This whole project is one of the transitions in life. I am moving from a much larger country property to this two acres with this small pond.

Although I am still defining what my goals are, after spending some time on Pond Boss the first priority is to get it to be a healthy pond that supports frogs (which were there last summer when we were buying) and to have it be an attractive feature of the property.

I think in the longer term I like the idea of fish (maybe trout, maybe BG & LM) from both the fishing perspective and the food perspective.

Between last weekend and today I have spent about 12 hours cutting downed trees, buck thorn, tree of heaven, honeysuckle etc which are the majority of the large and mature over growth around the pond. Today was a good day with two large fires burning all day to get rid of the crap.

By the time the ice melts, I should at least be able to get to the waters edge.

So what is the first thing to do when the ice melts to start this pond in the right direction? Understand I don't want to drain it and dredge it with a back hoe right off - maybe later but not from the get go.

I can drain the level down about 2-3 feet as there is a overflow dam with a lower gate to lower the level. My thought is to drain it down to that level so I can clean the remaining brush that is around the edge and under the ice right now (of which there is a great plenty).

What else do you guys recommend for early spring to get the healing underway?