Pond Boss Forums INTRO New Forum Member Introduction New member and New Pond Build - lots of pics

Hello, new to the forum and just constructed my first pond! Live just north on Indianapolis, IN.
Had a 2 acre pond dug this year, 12 feet at its deepest, see attached drawing.
Added seed to the banks to help with erosion control. Will put seed around pond with erosion net in the spring.
Added a lot of fish inhabitance/structure and still adding more before the pond fills up.
Have 4 double head aerators placed in the pond, running the hose was so much fun ...
Built a 20x40 dock with fish structure underneath.
Currently only have 3.5 feet of water, like everybody else I am dealing with a drought.
I have a small creek in the back yard and have a large trash pump ready to pump water to the pond when it starts flowing again!
Currently have 100 lbs of GSH and 100 lbs FHM added back in September.
The plan is once the pond is full in early spring add around 4500 bluegill and 1000 redear, then in the the late summer add around 100 LMB.
Will also add a few grass carp in the summer.
Plan on adding an auto feeder or two in the spring.

More Pictures

OUTSTANDING!!!! And welcome to Pond Boss!!!

That structure under the dock is very interesting.

Your stocking plan should really produce some huge LMB in a short time frame. What size Bluegill do you think you will get in Spring '24? I ask because ideally, you'd want to get a Bluegill spawn in before stocking the LMB. Also, with Golden Shiners heavily established before the Bluegill get off a spawn, it will be interesting to see if the nest-egg-raiding aspect of Golden Shiners has an impact on the strength of the Bluegill spawn.

Thanks!

The local fishery has 2-3", 3-4" and 4-5" bluegill. Will probably get a mix of sizes to help save some money.
I also plan to getting half of my LMB from two different fisheries to establish different genetics in the pond.

Here are some more recent pics...

I have a large breeding area that is going to be around 3 feet deep which will have a mix of sand and small stone. Will be adding other fish structures there soon also.
Also going to be adding a lot of cinder blocks and pallets to the banks and breeding area.

All plastic fish structure was from American Fish Tree.

Welcome. The structure says you thought it all out in advance.

Wow....very, very nice!

Looks like a very nice pond build to me.

Good news about getting some of the 4500 Bluegill to be larger size.

When you start feeding, you may want to consider having a grower-sized pellet as part of the feed regimen. The fatheads, GSH, and all sizes of Bluegill will benefit from that.