Pond Boss Forums INTRO New Forum Member Introduction Just finished digging my 3/4 acre pond/saying hi!

Hello all, been roaming around these forums for a long time and finally signed up! I appreciate all the extremely helpful content i've learned from you guys. We purchased a few acres of land in Northeast Ohio early this year to build a home on and had a very nice low lying spot with a spring and all clay in the back of the property. I've always wanted a stocked pond and decided to dig one 3/4 acre. I was extremely lucky to be able to borrow a dozer, large excavator, backhoe and a few other pieces of equipment from the company I work for. Many hours and a lot of help from one of our operators later we are complete. Spring/rain are slowly filling the pond up and have about 5 ft of water after 30 days. Will be adding the rest of the structure in the next week and hopefully stock in spring! Just wanted to introduce myself and say thanks to everyone for all of the information and knowledge i've learned from here! I'm sure i'll have many questions as I have done all of this from just reading and you-tubing. I will post pics soon. Thanks!

Definitely ask folks to help with the stocking. I was not so smart on my first pond and went with the fish farm's recommendation which I now think was too many fish. Things are better now after many years of management (keeping enough caught fish).

I appreciate the tip RAH. I've done a ton of research but what's funny is two semi local hatcheries recommend 2 totally different stocking quantities per acre so yes I will definitely ask before I add fish!

Welcome aboard. Many hatcheries are in business to sell fish and not necessarily advise you for ways to best achieve your goals. There can be many goals, some you have not thought about for pond stocking. I suggest you verify with us all stocking plans before you pull the trigger.

Welcome to the forum. I also built my own ponds. It can be a lot of fun for those of us inclined to like machinery.

You are ahead of the game by being a lurker and learning from the forum. Glad you decided to jump in and participate.

I just finished my third pond at 1/2 acre (first one that I built myself). I do not like doing the work but its tough to find a knowledgeable pond digger in my area and it seems that some operators simply cannot understand the concepts involved in pond construction. The fellow who built my first pond was excellent, but he retired. My second pond took 4 different contractors to finish and it went way over budget. In addition the dam is a cliff even after hiring another contractor to fix it as best it could be.