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I can share my experience, but I'm just a homeowner, not a pond builder. Maybe something might be useful. I bought 9 acres in central Ohio in 2023 and had an experienced pond-builder dig a 1.25-acre pond in April 2024. Test holes found bedrock at 4 feet-6 feet throughout the proposed pond area. The bedrock is limestone and shale. There is a lot of good clay. The builder made a gently sloping berm or dam around all four sides using the clay spoils. He did not use a sheepsfoot roller because he thought compacting the clay with his excavating equipment would be sufficient with all of the good clay available. If I did it again, I'd probably opt for the sheepsfoot roller for extra insurance, but I was trusting the pond builder who had built ponds all over the area for 30 years. He left virgin clay of about 18" throughout the bottom but skimmed it down to 6-8" where I wanted the deepest part for a dock and jumping platform. The main dam side of 240' is about 4 feet high with the other sides being around 2-3" feet tall. Three of the sides have a core trench. The max depths will range between 6.5" to 4'. Having built this type of pond with embankments on all four sides with no hope for runoff, we knew getting it filled would be a major problem, and it was. For a year, the level fluctuated between 2-3 feet. In June 2025, I had a well built for about $8,000, 100' deep, and I've pumped about 12 gpm 24 hours a day every since. I am about 8" from max depth as of today. I don't know if there are any leaks at this point, but I can say that filling it is taking longer than a simple calculation of volume and fill rate, which I hope is attributable to a very hot summer and the well water slowly saturating the pond walls as the level rises and the clay walls sealing as the water progresses upward. There is a constant 12" high saturated dark "ring" around the perimeter walls as the level rises and the walls soak in the new water. We have only stocked it with bass and bluegill that we have caught from other nearby ponds, but at least some of the 3-4" bluegill very surprisingly survived over last winter with complete ice and snow cover and only 3 feet of water. I have been told by pond owners around me (not experts) that 6-7 feet of water in central Ohio is deep enough for bass and bluegill to survive winters, but I don't know about fish management, so I don't know what kind of quality of fish you can maintain. I now have 2 aerators running 12 hours overnight based on what some others say in the forum, but I am really just guessing because the advice is not all the same. The last pic is from a couple of days ago after seed and straw.
