Pond Boss Forums MANAGING AN EXISTING POND Evaluating and adjusting fish populations Redig of drying up pond

New here -and glad I found this place!
I bought house with 1/2 to ¾ acre pond dug into wet land with island. 7ft in deep end about 4 ft elsewhere. It usually was full in spring and dropped a couple ft through the summer. Kept it open in deep end for fish and pet ducks in winter with sump pump attached to a pole. We have had a lot of construction and a drought. Never this bad but this summer it is down to a 100 ft puddle,no fish and maybe 6 inches deep. Cat Tails are disappearing and canary grass taking over. My plan is to rent a skid loader(for a week)and try to get it a couple of feet deep everywhere. Might wind up looking like a river if water never comes back. I have room to move dirt but getting a backhoe to area is not going to work. Hoping that it comes back some over time but worried that it might not. Anyway question is – am I wasting my time, should I consider a sand point to feed it, and any suggestions would be valued.

Welcome to the Forum! We've never had a whole state join before!
Although sometimes it seems like all of Texas is here.

It sounds like this is the perfect time for improvements. You need to know what kinds of soil(s) your pond is in before attempting repair. It sounds like you might be losing water to seepage which, combined with Summer evaporation, accounts for your seasonal level drop.

You should be getting a lot of good advice from dirt experts. I highly recommend you order a copy of Perfect Pond: Want One? and pay special attention to the sections on fixing leaks and renovations. It'll be the best money you ever spend towards your pond.

Just ordered it. Any guess on the cost of natual liner? Saw some posts on product you just trow on water. Sounds to easy. But I like easy! It use to stay full with water level and my dream is that the water table will come back. Not betting on it.

Another tundra person, ya man. I am not an expert about soils and digging but I do have a few contacts that are (20 plus years). These guys helped me design and construct my ponds which are also dug outs. Where in the state are you located? Maybe I can help?

FYI- Wetland manipulation is a hot button in MN right now and has been for quite a while. To permit or not permit is the question. Almost always, dirt removal from a wetland would need to be permitted (assuming they will even issue a permit). I can tell you from others experiences be carefull if you don't pull the correct permits. Make sure you know your neighbors real well and make sure the spoil piles are gone and completely reclaimed as fast as possible. A friend of mine created a beautiful 1/2 ac pond without a permit last year and one of his jealous neighbors turned him into the county. He went to court and got very lucky as it only cost him $1,000 in fines!! It could have been much worse. The judge could have made him fill it back in, reclaim the soil with wetland plants, and pay the $1,000 fine.

I hear you on the wet land issue but my position is that I am restoring a pond that has dried up. It was dug into wetland 15 years ago and was beautiful. Cattails,otter that we watched catch fish in the winter and full of life. Now it is 50 ft puddle,frogs gone,turtles gone,fish gone……. We had Blanding turtles. The primary threat to the Blanding's turtle is habitat fragmentation and destruction as well as nest predation. It is listed as a threatened species in the states of Illinois, Iowa, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New York, and Wisconsin. I thought about trying to get the DNR and Rice Creek Watershed to look at it and see if I could get them to restore it. But that will take forever-if ever! The funny thing is the wetland update has about 10% of my wetland gone from 10 years ago. It is going away and I want it to stay! I do risk the neighbor thing because one called on another neighbor before. And he is unemployed right now so risk is high. I am doing it anyway with past photo’s to support my claim that I am not digging new but cleaning it up. (LOL) It is all sand so unless it is at the water table, or I seal it somehow, it is going away. I plan to rebuild the sides with what I dig ( and they are not to code as they sit today, to steep) and lessen the slope from my house so piles will not be a problem. I guess I am no longer a whole state here! Although they could most likely put the whole state in a corner of TX! What part are you in?

Minnesota,
Please don't get me wrong. My statement (what little I know about the wetland laws) does not mean I agree with them. From my experience the state and feds don't look at a wetland from the wildlife view point. They view it from the "filtering" of ground water. And by definition a wetland does not include game fish. On the positive side, if its not classed a wetland you should have no problem getting the required permits which I would suggest you do especially hearing about your neigbor. My place is located outside of Monicello.

PS - I have no experience with ponds that are not created from a dugout below the ground water table.

Hey mnfish,

I didn't take it wrong -your right and good take on the info provided. I am "cleaning up" in wet land and your advise is solid. Problem is if I wait I will not have the puddle left for my remaining ducks. If I figure out how to attach here I will post photos. I know I am rolling the dice and praying for a 7.
By the way you know why people ask for advice? Because they already know the answer but do not like it. That would be me!

Minnesota,

Have you dug a test hole yet? If so, how far down until you hit the water table. If not, I recommend you dig one. Its free (minus a little sweat)and you will learn alot about the location of the water. Then you will be able to calculate how much dirt you will need to remove. If you are in a wetland you shouldn't have to dig much past 3' even as dry as it is. Its in ideal time for the test hole seeing as we are very very dry.

I still have about 3 inches of water in what was the deep end and assume that it is at water level. I am pretty confident from the past. Not a bad idea though. I had a home made water fall on the ex island so I might even use the electic for a sand point to keep a deeper hole (can get a 7ft 18 in back hoe for 220 a day)that will ensure no winter freeze out if I get fish back. By the way if you get a hatchery licence ( not expensive) you can stock and to not have to abide by state fishing regs. Legally stock that is - buy the fish from a fishery. The rain last night didn’t change it much but it is holding water in spots-until it dries up again. I know I can get 4 ft with the bobcat so I plan to dig a 10 ft 3-4 ft depth eveywere in the middle and then see haw much more I can go out in all directions before I run out of convenient places for the dirt. the banks will eat aa lot of dirt because they are too steep in most places. It is going to be fun - for the first day or until someone shows up!

Good luck man and if possible post some pictures. Especially the one of your skidsteer buried in muck.
Been there, done that!

Good advice. Keep a bigger machine handy to get the skidsteer out. DON'T bury the big one.

Do skid steers make good cover for fish?

My best so far was when I ram electric to the island. Rented a trench digger,dug the 50 yards or so from my house to the pond and it was way too easy and quick. About 5 minutes and I had it for a day. So the next day I decided to "clean the trench" by going through it a second time - in the rain. Well I guess you are supposed to walk it backwards and this time I did. Got to the water edge, felt the water going over the top of my boots, looked down and kept squeezing the trigger. My feet stuck in the muck, the digger about to plant me and no one home. I cranked it hard to the right and fell to the left. Tipped into the pond and dug myself out. Couldn't get it free and called the rental on the insurance they make you take out. He basically told me that if they had to come out and get it out I would have to pay time and man hours. I got about 8 straps,3 guys and three four wheel drive trucks to get out. When I brought it back they gave it a pretty good look over but other than gas in the pond and having to make a few embarrassing calls it was ok.

I am not sure why my wife is against the dig I am about to do. I have life insurance.

Now that's funny... Good story! Well, OK... Maybe not good, but funny! Glad you got the thing out!

Thanks for sharing that Minnesota. I admire your "let it rip attitude. " It is always funny some time after and as long as no one got hurt.
I have an experience burying a skidsteer(a rental as well) in a peat bog thats why the comment from me. The ground looked solid enough. 8 hrs later and practically a unit of lumber later got it out. Didn't know it at the time but later learned those type of soils might not have a soild bottom for 100's of feet. Wish I would have taken pictures.

PS - I love the wife comment. Again, been there and continue doing that

Hi Minnesota,
I live in Belle Plaine, Mn. My pond is dug in clay soil, but I have a seep. When deciding where to dig my pond, I got the old devining rod out. I knew there was an undergroud spring on the farm. Just didnt know where. The devining rod found it. Also known as a water witch. I figured if I found the spring, it would keep my pond full. After digging all day, they found the spring 3 feet up from the bottom of my pond. The pond is 17 feet deep. I didn't think the spring would be that deep. To make a long story short, I forgot about hydrostatic pressure, and instead of water going into my pond, it leaks out. So my pond has a slow leak all year round. I wish I could afford a big liner for it.
The D.N.R. told me I can't fish out of my own pond, without a fishing license! I almost laughed in his face! He said I had to buy fish from the D.N.R hathery, buy a license, then I could fish on my own property. I went fishing, put them in my pond and that was that. I guess it's ok for the kids to catch fish and bring them home, but that is just what someone told me. I don't do much fishing, so if I want to restock the pond, I will have to buy them. Oh well!! Good luck with your pond!! I hope it get it restored.

I am going to dig it out the second week of september. I figure with kids back in school there is less going on and the odds of someone walking onto my property and getting run over go down. lol Even with the 6 inched of rain my pond hardly changed. Maybe an extra foot or two in each direction and 30 foot puddle on the far end. Had a lot of run ripping up the weeds that have grown in with a four wheeler! My understanding is that you can buy fish from any dnr approved hatchery and if you get a hatchery licence (not expensive) you do not have to follow dnr reg’s. I just catch and stock too thou. I think the law is no one,regardless of age can move live fish. They worry about fish health problems being transferred. I was at a fishing dock on a small non moterized lake by my house last weekend. There were about 20 Asian people fishing and filling buckets with 100’s of VERY little sunfish. It was kind of funny because there is no way you could get meat off of them.

They make them into a soup. They literally put the WHOLE fish into the soup and cook it for hours. When I do creel checks at work is truly amazes me how small a fish some cultures will keep. None of it goes to waste though...