How to Build a Backyard Fish Pond for Walleye and Perch

The first step is to make sure you have enough land for the fish pond. I would not put a fish pond in your back yard. These ponds were built to grow walleye and perch for eating. If you have a acre of land or more then you are in good shape for a pond. Next check with your local county or township to obtain the proper permits to dig a pond. Make sure there are no underground cables in the area.

Pick a location that has good drainage and the soil below the top soil should be made up of mostly clay dirt. You will need to hire a backhoe contractor that is experienced in digging a pond. A good idea to reduce costs is ask around at the local tops soil companies. We did that and they agreed to dig the fish pond at a greatly reduced cost if they could haul away the top soil. If you are going to raise fish the pond needs to be at least 10 feet deep. Where possible you need to run a aerator to the pond this will keep the fish healthy and prevent to many surface weeds

You can decide on the size and shape of the pond but most are round. We left the center of the pond with a small island about 20 x 20 feet and planted a Birch tree in the middle it looks great. The fish pond will fill naturally with ground water and from rain. I was amazed after a couple weeks the pond was more then half filled with water. Make sure to landscape the pond with trees and grass to help with erosion.

For stocking the fish pond we contacted the local game and fisheries department. They were kind enough to supply us with a few dozen perch and walleye fingerlings. As for feeding the fish, the pond owner would go to the local butcher shops and have them ground up deer or steer hearts to feed to the walleye and perch. The fish grew at a phenomenal rate form eating the deer hearts. The fish grew fast and fat from the protein in the meat. You can also buy automatic fish feeders that are available from your local sporting goods store.