Thanks for the responses. Good lessons learned from experience. Thanks for sharing.

Red, I did talk with a contractor about three years ago and put it on hold due to the cost. He is the best pond guy in the area but was hinting he may retire. I need to dig up his number and at a minimum find out who he would recommend.

MO, I'm also surprised at the flow you got from a 4" pipe. Good information to have. I was thinking of a 3-4 week drain time to allow the fish to find the deeper water. I may save some $$ using 2" or 3" PVC.

One thought I had was to use a trash pump and make a large hole in the muck (40'x 20' and as deep as possible) near the dam so the fish have a place to go. I can then remove what I can with a casting net. This would also help get the siphon to the low spot without venturing too far out on the muck.

If I place a valve at the bottom of the siphon, will I be able to control the flow? I'll post a sketch of the siphon for comments at a later date, (before I spend any $$).

Thanks again for the help.

Michael

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