Pond Boss Forums GENERAL QUESTIONS Muddy water Advice on managing a pond in a flood plane

Hello everyone, been reading up on the forums for the last ten years. I’ve always wanted to make a post to get some advice or thoughts on how to manage my pond, or maybe I’m just trying to vent, I don’t know. I’ve owned the property since 2015. I’m located in northern Ohio, a few miles south of Sandusky Bay. The pond is 1 acre and is wooded. It is 10’ deep in the middle, clay bottom. It is contained with no in/out flow, except for flooding. I live on an island between two branches of a creek. It’s flooded every year since living there. I would say an average of 4 times a year, as much as eight, to varying degrees. Sometimes it floods enough to just top the pond off and dilute to water. Sometimes its a complete change over of the water. This year i went from April to April without a flood, which was a first. I have never stocked the pond myself but is has LMB, BG, crappie, catfish/bullead, shad, carp, 1 goldfish, and any other fish that get in during flood events. I caught a pike a few years ago. There’s also PK shrimp, frogs, crayfish, turtles, fresh water mussels, plenty of snakes and muskrats. The dominant plant that grows in pond weed, which i have been letting grow, except up front where we swim. Ive got some arrowhead that showed up naturally. I’m currently trying to get a patch of pickerel weed established and am experimenting with eel grass in one area. The only thing I add is dye so we are not looking at/swimming in a mud hole. I have a aerator with 2 bottom diffusers. Visibility in the pond is not great, maybe 8-10” at best, almost zero after a flood. I would like to manage the pond for a natural state, lots of wildlife and good fishing. Swimming would be second but is becoming more of a consideration with my children getting to swimming age. I would really like to improve water clarity for the fish and I’m sure my plants would appreciate it too. I have been considering gypsum or alum sulfate but am i just wasting my money if it floods again a week or month later? I would potentially have to do it multiple times a year. I already burn through hundred of dollars in dye a year. I know there are maybe some more expensive solutions, building the banks higher or a “bog” filter but those are not realistic at this time. I also work on the muskrat population ever year and plan on working on my carp angling skills this spring but the main cause of turbidity is sediment from the creek. Am I fighting a losing battle? Is throwing dye at it all i can do? Anyone have any thoughts or experience with similar issues? Does anyone know of a source in northwest ohio for bulk gypsum or alum? Here are a few pictures one from a few years ago, mid summer and one from earlier this month. Thanks, Jordan