Pond Boss Forums INTRO Questions & Observations Here is my dream pond, any advice?

Southern Indiana is my location. This pond will be directly behind my house, the main objectives of the pond are as follows. It is not the best location for a pond I know, but it is where it is, basically being built into the side of a slope.

1) Recreational Fishing, Blue Gill, Largemouth Bass and Channel Catfish.

2) Something Nice to look at from my bedroom and family room windows.

3) A small dock on it for the kids and swimming.

4) I would hope to get some Ducks and Geese to use it, by putting up nest boxes and feed.

5) I figure if I plant the dam in clover, I'll get the deer to use the area for food and as a water source.

http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j28/pacoruddy/Dscn0881.jpg

http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j28/pacoruddy/pondsketch3.jpg

http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j28/pacoruddy/Dscn0883.jpg

http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j28/pacoruddy/pondsketch1.jpg

http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j28/pacoruddy/Dscn0882.jpg

http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j28/pacoruddy/pondsketch2.jpg

A couple of thoughts. Pretty place.

You can have the pond and stock it with BG, LMB and CC. Balance is important and maintaining the balance is really important. It takes LMB to control the BG but you have to watch the bass to keep them from overspawning in 3/4 acre. I wouldn't put in over 25 bass and 100 CC. Maybe 500 or so BG and about 100 redears. I would add about 3 lbs. of fathead minnows. You can stock the CC, about 4 inch, with the BG and fatheads. Don't stock the bass until about 6 months after the forage.

You might want to think twice about the ducks and geese. They're messy on the bank and in the water.

Also consider the run off to keep your pond full. From the looks of it you might want to have the cat make some terrace's to route rain water into your pond.

FH

Thanks guys for the replies. I'll check into channeling the water from other parts of the field into the lake. As you can see, I won't have much runoff.

How deep would you have it? Is 10' enough?

I don't know about Indiana and your expected rainfall. It's kinda hard to talk about being too deep during a drought. In my arid area, we like to keep shoveling till we see a guy eating with chopsticks.

PL, How many acres will be draining into your pond? Your local soil and water departent may be able to help with this. 8-10' of water should be plenty deep enough unless water levels drop severely due to not enough watershed.

bid of $4500-$5000 for this project, what do you think?

portable ladder, please don't lump ducks and geese into one pot. These are very different animals. Canada geese can cause many problems. With very few exceptions, ducks do not. Personally, I can't imagine any of us not enjoying having wood ducks on our property.