Howdy everyone! Just wanted to do a quick introduction and tell you why I am here. I love fishing and I hate the city! My family and I (wife, one daughter and one son), have been looking for some property for a couple years now. I will be closing on some property, about an hour north of Houston, in the next month! We couldn't be more excited. One of the first things I'll be doing, is digging a pond, so we have dirt for our road, and structure foundations. It currently has a 1/8th acre pond on it. It is believed to be spring fed, is supposedly stocked with some blue gill and LMB and the soil is clay to 65 ft. I have hopes of digging it out to 2 acres, then stocking it for LMB fishing.
I came here looking for advice on what to do, and more importantly what not to do. I want to do it right from the start. The plan is to have a small island in the middle, a max depth of around 35 feet, with some shallow areas and a few points around the pond (or is it considered a lake, at 2 acres?). I know now will be the time to get my man-made structures built, and get the general layout I am looking for, but other than that, I will be looking for recommendations. I'm looking forward to taking in everyone's knowledge, experiences, and recommendations.
Hi Steve, thanks for the welcome and the info! I will definitely be hiring a pond specialist to tell me what I can and shouldn't do. The main reason for the island, is I promised my daughter we would have an island, and could put a zip line that goes over to it, haha! I am not too worried about mowing it. I have some kayaks, so worst case scenario, it will be small enough that I can just paddle the weed eater over there if needed.
For the depth, I was wanting to go with the 35 foot range not as an average, just at least one spot that deep. I am scuba certified, and want the rest of the family to be as well. It would be awesome if we could dive in our own pond, just for the heck of it. The "normal" training depth for beginners is between 25-30 feet, and I would probably build an small (10' x 10') underwater deck in that area. I didn't even think about the possibility of a thermocline though, so the rest of the lake can vary but average around 12-15 feet. Again, I will definitely get with a professional, and take their advice over my desires, haha!
Our mentor the Pond Boss Bob Lusk has a zip line and no island. An island will make aerating and mixing the pond much more difficult due to the baffle affect restricting water circulation. An island in 2 acres requires more diffusers and probably a second compressor. Plan on the pond having water clarity of 2-3 ft. It can be difficult to maintain average water clarity deeper than that. A lot of clarity will depend on water shed and and ability to keep productivity low and type of fishery present. Get a consultation and second opinions from Lusk and Mike Otto before moving dirt.
Congrats on the new land and upcoming pond. A good friend of mine sells real estate, primarily farms and ranches in the Brenham/Chappell Hill area. Business is booming for him as there seems to be a mass exodus from Houston for those that have the means. It seems we a have all figured out we can be productive without going to an office. Where at north of Houston are you purchasing?
In regards to the pond build, I haven't built one but this is the correct place for very knowledgeable people. My first recommendation would be subscribe to Pond Boss and start reading past articles written by Mike Otto. He also has a book - "Just Add Water" - that seems to get a lot of recommendations by the experts on this forum. You may be close enough to his stomping grounds to use him as consultant/builder.
There are lots of advantages to building from scratch. As Steve mentioned you probably won't find a lot of fans of islands but its your pond and just make sure you know the pros/cons. One pro obviously being zip lines. My recommendation, and it doesn't really involve the pond per se, is while you are at it and if you are going to have the island, you should run electricity and water - electricity for sure. You may not miss if you don't have it but if you do have it you will be very glad and it will give you lots of options to further enjoy your island
Aeration will be probably be a must for that depth and the island would be a great place for the compressor if you have power. It will ease the difficulty of installation and the layout considerably because the island is going to be in the middle. In fact, if you are building a platform for diving that is probably a great place for a diffuser as you probably aren't going to be too worried about the water below the base of the deck.
