I’m planning to put in my first pond next year. I’ve spent countless hours over several years lurking around this forum in an attempt to educate myself. This pond is part of a larger more comprehensive wildlife management plan on my 22 acres in the hills of KY an hour-ish South of Cincinnati. I’m having the property logged this fall/winter as it’s 50% monoculture of old (75 years+) eastern red cedar. There is good hardwood regeneration trying to compete, but those cedars make a lot of shade. Naturally, the best hardwoods on the property are in the areas I want to clear for food plots and a pond. I hate to lose them, but the money to offset the construction will be some relief.
The pond will be located in a relatively steep ravine. Size is tough to tell with all the trees and vegetation in the valley, but I’m guessing 1/3 to 1/2 acre. Depth will likely be 14-15 feet before the dam in order to keep it less than 20 feet to the toe (as the valley falls away). Soil type is good according to NRCS. Watershed is 12 wooded acres. The creek bed in the bottom of the ravine is almost never flowing, but holds pools for weeks after rains. The dam will be used to create vehicle access to the previously inaccessible back half of the property.
My original plan was to rent a D5 for a week and let the neighbor put a dam in. He’s dug ponds before and says he can do it in a weekend. There’s some additional clearing and road grading I need to do as well. However, my neighbor is busy and I hate to be a bother. So I talked to a contractor about cost for him to put it in yesterday afternoon. He had very different things to say vs. the neighbor. Neighbor says a key way is unnecessary where we are; Contractor says it’s crucial. Neighbor builds dams you can barely climb; Contractor wants a slope I can drive to keep it mowed. Neighbor says he can do it in a weekend with a D5; Contractor plans to bring in an excavator, rent a D8 (he owns a D5 and says it’s not big enough for this job), and potentially a sheep’s foot. He’s estimating a week rather than a weekend. Obviously, this brings me to cost. $3000 vs. $20,000.
There are some other details I’d like opinions on as well:
Overflow - I’m liking the idea of an 8 inch siphon overflow from pond dam piping. Contractor suggested I go at least 12 inch. There will be an emergency spillway as well.
Stocking - There’s a lot of rock where I’m building that I plan to push aside and push back into the pond as structure. I’d like to attempt an initial stocking of SMB and RES only. The thought process is neither are likely to outcompete one another and have stunted growth quickly. And I can always toss BG and LMB in to outcompete if I decide to go the more typical route later. For forage, I was planning fathead minnows and - HEAR ME OUT - rusty crayfish. I know rusty crayfish are the devil, but they are the native species where I am. They’re likely already in the creek bed where I’m planning to put this pond. And I have faith in SMB being effective rusty crayfish predators.
I’m leaning toward using a contractor and getting the piece of mind that a proper key way and gentle dam slope would provide. What should I ask this contractor? What am I not thinking of that I should be? In other words, what do you wish you had known before your first pond? What mistakes am I about to make?
Thanks!
Matt
