Pond Boss Forums POND CONSTRUCTION Renovating a Pond or Lake? Northeast Arkansas 4.5 Acre Pond Renovation

I have a 4.5 acre watershed lake that was built in the early 1970's. My family has owned the land since the pond was built, and I was told that it was around 25'-30' deep in the middle. I have not confirmed this with a depth finder because I can not get a bigger boat in it. My pond, at one time, had some of the cleanest water I've ever seen for a "farm" pond.

Over the years, the pond has been neglected and abused by various family members and friends. The water now has film on the top and just looks dirty all of the time. The pond is fed by rain, and has done a pretty good job of staying a consistent level over the past 40+ years. We use the pond, almost exclusively, for fishing. It is stocked with bream (blue gill and yellow belly sun perch), largemouth bass, and a handful of black crappie. There was once a health catfish population, but I was told that they were "telephoned" years ago. I have seen catfish come out of the pond, but not many.

The north side of my pond is where the levee/dam is located. The levee is roughly 500' long and 20-25' tall. You can drive on it because it has a gravel top. There is also plenty of growth on the levee with grass and trees. At one time, there was a 4" overflow pipe that went through the levee to keep the water level at a desired point. There was also a culvert in the northwest corner that has since collapsed and caused a cave in at the very end of the levee.

What I am wanting to do is start over with the pond. I want ideas on if I do need to drain it to start over, if there are chemicals used instead of draining for cleaning up the water, the best way to start over with the fish that are in it to build a better fishery. The only fish that come out of it now are all under 2lbs. You can catch fish all day...any of the aforementioned species, and get tired of catching fish. I am needing to know the names of any contractors that could do the work for me since I do not own construction equipment. I guess what I am asking for is to be put on a path that I can follow to make myself am outstanding fishery. I have friends with smaller ponds that fish a lot better than mine.

Well, first off welcome to Pond Boss, you have come to the right place for these kinds of questions!

You should have joined the live FB broadcast yesterday (I think there is a link to it) with some great information on renovations and costs (yikes). I would suggest viewing that to give you some pointers and ideas of costs. It isn't pretty if you are going to try and get the muck out, be prepared.

Good luck with your project, that's a big lake to deal with! I can't wait to see what you do with it.

Brad, just draining and scraping is easier said than done, that stuff on the bottom of older ponds can be the consistency of pudding. It needs to be dry prior to removal. That takes a lot of summer heat and occasionally a back hoe with a long arm.