Hi, I've been lurking on here for some time now and thought I would introduce myself. My name is David and I live in west central Arkansas. My pond was dug about a year ago and currently measures 120' x 150' and @14' at it's deepest point. It still has a long way to go before it reaches "full pond" but it should measure 260" x 170" with an average depth of 12", 25' at its deepest point. The pond is spring fed so it goes with the rainfall. I am still working on vegetation and am in the process of building a floating dock. The water stays muddy form the suspended clay and I am planning to treat with alum and ag lime. I can buy bulk ag lime but I don't know a local source for the alum. The pond is aerated and has a few holdover FHM, CC and BG. I am excited about all the info available on this site and look forward to everyone's opinions and advice.
You might want to tell us your goals for the pond.
Starting from a clean slate with no fish might have been easier if fishing is a main goal. But if it is only a minor goal of pond usage you can manage around the fish already there. Existing fish makes any stocking plan more complicated.
snrub, the pond will see limited usage, mostly by the grand kids when they come to visit but this will include fishing and occasional swimming, otherwise, I just want it to look good. I love to fish but I usually just hit the rivers and lakes in the area. I don't really have a stocking plan in mind, I just want hungry fish when someone does wet a line. Future plans include a small cabin overlooking the pond where I can spend nice quiet evenings watching the fish feed!
