hello. this is my first post on this forum. have been doing a lot of reading the past month on ponds. we just bought this house with 5.1 acres. it has a small pond on it now. i estimate it at probably 1/8 acre. it has very little vegetation and the fishing is not good. mostly full of tiny bluegill. rather than messing with trying to manage my large mudhole i want to dig it out and make it a bigger pond easier to manage. i love to crappie fish, but i may not stock crappie because of all the bad hype they get in ponds. i also like bass fishing so that is probably what i will go with. i want to make the new pond somewhere between 1 and 2 acres.
i don't plan on putting an catfish in it. my family has a catfish pond devoted strictly to catfish i can fish whenever i want.
problem 1: the existing pond is pretty much solid clay. it is red clay as far as i can tell. but the water never seems to clear. it may have catfish or something stirring it i am not sure. it hasn't rained in forever and the pond is still muddy. i just got a water sample tonight to put in a mason jar as see if it settles. i know they use to have cows and horses that they would allow to walk in the pond, so i am hoping that may be part of the problem. it holds water very well. it is about 1 1/2 feet low right now, but this is the worst drought of my life.
problem 2: the way the pond is set up now it is at the bottom of the property. there is a small gulley that actually runs into it to give it a good deal of water whenever it rains. because my property is long and skinny, if i make the pond bigger, it will basically be on flat ground with just a slight slope toward it. my property is a long flat hilltop. i know this is not the best pond location, but i don't have any other choice. if it is designed right, i think i could still utilize the gulley to an extent.
do you guys think these problems could be overcome, or should i just let my dream of having an awesome fishing pond go? also i plan on stocking largemouth, bluegill, shellcracker, fathead minnows, and golden shiners. can i stock everything except the LMB at once or should i do it differently? how long to wait for the bass?
thank you very much. if it matters i live in sw missouri
