Evadale,

In the same or similar situation last year here is what I did that worked for me.

By way of background, let me say that I have some equipment, a backhoe and a small dozer and farm tractors.

First, I cut a trench with my backhoe, through the spillway to drain most of the water from the pond. I did not want to risk compromising the dam in anyway.

Second, I cleaned up and expanded the pond with my small dozer...went from 1/4 acre to 2 acre pond.

Third, I still had the remaining problem of the muck in the old pond. To address that I examined hiring a trackhoe and operator, but found the cost to be prohibitive. My solution...push the muck into a island in the middle of the pond ringed with bottom clay to hold it in place and raise the dam as needed. The island is now 3 feet submerged and surrounded by 6 to 8 foot depth water...great bass structure.

Also, in this approach I was able to save my resident BG population and small minnows to some extent. I did remove most bass because I wanted to start fresh with F1's.

My cost was very small, only the repairs on my old equipment and some operator expense for the really tight tricky dozer work. I have a wonderful new pond with great structure. The only downside was that I couldn't finish in time before fall rains overtook me and now I still have work to do on the dam when things get dry enough.

You will find many ways to solve your problem and this is only one option. Read, seek advise, and do whats best for you.