I have heard recently that all ponds, BY LAW, have to be stocked for mosquito regulations. Is this true? If this is the case, every single pond you see on the side of the road holds fish?

Well if that's the case then I need to start fishin ponds

Don't know.

quit fishing ponds years ago.

Was like shooting fish in a barrel.

Don't know.

quit fishing ponds years ago.

Was like shooting fish in a barrel.

With a shotgun.

LOL!

Is this for every state?  I know a pond here in Vegas that did not have fish till someone released some catfish in it.  

I hear some ponds especially sediment ponds are too acidic to hold any aquatic life.

I think it depends on size. I think a pond has to be like two acres before it can hold any fish.

I think it depends on size. I think a pond has to be like two acres before it can hold any fish.

When I lived in Colorado there was a pond the size of my living room that had bluegill, catfish and a 6lb bass! 2 of the 4 ponds I fish at now are small too and it holds bass, carp, bluegill etc.

I don't know the law, but I would imagine that would be way too hard to regulate. Smaller ponds heat up very quickly and freeze quicker than larger bodies of water, meaning fish would be exposed to extreme temperatures and probably die. I would assume that if it was even possible to get some fish in every body of water in a state, it would be too much work to consistently check to make sure the wildlife is taking.

 

Also, at what point does a puddle become a pond? 

No. All ponds do not hold fish.

 

There is a drainage pond by my American Legion Post that is beautiful but no fish. Not even a minnow.

 

When the word "all" is used in a question the answer is usually negative so "no" all ponds do not hold fish.

You never know till you try, this pond is very small but have caught a 4.5lbs a few times here and few smaller but shuts down after I catch 3 fish 

Where I am, every pond I know of holds bass. The drainage ponds around here have them but are fenced off and aren't fishable. Same goes for the golf course ponds as well

There are a lot of ponds here that are fishless lakes.  The Conservation Dept even lists smaller ponds on some of their Conservation areas as being "fishless" ponds.

In Mo. I think they need to be stocked.  If I remember what I read it went something like this, panfish to eat the small stuff, bass to control the sunfish, and catfish and carp to do the clean up.

Interesting subject. I have also wondered the same thing.

You never know till you try, this pond is very small but have caught a 4.5lbs a few times here and few smaller but shuts down after I catch 3 fish 

 

I also live in NoVA and my neighborhood has a pretty good sized pond, probably 500ft x 150ft.  I know it holds some panfish.  I'll have to try it one of these days to see if there is anything else.  I've never seen anyone fishing there, though.  

I'm not sure of the law here in WV, but as Sam said, it all depends on what you consider a pond.

Most of the ones we have around my area have bass and bluegill, even the smaller ones, but I don't know of any law that requires them to be stocked with fish.

I don't know about other states, but here in Indiana a DNR agent told me that any body of water that has public access (not private ponds), including even the smallest pond in shopping centers are required to have fish in them to control mosquito populations. That was several years ago so I'm not sure. I know a lot of retention ponds have good fish in them but they're sometimes shown to have pesticides too. I was talking to a neighborhood association president I work with and he said their neighborhood stocks their pond once a year with yearling bass and bluegill at a ratio of 250-to-1000. Since then we've pulled many 3lb bass out of there with some rumors that a couple of lucky guys have pulled in 6lb+ bass, and kids are regularly wrangling with 8-10in blugills. As long as the population is kept in check it seems that the required stocking is working in favor of us fishermen.

I think that's the case in FL. All those retention ponds on the side of the highways have fish and hold some massive ones. I occasionally see people fishing them I need to start

toss some hand crushed crackers in if theres fish they'll eat em up..  bluegills  and the bluegills get ate by the big boys and girls,,,   miss small pond fishing lol

In central Florida the fish seam to magically show up in all ponds. I have seen many a retention pond dug and within two years there are fish. This could be in part to is having so many lakes n ponds that they are all within a half mile of another one. Not sure how it happens.

With exception to water that is to toxic.

Mosquito fish, Gambusia Affina, are small minnows used to abate insects in ponds, not a regulation that I am aware of ? if there was we would have it!

A pond is a pond, no agreement on when a pond becomes a small lake or tank.

Tom

No telling for sure until you catch something, but some clues are 1) does it have a culvert inlet / outlet? Means it's connected to other ditches, ponds, creek and yes, likely has fish. 2) are you in the coastal plain - the flatlands? These places flood from time to time, despite people's best attempts to pretend otherwise. The ponds are in the low points, so they all connect up once in awhile and fish move around.

 

One way I suss this out is to use Google Earth. Look for the pond on past aerial photos. If it's been around 15, 20, 30 years, you can be pretty sure it has fish.

 

Not sure about the regulation / must have fish thing. That could mean mosquito fish, which can live in a lot of places that bass cannot.

 

Love the crumbled cracker idea, Dogman.. I'll have to try that.

Never know till you try it..