I was wondering how old a man made lake/pond had to be sustain life and what clues to look for to tell how old the lake/pond is?

I stumbled on a community park, looks fairly new. I can see the mesh for erosion control in a few places by the banks. Beavers have moved in and built a lodge in the middle and dropped a bunch of trees that were flooded when they let it fill up. Tons of cover in about ¼ of one end from where the didn't clear the trees ( don't think the thought it would get that big ). Found a dead large mouth, about 16, hard to really tell been dead for a while, could be one somebody tried to turn loose , or what I'm not sure. Thought someone could give me a few pointers.

Thanks

G

If it's got water and oxygen it is ready immediately. Usually, the state checks out the soil, watershed, and polluting possibilities before, during, and after construction. They will then figure a ratio and begin the stocking procedures. Here in Texas they will stock the forage and give them a buffer before the original stocking of game fish. We have a new lake here in east Texas that has had the forage, and bream stocked since last spring. It was about half full when this was done. The game fish stocking has started and is being done in structured segments. Lake will open in about 18 months.

If your lake is over a year or two it most likely has been stocked and is ready for the wars. Remember, there are lots of possibilities for there to be larger fish already in the lake. They can come from farm ponds that were covered, creeks, and even individuals that illegally transport and stock the lakes. Don't get caught doing this either, your in for hefty fines if caught.

Only way to check it out is to fish it.

Good luck,

Jack

yea, it should be ready pretty quickly, especially if they had planned to stock it.  Think fishtank, or koi pond.... almost as soon as you fill it up, you can put the fish in.  Most of the time you just wait for the water temp. to even out.