Pond Boss Forums POND CONSTRUCTION Selecting a site Started prep for pond #2 today!

Long day full of cutting, dragging & burning up brush. I'm numb tired... but it feels good. Dug a test hole here last summer- solid clay- real nice material. Got the N side clear today - still a long way to go. This is a low spot where 3 springs converge, should wind up about 50 yards long and about half that wide. Given the topography this will be the largest pond I will be able to do on this property. I'll put some pics up after my next trip- forgot the camera today.

Cool! Keep us posted on the project, and looking forward to the pictures.

Test hole...


Pond site is behind this... whole lot easier to cut, clear & burn this time of year- but still a workout!

Will it be a completely "dug" pond? Or will the dam back up some water up the ravine?

What size you thinking of?

I plan to take the organic material off the top of the clay to fill low areas in the food plot next to the pond site, then dig a catch basin on the upstream side and use the clay removed to build the dam and berm as needed- mostly on the side down by where the dam will be. I'll also dig a ditch along the base of the hill just uphill of the food plot to divert water that was flowing through the food plot to the pond. This will create a fourth flow into the pond- the rest are springs that emerge from the hillside just uphill from the pond. They flow year round about the same rate of flow, whether it's dry or not. I expect the pond to be about 150' long by 60-75 feet wide with the upstream end being shallower than the dam end. Because of the flow of water it gets I don't plan to go all that deep. Perhaps 1/3 2 to 3 feet deep, 1/3 5-8 feet deep and 1/3 9-12 feet deep. The photo doesn't show where the brush was cleared providing access to the N side of where the pond will be. When everything is finished a really nice funnel will be left for bowhunting season.

Took a day off from work yesterday to continue clearing (and found the perfect trees to leave for a hammock!) Even though the high only reached 5 degree's, by mid-day I was down to a t shirt & a hoodie- good workout! I thought with the low area frozen I could drag brush from the South side to the fire but after hanging the wheeler up I decided to just build a fire over there next time and save the aggravation. It's starting to take shape- getting easier to picture where things will wind up...