8 1/2" & over. Joe V & Mike C can attest to a fine average size of gills in these waters. I DO release ALL bass, & I DO NOT even fish these ponds when the bass are bedding. I’m not sure whether or not this makes a difference, but it sure isn’t hurting these ponds, so I won’t change.
Mike
As you are starting to see from the above posts, it’s not the size of the pond that matters as much as the right fish to fishfood ratio. I’ve fished furtile puddles (1/2 acre or less) that have given up some great fish and some thirty or forty acre lakes that were full of nothing but stunted crappies and bluegills no more than four inches long. Management is key. If you want big gills and crappie you need something else that will eat a lot of the little ones. By the same token, if you want big bass, you need to have plenty for them to eat. If done well, the two conditions can be reached simultaneously and will sustain each other as long as nothing happens to throw off the balance (i.e., keeping, or in some cases not keeping too many of one or the other when you fish the pond). I personally wouldn’t put crappie in a small pond, but other than that I would echo the previously offered advise of consulting your local county extension agent for advice on the proper species mix for the water and habitat your pond contains.
IF you want to put in crappie stock it with black crappie. Because they don’t reproduce as fast as white crappie. So they all don’t all become stunted as white but over time they will
become stunted anyway.
I don’t believe size has nearly as much to do with it as environment… have seen very small ponds (not much bigger than a very large swimming pool) that were spring fed with good feed support a strong population of 20"+ Bows…
Wow, lots of helpful responses! Thanks to all.
This is encouraging news. Makes me think that it may also be possible for me 
to own land with a pond or two in the future.
Welcome Aboard, Doublewide. Normandy, TN…hmmmmm That wouldn’t be Normandy by way of Hermitage, would it? Still, I can’t fault your choice of locations. If Jack knows you, then I’m sure that I’ll have the opportunity to meet you soon. Jack must like you, since he didn’t say that you have to bring doughnuts.
Are you more of a warm water fly fisher, or more of a trout fisher? Either way, you’re in a good spot. BTW, drag Jack up if you make it to TU meetings. I sometimes tie there and I could use the abuse, I mean, support… 
Take care,
Ed