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2012 Project

TheMadCatter

TheMadCatter

Well-Known Member
My parents recently purchased a 160 acre piece of crop/pasture ground. There's this old pond and I said to my Dad we should fix it up and stock it with fish. He said that was a good idea, this is how much we've done so far...

The fish are bought and ready to be put in today.

EDIT: There used to be a fenceline with trees and there used to be a tree line where those tile lines are. The previous landowner(s) took it out before they sold the property.
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The 5.5" rain filled it almost all of the way.
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I was wondering if we should put rock out around the edges? I was also wondering if I should put some willow trees around it in areas? Btw, we dug it out to about 25ft-28ft at the deepest point(s).
 
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you should at least rip rap it in areas where its steeper or where the water will be running through otherwise you will have a muddy pond and eroding banks
 
Your shoreline will be in the pond if you don't stabilize. How high were you standing on the pile dirt when you measured 25-28ft??

Just wondering. Every one thinks they have a 20 ft pond and when you measure it you will see they have a grand total of 10-12ft. I see it all the time.

The stick the excavator is using isn't that big to get the depth neither.
 
If you know of anyone around the area that is breaking up concrete in larger slabs i'd see if they would let you take it off their hands and put that up on the dam. Like others have said you will be facing a never ending battle with it eroding
 
sethgade280 said:
Your shoreline will be in the pond if you don't stabilize. How high were you standing on the pile dirt when you measured 25-28ft??

Just wondering. Every one thinks they have a 20 ft pond and when you measure it you will see they have a grand total of 10-12ft. I see it all the time.

The stick the excavator is using isn't that big to get the depth neither.
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2ft above on the dirt pile. I just don't have a picture of the depth. We made sure it was that deep.

The dam itself is 17ft wide
 
Might've been 20 feet last week but with nothing stabilizing the recently distributed dirt I'll bet you've lost a foot from dirt washing in and simply settling out after the rains.

How big is that pond? The pics make it look relatively small, I'd be afraid of oxygen depletion when it gets hot in the summer as well as in the winter.
 
muddy said:
Might've been 20 feet last week but with nothing stabilizing the recently distributed dirt I'll bet you've lost a foot from dirt washing in and simply settling out after the rains.

How big is that pond? The pics make it look relatively small, I'd be afraid of oxygen depletion when it gets hot in the summer as well as in the winter.
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It's not full yet, should go to the fence.
 
I gotcha. Your last post you said that the last hard rain nearly filled it all of the way. There's a solid 4 feet of rise yet looks like. Good luck.
 
Should be nice when filled. Stabilize that shoreline!!!! you will lose everything and won't be able to keep fish in there if the shoreline is in the pond. Just helping buddy
 
See that dirt on the shoreline was moved to the dam later. In pic #2 all that junk around went right onto the pond dam not in the pond itself.
 
As of the last picture, looks like some final backho work still needs to be performed to smooth out your edges, but it's hard to tell just from pictures. Also,just like everyone else has mentioned...shoreline stabilization is the biggest thing!!! In the pond management industry, a great fishery and pond management plan begins with a well-thought out initial design and execution of that design. Good luck with your 2012 project, look forward to seeing more pictures when it is finished!!!!
 
I always said if I won the Lottery the first thing I'd do is buy a farm, a dozer, and a backhoe and start building me some ponds.. I'd love to set one up from the bottom up. I'd suggest along with the rock on the banks to add some structure to the pond bottom or even in the shallow parts. If you don't give the small fish a place to hide and get bigger, you will have stunted growth in the fish that survive..

If your design is basically a bowl shape, you should definitely add structure like rock or hardwood brush piles.. Never hurts to throw your old Christmas tree's in there either, but they will decompose pretty quick.

Good Luck and have fun with it..
 
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