Quick and dirty specs for small pond - 03/01/10 04:21 PM
As those of you who have read my previous posts know, I've been dreaming of and planning a 3-5 acre pond on our 25 acre lot for a long time. I'm currently in limbo on my "dream pond" because I want it to be perfect: the right location, the right plan, the right contractors, etc., etc. etc. I'm still trying to either find the right spot on my existing land or work out the purchase of adjacent land with a better spot. One day it will happen, and when it does it will be beautiful.
In the meantime, I need some unrelated dirt work done on my land. I need a pad for a barn and some new gravel roads built. This will require a lot of dirt and it's much cheaper to dig a hole on my land to get it than to buy and haul it in from somewhere else. So, why not have the dirt contractor dig a small pond, right?
My plan is to have them dig a small pond of .25 - .75 acres, depending on how much dirt they need. It will be an excavated pond with either no dam, or a very small dam. It's only purpose is to give me free dirt and to give me a small pond to play around with stocking and fishing until I can get eventually build my dream pond.
I don't think we'll go the whole route of lining it with clay, etc. for this one. There are tons of stock ponds around here that are basically just a hole someone dug in the ground and they seem to always be full or near full. In fact, when I talk to dirt contractors around here about lining with clay and building a dam with a core trench of clay going down x feet below the ground they look at me like I'm crazy. For the big dream pond I'll find someone who understands all of this and will do it right. For this small pond I'm thinking quick, dirty, and cheap.
So, my question is this: What quick and dirty specifications should I give to the dirt guy for finishing out this small pond once he has the dirt he needs? Slope? Depth? Any other special instructions? I'll use the pond for stocking bass, BG, and possibly CC for now. Once I have the big pond I'll use this little one for other projects. Possibly a CC-only pond or maybe even shrimp. I'd also like it to not look too ugly and be reasonably easy for kids to access the banks for fishing.
Thanks for any advice you can give!
In the meantime, I need some unrelated dirt work done on my land. I need a pad for a barn and some new gravel roads built. This will require a lot of dirt and it's much cheaper to dig a hole on my land to get it than to buy and haul it in from somewhere else. So, why not have the dirt contractor dig a small pond, right?
My plan is to have them dig a small pond of .25 - .75 acres, depending on how much dirt they need. It will be an excavated pond with either no dam, or a very small dam. It's only purpose is to give me free dirt and to give me a small pond to play around with stocking and fishing until I can get eventually build my dream pond.
I don't think we'll go the whole route of lining it with clay, etc. for this one. There are tons of stock ponds around here that are basically just a hole someone dug in the ground and they seem to always be full or near full. In fact, when I talk to dirt contractors around here about lining with clay and building a dam with a core trench of clay going down x feet below the ground they look at me like I'm crazy. For the big dream pond I'll find someone who understands all of this and will do it right. For this small pond I'm thinking quick, dirty, and cheap.
So, my question is this: What quick and dirty specifications should I give to the dirt guy for finishing out this small pond once he has the dirt he needs? Slope? Depth? Any other special instructions? I'll use the pond for stocking bass, BG, and possibly CC for now. Once I have the big pond I'll use this little one for other projects. Possibly a CC-only pond or maybe even shrimp. I'd also like it to not look too ugly and be reasonably easy for kids to access the banks for fishing.
Thanks for any advice you can give!