Pond Boss Forums GENERAL QUESTIONS Help Need advice on far north pond making

I'm in the UP of michigan. It WILL be below zero for 3 months minimum and in the summer it won't reach 90 degrees ever. I'm getting WRP ponds built by the feds and at the same time the contractor is going to start me on a "fish" pond on another part of my 90 acres. Who here would I start talking to about doing this in a harsh northern climate?

Hopefully Wood will reply. He is in Manitobia with experience with trout, YP and maybe SMB. Numerous others in northern climate should be able to provide advice. Cold temperatures and thick ice are not your enemy it is snow lying on the ice for extended periods of time 30-60 days. Snow cover eliminates sunlight from getting to and penetrating the ice to maintain photosynthesis so phytoplankton and benthic algae can produce oxygen. Build pond so you can get to it in winter to remove some snow - usually about 15%-25% of the pond's surface either in strips or one complete area. I also suggest you build pond away from trees so pond gets some good wind exposure. Tree leaves in a pond are problematic - filling in the pond and creating lots of DO loss due to large amounts of decomposing leaf litter.

The only thing I would add is make the pond as deep as possible and if you can't be there enough to clear snow, consider adding aeration in shallow water to keep an opening in the ice for air exchange.