Welcome Knobber!! Hearty greetings from a fellow Michigan-Pond owner. My tiny ground water dugout pond is near Grand Rapids. Ponds don't have to be a money pit, but certainly many who came here were hoping to staunch the bleeding of money from their bank accounts.

I'm not an expert on pond construction and it sounds like the excavator is gone and you are probably best off working with what you have left. I don't know if you can post the original pictures rather than the tiny resized ones? I can't seem to see much in those pictures.

Hopefully the clay level at the very bottom will help with keeping the bottom sealed. There most likely are ground water veins somewhere in the bottom or side walls if some water stayed in the pond year around. You will have to decide what the inflow and outflow is when the ground water table rises and falls. If you live on site and have a well then you would already have data about the water vein and what depth it runs between. You could also look at a topographic map or be aware of where the 'low' spots are around you and monitor them.

I'm glad you dug down to 17' when the long arm excavator was there. You will be glad you did since ponds tend to fill in too rapidly with sediment, leaves etc. There is so much to go over and so much to read in these forums. The best way to search them is to use google rather than the search box in this forum.

I would not be concerned about losing water till you have had some time to monitor it. Evaluating water loss from summer time heat, evaporation and the wicking action of the churned up soils all around the pond are easiest to do in the summer. It will take some time for the ground to recompact and water to find its level.

I can't make out those fish. They looks distorted and a bit dirty. If you have other pictures, post them. They look a bit hungry and bug-eyed. They must be native if they overwintered every year in the pond prior to clean out.

I'd be happy to help you if I can. IT sounds like you are going to get walloped with a blizzard this weekend. Not much to do in the winter except plan for placing your structure BEFORE the pond fills. I also would highly recommend thinking hard about your stocking plans and posting it here for feedback. Please try to be patient and build your forage base first. Lots to say about how to do that but the more forage you can get in the pond as it fills without any predators, the more money will stay in your wallet later if things get out of balance.

If you need help with pictures I may be able to have you email to me and I can help resize from originals.