Pond Boss Forums Thread Like Summary - Southeast Texas pond project (suggestions welcome)

I havent been on here in a while. Had intentions of renovating this pond but then it got put on the backburner. Well now I'm finally ready to start. Equipment is being brought in tomorrow. I'm looking for a little guidance from the experts here.

Quick backstory.... we bought this place in 2021 and started building our house in late 2022. The pond was 100% covered in giant salvinia but with the house build happening I just never got around to messing with it. I finally drained it in spring of 2024 but the rains kept filling it back up and I gave up. Fast forward to this summer and I drained it again and now my guy says he's ready to start work.

The pond was dug in the late 70's and it was VERY silted in. It's somewhat of a kidney shape roughly 1/4" acre in size and I want to keep roughly the same shape but double the size. Still small but that's all we can really do with where it sits. We will have two deep ends with a ridge in the middle for change of depth. I plan to have bottom aeration, possibly in both deep ends if needed, and a lighted fountain to look at while having happy hour on the patio.

We want to have this as a bass pond with some bluegill and/or perch. I know I'm limited to what I can do with only 1/2 an acre, but that is the plan. It wont get fished hard, mostly by my kids and friends' kids from time to time. I've looked at my soil test from when we built the house and we've got "very stiff red and gray clay" down to 18'. We want to go roughly 10' - 12' depth and I'm thinking about 3:1 slope.

I'll have plenty of questions about structure, stocking, aeration ect when we get to that point but for now, do yall have any suggestions based on what I've posted? Any must do's or must dont's before we get started? I've read a lot on here so I have a general idea but nowhere close to the knowledge that yall have.

Here is an aerial view and also a pic of when we first bought the place when it was covered in savinia.

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I 2nd the thought of figuring out what to do with the spoils before a bucket of dirt is moved, and also digging a test hole in an undisturbed area that will be the pond. The deeper you go the better. If in a drought, the more depth you have will be your friend to retain water. I would encourage 12' instead of 10' if at all possible, 14' is even better if you have the distance.

I also agree with the 3:1 slope but I'd suggest making part of that slope by the house 4:1-6:1 to allow you to walk into the water if needed - more of a beach area even if there is no sand on it.

When you say "Perch" do you mean Bluegill or do you mean Yellow Perch? In a 1/2 ac pond you will be much better off trying to grow big bluegill vs. big bass. You can have all the bass you want in a 1/2 acre pond that measure 12"-14". If you want one or two bigger bass, I'd recommend fin clipping one or two that way you know what ones to release if caught a 2nd time.

Aeration will be needed in both deep holes.

I would plan NOW for cover in the pond, and put it in place with the heavy equipment before it leaves the site. It's much easier that way.

Run electric to the pond when construction is finished asap. Determine where the fountain will be, and where the compressor will be for the aeration. The underwater 1/2" - 0.6" ID aeration line is running around $1,80/foot plus tax and shipping. Underwater cable for the fountain is more than that per foot. 220v. is less expensive to run than 120v, and the fountain needs to be in the widest part of the pond. Do you want lights with that fountain?

I would plant winter wheat as cover on the inner banks.

Diquat(Reward is almost everywhere and cheap) is what I use on other ponds duckweeds . Also check the banks, because it still needs to be treated there. Some ponds need 2 days of treating because of the wind moving the duckweeds.


https://aquaplant.tamu.edu/management-options/duckweed/