Pond Boss Forums POND CONSTRUCTION Selecting a site New Pond

Today we started pushing dirt! Got to work building a small .5 acre pond below a sloping hill that had several runoff cuts through it already. Will be 8-10' deep with the channels cut back in the bottom, hopefully creating a LMB chow line. Anyone have any thoughts about stocking amounts, type and timeline? Also, any advice regarding the natural habitat and amount that should be added to the pond?
Thanks for the tips-

I don't know much so I have tried to listen to the advice given by many of the smart people on this site and I know the south is different than the north when it comes to ponds but get the minnows in and let them be for a year or so. I did smallmouth and walleye and channel in 1 pond and perch in the other, again, northern pond, but I put in the fatheads and shinners 1 year in advance. They had a year to spawn and own the pond. You could see huge clouds of minnows the 2nd year swimming around. 1.5 years after stocking predators, there are still baby fatheads showing up along a clouds of minnows though not as thick or as many but the smallmouth and walleye and catfish have eaten well. They have grown. Smallmouth stocked 13 months ago at 4-6 inches are 12 inches plus and starting to thicken up.

Also, I stocked a low density numbers to let the fish have plenty of food. 25 walleye per acre and 40 smallmouth per acre.

At least for me, letting the minnows set the table has been tremendous.

good luck