Pond Boss Forums POND CONSTRUCTION Creating habitat Creating cover

So, I will preface by saying that the pond in question is approx. 6 acres it was previously a well established 2 acre pond w/ numerous 4-7 pound bass. The drought dried it up so we decided to break the dam and rebuild it. It currently is full it is approx 20 ft deep at the deepest and I would say average depth of 8-10 ft. There is an area of flooded trees that are on top of an underwater island in the deeper part of the pond. There is a small area of flooded timber that is in about 2-3 foot of water at 100% capacity and normally will be in less than 18 inches of water. Other than that and a few single trees scatter there isn't much cover. The pond has a small natural spring and tends to be decently clear(1-2 ft visibility)
Initial stocking was done in April of 2015(1200 Coppernose, 400 redear bream, 20lbs of fatheads, and 15 grass carp. The pond has another pond roughly the same size above it that feeds into it. This pond has threadfin shad that regularly feed into my pond. It was never a problem in the past and now with the pond being larger and deeper I feel it'll be a benefit. Second stocking just took place in February(400 4-6" Florida Bass, 250 Crappie, 600 Coppernose, 200 Redear, 40lbs of fathead minnows).
So, my question is I would like to know if the cover that is present is sufficient and if not how I could go about adding to it. Is there any vegetation that can be added that is controllable. We are planning on building a dock onto it, just trying to figure out how to go about that since the pond is already full.

Welcome to the forum, Firefighter87!!

How did you come up with your stocking plan?

I really don't mean to sound depressing here. With a 3:1 CNBG:LMB ratio, you'll have some really hungry bass. Adding Crappie will make them a lot hungrier. The threadfin shad may be more than a benefit...they may be all that gets some decent growth from your Florida's.

Did the grass carp have anything to eat?

I'd think in your area, normal stocking rates would be 1200-1500 BG/CNBG...per acre. With 50-75 LMB per acre...toss in RES at about 25% of BG/CNBG. Crappie will be a nightmare to control if they spawn, with tens of thousand in the 3" range.....check out what this guy found in his pond... http://forums.pondboss.com/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=442725#Post442725

I figured allowing the bluegill and redear a year without any predators, plus the constant supply of Threadfin, that it would be sufficient. I plan on adding more bg and fhm in may and again in the fall. Yes there was a ton of grass and vegetation from the pond area being covered in grassland and forest area, but the old pond had a history of needing some Grasscarp so I put a small number in to take care of what was there so it wouldn't get out of control.

firefighter87, to answer your question on how to add cover to your pond after filling. I built a 12x16 floating pier and I add a trolling motor to it and I can stack any cover material, like cedar brush or pvc cover and etc on it and use this pier as a barge. I can float out some pretty big stuff and then just push it off the barge. The rest of the time I keep this barge or floating pier tied up to a set of stairs at the shore line. Works great for fishing off. I can also use the trolling motor and move it out to the middle of the pond and use it as a swimming platform.
PS, I grew up as an Okie in Ada.

Tracy