Depth Of Pond

[gramps50]

I fish a couple of ponds that are about 4 acres & 3 acres. This is bank fishing only so I can't use the boat and electronics to find the depth. I have heard there is away of casting then counting til the lure hits the bottom and you'll come up with a good estimate.

I understand the concept but wouldn't you need a certain weight for this to work. For instance a 1/2 oz will fall faster than a 1/4 oz.

So how is this done so the results are somewhat consistent?

[LarrySTL]

I've never heard anything about this but you could do it by taking one rod filled with the line you normally use, and put a weight on it. 1/4 1/2, whatever. Go find a swimming pool or any known depth of water lets say eight feet. Back off to the length of a normal cast, cast the weight in ( no lure, just the weight) and count down the seconds from the splash til it hits the bottom. Convert that to feet per second ( 8 ft deep, 10 secs to hit bottom = 8/10 of a foot per second)

Now go to your pond, with the exact same outfit, and make a similar cast. If its 15 secs to hit bottom, its sinking at the same rate as in the pool so its 15 sec/10 secs = 50 % deeper than the pool was. So 8 ft x 50 % = 4 feet deeper than the pool = 12 feet total depth.

Theres probably a far simpler way, but this should work.

[vonreed]

Just jump in with a life jacket and a tape measure.

[Tim Smith]

Not sure about sinking rate, but (theoretically) if you can cast to the same spot twice with a heavy sinker, you can use right angles and trigonometry to figure out the depth. Mark your fishing line for the distance at the surface cast and measure the length of that line. Then cast again to the same spot and measure the length of your line after it hits the bottom (you'll have to pay out line freely so it sinks straight down and doesn't move back toward you as it sinks). Once you know the length of two sides you can use the Pythagorean Theorem to figure out the length of the third (a² + b² = c²). In this case, "c" is the length to the bottom and the length along the surface is either "a" or "b". It won't work if the line bends or lays across anything on the bottom or if the line touches the bottom anywhere but the weight....and you'll still have some error due to the bend of line (unless you can cast a stinking heavy weight).

I confess I've never done this...but it should work.

[jdmidwest]

Alot of times you can just look at the levee and determine the deepest part. Unless it is a dugout pond.

[countryred]

Slip bobber method, just keep raising the knot until it lays on its side......

[moguy1973]

Slip bobber method, just keep raising the knot until it lays on its side......

This...

[Tim Smith]

This...

Yeah, that would be the easiest.

Looking at the dam works too but not only do you have to account for any excavation, but also for how much silt has refilled it.

[moguy1973]

Yeah, that would be the easiest.

Looking at the dam works too but not only do you have to account for any excavation, but also for how much silt has refilled it.

Yeah, that is true about the dam. My SIL an BIL have a pond behind their house that they thought was about 16-18' deep according to the previous owner, and looking at the dam it would support that sort of depth. I finally got to get out in it this past weekend with my kayak fitted with a depth finder to see that it's only 12' deep in the deepest part, and that wasn't anywhere near the dam but was only in the very center of the pond. Seems it's silted in quite a bit since the pond was built.

[5bites]

12' is still pretty good for a pond.