The good thing about ponds is that, once built, they’re highly self-sustaining habitats. The right mix of plants and wildlife will keep your pond buzzing with activity for decades or even centuries – even if you won’t be around to see it. However, you’ve got to give your pond a good head start in life if you want that to happen.
Think of creating a duck pond as a long-term labor of love rather than a short-term project. You must do more than simply dig a hole in the ground and wait for some water to accumulate; you’ve got to give ducks and other game a reason to stay awhile.
“Developing a waterfowl hotspot is not simply baiting a spot,” explains Mossy Oak. “It’s creating the habitat needed to support a variety of waterfowl. When you take the time to do it correctly, you will be hunting your duck ponds year after year.”
So how exactly do you create a spot that ducks want to visit, year in and year out? By using durable materials that don’t affect the natural balance of the environment. And that means choosing your components very carefully.
To put it plainly, you shouldn’t just wing this DIY. You need the right materials. Some of these are absolutely critical, while others are optional. Let’s explore each.
Critical Materials for a Duck Hunting Pond
Your pond will include, at a minimum:
- Liner
- Water source
- Food and refuge
Optional Materials for a Duck Hunting Pond
Along with the right liner, a reliable water source, and food and refuge, your ideal pond might also require materials such as:
- Pump
- Filter
- Skimmer
- Aerator
- Decoys
Let’s take a closer look at exactly which materials you’ll need for your pond.
Liner
If you have a high clay component in your soil, then you can simply dig your pond and start filling. If you wish to use a natural clay as “liner” for your pond, you can also truck that in and put it down. Note that this is a long and arduous process, and you have to make sure that it is 2 inches thick everywhere if you want to hang onto your water levels. Plan to spend a lot of time on this.
For that reason, most duck hunting enthusiasts opt to simply go for a fish- and plant-safe liner. Such liners are puncture-proof, so you don’t have to worry about hidden holes cropping up over time. They’re also UV-resistant, so they won’t degrade with years of exposure to sunshine. This is critical, since as you might imagine, replacing a pond liner is no joke.
If you have a pond with highly irregular dimensions and an uneven bottom, you might want a maximum flexibility liner. This can handle contours with ease, all while providing the same puncture-proof, UV-resistant, and safety benefits.
Either of these options is also safe for pets and children, so you can freely swim in or boat on your pond, as well as sending dogs in to retrieve your birds. They’ll withstand decades of use without breaking down, releasing microplastics, or otherwise endangering the wild environment you endeavor to build.
Water Source
Might want to take a seat for this one: ponds need water. Crazy, right?
As that’s the case, you’re going to need a water source to fill your pond. If you have enough rainfall in your area and don’t mind being patient, you could simply excavate, lay down a liner, and start landscaping. Over the course of several years, you might gather the necessary water to attract ducks and other wildlife.
However, most hunting enthusiasts hope to start using their ponds in the first year or two, and who can blame you? If that’s the case, you’ll want a speedier way to fill it. That could mean:
- Diverting a stream
- Excavating near a spring
- Digging a well
- Connecting to plumbing
- Filling it with a hose
Keep in mind, though, that most states require a level of permission regarding building wells, diverting waterways, or connecting to municipal waterways. Make sure to check the rules and regulations carefully before diving in, as you can face serious fines for breaking the rules.
Food and Refuge
As we’ve spent considerable time discussing both food and refuge above, we will not do a deep dive here. However, there are a few things to note when first building your pond.
The first is, how often do you want your ducks to stop by? Some people want them to hang out all winter. This makes good sense, as hunting season typically spans the cold months. Also, a pond is much nicer when it has some bird activity on it, so keeping your ducks around offers multiple perks. Again, the best way to do this is to:
- Hunt on alternate days, so ducks have time to resettle after a frightening experience
- Maintain a low level of human traffic in the area, and limit vehicle use
- Provide lots of natural greenery for shelter and food
- Consider stocking your pond, as many duck species enjoy a wide variety of fish
- Give ducks somewhere to raise their young
If you don’t have handy containers or hollow trees lying around, you might consider building nest boxes. Note that each species has its own specific mating and duckling-rearing habits. Depending on what kinds of ducks you’d like to hunt, you should gather information about where they like to build their nests.
For instance, “Wood ducks seek out hollow trees, old woodpecker holes, or nest boxes for nesting. Females select the nest site. Males guard females until eggs are near hatching. Southern Wood Ducks can produce two broods per year.”
Depending on your enthusiasm and how much hunting you want to do, you may wish to create habitat for multiple species of ducks. Or you can simply plant lots of water-loving species around the edges of your pond. Anything that gives ducks visual shelter and can protect them from weather will be appreciated and will likely increase the number of birds that visit your pond.
That said, let’s take a look at the pond materials that you might want to use, but are not strictly speaking necessary.
Pump
Ideally, you have a water source or a small stream to give your pond a continuous supply of fresh water. If it runs into your pond and then back out of it, it will carry oxygen into the environment and muck out, preventing any gross or slimy buildup.
If you do not have moving water, however, you may need a pump and filter, and possibly a skimmer and aerator. The purpose of these devices is to help maintain your pond as though it were a natural environment with moving water, and it can be very helpful if your duck hunting pond is a simple affair that merely collects rainwater and overflows during rain events, rather than having a moving source.
This is especially true if you are contending with a smaller pond, as larger ponds often have enough biological activity that they can aerate the water and clean out the buildup of organic matter. To determine whether you need these things, you should speak to a pond expert – but probably not one that sells pumps and filters, at least not without a second opinion.
What is the purpose of a pump, you’re wondering? It keeps water moving, which oxygenates it. It also pulls it into a filter.
Filter
The filter cleans muck and buildup out of the water. If you have lots of waterfowl living on your pond throughout the year, you’re going to have a lot of, well, foulness that aggregates in your water. A filter can help you clean it out, keeping water clear and pure, which is what ducks want to see.
Skimmer
A skimmer performs a similar service as a filter, removing debris from the water. However, rather than filtering the water itself, it pulls floating objects off the top. Think leaves, dead plant matter, or pond scum.
Note that ducks don’t typically mind such things, so long as they still have access to the water. Indeed, some of their favorite foods might be hiding in such floating debris! If you don’t care about the ornamental value of your duck hunting pond and are using it solely for hunting, chances are you don’t need a skimmer.
Aerator
Does your pond need an aerator? No, not necessarily. If you’re going to raise fish in it, then you need to make certain that they have enough oxygen, though.
Pond Boss Magazine explains that “a properly designed and installed aeration system will greatly slow down the eutrophication process [buildup of algae and other biological material through the accumulation of nutrients], help prevent summer and winter fish kills and prolong the life of your pond.”
The magazine goes on to say that “There are basically two types of aeration: surface aeration and bottom diffusion aeration. Surface aeration can be broken down into further into the three more categories of fountains and surface agitators, and circulators. Bottom diffusion systems can be broken down into three different categories as well: grid based or electrically operated, solar operated, and windmill or wind driven systems.”
An extensive overview of aeration strategies is beyond the scope of this eBook. Suffice it to say that your aeration needs, like your pump and filtration needs, will depend on the type of pond you have and what you want to get out of it.
Below, we’ll discuss ways to maintain a pond free of mechanical devices that still stays clean. But first, decoys!
Decoys
Decoys can help raise the population of ducks at your pond quite dramatically, as they show real ducks that other “ducks” find the water safe and attractive. If you are trying to attract migratory birds – those that are only here on a stopover – then decoys are a great way to go, since they won’t be familiar with your pond. Ditto if you’re trying to entice ducks in for the first time in order to turn your pond into a familiar nesting territory.
Ducks Unlimited advises a natural approach to setting decoys, based on how waterfowl usually group on a pond or other waterway.
“By mixing duck and goose decoys, you can create an incredibly realistic spread, but don't do it randomly,” they explain. “Though live birds will mingle, ducks in particular tend to stick together even when they are sharing an area with geese. Setting a couple of loose clusters of mallard decoys within the goose decoys or even off to the side of the geese looks more natural than sprinkling single duck decoys among the geese.”
Again, this is an optional material, and one you won’t get to until you’re done building your pond. First, it’s time for your step-by-step guide to doing just that.
Pond Building Step-by-Step
Building a pond doesn’t sound easy to most, and there’s a good reason for that. There are a lot of materials involved, and the time commitment is significant, even if you’re getting help. Plus, you have to know what you’re doing.
The good news, says Great Days Outdoors, is that “Creating a wetland for waterfowl habitat doesn’t have to be complex. Simple ponds, flooded marshes and timber tracts can provide the necessary resources for waterfowl from season to season. Landowners and duck hunters have several options to create or improve wetland habitat.”
If you want to build a natural pond, the BTL team also offers tons of resources to help you make your choice. Once you decide on a location, pond type, and necessary materials, you’ll be better able to decide on specifics. For now, we’ll take a quick look at the most basic approach to building a pond.
Determine the Size and Shape of the Pond
There are many sizes and shapes of ponds, but typically you want something organic. Don’t opt for sharp lines and corners. These aren’t found in nature and look bizarre aesthetically, and square corners impede the flow of water and can cause gunk to build up.
Free-flowing shapes that respect the existing terrain of your property look best. Feel free to excavate around trees and landscaping, or wrap your pond along the curve of a hill. The size of your pond will naturally depend on the size of your property, but keep in mind that the larger it is, the less maintenance and aeration you’ll have to do, and the more nature will take care of herself.
Choose and Commission the Right Liner
If you have soil with a lot of clay in it, you might get away with simply digging out your pond and then filling it with water. However, most soils have some level of permeability, and therefore you’ll want a liner to ensure the longest-lasting results.
Make sure you get a custom liner that fits the shape of your pond specifically. Folks who try to overlap liners or fit precut products to irregular shapes find that they lose water to leakage quite frequently, which can feel frustrating when you’ve put all that work in.
When you do choose a company from which to commission a liner, make sure they have a long history of providing these products to people in your area. Search for positive reviews and, if you want, ask for recommendations from former clients. A reputable company will be able to provide all of these.
Lastly, make sure the company with which you work has a large enough facility to manufacture a product of the needed size.
Build Your Pond
Time to build! Those who simply have to line and fill an existing depression on their property are lucky, but that’s usually not the case. Your pond process will likely involve a bit of excavation. Note that if you’re not going to do the excavation yourself, then make sure you choose the right company to do it for you.
“There are several companies that specialize in the construction of lakes, ponds and dams,” Great Days Outdoors explains. “Choose one that is certified and bonded when creating duck hunting habitat.” Although that might take a little extra effort upfront, it will be worth it when it comes time to enjoy the pond year after year.
Fill Your Pond
The defining quality of a pond is that it has water in it. Otherwise, all you’ve got is a hole in the ground. Unfortunately, it’s not enough simply to build that hole, then cut a ribbon and wait for the rains. Nope, ponds require good water management – and that means being smart upfront.
“You also need a consistent water source to rapidly fill the pond and maintain a relatively constant water level throughout the year,” says Successful Farming. “Dry spells and evaporation will take a toll, so without water flowing in, your pond can slowly dry down to a mud puddle.”
The publication adds that “Most farm ponds are dependent on runoff from a watershed area to fill and maintain water levels. Unfortunately, when there's no rainfall to provide the surface water, a pond dries up, and you may need an alternative to fill it.”
The same applies to recreational and duck hunting ponds. Make sure you have your water supply worked out ahead of time. If you’re depending on rain, your pond liner must be totally impermeable, because you can’t afford to lose your moisture through the ground.
If you’re relying on a nearby stream, spring, or well, then make sure you have the proper permits to draw on that water source.
Plant Natives for Shelter and Food
As we’ve discussed before, native plants are the best way to ensure plenty of shelter and a bumper-crop food supply for your ducks. Seek out native plant options using the sources we shared in the “Benefits of a Duck Hunting Pond” section above.
