Update...
I spent some time taking depth readings this weekend. Either it was not dug as deep as initially thought, or it has silted in a lot. The pond is currently 1' - 1.5' low. The deepest point is 7' right in front of the dam. The rest of the main body is 6' deep in the middle, going to 5' and then 4' deep in the (2) slews. Being that the pond is over a foot low, I can add 1' to the readings posted above for full pool depths. So basically at full pool I have a pond that is 6'-7' average depth, with the deepest point 8' and (2) channels/slews that are 5' deep.
The clarity is not good, maybe 4" - 5" at best. Pretty much every stock tank I've seen in Texas is about the same. It's got a muddy bottom with no vegetation or cover that I can feel in the main body. The (2) slews that branch off have some stumps and logs, but also not any vegetation other than a few weeds in the shallow coves.
I ran a trot line and caught a handful mud cats, or Bull Head cats, and thats it. I used chicken livers for bait, which doesnt stay on the hook all that good so I'm going to run it again this weekend and use something different. Probably some live perch from another pond and some shrimp.
One thing to mention is that there is a water well near by that I am going to tap into and run a line to the pond. Then I will be able to keep it full at all times.
So now what? What would be your next step if this was your pond? The water clarity has me a bit bummed out. I have no idea how to clear it up, or if its even possible with the soft muddy bottom. I've got some pictures and a map of the pond if I can figure out how to post them.
