Pond Boss Forums POND CONSTRUCTION Renovating a Pond or Lake? Help needed for 3/4 - 1 acre pond rennovation

Hello everyone, I joined a few years ago and forgot how good this site was. I have really enjoyed some of the reading on here. I would like some input for a pond project I will be starting this month.

Here are some specs:

I am in in SE GA, my goal is Bass and BG. The pond is in the middle of my 5 acre tract that is almost completely void of trees. The pond is 2 years old, has no fish, only tadpoles & frogs and has never been tested or fertilized. Water is a stained black color, soil is black with some sand and hard pan approximately 8 ft down. I plan to carry a sample to the DNR office before stocking.

I have a pond that we dug for dirt that is roughly a 1/3 acre now in a rectangle shape, most of the pond is in the 3-5 ft range with maybe 20% being around 9 ft on one end.

Later I needed more dirt and hired a guy to increase the size of the pond. He ended up digging an additional area that was a 30x30 square approximately 12 feet deep separate from the other pond.

I have a contractor that I plan to have dig for 2 days with a large machine (4 yd bucket). My hope is to end up with a 1 acre pond. I want to connect the two areas which will give me a L shape. What type of layout would be best suited for a bass pond this size? I figure I could do an irregular shape although I have to keep the rectangle on one side because of my driveway.

The few trees he will clear for me I plan on stationing around the pond for structure, I think the easiest plan would be to layout the pond in a B shape with the middle having a small peninsula? Maybe extend on of the coves of the B longer?

Sorry for all the questions but I am excited about this day, I have been waiting for 2 years!

Ok so I measured today and I was way off, it is less than a 1/4 acre. With this outline I will be right at half and acre.

Once you complete your pond expansion which is up to your creativeness, I would recommend adding adequate structure. You mentioned that you are going to place trees in your pond for structure which is highly recommended just make sure they sink. For stocking you may add daphnia, grass shrimp, fathead minnows, and native crayfish in your area. They are not necessary but highly recommended as it will boost your forage and give your Largemouth Bass and Bluegill/Coppernose Bluegill early growth. You may also want to plant non-invasive plants for cover as well. You should wait a 6 months- a year so everything gets established before adding the bluegill and largemouth bass. Also if you do add plants make sure you establish them before the crayfish since crayfish will slightly impact plant growth. Once all your stocking is done you may now add your LMB and BG. Its usually recommend that you stock 25 LMB 1"-3" and 100 BG 1"-3" for a 1/4 acre pond. You can increase the stocking rate as you increase in acreage. This is usually the most conventional stocking plan/rate.

Thanks, I definitely will add a lot of structure (plan on holding them down with concrete blocks). I wanted to plant some type of trees/grass that will grow in the water but not take over but I am unsure what to plant.

Also, thanks for the idea on crawfish, I can catch them out of ditches that are close by my house.

I spoke to one of the local fishery's today he recommended per acre to put in 1500 BG with 35 LMB.

I talked to another fishery and he said 1500 BG with 400 LMB.

How can they be so far off on the numbers?

Chambers 270,
400 LMB for a 1 acre pond sounds a bit strong to me. Sounds like someone may be trying to dump a bunch of fish on you. I would be much more prudent with a range from 50-100 max with regards to LMB. But that's me. Once those LMB spawn, man, you're gonna have an issue that may be hard to get control of and end up with a stunted pond. I'm sure one of the pro's will be along soon to give you a more accurate figure. I'd rather be patient and take baby steps than jump in with both feet and regret it. You can always add more later. Good luck!

I agree, I thought that was way heavy. I figured I would use the states ratio as an average since they will not be "pushing" fish like some of the independent fisheries. I had heard 100 LMB per acre was the top end, figured I would go with 50 or less since I want heavy fish not numbers

Chambers, I like the irregular shapes...I'd also add trenches and submerged rises that are a foot or two below full pool.

I don't know what GA suggests for stocking ratios, but 10 or 15 coppernose bluegill per bass is a safe bet....better than the 5:1 ratio most states use. Add about 75-100 RES (shellcracker, redear) for parasite control per acre too.

If you want bigger fish, feed consistently and go with 500 CNBG and 50 LMB per acre. For heavier LMB, 50 LMB, 1500 CNBG, Threadfin Shad, Golden shiners and feeding the gills will make some fat LMB.

It depends on your goals. Although even with a goal of large BG and an overpopulation of LMB, that is still way too many.

For fast growing LMB, 50-75 per acre and 2,000-3,000 BG per acre. For a more balanced pond 1,000 - 1,500 BG and 100 - 125 LMB per acre. For a large BG pond, 150 LMB and 1,000 BG per acre.

If you are going to swim in the pond, I'd swap 15%-20% of the BG for RES.

Goal for this pond is larger than average LMB. I am going to have another BG/CC pond right down the road. The main idea here is for my nephew (4) to be able to catch some nice BG and for me to have a chance at a bass over 5 lbs in the next few years.