Yeah I have been looking into property within an hour of the Burbank/Studio City area. From some very basic soil maps it would seem all the dirt out there is sand, so I might have to go the way of AaronM and do it liner style. I'll be lucky to pull of a .25 acre pond based on the land sizes I can afford. Then I'll be relying on rain (which is hard to come by in southern california) and the well.
I will probably end up buying a place within a year, this will not just be a piece of land dedicated to the pond, but my homestead, when I finally have my hand on the deed i will be bugging everyone for exact ideas as to stocking and everything. For now I have just been indulging my curiosity and enjoying learning about other people's experiences.
And as a side note - at the moment my glamourous Hollywood carreer involves watching hours and hours of the Bad Girls Club (yuck) and reporting on what happens. In film we have a sucky ladder climb just like everyone else lol.
