You can design the pond to make selected locations within your pond more attractive to fish. Many fish prefer to have a place to hide and will tend to congregate around tree roots and rocks. If you include some stumps, rock piles, concrete blocks or other relatively stable three-dimensional structures in your pond, the fish will tend to hang out nearby. This creates more stable habitat and predictable locations for your fish and makes it easier to find them when you go fishing. It is important to remember that any structures that you use must be safe for swimmers and boaters, and that they may snag your hooks and lures. It may improve your fishing success to add a couple of 5-foot diameter brush piles or your old Christmas tree to an established 1-acre pond. However, it is important not to leave too much brush in a newly constructed lake or add too much to an older lake because it will lead to prey overpopulation and stunting. Also, when the brush decomposes, it may use up too much oxygen and kill your fish.

Another way to improve conditions for fish is to provide them with some good spawning habitat. For the bream that supply your bass with food (see the Bass/Bream Stocking Option section), construct a flat area along the shore at a water depth of 3 feet to 5 feet and cover much of it with pea gravel. The bream will then use this place to build nests.