Thank you Bill, I appreciate the great thought and knowledge that always comes with your replies.
Starting with the size. Initially the pond we are considering to build is going to be around 2 acres and 20 to 25 feet in depth. The surrounding runoff areas consist of slightly graded pasture fields that will become more hayfields then pasture because of the extra nutrients the cows produce. The contractors main thought was that even though silt runoff would be minimal based on grade and vegetation, building a small sediment pond at the head would add an extra layer in keeping the suspended particles lower. I was thinking that it would be a grow out pond for the fingerling bg.
I have kicked around the idea of putting in an underwater rock structure, something like a wing dam where the overflow from the sediment pond enters to help as well. Your thoughts on that are very welcome.
Desired clarity, if we are able to be in the eight to ten foot range and still be fertile enough to maintain balance, I will be elated. I am considering vegetation and feel that when kept under control can aide to the overall health of the pond. My concern there is keeping it where I want it and the compost left behind. Weeds are easier to add later then to eradicate so that’s a hold for now.
Habitat. For starters, the plan is to have 4 to 6 bg spawning areas with proper cover/protection nearby. As for what type of cover, there will be small chunk rocks that will transition into larger(fist size) rocks up to rocks about 8 to 10 inches across. Laced throughout the rocks will be pvc structures to help protect the offspring. We will incorporate depth changes during excavation like leaving mounds of dirt that will have stumps secured to the bottom with more rocks and fish shelters. There will also be some abrupt drops located just off of the shoreline. I plan to have an area around 15 yards long that runs parallel with the shore that goes from 18 inches to 4 feet. The ledge will run out around 3 feet prior to the initial straight drop. Lmb spawning areas will have 55 gallon barrels cut down and buried in depths from 18 inches to 3’. The barrels will look like a chair, leaving a third of it taller to help the buck in protecting the eggs. The barrels will be buried around a foot deep with the lower lip being 2 to 3 inches off the bottom and filled with fine pea gravel. The dam will be rip rap from just above the water line to around ten feet with irregular features underwater starting at five feet. I will have a plan made for aeration drawn up once the pond is closed up and we know exactly what we will need.
One of the other ponds really opened my eyes in regards to what you have said about the food supply. When my in-laws were living on the farm, very very little was done to help the ponds. They were built 25 years ago and other than removing most of the cattails and splashing blue dye in them, they were on their own. There were bass and bg placed on the initial stocking and they were self regulated. You could always get a bass or ten every time you fished. Just nothing of size and in today’s terms, poor rw. Four years ago a family of otters came thru and killed an extremely large number of adults. I didn’t fish there for the next two years because every time I would go look, there would be thousands of bg from 1 to 3 inches long swimming everywhere. On top of that were the tiny bullfrogs that swam freely about. At the time I lived in MN and figured this was not the best pond to fish, when I was in town. Move to year three. When I approached the pond, the number of bg he diminished and the frogs were all but gone. Time to make a lap around the pond. You know the rest of the story. Lower numbers but elevated rw, really elevated. I had an okay understanding onthis part of the game I just didn’t have the green light to do anything to make it happen. Now I do.
I will try to add pictures of the existing ponds. Pond 1 is directly below the house and the one I mentioned above. It is 3/4 acre with around 3’ visibility in the Spring and Fall and 18” or less in the Summer. Currently does not have air but will next Spring. Started using Muckaway in July and saw water clarity improve. Maybe it was the drought or the treatment but obviously more clear. Max depth right now is 10’ and down 3’ do to lack of rain. Three obvious year classes, this years hatch, last year and the ones that survived to breed again.
Pond 2 is located as you approach the house and is a bit smaller and what I have discovered is in need of a dredging. This pond has several large pine trees around it, contributing to the massive amount of organic matter and its sludge issue. The last time I fished it, there were few bass and only one year class from what I could find. Did not see any bg or small bass. The pond is currently in poor shape, imho.
Pond 3 is tiny, maybe 40’ across in a circle. Completely lined with cattails, pretty much smashed into a large mud hole by the cattle. I know at one point it had bass in it however I think it’s void of any fish. This pond is going to have the dam removed, scooped out and a new one rebuilt. This will be the hbg pond where pellet feed fish will be raised for the grandchildren.
Pond 4 is a secluded 1acre pond that has the cleanest looking water with 5’ visibility pretty much year round. At one point it had an abundance of milfoil in it and I think my father in law had grass carp added. There is some kind of mussel that was randomly introduced, thus the clear water. This pond has several small bass with slightly lower rw.
The bottom is fairly firm and the dam is in great shape. Best guess on depth is between 10 and 15 feet. I feel that this one can be brought back to a higher quality with some management applied. I have not seen any big fish at this pond in a while but it is where I caught my pb in OH, 25” and pushing 8lbs real hard.
I will definitely look into how to build a forage and see if the sediment pond could be used or if I just have one built.
I will attempt to ad some photos
