Pond Boss Forums INTRO New Forum Member Introduction Might buy this pond. Updated with pics after visit

IAHawkFisher,
A large amount of trees aound a BOW sure makes it nice and pretty. My pond was 13 years old when we purchased the property in 2013. The pond was a li'l over 1/2 full that summer when we closed on the property. When it started to rain that fall, the water was clear, but the color of ice tea...the result of years of settled decay (tannins-acids). I decided to expand the pond the summer of 2014. The D4 dozer got in there after it was drained and got to scratching on the bottom. They pushed up 5' of some of the nastiest muck I've seen and smelled in a long time. My place has a pretty aggressive watershed. I don't know if 1' foot of muck for every 3 years is a lot of sediment, but I'm glad it was done. My first inclination was to just to expand and let the bottom lay, but am grateful to have made the decision to spend the time and $$$ and get that stuff out of there. Trees are nice, and have great value around a BOW, however there's a price to pay to have them nearby.

Yeah I know what you mean, it feels like I'm on a lake in MN with all the trees, really pretty.

This is over 40 years old because my wife's grandma remembered fishing there before so I can't imagine how much stuff is down there. I wondered about draining it and getting some of that crap out. The thought of draining all the water makes me cringe though. Especially since I don't even know how the water gets there.

If you don't mind me asking, how much did that cost you?

The price is not that simple to explain. In addition to cutting the dam, draining, and pumping it down twice (rain storm intervened once), I had the creek re-routed around the pond and deepened, pond mucked out and expanded to 3 times the original size...12' on the deep end tapering up to 4' on the shallow end. Had to hire a dump truck to move soil to other parts of our property. The D4 dozer was $85/hr, the excavator (hoe) was $75/ hr, the dump truck was $55/hr. The whole project probably took 70-80 hrs, but not all 3 pieces of equipment were utilized simultaneously. When mucking, the dozer and the hoe were used. Because of the rain and re pumping empty, mucking and pushing that stuff out of the way took the better part of 2 days. Not a straight up answer, but neither was my project...I hope this helps.

Well guys, I think I'm gonna pass on this property for several reasons.

It's always been a dream of mine to own timber and a pond but neither are ideal at this property. It's a total of 18 acres and I counted something like 11 different property owners that border this property. The lines are really goofy and I just think it could get to be a pain in the rear. You have to enter the timber from another owner's land which you have a legal right but it just seems like a hassle.

I think I could get it for a steal as it's been on the market for close to 2 years but I think I'd rather spend more money on something "perfect". Ideally I'd like to buy a much larger timber and see about starting a pond from scratch in it. Or just buy a large timber that's pretty close to a river for fishing and not have a pond (I know I know, I'm a sinner).

Oh what the heck, why not a large timber, large pond, and by a river.



My goal is to have a nice place to enjoy with my family and a place that my kids can come home and enjoy when they go off to college/grow up. Basically a place to make memories.

IAHawkFisher, wise choice! Doing your due diligence and considering all aspects will definitely help you make a wise choice! Price means little when you are not satisfied.