Building a Pond - For DEER!

Anyone thought about (or actually built) a pond to hunt over during warm days? I am thinking about constructing one on a hillside in one of my prime spots...

What do you guys think?

 

We are going to be doing one this spring. We will take a bobcat and skim the top soil off and then create a small hole in the middle which will collect rain water and run off. My cousin's uncle has done it before on there land and he said that he had tons of deer visit them throughout the year.

 

Dug a couple of small waterholes on my property with the bucket on my tractor. The deer loved them this past fall when it got dry. But like food plots most of the sction was after dark. I did get some neat trail cam pics tho.







One of the few daylight pics of a good buck at the water hole.

 

Deer do love and need watering holes, around here there is plenty of water though. No need to build them in my area. I have 6 streams, 3 ponds, and 4-5 watering holes on my hunting grounds. 2 swamps as well.

If i lived in an area void of all that though, i would def. make some.

 

Too much water on our land here for it to do any good. I do know a lot of guys who do it in Buffalo County. I would try to keep it as close to bedding as possible, but still be able to hunt it, so you may get some daylight visitation.

 

I have hunted an area that had a stream literally 80 yards away from my plot, my friends thought it silly when I built a small pond in the plot. Deer are lazy, they came to the pond rather than the stream. It was 30 yards from my stand. I like em.

 

Has anyone used landscaping material for a liner? I would guess their hoof would rip through, but it could be a way to keep water in longer?

Either way, I will try this spring for sure.

 

I know some guys used those plastic peanut pools for landscaping. They dug a hole and put it in.

 

I put one in two years ago and it was a "good" disaster. I dug the hole to be 2.5 feet wide, 6 feet long, and 3.5 feet deep. The idea is to keep the water deep enough to discourage algae and limit the surface area that can collect debris. I lined it with 3 layers of visqueen (poly sheeting) and filled it 2 5 gallon buckets at a time. By then end of summer, the deer had totally destroyed the sides of the hole and were actually getting down into it for the remaining water. Our dry summer/fall of 2009 made my little water hole way too popular.

Last spring, I re-dug as much out as I could and lined it with an actual pond liner (thick rubber available at pond supply stores/catalogs). I dug out the sides so that I could lay concrete edging along the sides to stop the sharp hooves from digging in the bank. What a difference! Deer Pond 2.0 withstood an entire season of use and has become the center of attention.

The "peanut pond" idea is really good too. The pond liner gives you the ability to make the shape what you want it to be. Good luck...and remember that any improvement to your property is better than doing nothing.

 

Sounds like you had to fill the pond yourself??? Did you have any natural drainage? I have a huge hillside that does pool water naturally... I may create a dam at on end... class 5 and pond liner. Then every rainfall will hold it there.

One problem - it's also a mosquito breeding haven!

I will try to get some updates this spring - once all this snow melts!

 

Neal, I had the exact same type of location. Cut ditches in the hill to funnel the water to your damned () pond area. BUT before dig your area out make a small drain for the top. Get some 1 or 2 inch pvc and make an L with it so that when the water gets too high it drains it, thus preventing erosion. Also, you may want to secure your downhill with sand bags and then cover them with the dirt that you dig out.



I made a V with two logs and then reinforced them with sandbags. I wish I had put a drain in. The next time I do one of these, I will. Good luck.

 

These kind of holes are fine during a wet year as far as not getting stag-nit and causing more harm then good to deer but in a dry year these non-running water holes can carry very bad disease for animals such as blue tongue, I would check with a dnr expert as to it's size and depth of the water hole for the best health of your deer heard.

Just me but how about a 55 gal plastic barrel with a small adjustable weep home dispensing fresh tap water into a tray much like a big dog water feeder. this is just off the top of my head deal, but??
seen a nice buck one day walk in the middle of a field and drink out of a small puddle not 8 inches across, when there is a fresh running river 100 yards away.

 

Make sure to check your state regs on streams, ponds and wetlands for your state. Could lead you to some headaches down the road if you dont. Good luck!

 

great point... I may even see if they have any advice.

 

There are some programs that encourage ponds for waterfowl. The farmer who's land I hunt on was going to put in a pond and it was going to be paid for/subsidized. Something to look into as well.

 

I look forward to helping Neal with this... as soon as the snow melts!

 

Thanks - I will definitely look into that as well.

 

Grant - I will believe it when I see it!

 

As long as I am able to hunt over it im in!!! See you out there...

 

Only kidding...