Pond Boss Forums Thread Like Summary - From the Buckeye State

Hey everyone, was referred to this site by another habitat site I frequent. I have 2 small 1/3 acre ponds on a hunting property, but have a natural bowl that I talked to an excavator about and this spring he's going ot put a legit pond/lake in it.

There are a couple springs coming out of the hill that'll feed it as well as rain run off. 3 sides will be natural slope, so we'll only have to dam off 1 end. gis map says we'll naturally be able to come in between 5 and 6 acres all told.

Laser says the deep end will probably be around 20'

I want to document the build and such, but will be trolling around here for ideas. Couple topics I'm interested in knowing more about:

1. Fish and Fish habitat. I think I have a big enough mass of water to do some pretty cool stuff with fish. We're goig to put a beach in for swimming on one end, and probably plan on that being our spawning area as well for bluegill.But with the depth and size, I thought it'd be fun to put, in addition to the standards of bass, bluegill (several breeds?), perch, crappie, What do you guys recommend? Also heard some cool stuff about wipers.

2. Fish Structure. There are some big sandstone rocks we'll be moving during excavating and I have all the trees/root balls I desire to put in the pond. If they're free on the farm, I'd rather go that route than pay to for something.

3. Dock. Would like to build a Tee dock or a sitting area at the end of the dock. No planning on a floating dock. Will put in pilings before the water fills.

Going to put a piped overflow in it, with an emergency spillway on it in case the overflow gets plugged or we get some sort of stupid amount of rain.

Not planning on mechanical aeration at this point as its in the back corner of the property and we don't have power right there.

Any suggestions, thoughts, opinions on the questions above. I have a lot to learn but have really enjoyed the solid ground aspect of deer habitat (chainsaws, plantings, native warmseason grasses, etc) so I'm excited to try it on the aquatic side of things.

Put it on me.

I agree. Had a nice sandy beach put in that never got used for swimming. Pond plants and bluegill romance quickly took it over, nobody felt like wading in, much less swimming. Don't regret making it, as extra spawning habitat for forage fish is a plus, but dock is a better idea for swimming.

That must be tough fishing with a rubber hand. It was really a shame what Big Ern' did to ya. At least you had the last laugh with that fat check you got from Trojan. Do you still keep in touch with Ish and Claudia?

Yes! Now I don't feel so stupid haha. I started to think to myself, "Well, maybe his name is actually Roy Munson and he has no clue what I'm talking about." One of my all-time favorite comedies.