Our family found this amazing property in Indiana that has a pond that is stocked with fish and other wild life.

I have 5 boys and we are excited. With that being said from the naked eye the pond appears healthy but what should I be looking for along with any costs that I should plan for?

I attached a picture,.

I'm also putting together questions for the owner

ty in advance

https://imageshack.com/a/img923/6323/f3oxeC.jpg

Here is the other side of the pond where water runs off

https://imageshack.com/a/img923/2817/W6tbHu.png

The first thing I would physically verify would be the depth of the pond. A shallow pond will be trouble with respect to out-of-control vegetation, FA (pond scum), turbidity maybe, and winter/summer fish kills.

I would also look closely for signs of drastic water level changes and any sign of leaks in the dam.

What kind of fish does it have?

Does it have bull head cats?

Does it have green sunfish?

Both of the above fish types can overpopulate and stunt.

Just a few thoughts for starters...you can really go to an extreme on pond inspections if you want to, but that advice would be beyond my experience level.

I would focus on everything but the fish as you can always correct the populations later.

How old is the pond?

What does the dam look like? Does it leak? Is it in good shape (e.g. full of muskrat runs)?

Is there a primary and secondary (emergency) spillway?

Also, try to determine the average depth, and how much silt is in the pond. You can do both by probing with a pole from a boat. You may have found either a gem or a nightmare.

Inspect and verify everything yourself. Don't take a seller's or realtor's word for anything.

Try to look on Google Earth at past images, to see if the pond drops or goes dry.

After you buy and close, there will be no recourse against them.

Verify, verify, verify!

HekCid, welcome to the forum!!!!

Signs of leaks would be first, and only "real" concern. Based on the pictures, and without knowing the last significant rainfall before the pictures you posted were taken...It looks like a well thought out pond. Erosion control is set up, the water appears to be over full based on the pontoon float dock. I'd imagine it could use Ag Lime, having high acidity pine trees at the water's edge, yet fish it and find out what you have.....the beauty of a smaller pond is that even if you need to kill it off, the cost is fairly low.

Dam integrity, primary drain integrity and erosion control are the primary concerns....next is water quality and watershed concerns, followed by fish present. Remember, except for the original stocking numbers, a pond is always going to be out of balance, and that is where keeping good catch records can come in handy when managing numbers are needed.

Look for wet spots behind the dam....look for erosion in the pool area below the water line....look for sunken places along the banks to see if muskrat dens have collapsed. Look for "wet" or soft spots on the backside of the dam...look for erosion or signs of water seepage under the primary drain pipe....Look for signs that water has flowed over the emergency spillway...this could indicate the watershed is too large for a pond too small...and or the primary drain is inadequate.

Edit....It doesn't look like you have a "primary drain"...only an emergency spillway. On the bright side, the e-spillway looks to be pretty well graded with a slow slope and has rip rap (though small) to help reduce erosion or a washout. The spillway is also built to direct water away from the toe and base of the dam....just judging by the pictures, the pond looks to be well built and in good shape....

Nice looking place. The first step is the environment. That's water quality. Check the alkalinity and PH. A swimming pool company can generally give you those numbers.