First of all, thanks for all the past help on this forum. I am just about to till bentonite into a new 1/2 acre pond. My question is what kind of plants and or grass should I plant around the pond. It will be used for fishing and swimming. Also, I plan on hauling some sand in for the shallow places for swimming purposes. As long as I pack and seal the ground before I put the sand in with this hurt anything and will it help with water clarity?
Thanks

Sand seems to have a mind of its own. It seldom stays where you put it and seems to gravitate to the deepest parts of the pond. I can't imagine it helping water clarity.

smhog,
A couple of threads that may help. If you have already been there, sorry.
They relate to the beach thing based on some research and Q&A I have executed.

Sand Beach thread
Geotextile thread

Here's a thread that might help on plants:
http://www.pondboss.com/ubb/ultimatebb.php?ubb=get_topic;f=15;t=000028

You can plant what ever grass you prefer.
Bermuda works well for erosion control. It turns brown in the cold months & doesn't do well in high traveled areas.
Buffalo grass grows to 6" & is good in areas that are inacessable to mowing.
Here's a thread on grass:
http://www.pondboss.com/ubb/ultimatebb.php?ubb=get_topic;f=15;t=000024#000001

Excellent info! Thanks so much for all the help. I love it when a plan comes together.

smhog,

Presuming you plan to plant a warm season grass, spread-casting Common Bermuda seed is about the easiest and will give you good, thick, quick growth. The only downside to bermuda seed, IMO, is the cost of the seed itself compared to others. Seeing how you are not quite into the warm weather season, you may need to put in some other type of erison controls (hay bales, barriers...etc) to hold back the dirt until it warms up enough to plant bermuda.

Good luck,

Gator

one more helpful thread...
planting grass