Building a dam across a low area creates a pond if the watershed and soil type are adequate. The dam backs up runoff, forming a pond from 1 to 50 or more acres. Ponds typically are deepest near the dam, with gradually shallower water toward the upper end.

Cuts, points, humps, and flats with weeds or timber attract bass, sunfish, crappie, and catfish. In summer, bluegills and crappies may cruise open water to feed on zooplankton or small shad, or hold near willows or other overhanging trees to nab falling insects. Emergent vegetation and submerged weedlines also are good fishing areas. Particularly in southern latitudes, crappies tend to overpopulate small ponds, resulting in small, slow-growing fish. They should not be added to ponds managed for bass and bluegill for this reason.

Dammed Creeks

Creeks are dammed to power mills, to irrigate, and for fishing. These ponds can cover from 10 to over 100 acres. Standing timber and stumps near deep water attract crappies. When creeks prevent ponds from stratifying, crappies may move deep in summer. Structure and cover are diverse, and often many species are present as wild fish enter from the creek.

Low fishing pressure can mean superb angling, but competition with wild fish may inhibit crappie growth. Dammed creeks usually aren’t fertilized, because water quickly passes through them.

Pits

Pits created by mining operations often fill with rainwater, springwater, or groundwater from the water table. Where water chemistry is suitable, crappie and many other species thrive. Pits are typically deep and clear, with manmade structure such as shelves, roadbeds, mine shafts, and spoil piles. Clear water fosters weedgrowth if soft sediments and shallow flats are present. Stumps and flooded timber also hold fish.

Pits range from a couple of acres to over 1,000, and the fish composition varies from only bullheads to dozens of species. Check with property owners or fishery agencies to learn about stockings and management strategies.

Explore pits during the day, but expect best results during low-light periods and at night. Biomass is usually low due to infertile conditions, but trophy fish are possible. Some Florida phosphate pits are fertile and produce extraordinary fishing. The world-record, 4-pound 2-ounce bluegill was caught in Ketona Lake, a flooded limestone mine in Alabama. Presently, it’s a poor fishery, which shows the importance of releasing large fish––and of fishing pits when they’re producing big fish, before masses of anglers discover them.