I'm confused. Why stock at all if will winterkill? I'm not sure I would do stock without decreasing chance of that by deepening and putting in more dependable aeration system than windmill.
I had to read his post twice too. He says it has a spot 8 ft deep but then makes it sound like most of it is shallow. I have seen similar ponds and in most years probably wouldnt winter kill, but would be possible 1 in 10 years and if there is ever a drought probly 1 in 20 for sure, best case scenario. Just a possible thought there and nothing wrong with starting over once in a while too.
PondDragon if you really feel like you want to spend a lot of time and enjoy your pond, draining it and getting rid of some of your "peat" would increase that enjoyment in many ways.
5 acres is big though, but to even do a small core area would give your fish a safe haven and let you know a lot more about your pond.
