...Red Flags popped up and sirens blasted in my mind when I read you suspect and have evidence of underground streams!..These can make building a pond very problematic if not impossible to build. I would STRONGLY suggest you try to get an NRCS agent out there to do some bore sample to see if a pond would even be economically feasible in the site you want it built. Streams UNDER a drainage system means it is a "losing" stream and overcoming that will be expensive at best.
More food for thought...in your location in western Ky, you can purchase catfish in the 8-12" size for under $.30 each plus your fuel/time to pick them up in central Arkansas.
There are no set rules on how you wish to reach your goals, it's always a learning experience, but having the wrong info or conditions sure won't make reaching those goals easier. We all want a pond that is just how we like it...getting the fish, weather, soil, terrain, and infinite variables to cooperate is a real bugger though.
Contacting the NRCS is on my list of things to do next week. We have underground streams to be sure it's just a matter of if they're under the pond location. I've since shifted the pond's location northward to avoid tying in with the secondary creek since the watershed for that creek is closer to 30 acres and it does get the occasional green sunfish
. I'm hoping we can get the max depth at least 10' deep. We would need the old drainage creek dug out to ensure there isn't an underground creek underneath it. The creek is close to 6' already we would need to dig down to 13-14' to get a good core and then the 2' of clay to make 10' of solid water.
Ideally the pond would be sustainable over a longer period, but if we have to add some fish every couple of years that would still be acceptable. Shad would be out of the question and Crappie tend to grow better with them. Yellow perch don't grow too big here anyway, the state record is just over a lb. I've still got a long way to go and I still have to present a plan to the other families, it's a shared pond afterall.
I really appreciate your guy's help. I've already figured out a few things to do, a few not to do, and remembered a few others I'd forgotten. If it wasn't for you guys I'd still think that yellow perch were illegal to stock even with instate fish :lol:.
