It is my understanding that until the water begins to clear in a new pond, that you do not begin to fertilize. Is that true?

Don, it seems everyone is tied up these days.
So I will respond.
You are correct. Personally, I would want about 24" of clarity in a new pond before I fertilized. Have you ever fertilized before ?
How big is your pond ? What part of the world are you located ?

I live at Sardis Lake in Mississippi. The pond is about 5.5 acres. Thanks for the reply

I live in Central Texas. I've been fertilizing a 28 ac. pond for six years. It has really made a big difference. I use a 7.5 horse outboard on a 14' flat bottom boat. I hook up a syphon pump to the motor fin and feed liquid fertilizer through a hose. It works good and I always get a great bloom. I tried granular fertilizers 6-10 years ago and got nothing. I also have a 1 acre pond that I use a 12v. sprayer to fertilize. I catch a windy day, set the sprayer on the bank pour in 10 gal. water, 1-2 gal. fertilzer then another 10 gal water. Mix well by spraying nozzle back into the tank. Hook it up to a battery, put nozzle in a forked stick and leave it for about an 1 or so.
Your 5.5 acre lake will be fun to manage and this bulletin board along with Pond Boss will really help you do it right.

Which liquid fertilizer do you use?

I use an 11-37-0 liquid fertilizer. 5 gal buckets
If you have never had any experience fertilizing
a lake then you might want to visit some more about the details. I'd be glad to share my experiences. Don't hesitate to ask.
Gotta run, my 2.5 yr. old boy and 4 yr. old girl
have their life jackets on and we are going down to the pier and catch some Crappie while mom kicks back and enjoys her special day.

10-34-0 is also commonly available and works well.