Pond Boss Forums POND CONSTRUCTION Creating habitat Layout of new pond

Not sure where to post this. Looking for input on the planned layout of my pond. Thi pond is to be 1/2 to 3/4 arce in size and I am looking for feed back on the layout shown below. Slopes OK? enough fish habitat? fish habitat in the right place? etc? On the east end (where shallow) looking to add BG spawning habitat, what should I do for that? Also this is where I want vegetation to grow for fish and duck cover.



Larger picture is available here

Looks good. I would get rid of the bottom right wood duck box. Two should be enough for your pond. Also more cover in the shallows for the baitfish.

Thanks Chris, any reccomendations on what cover to use for bait fish? This will most likely be a Bluegill/Bass/Catfish pond with Fatheads and little bluegills being the bait fish

Cedars trees if you have them. Make a big clump of them in 4-5 feet of water. I would probably do at least 4 piles maybe more.

Thanks Chris,

Closest I can come will be christmas trees, all hardwoods on the property and no rock. I try and round some up after christmas 09.

A couple of thoughts.

1. If there will be any swimming then don't put structure near the dock. No structure within jumping distance of the dock.

2. Put the concrete pile on the dam face so it is like a hump or ridge running from 8 ft to 1 ft.

3. Put one of the log cribs where the plat shows the concrete pile - that is a very good corner for a vertical structure.

The rest looks good to me. When you look at the pond in person think of placing structure for fishing where they would make good ambush points. Then put some brush or xmas trees (on their side) in water about 3 to 4 ft deep near spawning beds for forage protection.

See this thread at the end is a primer on structure.

http://www.pondboss.com/forums/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=92463#Post92463

THanks for the pointer I thought I read all of that but finding links I didn't follow.

Wasn't planning on any swimming from then pier, but maybe I should plan that for the grandkids of the future, hopefully far into the future. I may move the tire structure out more from the pier or remove it all together.

Planning on using 2" (or larger) Limestone on the dam face as riprap. Plan on this going the entire lenght of the dam and be 10' wide. A couple of feet above normal pool an running into the water. Should I put a fabric under this to hole it in place?

Thanks for the other suggestions

I put 6" to 10" limestone rip-rap around the inflow and outflow culvert and used a type of fabric that looks like a cross between felt and weedstop that is 10' wide. It ran $10/ln. ft, but it is keeping the rocks from sinking down into the sandy soil here. I think putting fabric under the stone is a good idea to keep it where you want it.

OK, update version based on comments and additional reading



Larger version here

Is there a reason to go to 20 feet?

Are you going to have aeration?

Great questions,


The 20' may be 25' and basically to provide a refuge in the winter months and if the pond drains for any reason atleast there will still be some water.

I haven't studied the aeration topic yet to decide if it would be needed or not. Was thinking of waiting and see if I needed it. Is there a way to predict if if is needed?

Well I am an amatuer when it comes to aeration but for your situation it is important to help prevent winterkill. You could probably wait a few years until you get a bunch of aquatic vegetation.

How thick does the ice get in your area and will you be able to clear the snow?

Being in west central Illinois I am not expecting more than 12 to 14 inches in the worst winter (like this one), maybe a little more. Snow doesn't hang around to long in this part of the country, maybe a couple weeks at most before it melts and then it falls again.

We have aeration on our natural lake in northern Wisconsin. It is 50 acres and at most 10' deep. We run aeration every winter there (a small compressor and 50' of soaker hose). Have a real bad winter kill in '96 and been doing this ever since.

Its just a problem/question/issue I haven't thought about yet.