Pond Boss Forums POND CONSTRUCTION Building a dam Pond project from the beginning with pictures

After years of dreaming about owning a pond my better half convinced me to move forward with our project. I have always been pretty conservative about spending money, but I must say I have enjoyed working on all the various projects that go with the pond building as much as anything I can remember. I wanted to share my project with pictures here on this forum because many of my ideas came from reading the posts here on the Pond Boss site. Thank you all for the ideas and for the answers to the various questions I'll be coming to you with in the future. So in late June the project began...

here goes...After a lot of help from our local NRCS agent I finally pulled the trigger to start this project and called in the loggers to cut out the interior of the pond site. My propety is all heavily timbered with hardwoods. The pond at full pool level is supposed to cover 5.6 acres. I did not want a single tree cut that was going to be outside of the waters edge. After the horror stories I had heard about over aggressive loggers I was quite concerned, but after talking to the guy I decided to use to cut the timber I felt much better about allowing them to begin. I must say they did exactly what I asked and I would highly recommend them to anyone considering such a project.

This is what the view was from what is now the west end of the dam.
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Cutting begins...

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The pond begins to take shape.

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The surface acreage ended up producing 390 tons of hardwood timber.

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Here's a view with all the timber removed except for the few trees I had them leave to mark the main creek channel.

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The excavation was under way by late August...first step was stump removal with the track hoe.

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Tree tops and stumps meant lots of brush piles to burn.

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Work begins with scrapers.

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After digging it out with the track hoe, the scrapers move clay to the core.

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The scrapers at work moving soil to shape the two islands that were requested by the better half. The islands are the planned refuge from varmints for the ducks she plans to release.

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I had my excavator open up the main creek channel with the track hoe.

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Time to move the pipe into place.

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Preparing for the installation of the Agri-Drain level control box.

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Installing the anti seep collars.

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View of installation from the East end of dam.

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Installing the pipe and collar is really not as painful as it might appear. Not any worse than a colonoscopy.

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Here's a view from where the dock will be.

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View from West end of dam.

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The pipe and control box are in place.

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View from West end of dam after completion. Quite a different look from the very first picture.

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View looking north across main section of pond.

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A new project begins, dock construction. This rental unit was very reasonable. I picked it up on a Saturday morning and was able to return it on Monday morning for a single days rental. Not only did I use the 9" auger for the dock support holes, but I also drilled approximately 50 holes throughout the pond to use for placing structure/cover.

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All of the various projects, including the dock have been a family affair. Shown here are my helpers, the better half and my two boys. This has been some outstanding family time, and we're looking forward to plenty more in the future.

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Here's a view of some old satellite antennas I have put to good use. They should make some fairly snagproof hangouts for the new residents.

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Calling all fish.



Theres lots of contour and structure throughout the project.

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One of my very best friends, Glenn, helping with the placement of cover.

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We never knew how much fun we would be having placing bricks into all the odd shapes and rooms in the new "fish motel".

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Myself and the better half under a beautiful sunset after a hard days work on the property.

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Back to the dock construction... it's beginning to take shape.

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After a morning of deer hunting, my youngest son and I returned to work on the dock. The better half was concerned about me letting him use power tools...then I pointed out to her...look at the end of the cord on the saw.

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And finally here's a shot of me putting the finishing touches on the metal roof for the dock.

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This is about all I have for now. Like I said earlier I have been having a great time with all this. Please feel free to let me know if you see anything that can be done better. I'm always open to new ideas. Thanks everyone!

Looks good Frank. I can't believe I didn't notice any of the clearing or construction while driving by your place.

Tell us more about the Agridrain level control box.

The Agri-Drains come in multiple sizes in 1 foot increments up to 12 feet in height. I purchased an 8 foot box. The water level is controlled by installing or removing slats inside the box. The slats are alternating 5" and 7" in height which allows precise water level control which is very important in some duck habitat installations. Mine was installed where with all slats installed I can raise the water level to the spillway height. I plan to maintain a normal freeboard of 1 foot below spillway to begin with until I see how that works out. I will also be able to draw down the water level a full 8 feet below splillway for winter time or dock maintenance etc. I thought the additional flexibility was worth the extra expense for the box. I suppose time will tell on my decision.

Wow...I'm sittin' here havin' a flashback. It sure looks like a nice package, Frank. Super congrat's my man.
That appears to be a whopper of a dam. Can you share the approx dimensions?

Thanks Brettski. I can understand your flashback. Your dock construction thread was my inspiration for how I built my dock. I'm really just a wood butcher, not a carpenter so mine didn't turn out nearly as nice as yours but I was pleasantly surprised with how sturdy it feels now that it's mostly completed. I'm pleased and looking forward to getting to use it.

The NRCS estimate had my dam at just over 8000 cubic yards. It is 460 feet in length with 3/1 slope on the front and 4/1 slope on the back, with a 12 foot wide top. It was amazing to me to watch it being built and I'm still impressed with it's structure after knowing how the terrain looked before it was there. I'm really glad I moved forward with this project!

Wow Frank its great! It will not be long before your glad that you took the time to "do it right" and do all the little things to make it better! You will have big fish in no time.

Thanks for the pictures. The ones with your family and friends are always the best. I must say some of the structure is unique.

Great project and pics, Frank.


Why do I suspect it was caused by one of these two pics?

Frank, your pond is going to make ours look like a puddle...
Do you live on your place?
Great job - can't wait to see it....!
George

One of the first questions the NRCS agent asked me was "How big do you want to make it?"
I knew I would only have one shot at this so I told him I wanted it as large as this location would allow without flooding the neighbors property.
We currently have a camper adjacent to our shop that we stay in on weekends. We are considering building on the property in the future. I had my dozer guy clear out a spot near where the dock is located for the potential home site.

The drain pipe pic is absolutely a classic! Can we borrow it, Frank?

Sure, be my guest but please, be gentle.

What a great and very wise wife! If you think working on the pond construction is fun, just wait until the first time you catch a fish on your very own pond. You will have many, many years of good times and great memories on this pond.

Congratulations Frank, and thanks for creating this thread. Oh and visit the human habitat thread, sooner or later you'll build a cabin there.

Frank,

Very nice. I love the fall colors and can just imagine how nice it's going to look next year.

How long have you had the land? My brother has been looking at places around Paris. He spent a week there two months ago and should be here this month or next to look at some more properties.

If you just bought, do you have Realtor that you can recommend? He's using two guys, but one didn't show up and had some other guy in the office take him out. The other one seems pretty good, but is kinda new. I'm down here in the Tyler area and have never been to your area.

Eddie

Eddie,

I agree with you about the fall colors. Fall is my favorite season without a doubt and I'm really looking forward to the view next year when hopefully the pond will be close to full.
The better half and I looked for a couple of years at properties in this area before deciding to purchase this place in July of 2006. I used a local realtor here in Paris that worked very hard for me looking for recreational properties. Have your brother check with Peggy Finney at Lone Star Realty. She is a member of the multiple listing service and has access to almost every property listed in the area, even if it's not with her agency.

good luck,
Frank

Fantastic pond FRPeeps. I love the satellite dish structures. Nice touch!

I just started a 5 acre pond in Hopkins Co. Your property looks alot like mine with the post oaks. How much was the auger for a weekend and do you have any more dishes? I am going to look into the agri-drain. What convinced you to with that style of drain?

Don't you love that nice clay we have in our area?

Hi DavidV, welcome to Pond Boss. Thanks for joining in!

Great post,dont know how I missed it.But your going to regret that comment.Gentle,these guys aint

Welcome aboard DavidV. Congratulations on starting your pond. Be sure to post some pictures...we all love pictures!

I was able to pick up the Auger on a Saturday morning and keep it until the following Monday morning for $250, which is a single days rental. After I used it for the dock post holes, I used it to drill about 50 holes for structure in the pond. I wish now I had drilled more holes.

I work for a communications company and we retired a service which required the dishes. If I had any more you would be welcome to them. I used what remaining stock I had for my structure so I won't be getting any more.

I had seen the Agri-Drains used at some WMA's, and a friend of mine installed one on his pond. I just thought the flexibility might come in handy.

The clay in our area really is nice. What little rain I have received has held up very well in my pond. I hope this continues to be the case.

Tom G - I have learned not to take too big a peek between the gloves...this bunch never misses a chance to land a punch!

"All of the various projects, including the dock have been a family affair."
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This was and still is a driving factor in my "projects" also. We decided to try and create a place the kids and esp. grandkids would want to spend alot of time. Hope you did a better job shooting your dock than I did:


It's a wonderful feeling seeing it full for the first time! Nice job.

Oops.

I doubt that you are seeing the dock underwater these days.

Thanks FRPeeps,

Thought I would post a few pics of my lake project but I don't have a website. Can anyone help with this?. What are you supposed to do with all the sand (topsoil)? I will be making some structure, ridges, in the lake. Is it OK to use that sand as I need to get rid of a lot to get to 4' deep within 12' of shoreline per Mr. Lusk.

Welcome to the forum. As a rule shallow water is the enemy. Spliting the difference on the shoreline is a good idea. Topsoil has got some value, you hate to just cover it up with water but sometimes there is nothing else to do.

What do you mean by splitting the difference on the shoreline?

Anything that is two feet deep or less add dirt to and bring it up above the waterline. Two feet or more make deeper put that dirt on the two feet and shallower. There will be a little less surface but a lot more deep water.

That may not be clear you can call me on my mobil at
940-736-5333 and I will try to explain it better.

Mike Otto

I have been busy at work and play but I'm finally getting around to posting some updates to what's been happening at the pond. Since some of the PB members attended the regional meeting here I though you might enjoy seeing how things have changed.

One addition is the new boat ramp.




I had some friends come out to help with pouring the concrete.





The first stocking of CNBG and FHM happened on the last day of February.





They seem to be doing well, feeding each evening.







The recent rains have helped raise the water level. I'm hoping to be able to move the feeder to the dock soon.

Really shaping up nicely, Frank. Love the ramp, man. Good forward thinking on that one.
-
ps; the grass looks great on the dam.

Looks good.

How deep is the water in front of the dock right now? You may want to back off on the feeding time for a few days until they find the feeder again.

Pretty neat Frank.

Thanks for the update. It looks like "satellite ridge" is about to go under and start calling those fish.

Lookin good Frank - glad we had the opprtunity to see it before it filled...!

"The recent rains have helped raise the water level. I'm hoping to be able to move the feeder to the dock soon"
Frank, personally I like the location of your main feeder on the dam. I would consider a "yard-arm" hanging feeder on the dock.

George,

The CNBG are feeding so well I almost hate to move the feeder. My original plan was to build a simple walkway/pier adjacent to the boat ramp with a feeder on the end of it, which is essentially in the far corner of the dam. Then move the existing feeder to the dock which should give decent coverage to both sides of the pond. I really want a feeder on the dock to take advantage of watching the fish feed up close. It will also keep me from negotiating that slope on the dam to fill the feeder.

Hey Frank, thanks for sharing your pond with us – exciting stuff from construction to stocking and now feeders,
Next thing you’ll need fly casting lessons ...

Here are my thoughts about feeders:
IIRC your present feeder location is on the dam on the S.E. end of your pond, and near the original creek channel?
IMO I would consider this location would be optimum placement.
Deepest water.
S.E. prevailing winds drifting feed in most efficient direction.
Best location for open water HSB and giant CNBG.

This feeder configuration has been most productive in our pond with similar orientation.
2nd feeder recommendation would be on dock for observation and BG haven.
3rd location would be in upper shallow end spawning areas

Three feeders in this pattern have been very successful in our pond, not to increase amount of feed, but to avoid concentration of fish in one area of pond.

I have an old hanging Native Feeder that I will donate to your cause until your plans materialize over the next few months.
http://www.nativeoutdoors.com/nativefeeder.html

Fun stuff – thanks for you post.

George,

I would be in favor of incorporating one of your fly fishing seminars into our next regional meeting...I'm sure that would boost attendance.

Keep your eyes and ears open - there may be one in the planning stage...

Frank, it looks great. Things sure change when you add water.

I was at the pond yesterday and poured another inch of rain water out of the gauge. That makes 7" over the last 7 day period. I opened the Agri-Drain box and I only have 4' 3" to go before water goes over the top board and out the pipe!

Did you move the feeder in time?

Sounds great Frank.....!
Pictures....

Just barely Chris. The water is now competly covering the pipe.

Looks good.

I don't think you are overstocked now.

Some great looking pics... Thanks for sharing! Glad to hear the rains have come for you.

Frank,many thanks for sharing your pond from start to soon to be finished.
More rain forecast for tonight and tommorow....

What was the total you guys had. On the T V it loked like you got flooded.

Mike, I poured another inch out of the rain gauge from today's storm. That makes 8" in the past 9 days. The forecast is calling for more rain tonight, which is fine with me.

Are you getting any runoff from 1" of rain? I can't remember if your soil soaks up more water than mine.

The groung is saturated now. Pretty much all rain is now runoff.

Wow. Great stuff, FR. Excellent photo documentation and I'm really jealous of your ramp.

The radar looked like it raind on you again yesterday morning.

Is the pond full yet? My dad said that 195 was shutdown between Manchester and the intersection at 37 because of flooding.

It's not full yet but it's a lot closer than it was. Here's where we were a couple of weeks ago before the rains really got cranked up.



Here's where we were on Sunday.



I was able to use the new ramp to launch the boat for the first time, which worked out really well. I am pleased with the angle on the ramp.



We got another two inches of rain last night and this morning at the pond so the water is about a foot higher than it was in these most recent photos and the creeks are still running. Only 17 more inches to go and it will be topped off!

Looks great Frank.

Wow, what a difference. Dang that boat must get up and go with that huge motor on it.

Way to go Frank....!!!!

Huge motor? Heck Jeff, in Texas, that's a rear end trolling motor.

LOL Dave. Yep I forgot everything is bigger in Texas.

That boat must do 80 MPH with that motor on it!

I usually don't run it too hard, but it will go plenty fast enough to suit me. It's really only about half the horsepower I see on most of the Bass Boats around here. The 54 lbs of thrust on the trolling motor will be enough for the pond though.

FRPeeps - I just ordered a level control box for the pond side of my ponds outlet so I can slowly raise the water level. How do you like the one that you installed in your pond?

I don't have a lot of experience with my box since my pond has just recently caught significant rainfall, but the Box seems to be doing it's job. The water level is about 15" from going over the top board in my 8' box and the slats seem to be sealed well with very little seepage. There is almost no water on the back (outflow)side of the slats.

Thanks for the update. Wish we could send some of our rain your way.

Moderator's Note:

For the full content of the DavidV Pond Experience originally located in this thread, see here.

Since I haven't posted in a while I wanted to share some updated photos of the pond and it's new inhabitants.

This picture was taken early one morning while enjoying the first cup of coffee after a night of camping at the property. It's amazing how much better the coffee tastes at the pond.



This is one of the Overton Strain CNBG that were stocked on the last day of February, 2009.



I have been able to catch a few of the Tilapia that were stocked on June 12, 2009. The Pure Florida, and F1 LMB were also stocked on that date. I didn't realize how dirty the Tilapia was on the opposite side or I would have cleaned him up. I was too busy concentrating on the Condello Technique for the photo op.



We were seeing plenty of young Tilapia about three weeks after the original stocking.




I made another trip to see Todd Overton today, 8-1-09, for HSB and Northern LMB.





I was concerned about transporting and stocking the fish during the warm weather but Todd said not to worry. He was right again. Every fish made the 4 hour trip in perfect condition as there were zero morts. I'll send more photos later when I can catch some of the June stocked LMB.

I would have to conclusively state that it looks like you have yourself a little slice of paradise. Or perhaps a good-sized slice.

Hey Frank, thanks for the up-date.
Congratulations - GREAT job start to finish.

Post a Before and After photo of the pond/lake ... absolutly beautiful!

We need another mini PB conference fild trip - with fishing poles ... !!!!

Great post Frank - keep on keepin' on ...

Thanks Frank, glad you posted this. Keep posting some info and pics as time goes by, especially as you start to catch some fish from the pond.

Fun thread. Awesome updates.

Looks very nice. Love sat dishs

Hey Frank, time for another update - or ya on your hunting trip?

George, between chasing Elk in September and now Whitetails I am criminally late on sending an update. I have been catching some fish from the pond but nothing like your Super Grand Slam!
I have some pictures to share and will get them posted soon.

I put some before and after photos together as George suggested. I tried to get them to match up as much as possible from the camera angles. This project has been more fun than the law should allow!

























































And now the really good stuff!

















And finally the lake record to date. This scrappy little guy (or gal) was a solid 12". I'm not sure if it's a pure Florida or F1, but it was stocked on June 12 as a 2" fingerling and this picture was taken around November 1.



I plan to meet with Chris Steelman during Thanksgiving week for a trip to see Bob Lusk. We'll pick up a few Smallmouth from him to add to the mix for additional variety. Updates to follow!

Just...awesome. Thanks for this Peeps. The before/after comparisons are amazing.

+1, Great stuff. Thanks for letting us follow along.

Frank, what can I say - I'm spechless!!
You have done a fantastic job and the pictorial will be a family treasure.
Thanks for letting us share the journey.
CONGRATULATIONS!!!!

Moderators,I nominate this thread for archival status.
"Pond of The Year"

Fly casting lessons on me Frank!!!!

EXCELLENT job Frank! Looks like a good candidate for a future spread in PB magazine.

Russ

First time checking this thread - no idea how it slipped by me for a year! Obviously I've been cheating myself out of a great read. This is exactly what I'd expect from someone who has thoughtfully prepared from concept to fulfillment and using the forum and publication as a guide. The animated version of this story is not only interesting, but provides great fundamental instructional material for all future and existing pond meisters. I have to admit I wish I could do things over again...document the process more closely, etc. But I'm really pumped for you and I LOVE hearing about the addition of SMB and HSB to your fishery. Remember to get advanced SMB fingerlings so those LMB don't swallow em up!

How many acres is the pond? Stocking qtys? Great job - thanks for documenting everything so carefully - serves us all well.

A lot of stuff happens on this forum that we don't tell you about TJ.

I miss some threads just like that TJ.

No sense wasting time trying to explain things I won't understand...I guess I see your point. Regardless - I'm taking my ball and going home!

No you won't. I know you. You have no more will power or strength of character than the rest of us.

Thanks so very much for posting this pond story including pics. I wish more of my clients would document this way. I am most interested in seeing those fish as they grow up.

For me it's like seeing my kids leave home......and actually go do something with their lives....

I caught this little guy today on a Rooster-tail. This is the first SMB caught from the pond since they were stocked around Thanksgiving 2009, and my first SMB ever. They jump a lot even at this size!

That's got to be a great feeling Peeps. Nicely done.