Originally Posted By: RAH
Depending on you goals, you might take a boat out and drop a line. It could be filled with big LMB. It is a bit shallow but if you can raise the water level 2' then you would at least have a 9' hole. Grass carp can help but you need to be patient. They can take a couple years to control and stabilize things. Too many GC is not a good thing either as you probably want some cover for fry. If you have the kind of fish you want to catch already in the pond, then a floating dock might get you out past the weeds to a fishing area. The mini excavator can also be used around the edges, but if you already have desirable fish in the pond, you may want to go slowly so as not to release too many nutrients into the pond in one session. You could plant desirable emergent plants in the areas that you excavate around the pond as you go. These can be good for wildlife, out compete invasives, and add beauty. Most importantly, have fun!


Thanks Rah! Yeah, we fished the thing and there may be something in there but we didn't catch any. I had planned to stock it heavy this spring but decided to hang tight not knowing depth and so on (glad I waited!). I did add about 50 adult bluegill though in that 6"-8" range. I figured we'll get them going, do some pond work/cleanup over the summer, raise the water level and then add just a few bass in the coming fall/spring (very few to start). Later on if we really get after it and dig the pond down much deeper we'll think about starting from scratch again. For now though, I wanted to get something in there besides frogs and turtles. wink