Farm Pond - looking for your creative ideas

I have a very healthy fish pond (~1 acre) loaded with bream and channel cat.

While winter is still here (dry season) I am planning to make it about 2-3 acres. It will be levee pond not spring fed. Soil is 2' sand then blue clay down to 10'. Summer rains will be used to fill it over time.

Pond will be used for
a) recreational fishing/swimming/wildlife habitat
b) fish feeding area w/ seine for fish frys
c) 5 stand sporting clays around perimeter
d) fire protection w/ dry hydrant to county specs
e) some type of spill way to prevent washouts
f) Will not be livestock pond

Used to the USDA would I have been reading on PondBoss and have reviewed my VHS version of Ray Scott Great Small Waters videos.

What recommendations do you have or do you wish you had done to your pond?

You will want it as deep as possible, what is under the clay?

i wish i could upload a picture but seen this nice pond the guy had a jeep in the middle with croc heads underneath looked like a shot from indiana jones movie

I can go 12' into the clay. I really don't know what is under that and afraid I will run into more sand and have a leak.

Why so deep?

Were it mine to do I would make 2.3 of it with 12:1 bank angle and as deep as that allows in the middle. If going deep hits gravel or sand, dig out the depth and line with the clay. Depth is to allow Bass and or other deeper living fish. crappies like deep as well. Leave 1/3 as Bluegill and the catfish. Leave the channel I see it is good variable habitat. Keep house grey water, and lawn runoff out of the watershead going into the new configuration.
Keep the oxygen level high and allow some water weeds for habitat. A partial cattail rim is OK, and will be limited by the 12:1 bank angle.
Yhat is the best I have.
Our family has a 8 acre lake with 25' depth. Man Made for Highway construction. Jim

Shep, if you get any waterfowl in your pond, watch how you set up your so you are not dropping lead shot in or near the pond.
Instead of pumping out the existing pond, leave a wall of clay and dig the additional area, then the excavator can walk out and dig out the remainder or leave an island.

Earth Ponds by Tim Matson is a book I have found helpful in many aspects of pond design/maintenance. I got a copy at the Salvation Army store and read it last winter, got started trying to clean out the debris from our pond that was dug in the late 50s according to what I have been told.
Zach

The deeper pond will have colder water in the hot summer, allowing better fish to thrive. You can get a backhoe to dig a test hole.

Pond is about 150 yds behind the house; about 4 acres in size. Built the pavilion about 10 years ago; it's 24 x 32 and took several months to build..........working part time. Totally a one man show; wouldn't change a thing. (also have a restroom in the woods on the far side w/hot water and a flush toilet)

When I edited post to add a word, I lost the picture.................

<a href="http://s261.photobucket.com/user/thurlow8/media/boatinginMarch006.jpg.html" target="_blank"></a>

Don't stock crappie unless the pond is fished heavly and not thrown back. They multiply like flys and never exceed 6 inches in short order. No Appaloosa ( aka,flat head,yellow)cats. I have talked to people who put 2 or 3 in a pond and will never do it again. The app is an eating machine that eats only live food and can wipe out everything in a pond in a few years. Flathead minnows are a great forage. I don't allow people to bring minnows to my pond because they tend to dump them in when finished and can introduce trash fish. I am pleased with the 2" uv resistant pipe I buried in the dam for controling water level and silt. If inlet is positioned 12" above bottom of pond,silting in is dramaticly delayed. Controling level before water go's over spillway prevents fish escaping. If the watershed doesn't wash in trash,a screen works good on spillway,but trash will bust it otherwise. If you are interested,email and I will discuss details and send sketches if you like.

I would have preferred steep sides and little to no shallows. Reason is summer evaporation and predator birds, Blue Heron in particular. Problem with that wish is that spawning is usually done in shallow water if you have it. Problem with that is the Heron is there to fill up on your spawners.

Totally agree that you need clay to hold water. Sometimes it takes a few years for silt to fill in for clay if you don't have it to prevent leaks. Being a hole in the ground vs a bulge on the side of a hill really helps leakage.

Agree on depth and temp. You can tell that. Just take a swim and you can see for yourself where the thermocline exists.

I did implant white Crappie years ago and they just disappeared. Was surprised with the usual warnings.....caught them out of the creek in front of the house in the spring from the local lake.

If you want Catfish from fingerlings, don't stock bass; get some automatic floating CF bait feedders. If you want Bass, add perch and flat head minnows. Flat heads are said to reproduce 4x per season and are a good buy. Provide protected places for them to spawn. 1 cm hardware cloth works great to keep predators out.

I am a true believer in structure and without it the fry have little chance of survival. So an ample supply of limbs is a necessity. I like the willow in particular, the young ones like you get in the spring. Best bet is to grow a willow near the shore, then cut it till it falls into the water but leave 1/3 or so of the bark to keep it alive. Will be with you for many seasons.

Get your target practice on turtles, especially snappers. Will wipe you out along with the birds. Said to eat their weight daily. I had 12 this spring on my 2 acre pond. Took some work to get rid of them.

Good luck,
Mark

Janicholson
The best crappie I've seen in Indiana came
out of Your Dad's pond!
Ted Grozek's grandson caught it.
IT was about 15".
My sister and I used to take My nephews out there.
Nice pond and good memories.

Steve A W

Da.bees
Pls send email. Mine is open and none on your post

Wow Thurlow! That's amazing.

That it is.. I was Ted's Neighbor across the road. to the North. Have we Met? Jim

Good point on the lead concern. Excavator will be digging trenches in bottom and yes there will be an island. Mrs. ShepFL wants a gazebo out there some time.

I would make the pond at least 5 acres in size and deep, & if you decide to have an island put it off to one side. That would be large enough that you could even have a small sailing sabot; nothing more relaxing than to sail around on your own pond. As for fish, unless you like eating Carp (trash fish) do NOT put any Goldfish (baby Carp) in your pond. I've seen Goldfish that were put into a 2 acre pond grow large enough to swallow Ducklings whole.

As for depth, if you have nothing but sand under the blue clay, set the clay aside for use later and dig your pond to the depth that you want. when you've attained the depth that you want, spread old, scrap chain-link fencing on the sand and Gunnite it or cover it with cement. When the cement or Gunnite has cured then spread your blue clay over it. Years ago I helped make large shallow lakes for the movie studios in sandy loam soil & that's how we did it. The clay on top seals any cracks in the cement and makes the pond look "natural".

Doc