Noel,

Thanks for the in-depth response. The pond is probably about 75 years old and the previous owner drained it 10 years ago and dug it out to current depths. He said you could see the bottom of the pond out in the center of it, so was pretty silted up. Not sure the original depth. The previous owner did all the work himself and he said he never did measurements, so likely just guessed at the depth of 24 feet. There are high sloping banks coming down to the pond, so probably felt deeper than it actually was. The pond is fed by a small creek that I believe is, itself, spring fed. There is an earthen dam with an overflow pipe on the wide end.

I've been fishing it for 2 weeks now and caught a lot of large blue gill (hand sized) and a lot of 10 to 12 inch largemouth bass. Saw a 5# plus bass swimming the shoreline, but no larger ones have been caught yet. When the guy drained the lake last time he kept the fish in a deep spot of the pond while he did the renovation. He said there were lots of bluegill, bass and a handful of crappie. He stocked 500# of channel catfish ten years ago (1 to 3 pounds each), but I haven't caught any yet.

I'd be happy to have some trophy sized bass in the lake and then beyond that, just enough fish to keep the grandkids happy fishing and also keep me happy to take some to eat occasionally. So likely the current size is sufficient for that, but as many have said, everyone wants bigger and more!

The lake is pretty clear but weeds haven't been an issue so far. There are a few grass carp and also some ducks that have been keeping the weeds down a bit. I'm planning on installing a bottom diffused aerator and also possibly a fountain (just for looks). There isn't much structure in the lake, so was planning on adding some fish attractor/structure as well.

I am curious about whether I should be stocking game fish and/or forage at this point, so any advice on that is welcome. I may need to do more fishing to get a better idea of populations before that can be determined, I suppose. Also would like to know what the best fish to harvest would be to sustain my goals.

Thanks!