Thanks to Zep for providing me with some excellent links to property for sale in NE Texas (less than 12 hours on this forum and already I am leaps and bounds ahead of where I was searching for property to buy) anyway, a lot of the properties have ponds existing on site. I do not mind buying land with an existing BOW, but just what does one look for? I don't have any particular piece of property in mind, just curious what you pondmeisters would look at. I plan on bringing someone with much more experience in to take a look before I bought into a never ending money pit (well anymore than a pond already is). Looking forward to hearing your opinions.

What size are you looking for and what area? There is plenty around here for sale. Also what type-wooded / pasture- hunting?

An already existing BOW has some large advantages: The water is already there (or should be); the dam is already built; you know fairly well what you are getting. The disadvantage is that it can be more difficult to change what already exists than doing it yourself.

That said, I'd look for a few things. First, check the watershed. Will it support the pond through droughts and/or a hot summer?

Second, check the dam. Is it eroded? Are trees growing on it? Do you observe leakage? How is the spillway, is it a bare patch of ground or something that can take a major overflow?

Third, what are the depths? If the BOW has large areas that are shallower than 4 or 5 feet, you can expect major hassles with weeds.

Fourth, is the pond easily visible to the public? Have friends and neighbors been fishing there? If so, you can expect problems if you try to clamp down on trespassing and poaching.

Lots of folks here know far more on this subject than I do, just a few thoughts. I ended up building a pond because I liked the idea of using what I've learned to create something special, but buying an existing BOW is undoubtedly faster and usually cheaper to getting where you want to be.

Also keep in mind, just because a property already has a pond, does not automatically disqualify it for a second one.

Why not go for the best of both worlds? Buy a property that has an existing "ok" pond to fish and mess around with but also has a good site for your dream pond. You have a pond to fish and experiment with while you are building the pond you really want. Then the "old" pond can be a trash fish pond (to put all the fish you cull out of your dream pond), a forage pond, a kids pond............. etc. Whatever you want to make of it.

Several years from planning stage to good fishing in a new pond. That is if nothing goes wrong in the process. Just a thought.

Pat we are not really tethered to any one location. Just NE Texas in general. As far from the cities as possible. And as for the size of the pond we aren't concerned with either. The idea is to purchase 40-60 acres so as snrub states we can always build one that fits our plans, which will be fishing, wildlife habitat, fishing, scenery oh and I almost forgot about fishing. Anthropic you hit the nail on the head, having never owned a pond i was curious what to look at and for to make sure I don't have to sink 75k into fixing an existing pond, before I can enjoy it. Would it be a good idea to have the local NRCS walk the property before purchase. I understand that mileage may vary when dealing with them, but in general? Thanks for all the advice.

Would not hurt to ask the NRCS agent, but I imagine he is going to want you to own the property before he does any on site walking. But it is very easy for him to call up the property on his computer, and I bet he could tell you a lot about the soils and topography just from the soils map and aerial maps as well as his general knowledge of the area.

Also, just visiting him (or her) in his office might give you a good feeling of how helpful he might be after you do purchase some property.

Our local agent is very good. Has been at his job for many years, is helpful and works well with farmers in trying to make workable plans. He made up our pond plan and gave us options on how big it could be and had it drawn out on the computer so we could look to see where the water lines would come at different sizes. Then once we decided on the size he printed out the plans, then he came out and staked it out for us to build. Also gave us some good advice on some ways of doing things and options. Very helpful.

Don't mean to rain on your parade, but when I went to the local NRCS office in Marshall, Texas, I was told that they don't do much with ponds these days. One gentleman was kind enough to copy me some soil maps of my location, but that was it. No planning or help at all beyond that.

Maybe you'll have a much better experience than I did. Hope so! But I'd check in advance with the NRCS before counting on their assistance. Like me, you may end up needing to call in a soil guy to check it out before the purchase.

I kind of wondered about them walking it if I didn't own it. I will still give it a shot, although no matter their advice or lack thereof bring in a professional for a consultation. I do not mind compensating for ones knowledge so that was in the plan all along. Again thanks for the advice and keep it coming. I would be curious to see the number of years of combined pond knowledge available on this forum. The number is probably staggering.

Gavins06, Google Earth can help determine the value of an existing pond also. The satellite view can go back over 10 years, and it'll sure let you know if a pond has historically held water.

Fire. Thank you for the reminder. The sad thing is I work with Google Earth on a daily basis at work and didn't even think about rolling the clock back on the satellite imagery to see if it continually holds water.