Hi joerocker, dave's got some great points. i would go as deep as the budget, schedule, and space (for the spoils) allows providing that you plan on installing aeration. the aeration will make depths greater than 6 feet available to all the fish in yer pond thus significantly increasing the carrying capacity of your pond.

i would put shallow end where you have the greatest inflow to pond and where the aquatic plants/wetland area will help filter the water before it enters the main body of pond. i would plan on building structure (shelfs, creek channels, mounds) while your excavating pond and installing some additional artificial structure afterwards (trees, brush piles, rocks, etc.).

i like steep slopes, and the majority of my pond is steep sided which helped keep vegetatin down this summer, but as dave pointed out, it can make a hazardous situation especially if you have little ones who regularly use the pond.

my 2c

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