Hey guys!
New to the pond boss forum, I am getting my pond dug right now, first one I have ever own, but I grew up on one. Any way it is just over a acre, gonna have a 20ft hole in the center to be spring fed and the rest around 12ft. I live in north east FL just north of Jacksonville. The soil make up is grey sand and hard pan further down. Once the digging of the pond is done what do I need to do next? like water testing, lime, fertilizing, and adding bait fish? and how long do i need to wait to do each? thank you in advance for any advice

Joe

Slow down and take a deep breath. Lol this is going to be a journey and not going to happen overnight, as bad as you want it to. Look into buying Bob Lusks book on ponds. Mike Otto's book also. There is also many threds that tell you the steps to take. Read read read. Adding structure before the water is a lol easier than adding later. As soon as you can get a soil sample / water sample before doing anything or adding anything .

Pat

Wait 3 or 4 weeks before doing anything to the water in the pond. Water takes on fertility from the soil. However, I would have the spring water tested now. The water level will drop some due to wicking back into the soil. Of course, that depends on how much the spring produces.

After testing, and only then, look at needed changes from lime, fertilizer, etc. When the water is right add some bait fish.

What are your goals for the fish you add? What types do you want?

My goal is to have a trophy bass pond. Planned on stocking bass, bluegill, shell cracker, channel catfish, and for forage was going stock fathead minnows, mosquito fish aka local minnows, shinners,and crawfish

Here are some pics of what they have got dug to date, they have only been clearing and diggin for 4 days





once they are done im going to come in with my backhoe and dig out coves/ spawning flats and fill it with gravel and add larger rocks around the edge for cover

Looks like you are going to have some fun. Keep us posted.
What are you going to do with the dirt you are excavating out of the pond?
How much water do you have coming in? It looks like a big pump in the back ground,

Mike here is a link to the tread I started to show the pics of the day to day progress of the pond being dug, beginning to full pool.

http://forums.pondboss.com/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=409432&#Post409432

Oh and mike, they are selling the dirt, and putting some around my place to fix the low spots along with making a shooting berm

Latching on to this thread.. Dinsmore, we close on our property the 15th, its 12.2 acres off 121. I would LOVE to have a conversation with you about who dug yours the things you had to do to get ready for it and follow your progress. I am looking digging one a little over a half acre and have use for a large amount of the dirt, but my head is filled with WAY more questions than people I have available to bounce them off of when it comes to digging a pond where the water table is about a foot deep.

I am right down the road near you too ....
Not Many PB folks around me...Great to see.

what are you thinking for your goals//

LMB?

what type of forage base have you considered?

10 acres seems like a lot of fun to be able to start from scratch with stocking .....