Pond Boss Magazine
https://www.pondboss.com/images/userfiles/image/20130301193901_6_150by50orangewhyshouldsubscribejpeg.jpg
Advertisment
Newest Members
Shotgun01, Dan H, Stipker, LunkerHunt23, Jeanjules
18,451 Registered Users
Forum Statistics
Forums36
Topics40,900
Posts557,095
Members18,452
Most Online3,612
Jan 10th, 2023
Top Posters
esshup 28,415
ewest 21,475
Cecil Baird1 20,043
Bill Cody 15,110
Who's Online Now
15 members (Sunil, jpsdad, azteca, esshup, BillyE, H20fwler, FishinRod, Augie, PRCS, LeighAnn, bstone261, LANGSTER, dg84s, ewest, Fishingadventure), 694 guests, and 280 robots.
Key: Admin, Global Mod, Mod
Previous Thread
Next Thread
Print Thread
Joined: Jul 2020
Posts: 4
T
Todd_S Offline OP
OP Offline
T
Joined: Jul 2020
Posts: 4
We bought a home in central Arkansas that had a small cattle pond. It wasn't very useful, and much of the land surrounding it was too low to keep clean. So, we hired someone to expand the pond. The pond was supposed to be about 3 acres and average 4' deep. The end result is probably 2.5 acres, but the pond is not as deep as expected. I think we can raise it a couple more feet by hiring some additional work, but I wanted to check with people who know more about ponds first.

The pond is stocked for fishing. Bluegill, Redear, channel cats, and largemouth bass. I paddled out on our canoe and measured the depths you see in the attached image. As you can see, the deepest spot was only 5' and the vast majority is 3.5' or less. Any chance this will be OK, or would it be wise to raise the pond a couple of feet?

[Linked Image from strongtowerwealth.com]

Joined: Apr 2020
Posts: 129
Likes: 11
J
Offline
J
Joined: Apr 2020
Posts: 129
Likes: 11
I think a little deeper ( 2 feet) would be better but it will probably be ok in central Arkansas. No foot and a half of ice to deal with. Do you have a berm or dam you can raise or would you dig it out more?

Joined: Jan 2006
Posts: 16,028
Likes: 274
D
Moderator
Lunker
Offline
Moderator
Lunker
D
Joined: Jan 2006
Posts: 16,028
Likes: 274
If you try to add to the top, don't just pile dirt on. It will have to be mixed with the existing soils or it is guaranteed to leak and might not hold. The best way is to drain it and dig deeper. Of course, that's a pain in the butt after stocking and hoping it will dry enough to work with it.


It's not about the fish. It's about the pond. Take care of the pond and the fish will be fine. PB subscriber since before it was in color.

Without a sense of urgency, Nothing ever gets done.

Boy, if I say "sic em", you'd better look for something to bite. Sam Shelley Rancher and Farmer Muleshoe Texas 1892-1985 RIP
Joined: Jul 2020
Posts: 4
T
Todd_S Offline OP
OP Offline
T
Joined: Jul 2020
Posts: 4
Jim100, fortunately, the levee has room for the pond to rise 2'. The guy who dug the pond originally things he can just raise the berm. That'll cause the pond to creep uphill more on the shallow end, so I asked him to dig that down a bit. I don't want a bunch of shallow areas that will spawn weeds all the time.

We have a nice peninsula area that I'm hoping to keep. This is our favorite spot for hanging out, camp fires, and fishing. If we raise the pond a couple of feet, I might need to bring in some loads of dirt to keep this area from getting muddy.

Thanks for the input, guys!

Joined: Dec 2018
Posts: 884
Likes: 201
G
Offline
G
Joined: Dec 2018
Posts: 884
Likes: 201
Obviously no ice problems with a pond in Arkansas but my biggest fear would be with the heat in the summertime, at less then 5' deep, and that could drop another ft or more pretty easy in a hot dry summer, you could wind up with a good portion of your pond not much over two ft deep, that could make for some pretty hot water for fish to survive in. jmo, I would think 2 more ft of depth could be huge in this scenario. but Im no professional and should probably not be bumping my gums, just thinking out loud.


All the really good ideas I've ever had came to me while I was milking a cow.
Joined: Jul 2020
Posts: 4
T
Todd_S Offline OP
OP Offline
T
Joined: Jul 2020
Posts: 4
Gehajake, nope... no ice here! LOL! We do get hot and dry. So far, the pond is holding up great with the heat, but we haven't seen the worst of it yet. We'll see how it looks after 2 weeks of no rain and 95+ temps.

That said, I bought some fathead minnows the other day and introduced them to the pond properly. I think close to half of them died right away. The pond was 95 degrees! Maybe that's just too much for new little fish even if you work them up to the right temp gradually.


Link Copied to Clipboard
Today's Birthdays
Bob Lusk, GaryK, GrizzFan, PhotographerDave
Recent Posts
Relative weight charts in Excel ? Calculations?
by jpsdad - 03/28/24 04:51 PM
1 year after stocking question
by esshup - 03/28/24 04:48 PM
Fungus infection on fish
by BillyE - 03/28/24 04:35 PM
Yellow Perch Spawn 2024
by H20fwler - 03/28/24 04:29 PM
Alum vs Bentonite/Lathanum for Phosphorus Removal?
by FishinRod - 03/28/24 04:23 PM
Working on a .5acre disaster, I mean pond.
by PRCS - 03/28/24 04:13 PM
New 2 acre pond stocking plan
by LANGSTER - 03/28/24 03:49 PM
Happy Birthday Bob Lusk!!
by ewest - 03/28/24 03:37 PM
Paper-shell crayfish and Japanese snails
by esshup - 03/28/24 10:39 AM
Brooder Shiners and Fry, What to do??
by Freg - 03/28/24 09:42 AM
Dewatering bags seeded to form berms?
by Justin W - 03/28/24 08:19 AM
Reducing fish biomass
by FishinRod - 03/28/24 08:18 AM
Newly Uploaded Images
Eagles Over The Pond Yesterday
Eagles Over The Pond Yesterday
by Tbar, December 10
Deer at Theo's 2023
Deer at Theo's 2023
by Theo Gallus, November 13
Minnow identification
Minnow identification
by Mike Troyer, October 6
Sharing the Food
Sharing the Food
by FishinRod, September 9
Nice BGxRES
Nice BGxRES
by Theo Gallus, July 28
Snake Identification
Snake Identification
by Rangersedge, July 12

� 2014 POND BOSS INC. all rights reserved USA and Worldwide

Powered by UBB.threads™ PHP Forum Software 7.7.5