Dave,
My location is in Lamar County in NE Texas near Paris. Thanks for the good information. I would like to do it right so that I can keep the pond looking good and be a source of recreation for me and my grandchildren.

One other question...I saw on other posts about different ways to keep structures submerged and was wondering if driving a t-post about two foot into the ground and tying my small cedar trees to it would work. What do you think?