Chap­ter XX – The Com­pleat Angler draws its wis­dom from Piscator’s reflec­tions on the design and man­age­ment of fish-ponds, inspired by Doc­tor Lebault’s detailed advice from “Mai­son Rus­tique.” Empha­sis is placed on build­ing a durable pond struc­ture that with­stands envi­ron­men­tal wear while sus­tain­ing fish life. Rein­forc­ing the pond head with oak or elm that’s been prop­er­ly scorched helps guard against rot, sig­nif­i­cant­ly extend­ing its lifes­pan. Between these beams, small­er pieces of wood and tight­ly packed soil cre­ate a robust foun­da­tion. The over­all shape of the pond should direct water nat­u­ral­ly, while a sluice or flood­gate ensures that excess water drains safe­ly with­out dam­ag­ing the walls. Prop­er con­struc­tion also improves the pond’s long-term pro­duc­tiv­i­ty. When the pond is care­ful­ly engi­neered, not only does it become a more beau­ti­ful part of the land­scape, but it also pro­vides an ide­al home for fish to breed, grow, and live health­ily across the sea­sons.

Aside from struc­ture, the sur­round­ing envi­ron­ment plays a cru­cial role in pond suc­cess. Doc­tor Lebault encour­ages plant­i­ng wil­lows near the water for shade and scenic charm, as long as their pres­ence does­n’t dom­i­nate. Exces­sive trees, par­tic­u­lar­ly those prone to drop­ping leaves, can lead to rot, which degrades water qual­i­ty and harms the fish. Clear water is essen­tial, espe­cial­ly if the goal is to raise fish like carp or tench that are prized for fla­vor. A nat­ur­al stream or fre­quent rain helps refresh the water, enrich­ing it with oxy­gen and main­tain­ing clean­li­ness. Shal­low zones, grav­el beds, and pro­tect­ed cor­ners all con­tribute to a diverse aquat­ic habi­tat. These vari­a­tions mim­ic nat­ur­al water bod­ies, offer­ing shel­ter and com­fort for fish. The place­ment and care of each ele­ment shape the bal­ance and vital­i­ty of the pond.

Lebault advis­es care­tak­ers to dry the pond peri­od­i­cal­ly, espe­cial­ly after har­vest. This dry­ing allows weeds to be cleared and grass to regrow, a food source carps find high­ly palat­able. Peri­od­ic dry­ing also reduces the buildup of harm­ful silt and deters par­a­sites that could oth­er­wise affect fish health. Main­tain­ing a sched­ule of such renewals enhances pro­duc­tiv­i­ty in future sea­sons. Atten­tion must also be giv­en to pond inhab­i­tants out­side of fish—frogs and ducks, for exam­ple, are known to con­sume fish spawn. While Lebault does rec­om­mend con­trol­ling their pop­u­la­tion, he also humor­ous­ly sug­gests that frogs may be eat­en instead. Ducks, on the oth­er hand, must be dis­cour­aged alto­geth­er, as they fre­quent­ly dis­turb spawn­ing grounds and mud­dy the water dur­ing their activ­i­ty.

Feed­ing fish is anoth­er sub­ject of thought­ful plan­ning. Pis­ca­tor explains that fish thrive on table scraps and gar­den refuse if man­aged prop­er­ly. The bal­ance lies in offer­ing nour­ish­ment with­out cre­at­ing water pol­lu­tion. Fish are most active at dawn and dusk, mak­ing these ide­al times to feed. Observ­ing their feed­ing habits helps care­tak­ers deter­mine which species are thriv­ing and whether they need addi­tion­al sup­port. Gen­tle and pre­dictable human activ­i­ty fos­ters famil­iar­i­ty, allow­ing fish to remain stress-free and respon­sive. Avoid­ing loud nois­es, espe­cial­ly gun­fire, is essen­tial, as sound can scat­ter fish and inter­rupt their nat­ur­al pat­terns. The advice is prac­ti­cal and drawn from years of obser­va­tion, not just the­o­ry.

Fish-ponds are described not mere­ly as food sources, but as reflec­tions of human stew­ard­ship and har­mo­ny with nature. Lebault’s method teach­es patience and reward through slow cul­ti­va­tion and delib­er­ate action. Pis­ca­tor upholds these prin­ci­ples, encour­ag­ing read­ers to view angling and fish-keep­ing as exten­sions of a con­tem­pla­tive lifestyle. Beyond prac­ti­cal con­cerns, the pond rep­re­sents a peace­ful domain where order, care, and qui­et labor yield abun­dance. It becomes a place where nature and human­i­ty meet gently—an echo of the larg­er themes that run through “The Com­pleat Angler.” The care of a pond is not sim­ply for con­sump­tion, but for the joy of watch­ing life thrive under gen­tle guid­ance.

This chap­ter, with its blend of agri­cul­tur­al advice and gen­tle phi­los­o­phy, serves as a reminder that con­tent­ment often aris­es from sim­ple, ground­ed labors. Piscator’s inclu­sion of Doc­tor Lebault’s wis­dom deep­ens the reader’s under­stand­ing of angling as more than a sport—it is an art form requir­ing care for land, water, and life itself. When man­aged thought­ful­ly, even a still pond becomes a teacher. Its bal­ance of still­ness and vital­i­ty mir­rors the angler’s ide­al state of mind: calm, atten­tive, and full of qui­et appre­ci­a­tion. Through steady atten­tion and mod­est inter­ven­tions, har­mo­ny can be shaped and sus­tained, just as a well-built pond reflects the qui­et dili­gence of its keep­er.