Pond Boss Forums POND CONSTRUCTION Creating habitat Need help with best structure placement - new pond

New to the forum and can't believe the wealth of knowledge here.

I have just recently put in a new pond just shy of an acre and 14 feet at the deepest. I am located in the Finger Lakes of NY so we get cold weather here - already had a couple of frosts.

The pond will be used for ice skating, swimming, and kayaking, but mainly for bass fishing. I have a 1 year old grandson who is going to have a paradise to spend his time rather than a digital devise in his hands.

It is filling quite fast and I need to get structure in place so I don't have to wear hip boots! The white post in the middle is marked every 2 feet and the top mark is 14 feet which would be the height of the spillway.

I have attached pictures showing an elevated view from the house, one closer from the driveway, and right and left sides facing east. Each of those two sides has a small spring running in. The area with cattails is a tiny little pond I have had for over 25 years now - when the big one is full, it will just go over into the little one by about a foot.

I am currently making structure pieces to add but at a loss as to the best place to locate them.

I am sure more information will be needed as well as more pictures but this will get a start and hopefully we can come up with a good layout so I can get it in before the snow flies and the water rises.

Thanks for your help,
Dan

If you don't aerate the pond the water deeper than 7-8ft will not have any oxygen in the summer during thermal stratification. I would put the structures less than 8 ft deep. If you ice fish, the fish will usually be in the deepest area. Structures there in deep areas will likely be places for fish to wrap your line around and you will loose the fish. In a small pond like this I would put all structure in one or two spots to act as fish attractor and refuge area. Refuge area for fish should be fairly shallow and alone one whole side of the pond abt 20-30% of the shoreline. Deeper structures are essentially ambush point for the predators. The pond is small so the fish can't go very far so locating them should not be too difficult. Creating hook smart fish in a small pond, that is whole separate topic.

I'm not against aeration but don't know a thing about it. Is it only a summer issue? I think ice fishing and skating would be a problem if you ran it through the winter though I could probably pull in a few ducks and geese to hunt if the water stayed open