My Aunt's neighbor in Pennsylvania had a stocked trout pond. Although I don't know how often he fed it, I do know that he had a sweet setup of a crane type device with a cage on the other end they he'd put roadkill and whatnot in. As the roadkill rotted and maggots were laid, they'd drop off through the bottom of the chicken wire mesh and into the pond thus feeding the fish.

The pond was way up the side of a mountain and the guy lived a long ways away, with no shed or structure nearby to store fish food. So this was either all he fed them "extra" or he would ride down carrying his own food.

One a small pond you with not feed you can stock and grow dozens. Only thing is that if you start will small fish and you have ducks they'll eat them.


Perfect! More food. Shoot the ducks when u see them! hah

I am at the front end of doing the same thing. My farm had a small pond when I bought it. Maybe 1/4 acre or so. I hired an excavator to make it larger and deeper, like between 3/4 and 1 acre. He dug it about 25 feet deep at the center, like a meteor crater (or martinni glass). Then I stocked it with bluegil and perch. In August last year I put up an aerating windmill to keep the ice open during the winter to put oxygen in the water. I built a small floating dock on it and i have a small boat. I was feeding the fish every day until they stopped taking feed just before it started getting cold. The windmill has a small air operated water pump system so I can draw water off the pond to irrigate the garden during the dry season.

This summer I had a blast with the pond. When I was working in the garden or with the chickens, and dripping hot, I would strip off my clothes and hit the cool water. I invited the neighbor lady over to skinny dip with me, but she did not like the idea there were fish in the water. Didn't seem to have any objections otherwise! Her husband just shook his head. They are good neighbors. This coming season I am building a small deck around the fixed part of the dock for some chairs. Kind of like a pergola. Should be another good summer of water fun, if'n the world stays together. I built a wire basket deal to allow flies to lay eggs and for the little with maggots to drop in the water. I need to refine that this coming summer.

I imagine anyone who raises/hunts/slaughters animals has ready access to meat waste that can be used for the suspended maggot cage contraption. Don't limit yourself to just roadkill...