Pond Boss Forums INTRO Questions & Observations Re-Digging a Pond

I have a pond that has not been dug out in about 40 years. At one time it was about 6 feet deep, but now it ranges from about 6 inches to 3 and 1/2 foot. I would like to dig it out, but do not want to lose the fish that are already in there. Is there anyway to go about doing this or am I going to have to lose my fish if I want it deeper?

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.

We always had ours dug out with a dragline. A large scoop/bucket suspended from a crane via wires. Drops into the water and is pulled forward, digging out however much you want removed. The water is left in the pond. Some fish are pulled out with the muck, but most swim away from the melee.

If possible, wait until fall or winter when the fish have moved to deeper water to keep from losing fish. Then if you can let some water out of your pond it will work better for someone(grading crew or if you have the equipment)to scoop the mud out and make the pond deeper. A couple of years ago, we had a grading crew with a long arm trackhoe park on the bank and reach out as far as possible and scoop up mud. I have saw pictures of a pond in a housing development drained in the wintertime while trackloaders scooped out mud. Talk to a grading contractor or two and get some ideas.