Pond Boss Forums POND CONSTRUCTION Selecting a site Newbie with an 8 acre existing pond...

Hello, I am new to all this and just found this web page. I recently purchased 70acres of land with an 8 acre farm pond on it. The pond is very long and narrow, only about 150' wide. It is also quite shallow, the deepest part is 8' deep and much of it is 4' or less. It is more than 30years old and is fed by springs and runoff.

The pond currently contains lots of bass, and has been stocked with triploid grass carp to keep the weeds down. There are also some perch and bluegill. No one has fished it for several years, and it was really primarily a waterfowl hunting pond.

I would really like to make it deeper, and if possible to introduce some trout (I am an avid fly fisherman).

Should i even attempt to dredge it out? Could this ruin the pond? Any other good sources of info on pond management?

Any input is appreciated. thanks.

You could increase the height of the dam. You'd have to close off the existing drain pipe and be sure the new dirt is compacted well. However, I think raising the dam would only make the pond deeper near the damn. You'll just be extending the shallows further back onto your property. If the site is close to your property line, make sure you don't back water up onto your neighbor!

Why do you want to go deeper to begin with? Is the bond going dry? Does the weed problem get out of control? It sounds like the fish are doing fine and the carp are taking care of the weeds. Doesn't sound like a huge problem to me. I'd just manage the lake and start fishing it!

You may want to consider a new lake site if you want one that is deeper. With 70 acres it would be nice to have more than one pond. You'd not only have more water to fish, but you could move bass from one pond to the other, which will help keep the gene pool fresh.

Check with a professional in your area before you proceed. I live in Texas and go to the local NRCS.

I just did the math. If your 8 acre pond is 150 feet wide, it must be like 2300-2400 feet long? Is it a dammed up long ditch or what? Just curious.

Hello, thanks for the responses. There is a levy at one end of the pond. Raising the levy is not an option as it will just cause the pond to spread to nearby lowlands, not really make it deeper. I was hoping to make it deeper so it was suitable for ice-fishing, and perhaps to introduce trout.

The pond has a very large flow-through of water, so it won't go dry.

It is similar to a "long ditch" It is 2000+' long and between 100-200' wide, with one end being very shallow.

I live near a city lake that is approximately 600 acres. The lake was becoming too shallow and something had to be done to make it deeper. They found a land owner that was willing to be paid for having his land covered in the sludge. He didn't live nearby, so pipes were laid for transportation of the unwanted earth. I haven't heard what effect the action has had on his land, but you may want to consider that aspect of it. Will the pond mud change the make up of soil that you combine it with? Will it affect plant life, trees, etc. adversly?

I really think you are looking at a very expensive process to dredge an 8 acre pond. Check your topo map and see if you can build a new lake somewhere else on the property. Make it the deep lake for ice fishing.

That sounds like the pond equivalent of a spaghetti ranch (eel farm?) - the closest I've seen to that pond shape around here are sections of the old Ohio-Erie Canal that are intact and holding water (and fish). Is the ditch straight (artificial) or just a meandering natural gully?

It definately meanders along. The pond gets a tremendous flow through of water. for fun We put a 5 gallon bucket under the major outflow to see how quick it would fill. Even with alot of it missing the bucket, it still filled the 5 gallon bucket in less than 20 seconds.

There are several active springs and the pond gets alot of runoff fall, winter and spring.

If we dredge it deeper, it will fill very quickly.