I am considering building a three acre bass pond on my five acre property and will need much good advice from those who have been there and done that. My property is an almost flat rectangle aligned north to south at the foot of a mountain. The pond would be dug in the southern four acres. The mountain provides steady stream water flow for all but two months of the year. The soil on my property is 8" of loam, then 8" to 16" of orange clay. Below this is solid shale, all the way to China! Previous excavations have shown that a trackhoe or crawler with ripper can dig down at least 10 to 12 feet or more in this shale. Although shale has cracks, some of which could allow seepage to ground water, experience with dredging the existing 60'dia. pond near the house has shown that the clay rich silt washing from the mountain will seal these cracks within a year or two. The orange clay removed during excavation could be used to line the bottom, and my area has lots of this sticky clay which could be bought from local excavators. I was thinking of shaping the existing pond to be a decorative silt trapping pond, easily drained and accessed with a loader whenever needed. Rain silted water would be clarified there, pass through cattails, and then drain into the big pond. I know that this discription may raise more questions than it answers, but let me know what you think as well as what you would like to know so we can all benefit from the exchanges.
