Thanks for the input JL and TJ. You're confirming what I've believed, but it's nice to hear this from people with more experience than I have.
What is the cause of this concern? If the dam is properly constructed, this will not be an issue.
I'm personally not concerned, but then again I'm not very risk averse. My parents
are a lot more risk averse than I am, so while I can't speak for them directly, I think their concern is more that I'm a mad scientist and this pond revamp is getting too big too fast and that it will get away from us with catastrophic results. To their credit, I don't think they've ever heard of people around here draining their ponds, so to them I think that sounds like a dramatic unprecedented step. I know in the PB community, draining and resetting is pretty much standard routine.
Cool water species fishery can be achieved in your region [I work with several clients in the NE/KS/IA/MO region with cool water species fisheries] but you'll need to drain, nuke, and begin fresh.
I imagined so, since we're at a similar latitude (and there are smallies in some creeks and rivers around here). A lot of my inspiration for doing a SMB/YP pond has come from reading your posts and several others' success stories here on PB. Based on what I've read here and some reports by Dr. Willis, I've been trying to beat it into my family's head that we're not going to get SMB established unless we drain and nuke.
I appreciate you both chiming in with more experienced opinions.
