I'm wanting to build a pond bout .5 - 1.5 acre & I've never done anything like this before so I wanta make sure I do it right.

I'm wanting to put it in an old tobacco field beside the house. I dug a mudhole to run my 4 wheelers through back in March but I found clay at 2 feet deep. I went ahead to 4+ feet deep with it but that clay is some sticky stuff! Anyway, the hole holds water really well! It's now bout 8 ft. wide by 40' long & FULL!

I'm thinkin it'll be about 100' x 100' +/-, square, round, egg shaped.......what do y'all think? I just want it for fishin or maybe a dip once in awhile. Would like bass, brim & cats.

The land slopes prolly 12" every 8 ft. so I reckon I'll need a damn built UP about 8-10 foot on the bottom end. That'll put me at about 10 - 12 ft. deep there & maybe dig it bout 5 ft. at the other end.
It runs along side of a creek which will be below the damn. There's not alot of water in the creek though so unless I hit an underground spring it'll have to be surface feed....is that right?

Anyway, that's about the jest of it. Here is a pic of the location I'm thinkin about.

Thanks y'all!

The 100' x 100' would be a hair under a half acre. You are correct in saying that it'll be surface fed. If you hit an underground spring, be sure to cover it up and pack it good n tight. Water will flow both ways in a spring, so you could end up losing all the water in the pond.

It's not as easy as digging a hole in the ground and having it fill up with water. You have to design and build/install a primary and secondary (emergency) overflow, etc.

Do some reading on this site on the different problems that people are having with their ponds. Go to the Pond Boss Book Library and at least order PERFECT POND...WANT ONE? That'll get you started. It will be a lot cheaper if you plan everything out and do it right the first time, rather than have to drain it and re-do.

It looks like you have some good soil for holding water.

Would using a 6" PVC stand up drain along with an earthern spillway wrapped with rip rap be sufficient for 1/2 acre pond?

This is where I want it..........

It all depends on how many acres are feeding the pond. You have to plan for 50 and 100 year flood events.

I thought I had it covered, with a 10" overflow pipe. After last Spring, I added a 12" pipe as well. I had water coming into the pond from places that never flooded before.

I have at MOST, 2 acres of surface water feeding it.
I talked to my grading guy today, I'm just waiting on his quote.
I sure hope it's within my reach!

Actually a hair under 1/4 acre. Acre = 43,560 sq feet.

WOW! Gets smaller & smaller, lol.

TJ, you are absolutely correct. As you can see math is not my strong point!! I can count to twenty quicker if I don't have my shoes on.....

Holy crap, would that have ever been useful knowledge for me when I was still in school! I never thought of using my TOES!