This is my current progress

Is that a volcano?

After the weather beats it down some and the pond fills back up. I'm hoping It will be a small island for some banana trees and elephant ears.

This is the tractor i'm using. It might take me a little while but it will get done. The wife left for the weekend with a full tank of fuel LOL. She was a lil surprised when she got home.

Heres the volcano now

https://i.imgur.com/fQyQmXU.jpg

Heres my latest picture. The pond is still drained down a little bit so I can dig it out more. I left my mower in the picture for reference. It still has a lot of work to be done before it looks nice again but it will happen.

https://i.imgur.com/WWzVKTs.jpg

Tractor has been broke down for little over a month now. Just got it fixed last night and the wife is leaving for the weekend so some progress will be made. Can anyone tell me the easiest way to put pictures on here. I normally go thur imgur but it a hassle. Can you put them straight from your cell phone on here?

I just figured out a trick today! Take a screenshot of your pic, crop it, save and upload from your phone! In the attached I intentionally left a upper border where the screenshot was cropped.
Game changer for me!
Edit: You can't really see the crop line so maybe just screenshot and upload.

I get the picture 2 go under file manager. How do you get it on the post

Screenshot looks good! I have not figured out how to make photos appear in the post.

open the image from the posted link and copy the url address.
Then go back and edit the post.
Type..."[img]" (without the quotes), paste the url address, and then type "[/img]" without the quotes. save the edit changes and it should appear like this...

[quote=Quarter Acre]open the image from the posted link and copy the url address.
Then go back and edit the post.
Type..."[img]" (without the quotes), paste the url address, and then type "[img/]" without the quotes. save the edit changes and it should appear likt this...



Actually the brackets after the link have to have the forward slash IN FRONT of the img.

so it would be [img] http://blah blah blah.jpg [../img]

without the dots in front of the forward slash

That's what I said...actually NOT! Thanks for pointing that out Canyon. I have edited my post to reflect "the truth".

Thank you shortcut. It looks like a mess to my wife right now. I tell her when I get done people will drive from miles away to see such a display. Stole that sayin from my father in law. She always says name 2 people. Damn smartass lol

This is a mess! 1ac expansion.

That's a big expansion there. I might add 1/3 an acre. I'm hoping its 3/4 by the time I'm done

This is a free expansion! The property is not far from town and our valley has great topsoil the dozer guy needed for several large landscaping projects. Touched base with him last night. They will be back soon to finish shaping it and connecting to the main pond. With 1100ac of watershed we need a much larger pond. This will make it about 2.5ac.

Free is the best kind for sure. Sweet I hope it works out for ya.

If this rain would stop I could get some more digging done. Gggrrr

Made a little progress today. But it's all pretty wet for my small tractor but its trying lol.

Wet week but got in when i could. I got the damn on the right side raised a little. It might not look like much. On my little tractor I bet I made 150 loads of dirt to make it. I'm tryin to raise my damn up bout 3 feet. I still have a long way to go on the other side.

How do you eat an elephant?

One bite at a time.

I feel like a mouse just nibbling sometimes. When I look back a picture from when i started it seems crazy. I started all of this cuz i had a low spot next to the pond that was always wet. So I figured and just expand it just a little. So much for that idea.

This is the shape I'm going for. Sorry I'm not an artist. The pier will be a firepit on the end it's about 20 feet across. I. Looking at around 2/3 - 3/4 of an acre when finished n full I hope.

Just noticed the pool. Dang Google maps need to update their images in the summer when everything looks nice n green. Well I guess the pool is green but its normally clear lol.

I managed to get some progress done today. Added another 100-120 scopes today. Prolly get another 30 or so in before the day is over. Wanted to get a picture while I was thinking about it.

Can someone give me advice on wht size over flow pipe or if I need 1. Hopefully I will around 3/4 acre when done and full. Prolly about 2 acre water shed. The pond before the dig was just under 1/2 acre. Never had overflow pipe before. Just flowed over side. Never was a problem before. Normally only couple times a year did it over flow.

Rusto I have a 6acr pond and have 2 24� culverts and have never had a problem..... but it�s dri ish around here.

If you enlarge the pond but not the watershed, overflow should be less of a problem rather than more.

Thanks for the quick replys. I was just thinking more water more problem. But common sense prevails again.

NRCS should be able to help you size your pipe for the watershed.

I sealed it up already last night. I decided to go without it. I can always dig it back out if needed. I still will prolly have to drop the water level again at some point. Im not using a laser level or nothing just eye balling it. This has been a completely low budget deal. So far only cost me diesel and time. I still have a night or 2 to finish up the dam. I did change the water shed slightly. I sloped my yard a little in places so the water runs into the pond now. Added some crushed limestone to the entrance point.

I think I'm close to being done. I feel like iv said that a few times lol. Went ahead and spread a pile of limestone in a few places today. I hope they will work good for spawning. If not no loss. On of the pictures is where the water flows into the pond. Hopefully it will help filter the water a little bit atleast.

The panoramic picture makes the deck rail look funny. Just an updated picture. Will get a little more digging done tonight I hope.

Sometimes it not how big your toy is that matters. It's how many hours you are willing to play.

I think I'm done til the water comes. In sure I'm going to have some spots 2 fix. But 4 the most part I done finally.

Just thought I'd stick a pole in the ground to measure how much I added. I'm hoping to add 3 feet when finished. I pretty sure I will have to add some to one spot on the bk damn. It's still around a foot low or so. I dont know where the spillway will be at yet. I kinda want the rains to come. I still want to get some more barrels in it for habitat.

Looks great! Well Done! I'm looking forward to seeing it full!

Thank you it's hard to tell the scale and slopes of everything in pictures. If I was better with this I would put a video up of it. Any advice on wht to do before the rain comes is welcome here. Concerns, ideas or diy projects!!!

We got about 1.25 inches of rain yesterday. Looks like it raised the water level by about a foot maybe a little less. Couple more feet to go to see what full pool will lol like.

I know it is past time when input on overflow pipe is an issue. However, adding the experience of an infrequent sojourner through here. I have a pond about 0.4 acre. 11-12 ac watershed. I asked NRCS for input on overflow pipe size. They said 4". I didn't believe them. That is kinda pointless. We get some big rains here- 2-4" in a day. I put in a 12" pipe. And I have seen it running completely full twice. Seeing an overflow running max is scarey. Tis only my experience, but pay to oversize. The peace of mind is worth it.

Glad you are getting toward full pool. That is fun to see your dreams unfolding. Slow fill is better than fast fill.

+1 on over-sizing outflow pipe.

I decided not to go with an over flow for now at least. I never have had 1 so not 2 concerned bout it I guess. Might be a mistake in the long run. I could always add 1 later if needed. My water shed is only mayb 2ac at most. It fills up fast with a heavy rain.

I got my hands on some more barrels and another tree.

Wow! I wish I could get that much run off for every 2 acres. My watershed is about 4 times that, and I can't get near a foot of water, from a 1.25" of rain.

It did help tht all the ground is soaked already. It came down in a hurry for sure. I have my guttering from my house and shop all running into also. It was coming out like a firehose for a few hours.

The cover you made from the last set of barrels looked good.

Thank you. Fish seem to love them. When you make your lure go right above it the little ones try their hardest to get it.

Bob I have to correct myself on that. I went out and checked my water level gauge. It is more like 9 inches. It sure does seem like more when the pond grows in size also. The first picture was from the end of August. The bottom was taken today Dec 31st.

That is still better than I get. Lol! You're pond is looking great.

Thank you I'm looking forward to some grass and and full pool this spring. I think I started this 2 years ago. It's been a long process for sure. My wife has been pretty supportive of it which has helped.

Looking good.

Really nice deck and view.

Thank you, I'm ready for spring time when everything greens up and fills up. I'm thinking bout making something like this. Just a small fishing dock. My father in law is not quite in a wheel chair but is close to it but loves to fish. Hes the reason I put crappy in my pond. He loves to catch them. I figured a couple of these around the pond will be helpful to him. Also dont want to spend a whole lot either.

I have pondered about putting a small dock on the opposite side of my 3 acre main pond and also one across the creek on my RES/SMB pond.

Pondering is the easy part. We will see if I ever get "a round tuit".

I think you would enjoy the docks a lot. Don't remember ever hearing of anyone here on PBF regretting putting in a dock. They might when it comes time to replace the boards, but I do not see any other downside.

I have a 5 year old round tuit problem about a blue barrel dock. And, I�ll bet this isn�t the year either.

Okay here ya both go. No more excuses now you have one of your own.

I got a bucket full of round to its!

This morning rains have brought it up more. Looks like so far we've got .89. But everything around is already wet so I got pretty good runoff. My wife isnt thrilled that I enjoy the rain right now. Lol

Your penensula is showing up. I like it.

When looking at bare dirt from pictures, hard to get the features sometimes.

Thank you I'm loving it all filling up. I'm hoping google maps updates some time this summer when everything is looking nice n green.i changed the shape alot over the last few years. Its finally filling up which makes it easy to tell where my lows spots on the damn are. Hopefully I can get on it before spring. I would sink in mud at this time.

I'm thinkin bout doing one of these on the peninsula. Then making a fire pit underneath it. I have never did anything like tht before. My farmer neighbor has a few. Going to see if he will sell one (I dont think they've used anymore). If anyone has any tips or suggestions bring them on plz.

It looks if you are going to copy that design exactly, you just need a "ring" of the grain bin.

My farmer buddy has 4 of them 2 are only like 2-4 foot tall sidewalls. That's what im going to try and buy from him. He is a snowbird and gone til march so havnt been able to talk with him yet. Not sure if im going with exactly the same design. Just wanting something similar. Maybe a ring around the bottom also with cut outs.

The pond is as full as it can get for now. I still need to add a couple feet on the back side (damn side). It has been a wet winter so far. I have mud everywhere from all the digging iv done. Looking forward to this summer and seeing it when it looks nice.

Looks like our 1 turtle pond has its resident back for another year.

I possibly made the damn alil to small lol. My goal was to get the pond as close to my fence line as possible. I talked to my neighbor and he said for all he cared the pond could go over to his side if I wanted. I figured that could cause problems down the road so didnt go that far. But it does look like I need to add some more dirt on the backside. I still have more sloping i need to do around but it's coming along nice i think.

Here is the latest picture. This is more for myself I guess. Just tryin to keep a log of how it looks.

I have this small section of my pond that I was thinking of building a bridge over. Has any of you built one before. I would love you get some ideas from others. Also thinking that underneath it I can cage off for the use of growing HSB until large enough to not be snacks. Also thinking i could maybe raise forage in there also like minnows or others. Any ideas or suggestions ? Sorry my drawing really sucks just did it on my phone.

Tried another picture. Thinkin about making a bridge. Has anyone on here done one. Looking for design ideas.

Increased the height of the damn by another foot or so. I just need the grass to grow now.

Looks like you've got enough moisture in the soil to sprout some seed. lol

Yes moisture isnt a problem right now. I got the peninsula all seeded with rye and fescue. Rye is coming up already.

I like to use Dutch clover when I'm trying to establish new sod on bare dirt. It sprouts readily, forms a dense rhizome mat, and adds nitrogen to the soil.
Over time the grasses, especially fescue, will choke out the clover leaving you with a nice stand of grass.

I used rye. It comes up in 7-9 days. Its about 6 inches tall already. I'v never heard of dutch clover. The rye dies out after the 1st year. Its cheap less than a dollar a pound. I might try and look for the clover also thanks for the tip.

Dutch clover is the low-growing stuff that has the little white blossoms. Your local feed store/farm-n-home/ag supply should have it.

Newest picture of my place. Still need to smooth out some places around the banks. Its mayb somewhere between 1-2 feet low at this picture. One picture from the breezeway the other from far side of the pond.

Looks fantastic RS!

Really looks inviting! Good job

Looking great, Rusto!

That's looking pretty sweet. Love the death machine out on the peninsula. lol

Thank you fellas, I move the death machine around every time I mow. I want to put it underground but that's a whole another project.

Put that thing six feet under before it puts you six feet under! lol

We had some friends over last night for some drinks. One of there kids the boy (11 year old) in the picture wanted to go fishing. It was an unplanned party or it might have got the fella some worms or some kinda bait. Turns out tht we didnt need any. He laughed and ran to there ride and said let's try a chicken nugget. He had a few left over from earlier. Put a small chunk on a hook and he was fishing with a smile. Within 5 seconds "FISH ON FISH ON". To say the least he was pumped and the fighting began. He was using his ultra lite rod. Looked like he had a whale on there and fighting like a dolphin. Snapped his line at the bank. He jumped on it lol. Got them safe distance on shore then stepped back and was nervous bout touching it again. He wanted me pick it up I told him nope this is your fish. We weighted it at 3 1/2 pounds. I didnt think about getting a length. It had a beer belly on it for sure. The little girl is his sister. She was about as pumped as he was.

While I still enjoy fishing, its not as magical as it was when I was a kid and caught a nice fish like that. I'm sure he'll always remember that one. I still remember all of my first bigger fish. I probably remember all of my bigger fish I've ever caught since there hasn't been that many. Lol!

Yep, those kids are what it's all about.

One of my twins caught a whopper. She was pretty excited since she cast it also.

Great pic !

Okay I have a question / observation. My pond is the clearest it's ever been. Its maybe 18 inches of clarity. But now I have a abundance of moss (FA). When I take this stuff out from the bank it seems to hold onto the clay. It will create a cloud looking ball if I rake it to fast. So my question is. Does the moss filter out clay particles?

Ruston, I'm curious to see what kind of replies you get. I'm thinking anything growing helps keep the clay settled. I'm also thinking that as long as it doesn't get out of control, even FA growing is better than nothing. I'm kind of in the same boat as you. I haven't worried too much about it.I just figured it was a cycle that all new ponds go through and that at least it was using up some of the nutrients and was making some cover for the fry. I also figured and hoped that most of the FA will be replaced with a more desirable vegetation as the pond ages. Hopefully someone that knows more will set us straight.

The part of my pond tht gotten out control is shallow. Iv got maybe a 75 X 75 spot that's only about 2 foot deep now. It will be 3-4 foot deep when it's full. I'm thinking of adding some tilapia next year. But not 100% of that yet.

I have very little shallow water. Other than the inlet end of the pond, the dam and the corner areas of the dam, my sides are pretty steep. I mostly just get a few feet wide ring around the edge of the pond.

Giving myself a bump. Anyone have an answer to my question? Does filamentous algae collect clay particles?

Good question. See this about clay issues in ponds. FA uses nutrients out of the water which causes chemical changes to the water. Chemical changes can cause clay flocculation which would make the water clearer. Not sure that is your question.

https://srac.tamu.edu/fact-sheets/serve/108

Well that wasnt really my question but it answers it. I was thinking the FA was kind of trapping it. Because when I take rake it fast it seems like a cloud of clay comes from it. If I pull it slow the water stays clear. But our explanation of the chemical change makes since. Thank you

FishinRod this is for you. When we meet at Snrubs you said you havnt seen my koi on here. I'm guessing its 16-18 inches long. It hasnt been very easy to get a picture of. I hear most are friendly mine swims away from me most of the time.

RS - I suspect two things happen that cause the clouds of murkiness to come from the FA...key word "suspect". FA starts out on the bottom, so it could easily carry sediments up to the surface with it and water constantly moves around in my pond which leads me to think that the FA also filters any floaties that the water currents try to carry through it. We might also be seeing some of the FA decaying at the surface causing even more materials to form the cloud as the moss is disturbed.

QA from wht I'm understanding the FA in moderation is a good thing. It in some aspects creates a filter and also changes the chemistry in the pond. I just have more this year than ever before. My water is also better than ever as far as clarity..

I was up on the roof putting up Christmas lights. Decided to take the opportunity to take some different angle picture.

Rusto out multi-tasking!

That angle in the photo definitely shows your pond outline better. I would use that photo again if you ever start a new thread on advice for expanding your pond.

Do you think your wife got you a 30-ton excavator for your stocking this year?

That is a nice view Rusto.

Fishinrod she knows better than to do that. I couldnt be trusted at home alone for sure lol.

Beautiful way to start the new year...

Nice picture Rusto!

Love the pond shape! Beautiful picture.

Shes real close to overflowing. More rain in the forecast also.

Rusto,

I think there is a good chance of more rain coming this evening and overnight.

When your pond overflows, do you have some sort of fish retaining device across the emergency spillway to keep your fish in the pond?

With the added recent rains she is now full +1. Maybe this year I will add so kind of over flow. Thought bout doing like a concrete spillway type. Remember seeing some nice looking ones on here. Any ideas or thoughts are welcomed as always.

Rusto,

How much rain did you get? It looks to me like improving your overflow protection should probably be on your project list for this year. (You will almost certainly get a bigger rain event at some time in the future!)

Concrete is a great material to form exactly the structure you want. Especially if you have concrete experience.

However, I know there are a lot of good rock quarries in your area. Knowing you, I think you could pick a rock type you like (or your wife likes) and build an attractive rip rap style emergency spillway.

I bet you could get 12" or 18" rip rap pretty cheap in your area.

I called around for some quotes last week, and was trying to get good descriptions over the phone. The lady told me to just go down there and see which of the products looks best for my application. I bet if you checked in at the quarry, they would let you look at the rock before you buy.

Even with delivery, rock should also be cheaper than concrete. (Except for small loads.)

You might be able to ask snrub for some help. I think he has had rock delivered to his place.

Good luck,
Rod

We installed 2 - 24” black corrugated pipe and packed clay in between to keep it from washing out. We drive across the dam as it is part of the road now been in since 2014 with no problems except small fish getting out into the catch pond below.....

Rod-
We have a rock quarry like 3 miles from the house. I have thought of that option also. Not sure what I wanta do. I need to go looking at pictures and see wht i like.

Pat-
I love driveways over the pond dams. Mine is basically our backyard. Also only have like a 2 acre watershed. I think 24" would be crazy over kill for me.

I do like hearing all ideas. Thinking maybe some rxposed ocks in concrete so they dont wash away and look cool.

Rusto,

I didn't realize your watershed was only 2 acres. That definitely makes the project easier.

I think Pat's idea is probably the easiest. How far do you have to move the water to get it past the edge of your pond berm?

10" x 20' culvert is only $103 at our Menards. 12" x 20' would pass even more water and is only $116.

I was looking at a similar project on my farm using a concrete drop structure and culvert.

I was going to build a little concrete form around the pipe inlet, and then go up to my emergency spillway elevation building a cinder block structure. For an extra $20 in cinder blocks and mortar you could make your drop inlet large enough to climb into if it ever managed to get clogged.

For your pond, you might have just a few inches of cinder blocks sticking up above your normal pool level. The turtles would probably think you built a sun deck just for them!

Good luck, and think about what you would like the next time you are going around your pond on the mower. I am sure you will come up with a good solution!

Best wishes,
Rod

Rusto,

Given the watershed you don't have to have a conduit to prevent overflow of emergency spillway provided the spillway resists erosion. So I like your idea of something concrete or a combination of rock and concrete at the spillway sufficient to prevent erosion and carry water away from the dam. Forcing overflow across such a surface allows you maximize volume and surface area.

I wouldn't think it would take a whole lot of concrete to do that and it could be patched as needed with hand mixed slurry from time to time.

Have you guys checked out the latest pond boss magazine (jan feb 2021). I hope I can put these images up mods. If it's not ok please take them down. It just happenss to be on spillways.

That’s a good article

I got some good news. Talked to fella I know who has heavy equipment. Asked him how much he charges for 5 - 8 hours with his excavator. He said 300 if I operate it and 500 if he does. Also said he would just drop it off on a friday and pick it up on the monday. I said I didnt think you rented them out. Said he normally dosnt but knows all of my family and knows I grew up on equipment. Told him if never operated a excavator before. He said just a short lesson and I will have it. Not sure how big it is yet but coming in a few weeks. I'm excited and the wife wants me to shut up about it so we both win. I want to deepen it in a couple spots. Make a diving hold and set some post in for a dock. And small fishing platforms. Any suggestions welcomed. We are planning some type of structure at the peninsula we have but told the wife I wanted to do this this so it's not in the way.

Ha ha ha Rusto it never ends does it? Have fun and be safe

I predict Rusto is going to have a huge grin on his face the entire time he is running the excavator!

My suggestion is to finish the planning on your emergency spillway project before you get the excavator. The excavator will make it very easy to complete the dirt work required for whichever final design you choose.

P.S. Make sure he installs the "FA" bucket on the excavator before he delivers it.

Yes Rod I will have what my wife calls a sh** eatin' grin. What is a FA bucket? I know most people on here dont like koi but I likem. So we picked up 3 more of them today.

"FA" bucket - the one designed to scrape up filamentous algae.

(Because you hate FA so much!)

-- Sorry for the bad joke.

Koi feeding activities of rooting in the sediments for invertebrate foods does create suspended sediment which causes natural water turbidity and less sunlight penetration AND less phytoplankton AND less FA growth. Both need sunlight to grow. Pros and Cons. Amount of suspended sediment is dependent on several factors, main ones are 1. size of koi (bigger ones make more suspended sediment per fish, 2. number of koi (more numbers makes more turbidity, koi recruitment plays a big role), 3. Koi have no stomach, just intestine, thus they do not binge feed like sportfish. Koi, to keep food moving through the intestine, spend a lot of their time looking for food in the sediments.3. amount of aeration - the more aeration and faster the pond turnover the more the sediment says suspended, 4. wind action and fetch(pond shape and long axis as it relates to prevailing winds). 5. The larger the waves and more frequent they occur the more the sediment stays suspended. If the pond in later years, as koi grow large, has low clarity with soil hue/color then you will know one of the main reasons.

I put ONE koi in my pond 2 years ago. Don't know what it's called, completely white, long feathery fins. It was about 12" when stocked. Next Fall I see this white 18" long fish, and I'm racking my brain as to exactly what the heck it is. Finally it dawned on me what I was seeing. I was shocked at how fast it grew.

The water is still pretty murky right now. It was alot better before the rains last week. I have no interest with pond full of them. As of right now theres 4 in there. I walk around the pond every day sometimes several times I like finding them. Still cant het them to eat the 2 different fish foods iv had. I tired dog food also with no luck. Never have got any food just 4 koi so thts prolly the problem. Up til this year if I even got close it would swim away. I'm guessing its somewhere around 18 inches. The 3 we put in there yesterday were prolly 6-8 inches.

With adding the 3 new koi expect the pond in 3 years to have even more or at least as much frequent turbidity especially if you are aerating the pond which creates more circulation to keep suspended particulates in the water column and not let them settle as well. Good wind action also helps keep suspended particles in the water column. With those fish your pond should not have a significant FA problems; no light for it to grow..

Last year I had just the one koi. The FA got outta hand. This year I'm getting some tilapia from snipe. Not sure one date yet. This year I know I need 2 get some line in the water and get some bass n crappie out. Hoping to have a few weekends where friends come take all they catch. Or just a good ol fashion fish fry. Not much on eating fish but always down 4 a good time.

Bill you mentioned aeration. We dont have anything as of now in their. We do get some wind action for sure.

Wife just sent me a msg saying the digger tractor (lol) will be here Saturday. I will be taking pictures as things progress. Gotta get my ducks in a row now.

These will be the post for the bridge and dock. Planning a bridge that's about 30 feet long. The dock I'm not sure about yet. Kinds depends on how far the excavator can reach. I really dont know how big of equipment he has. The plan is a permanent dock going straight out maybe 12 feet or so. Then building floating dock with some kind of hinge system. Just getting the post set and some of the pond dug deeper is my plan for tomorrow. I want a swimming hole right off the bridge. Also want a few spots made deeper. Wish me luck iv never did anything like this before

Any last minute thoughts. Heres a drawing I made. Not saying it will end up like this but hopefully close. Please dont judge my place off my kindergarten drawing. The outdoor structure hasnt been built yet. That's supposed to be octagon shape without the front post. With dormers off sides. Hopefully it turns out better than the chicken scratches I drew.

You got this, that will be sharp, keep us posted with some after picks. I love the design.

That will be really cool Rusto! I've always liked bridges a lot.

Let the games begin.

Bridge post are in.

Decided to go get the bigger digger tractor. Get alil more reach and bigger bucket.

Dock post are it.

Making the damn alil wider. As you can see it's pretty narrow now. Hes kind of a daredevil if you ask me.

Looking good Rusto! How did you put the post in?

Thank you - Wife took this picture. I got my swimming suit on and hopped in. I held them straight and pushed them down into the bottom with the bucket. Set them in around 3 - 4 feet down.

Design changed a bit at last minute. I moved the dock to straight off the peninsula.

You been busy!

Looking good!

Thank you it is a labor of love for sure.

That's going to be super nice when you're finished.

A "labor of love" with extra HP and extra reach from the excavator is definitely the way to go Rusto!

Looks great so far.

You may also need to employ your videographer daughter to post some good video to Pond Boss!

I sure hope it turns out good . I like landscaping but man it takes alot of time. She was gone to a friend's house that day.

Got a big stack of landscaping timbers from my work. They come between sheets of steel at my job. If nobody takes them home they get thrown away. Bought 20 - 2x6x12 treated today. This is my progress so far.

Looks like your off to a good start. Looking forward to seeing it finished.

Only had a few hours to work on it today. Got maybe ⅓ the way done with the dock decking. I ran everyone threw the planner one time to smooth them up alil.

Rusto, that looks pretty solid!

Thank you all !!! I'm feeling pretty good bout this right now. I have 11 more boards to go. We have been getting alot of rain so hard to get my tools out and get on it. We are sitting at full pool (I hope). Looks like i made the dock about 2 inches over full pool. It's right there at the top kinda hard to tell for sure if so it might be able to come up couple more inches. I plan on putting a spillway in at some point down the road. If it does come up more so the rails are in the water I will fix that by lowering the spillway a tad. I love the look of it riding right on the water.

Rusto, dock is really looking good. Mine is also sown close to the water's surface. A bonus to being so close to the water is that you, kids, your inquisitive dog can be right there when the bluegills are feeding.
I like to show the neighbor kids how to quietly and carefully reach down and touch the fish slurping pellets and mealworms. Also, it's a hoot when a 20" tiger trout slashes by and showers the kids with water!

Getting some results in today. It's been raining here every other day for couple weeks. So it's the 1st time its ran over the spillway. So 1st time seeing it's new full pool. Also found out tht the spillway needs to come down maybe an inch or so. The dock is about an inch under water. I would rather the dock not stay submerged.

Rusto, Tell me more about the bridge idea/design. We have been trying to figure out how we could have a bridge on ours!

I don't have a good answer for that. The design is the same as the dock. Main difference is the dock is extending out into the water. The bridge is just connected to land on both sides. I'm also thinking under the bridge I might put in some kind of netting so I could have a separate area for forage fish. Heres the post that will hold the bridge. The area to the right is only like 15 x 30 feet. Maybe 4 feet deep (I know very steep sides). It was dug out with the miniX. The rails I think we r gunna do big ship rope. Also doing tht on the dock as well. I'm all ears for ideas. Might get started on it this weekend so not much time tho.

Rusto, I would have to build a bridge 75-100 foot long over water. My pond is too round. I might just have to pass on building one. You have the hard part done on yours already. I was thinking of building a rope and plank or some type of suspension bridge but I don't believe I would ever get it stable enough for my wife to walk on it. Though I think it would be fun!

Yeah maybe not the best idea for you then. I got in to get started again on it. Had a problem. When I built the dock the water was several inches lower. Now it full so when I try to saw where the bottom rail will go my saw is in the water. Either going to have to drain it a few inches or play the waiting game.

That sounds about right Rusto. It is still raining here again this morning!! But my pond has flushed out and cleared from 6 inch visibility to 32 inch!! Best it has looked in many years!!

I would be lucky 2 ever get that much. Iv mayb gotten a foot at best. But also if I would stop digging it would help it.

I can't see a fish 32 inch down but I bought a proffesional secchi dish and that is what it reads. Kinda funny but all of those "shiners" I have can be seen swimming across the secchi dish at 12-18 inch down. So it is clearing ALOT! I still believe by NOT running my aeriation since last early fall has helped clarity a bunch. And at least for now the fish don't seem to mind. As it starts getting hot in July and August I will probably have to fire it back up. I will have to restart 15 minutes a day again but I don't mind.

Flame,

I was contemplating a bridge across our creek, but it can't have piers within the banks without massive permitting.

I priced telephone poles on Facebook and Craigslist and found some really cheap ones available. They are already water and UV treated, so they should last a long time.

I was just going to run two 40-footers in parallel across the creek. (If you can't balance on that, then you have to wade!)

If you don't cross deep water, then you could probably add a 100' bridge at a pretty low cost. You might even be able to make a floating bridge - but I don't know about leaching creosote, etc. into a pond?

This type of bridge would be very functional but ugly. I don't know if that would be an option in your situation.

It would not be an option for Rusto! His wife can see the whole pond from their deck.

Thanks for your suggestions. It does give me some other ideas!!

After building the dock I realize I need some storage. We now have 2 paddle boats, 2 paddle boards, a kayak and a big floating mat. Theres prolly 10 oars also. Looking for ideas on a some kind of rack system that looks nice. Also has to be able to with stand some weather. All the stuff get put up when it gets real nasty out and all winter. I'm all ears for ideas and pictures of what some of ya's have.

My uncle did the telephone poles as a base to cross the narrow part of the pond. It worked really well for him.

We designed our dock to where we could permanently anchor our paddle boat to the dock. We also bought a plastic outdoor storage container to store pond items in.

I didnt make it wide enough to put any storage shed type thing on it. I think in will need some type of rack. I'm really not sure. Might have 2 build something extra. Heres how far in have got on the bridge. I got the notches cut out of the post. I know they r not prefect but heck I was down in the water using a jigsaw. I'm hoping to get the rails on today.

If it was calm out, the water is the perfect level!! Measure up from the water surface.

I measured off the water level on the dock. Wanted then to be at the same water level. You might have to zoom in you can see the notches in then

I have always thought about using an old house trailer frame for a bridge, one could cut the cross member between the main stringer beams and lap them to bring your main beams closer together like 3 or 4' of space between them, then cut the outside off or shorten them to what ever width you wanted the bridge, also a person could take and cut a small v in the bottom of the stringer beams in a couple places and bend the beam down till it closed up and weld them back together and create and arch, then a support steel angle iron or something, going straight from end to end beneath the beams would make it super strong, person should pretty much be able to drive a side by side or lawn mower across it then, and most of the time them old frames are pretty easy and cheap to come by, I have demoed a few old trailers just in the last year that I had to get rid of the frames.

It seems like I remember a thread on here were someone did tht. Like over creek for a driveway maybe. . Mines alil smaller scale then tht. Didnt make it in the water yet this weekend. Had fathers day stuff going on so far.

Got the rails in today. This is the progress so far.

Looks great!!

Jake, I have done the same type of calculations for using a trailer frame. But, never got around to following through.

It's 1st time iv caught one of these HSB so far. Didnt weight it but looks to be right at 10" long. Caught it in a throw net. Sorry bout the quality I was tryin to hurry and not touch it. Learned tht from Snipe. Never touch a fish with ur bare hands. And they say you cant teach an old dog new tricks. 44 years old and never heard tht before. Gotta give a shoot out to Snrub for the HSB and Snipe. Seined these out of Snrubs pond and Snipe for bring then to their new home. Fishinrod was there along with me for mainly moral support lol.

Made a bite of progress today.

More progress today...Ended up doing more playing with the dog and frisbee. Oh well on vacation all week. My plan is to be done by Friday.

Rusto,

Good job on the HSB! Also, I am glad to see the bridge is progressing nicely!

P.S. Maya said she had fun with your "frisbee dog".

Lol she can come "try" to wear out the frisbee dog anytime..

Theres been a few big bass put in the pond. I believe this is the biggest one that's been raised in it. 15 inches long. Didnt get a weight on it. Girls wanted a picture with it.

Got back on the bridge build today. Got it finished now to do some kind of landscaping up to it. Havnt decided wht I want to do yet.

The bridge looks great, Rusto!

How about an underwater light as part of the "landscaping"? I think you could probably see the glow from your deck.

If you let your wife pick the color, you might be able to tally some good "husband" points. (Personally, I can always use extra of those!)

Yes I'm thinking mayb making a few of these DC bug slapper. Seen it on here from a fella poster Tony K. I'm no wiring guy so might have to buy one lol.

So we have a contractor coming next month or so to give us a bid. We are looking at something along these lines. Not the best picture just seen this driving around. We have looked at everything from silos to gazebos. I think this will perfect on our 30' peninsula. Was thinking the outside to be somewhere in the 18' - 20' range. Let me hear in pro n cons. It lot ezer to change things before its built.

Rusto,

I believe you like your pond edges to be neat.

I would definitely make sure you have room to mow with your tractor between the water's edge and the gazebo.

If that size of gazebo fits in the space and is still large enough for your average family gathering, then I say "go for it"!

I left about 5 foot on each side. I'm thinking bout zero maintenance stuff for the end of the peninsula. Like as in killin all the grass and weed barrier. Then cover with rock.

Good plan.

Zero maintenance = more time at the grill with tongs in one hand and a beer in the other hand!

First snow of the year. I'm not a huge fan of the cold but it does look pretty.

Great pic, Rusto!

I notice your dog is NOT swimming in that pic.


P.S. Is that same view NEXT winter going to reveal a new gazebo?

I sure hope it does. Havnt came up with my final design yet. The dog goes in bout knee deep now and thts bout it.

Dang it google ya couldnt have waited til I was was done with the bridge.

Rusto,

Good thing you added the bridge.

Previously, it looked like your peninsula was giving the Google satellite the middle finger!

The last time Google updated my place was in 2016.

Well, I feel luck. My Google areal was updated in 2017!

I am not a big fan of Google throwing around their near-monopoly power in many areas. However, I must give them credit where credit is due.

I use Google Earth all of the time. The satellite imagery with the ability to measure distances and areas is a very powerful tool for land managers. The historical imagery button is also very nice to observe land use changes over time.

I am pretty sure I live in a lower population density area than our Indiana Pond Bossers, but my latest imagery is dated 2019. I have no idea what algorithm they use to update their satellite images!

My last image shows me pulling the sheep's foot with my dozer compacting the dam on my 3rd pond.

google doesn't deserve even a speck of credit for google earth. They stole it.

Netflix made a movie about it

Make sure you wave at the satellite the next time it passes over while you are working!

So you're saying I need to further lower my already low opinion of Google!

Finally got put on a good list. Contractor says he can get to my structure in may. Planning on a type of gazebo. 20 foot across 6 sided. Big cedar post and beams. Sticker shock got me a lil bit but we knew it wud be hi. Going with a metal roof. Something similar to this but not exactly.

That is a great looking structure !

Go for it, Rusto!

Did you decide you had room to put it down by the lake shore, or is it going to be more "lake view"?

Right in the middle of the peninsula is where its going.

Did a little work on bridge and dock. Added rope and lights this weekend

Looks great Rusto!

I can only assume your dog was too exhausted from helping you with all of that work, that she was sound asleep and could not appear in any of the pictures.

Looks great!!

Thank ya both. We had some friends over that night. So she always thinks she needs to swim and shake on everyone. So she was put up at that point or she sure would of.

Rusto, that night picture is cool.

Thank ya, its became somewhat of an obsession now. Wife also sees it improving now instead of just dirt everywhere. With any luck I will have the gazebo structure built in the next month or so. I'm excited.

I've fell behind. That is great looking work on your pond.

That young lady in the picture at the top of the previous page reminds me of a SMB fish wrangler I once knew!

Got some plants this weekend.

Are you going to turn the Water Hyacinth loose in your pond? If so, it could cover the whole thing in a blink of an eye, certainly before the summer is over...like plum full - side to side. Maybe the same thing for the Water lettuce, if that's what's in pic #2.

I sure did. I'm hoping they take off some 4 sure. I only put in 5 clumps of each of those. If they get to outta control I will remove some. Same with the lilly pads. Fella who sold them 2 me said they will be yellow flowers. I cant remember what he called the top plant.

Structure is being started as I type. Got my fingers crossed this turns out as good or better then what's in my head.

All right, Rusto!

Good thing that guy you "hired" to dig your pond left that perfect spot for a gazebo on the water.

Maybe someone will gets some ideas rolling around in their head from this. It's also just to document it for myself. I like looking back at old pictures to show where its came from.

Looking forward to seeing it finished Rusto!

#metoo

Gonna be nice Rusto

Ending of day 2...

Rusto,

Raising the roof in here! Holla!

Might end up being my dog house with the price of lumber and metal. Everything will end up being wrapped in cedar. Still unsure of what I want 2 do bout lighting. I'm getting anxious about how it's going 2 turn out. They wont be bk til friday. Then hopefully close to being done.

Storm just ripped through me Rusto. We got a little hail wrapped into one of the rain bands. Hopefully, I tuckered it out a little bit before it gets to you.

Looking awesome! I can see where the little gable that is facing us in this picture needs to be extended on forward about 20 ft, two sets of posts, make a beautiful little entry way to your gazebo,,, wont cost nothing but a little more money,, after all, that wood does grow on trees. that is looking great tho!

If i go any bigger it will have to have a bathroom. Also will need a place for a bed cuz id b kicked out lol.

Rod we got pounded last night so you might have just pissed the storm off...

So my old man yells at clouds routine didn't work? Sorry buddy, I was trying to help you out!

I guess I will just have to go back to pissing my wife off.

Here it is done. Thrilled with how it turned out. Just got some cleanup to do now. Next propane firepit and seating.

Beautiful! I sincerely wish you many happy times enjoying your pond!

That is nice. Great job.

Looks great, Rusto!

I see your pond level is up a little bit. Did the heavy rains push some water flow through your emergency overflow? If so, did any of your fish get pushed out?

I thought I recalled you had some plans to improve the overflow a little. Did your improvements help for this big rain event?

Looks real nice Rusto!

Thank ya fellas. I havnt done anything on a spillway yet. Well besides grass seeding it. Iv got it level at two places on it. So when it does over flow it's coming out 2 spots so iis not so crazy. Not sure if I will put any kind of pipe in yet. It I ever end up with a problem it will just give me a reason 2 get back on the tractor lol.

Rusto I have 2 24” black corrugated plastic pipe for my overflow into the retention pond to catch escape’s, have never had an issue or problems not being enough….. but we drive over it on dam to get to town. We dug clay from retention area with the tractor ( Urnch) to cover and pack clay

I'm thinking I dont really need one. I had maybe 3 that I found (escapees). They were little tiny. I dont have a huge watershed incoming to the pond. Maybe 2 acres at most. With the pond now sitting around ¾ acre it prolly wont over flow as bad. Time will tell on this.

Wow theres noway I have that much water flow for 2 -24 pipes. I have seen a few spillways that I like. I believe its T-bar has a nice looking one.

Glad to here that you only had a few escapees!

I was thinking maybe you could put a few inches of decorative stone at the overflow points on your banks - if your escapes get worse. That way the flood water can flow through your stones but the fish would stay in your pond.

Of course, as soon as you have some good entertainment at the new gazebo, I am sure the fish will want to stay just to enjoy the shows!

Love these nights hoovering in the 80s. Got one of those knock off pads and kids have been loving it.

Good job dialing up the family fun!

Did you just put some solar lights on the bridge? I assume they keep things illuminated right up until your kids are ready to call it a night.

I put them on maybe a couple months ago. With 12 of them down there it brightens up the place alot. Gunna put some more on the structure somewhere. Never heard of a night when the kids call it lol.

Neighbor caught this couple days ago. No clue how long or weight.

Looks about right for the expected growth from the ones you stocked last fall.

Maybe even a little small. Do you have some good forage in there for your HSB?

I really have no clue at this point. I feed them prolly 2 - 3 times a day. They go absolutely nuts.

I didn't realize you were hand feeding your fish.

That must be one of the small ones that was stocked.

I still can't wait to see the photo and the smile when one of your girls lands a 6# HSB a few years from now!

1st time I've had a pole in my hand for couple months. This Is a HSB from Snrubs pond. Looks to be right at 16". Didn't get a weight on it. Pound per pound these sucks put up a damn good fight
[img]https://forums.pondboss.com/ubbthre...e=Screenshot_20220902-203513_Gallery.jpg[img/]

Ok forgot how to get the post to pop up. Will someone remind me how please?

Nice HSB, Rusto!

That fish was a lot smaller than that when it went INTO your pond.

Rstringer, I think the letter 'I' in the term 'Img' that comes before the 'https' and the full link has to be a little 'i' and not a big 'I' I think if you fix that it will embed the picture. When I'm in the message full screen editor, I always hit the 'preview post button to make sure the embedded picture truly embeds before posting the message. See if that works for you.