Pond Boss Forums AQUATIC VEGETATION Balance of plants in the environment New pond construction to begin...

And my biggest question is what to seed the inside of the pond with so I don't end up with weeds growing while it fills. I live in zone 5a and there is no telling how fast I will reach full pool.

My property is blessed with lots of clay and many springs. The dam is going to be constructed in my front yard with a natural swail that channels much of the property's runoff directly into where the pond will be. If we have a long wet fall, my pond might very well be full before things freeze, or it may be next summer before it fills to full pool. My pond layout calls for a 5:1 slope out to 10' deep then much more steep down to a max depth of 25'. I would like to keep the vegetation to just corkscrew val in close and maybe a small amount of red jungle val out at the 10' mark if it does not fill till next summer. I will actively eradicate any other vegetation that I find.

My ultimate goal is YP/SMB but the only thing going in till 2016 or even 2017 (depends on how fast the vegetation spreads) is PK shrimp, fingernail clams, papershell crayfish, spotfin shiner, johnny darters, bluntnose minnows, FHM, GSH and hopefully LCS if I can source them.

Why don't you want the weeds to grow in your pond. Just my opinion but i like all the weeds i can get it gives your FHM and GSH a place to spawn on and gives them cover also.

The weeds I am referring to are the various thistles that appear within a week of dirt being turned over around here.

Also, the little pond I currently have (is being renovated during new pond construction) is recently overrun with cattails and I don't want that to happen to my new pond. I suppose American pondweed wouldn't be a bad addition but I am not going to intentionally introduce anything but Vallisneria.

Sounds like a cool project Trooper - I like your fishery plans. Few observations:


Bear in mind GSH in my SMB/YP fishery tend to compete negatively with YP for forage [including pellets] and you might be better served trying to establish your forage base without them at first with all your other species instead. I relate from direct experience once you stock GSH you'll be hard pressed to extirpate them without a presence of a predator whose gape allows adult GSH predation [like LMB or CC], which even your top end SMB will likely be unable to accomplish. I have fished with nosehooked live line 8" GSH many times and only the largest HSB can handle them [25"+]. If your spotfins and lcs don't establish you can always toss in 50 adult GSH at a later date and they'll establish quickly.

Curious on your goals with the addition of clams to the fishery - can you share your thoughts with us?

5:1 slopes are pretty gradual - just bear in mind excessive shallow clear water will likely result in some submerged vegetation management issues down the line. Likely you're already aware of this, just wanted to mention it.

Tell us more about your project - I'm pumped for you as a fellow cool water species fan!

Just remember that if the springs are below the waterline, if the water pressure in the pond is greater than the water pressure in the springs, they will flow backwards and drain the pond until the pressure stabilizes.

Plant Rye as soon as the pond is done to minimize erosion. Then plant another grass type that does well in your area that is perennial. I'd look into planting some marginals around the edge of the pond, and get 'em thick and 12"-24"+ tall to stop Geese from landing on the grass and walking into the pond.

Also, figure out what you will be placing in the pond for cover for the fish. Install that before the pond fills up.

Unfortunately the afore mentioned pond project will have to wait till I can manage to save a lot more money as the wonderful state of NY and it's asinine laws and rules have changed my construction costs from about $20k to a minimum of $80k. I can make the pond that is already on the property any size I want and the state doesn't care how I construct the dam or how much drainage I have.

So... I am renovating the little pond behind my house that is an unknown depth but very full of silt and decaying organic matter. I will keep with the forage stocking plan and concentrate on cleaning up the landscaping while I save for the pond that has now become my retirement project instead of a fishery that is ready to enjoy the day I retire. Oh well.

This is what I am working with.



And this is what I hope to end up with. I am going for at least 12' deep with a steep grade to keep the vegetation to a minimum The red line is a ditch I am going to have dug to catch a lot of the runoff and water from spring that usually keeps the lower field soggy pretty much year round unless we have a summer with no rain.



The imagery on the county mapping site is from 2010 so all the brush and especially the rush in the pond has expanded greatly.

Here is an idea of what it looked like last night before I started the 2" trash pump.







And 12 hours later.



The excavator and dozer arrive this afternoon and the guy who is doing the work (went to school for conservation/heavy equipment operation) hopes to be done by Sunday evening.



I never thought of this and am very willing to listen to the experienced guys around here. GSH are out as of now.



The clams are in a couple of ponds around here and I thought that they couldn't really hurt anything... just something more in the ecosystem I guess.



The big pond is just the finishing touch on the view from the deck of the house I just built on the family homestead, what is left of the land that my great-great grandfather started farming back in 1830. The fish selection for the pond is simply my desire to have something other than the standard LMB/BG pond. Plus YP are tasty.

Gotta love NY, the nanny state. If I could have fit a 1 acre or more pond in my front field, I would have had to jump through some serious hoops to get it approved. The less than one acre was simply a warning from the local zoning about being a certain distance from the property borders.

What about multiple smaller ponds to avoid the nonsense? What did you run into that drove up the cost?

The heavy rain that came through last week pushed things back to this weekend.

The big expense comes in the topography of the field in front of my house. The field drops about 20 feet in elevation and the plan was to have 2 friends, a conservation/heavy equipment teacher and his student, build a dam.

Where I want the pond and the depth desired requires a Class C (high risk) dam which means it has to be designed by an approved engineer and built in a specific way, adding a lot of time to the project.

Because of the volume of the pond, I would need pipe capable of draining it in less than 72 hours for emergency situations. My original price only included a spillway. There is a natural swale at the top of where I wish to dig that runs down to the edge of the property and a 30" pipe under the road that leads to a county dam. The SWCD person I talked to guesstimated a volume of 15 million gallons and figured I would need a minimum of a 24" standpipe and drain pipe and all the associated concrete and equipment to control a butterfly valve in the bottom of the dam. I am going to ask if a siphon system would be acceptable... that may make this project more affordable.

I would also have to cover the entire spillway and associated drainage in rip rap... about 1/4 mile long and 20' wide.

I can do what I want to an existing pond, because it already exists... it doesn't have to comply with all the new pond construction BS is basically what I was told.

Well this project finally happened. Work and other financial responsibilities got in the way. I don't have any pictures of the final dirt work yet but it is now close to half an acre and about 80% is 10' deep. This pond wont get anything but rainwater until next spring. I am having the dam and surrounding area hydroseeded with conservation mix. Will I cause myself problems by having the bowl seeded with a grass and clover mix. I just don't want golden rod and bull thistle, which I have in abundance, growing in it.