Pond Boss Forums POND CONSTRUCTION Soil questions Wanting to make my old pond bigger

hello. this is my first post on this forum. have been doing a lot of reading the past month on ponds. we just bought this house with 5.1 acres. it has a small pond on it now. i estimate it at probably 1/8 acre. it has very little vegetation and the fishing is not good. mostly full of tiny bluegill. rather than messing with trying to manage my large mudhole i want to dig it out and make it a bigger pond easier to manage. i love to crappie fish, but i may not stock crappie because of all the bad hype they get in ponds. i also like bass fishing so that is probably what i will go with. i want to make the new pond somewhere between 1 and 2 acres.

i don't plan on putting an catfish in it. my family has a catfish pond devoted strictly to catfish i can fish whenever i want.

problem 1: the existing pond is pretty much solid clay. it is red clay as far as i can tell. but the water never seems to clear. it may have catfish or something stirring it i am not sure. it hasn't rained in forever and the pond is still muddy. i just got a water sample tonight to put in a mason jar as see if it settles. i know they use to have cows and horses that they would allow to walk in the pond, so i am hoping that may be part of the problem. it holds water very well. it is about 1 1/2 feet low right now, but this is the worst drought of my life.

problem 2: the way the pond is set up now it is at the bottom of the property. there is a small gulley that actually runs into it to give it a good deal of water whenever it rains. because my property is long and skinny, if i make the pond bigger, it will basically be on flat ground with just a slight slope toward it. my property is a long flat hilltop. i know this is not the best pond location, but i don't have any other choice. if it is designed right, i think i could still utilize the gulley to an extent.

do you guys think these problems could be overcome, or should i just let my dream of having an awesome fishing pond go? also i plan on stocking largemouth, bluegill, shellcracker, fathead minnows, and golden shiners. can i stock everything except the LMB at once or should i do it differently? how long to wait for the bass?

thank you very much. if it matters i live in sw missouri

First, welcome to Pond Boss.

Everything sounded good until you described the location. You will need a number of acres of watershed to keep water in the pond. A good place to start is with the NRCS pond handbook. It is available as a free download from the NRCS website. It will give you an idea of how much drainage ares is needed per acre in your area. Then you will need a topo map,such as on Google Maps to see if you have adequate area.

Good luck. Ask lots of questions.

Regards,
Ken

You need enough watershed Or a well and wallet big enough to keep it full.

Well I think I was wrong. Looked closer at neighbors property and I am lower than he is so I have one side I can use as a watershed. I would have to dam two sides of the pond though. What do you guys think about the clay turbidity issue? Could that be from the cows they used to have? This is one issue im really worried about. I do not want to battle with that constantly. How can I tell if that is going to be an issue? Thank you for all the help!

How old is the existing pond, and is your watershed bare or covered in vegetation? My limited experience is that clay takes longer to settle than other soils. Technically, I believe clay is one of the finest soils and is more apt to neutral buoyancy. Gypsum should correct this, but be prepared. If the water clears up, you're pond may start getting weedy.

If the cows aren't still using the pond, then that problem has corrected itself. If not, then you may want to fence off an area specifically for them so the entire pond is not affected.

How long does the gypsum treatment last? How much do you use? No cows now. How much does gypsum cost?? I know that will vary just an estimate.

Here's some info

http://forums.pondboss.com/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=157297

http://www.texashuntfish.com/app/view/Po...7023F30540AC67B

Thank you for the info. Read through both of them and they helped. Still curious as to how long the treatment will last?

Not really a treatment like fertilizer, so unless more silt is introduced through the watershed or something muddies the water, you should be good to go.

It's all positive/negative reaction stuff and thinking about it makes my head hurt. Maybe someone with more expertise can explain it better.

I would also check with your county ag guys. They should probably be familiar with your soil type, and may be your best bet for specific information.

Check with the MO Dept of Conservation, too, to see if you're in an erosion control area. They may be able to help you out. They may help you out with funds to control the silt that runs into the pond from the gulley.

http://mdc.mo.gov/landwater-care/priority-focus-areas

The thing about accepting goverment funds is you have to do it to their liking whether it is right or not. We built a dam to control erosion and the pipe in it need to go down about 4" but they wouldn't let us move it...