I am not sure if this is the correct place for this question, but here goes.

I have a 'new' pond that is now nearly full. Built here: http://forums.pondboss.com/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=216832&page=1

In the construction pictures there is a large pin oak along the north bank. It was in bad shape for years from Hurricane Rita and I should have had it removed during construction. It died shortly after the pond was constructed and is now gone. The area where it was is about 6-12" above full pool. The ground on either side (dam on one side and natural hill on other) are 3-3.5' above the full mark. The area is very well established with grass and has a gentle slope away from the pond into the drainage where my stand pipe overflow drains. It is essentially my emergency spillway.

Where the tree's root ball (uprooted) was is a large wet spot that needs a few loads of dirt to fill in. I was thinking about renting a mini-ex and turning the area into a shallow area (2-4' deep for spawning/predator protection With a deeper channel connecting the main pond so the fish have a way out if the water level drops I will plant bald cypress along the bank and maybe in the shallow to create a flooded timber effect.

The rear of the addition will still act as an emergency spill way and I will keep it at least 2' below my dam.

Here is a google map image of the pond while it was still filling. The blue line shows the current nearly full water level. The red lines show the dam and hill that are along the north side.



This picture shows my idea (I think).
The dark lines are travel channels that will also allow fish out should the pond level drop.




What do the experts have to say?