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Thread Like Summary
17 Bob Trey O, FishinRod, gehajake
Total Likes: 12
Original Post (Thread Starter)
by 17 Bob Trey O
17 Bob Trey O
Hi,

I've been reading as much as I can from you all and books. Appreciate the informative knowledge and also bringing my attention to things to worry about. I live in SoCal and have fished my whole life. I have always wanted my own land(15-20+ acres) with a decent sized fishing pond (4-5 acre). Obviously that will never happen here. Too many laws, too little water and beyond expensive. I plan on selling my place sometime after Christmas and hope to find a place in Tennessee, Kentucky, Virginia, West Virginia, or Arkansas in the Spring. I do have a lot of questions about what to look for.

1. For the best fishing pond one could make, would it be better to find land with an existing pond to fix up (drain, dredge and expand)? Or start from scratch? I'm leaning towards having one built. But it will depend on the pricing. Would be nice to find land with an existing pond, while building a new one.

2. Is it better to look for land with springs, creek or water shed? Or does it matter?

3. I know it differs a lot. But could someone guesstimate pricing on building a 4-5 acre pond, 15-20ft. deep in certain areas, and a solid aeration system? I just want to have an idea of a rough cost to see how it will fit my budget. Also, what do you think annual maintenance would cost?

4. I know I'm getting ahead of myself. But will definitely want LMB, BG, RES and CC. Would like YP(or HCP) as well but that might be too many species and stunt one another. I really want to avoid stunting to my best ability. I like catching big LMB and big RES.

5. Forage fish - Out here ponds and lakes are usually full of TFS. Would they and crawdads be enough for forage to grow large fish eventually? Or would you add in something like FHM?

6. Once established, does pellet feeding help? I'm not opposed to it at all. Just curious about it.


Any info would be appreciated to my planning. Thanks.
Liked Replies
by RAH
RAH
Your budget seems reasonable if you find the right property and contractor, but find a location with more than that. Life with good neighbors is so much more enjoyable than the alternative. Take your time and try to have fun!
3 members like this
by anthropic
anthropic
Speaking strictly as an amateur subject to correction by the real experts...

In your shoes I'd be leery of Virginia, as it is rapidly going the way of California. Lots and lots of rules & regulations ahead, in my opinion. Other states look fine.

Pellet feeding is huge part of a highly successful fishery, particularly for BG. In just a few years I've grown CNBG up to 1.5 lbs. Well worth the cost & bother, as panfish help feed those LMB you hope to grow.

You must get the watershed and soils right. Some places with lots of rain can sustain a five acre pond with 25 acres of watershed; other places might need 50 acres; others 100 acres. Too much watershed causes flooding, too little and the pond dries up in summer.

Creeks can be good or bad, depending on whether they have rough fish in them, and how much silt they bring during heavy rains. Be aware that a substantial creek might make you subject to more regulations & restrictions. As for soil, clay is vital to a good dam. Make sure you have enough, get an expert to come out & dig a few holes to check before you buy.

Springs are tricky. They supply extra water, a good thing in drought. But if they are near the pond bottom, the water may reverse course & flow out when the pond is full. Check!

Building a pond is usually more expensive than buying an existing one. However, you do have a much better idea of what you are getting, and you won't have to drain & kill off undesirable stuff. Also, an existing pond that has been fished by other people over the years will continue to be fished by many of them regardless of the change of ownership. Anticipate confrontations. New ponds are much better in this regard.

Best of luck!
1 member likes this
by RAH
RAH
The cost depends heavily on the pond site and to a lesser extent where in the country it is being built. Many contractors look at the cubic yards to moved and the distance it must be moved and also on how the dam needs to be built. A 5 acre pond could just require a short dam across a gully all the way up to a fully excavated pond with a long core trench where clay must be brought in to act as core material and a full clay liner is needed. Having a good understanding of how to build a pond and knowing the soil profile down to below the future pond bottom is key to estimating the cost. And even then, costs can rise if unexpected veins of permeable material are found during the construction, or you hit high volume springs that flood the pond. On my second pond, the contractor hit a spring that flowed like an open fire hydrant and added 3' of water to the bottom of the pond in a few hours. Fortunately, the pond was near complete so it worked out fine. On my last 2 ponds, I hit water-filled sand veins that required a bottom drain be installed to continue work. I had the drop to use gravity, otherwise it would have required a pump. You can get an idea on cost based on cubic yardage, but you need a pond builder on site to estimate the cost on that sight, and not just a dirt mover. When I had my first pond built at just over 1 acre, it cost me twice what the same contractor estimated for a friend to build a 5 acre pond because of the topography and sight conditions, and the friend lived more than twice as far from that contractor than I did. I think these variables are why no one else has weighed in. I wish things were more simple and wish you the best of luck finding a place that works well for you!
1 member likes this
by RStringer
RStringer
The lay of your land and soil resources change it dramatically. Guesses could be anyway from 15,000 to 150,000 if not more.
1 member likes this
by gehajake
gehajake
Originally Posted by 17 Bob Trey O
Any idea of cost to make a 5 acre pond?

Thats pretty much an impossible question, sooo many variables, If you have flat ground with a slight draw and good clay soil one can dam up a little and hold 5 acres of water at a pretty reasonable cost, although it may not be very deep over most of it, but if you have reasonably steep terrain it may cost 4 or 5 times as much to cover 5 acres with water but when you do you will probably have a lot deeper water, and that's before you get started with clearing trees, if any, and what kind of soils and or rocky soil or even rock layers you are dealing with can increase or decrease costs by an astronomical amount. good luck!
1 member likes this
by anthropic
anthropic
Bob, when you get bids be sure to check that they come from reputable pond builders, not just some dirt guy with a dozer. Ponds, particularly dams, are a specialized field and just because someone can push dirt doesn't mean things will go well. Get references & check them carefully. The money you save by going cheap may cost you a lot more when you have a leaky dam, or collapsed dam after a flood, or weeds choke half the too shallow pond.
1 member likes this
by ewest
ewest
Call Bob at the office as he has done work in SoCal.
1 member likes this
by esshup
esshup
Depending on the shape of the existing pond, it could cost as much or more to re-do it.

Look at that state/counties NRCS office, they might be able to help with a list of pond contractors. YMMV, some county offices are absolutely no help, others are wonderful. https://www.nrcs.usda.gov/wps/portal/nrcs/site/national/home/

Yes to having a consultant come out. That's been done by a number of people. Hate to buy a piece of property specifically to build a pond and find out that it will be impossible or cost more than the budget allows.
1 member likes this
by Pat Williamson
Pat Williamson
I got sooo lucky when I had my 6 acre pond dug in 2013 30K and no leaks. 400’ + long dam and good clay.....
1 member likes this
by FishinRod
FishinRod
Originally Posted by Pat Williamson
I got sooo lucky when I had my 6 acre pond dug in 2013 30K and no leaks. 400’ + long dam and good clay.....

Dang! A 400' long dam PLUS the pond for 30K is almost like stealing Pat!

Can you please clone your contractor? He obviously moved each bucket/blade of dirt the absolute minimum. We could use more contractors like that spread across the entire country.
1 member likes this
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