Brettski, Thanks for the post and advice. Actually... I just talked to the second guy who spoke of $160 an hour cost. He has two machines that will be out here to work... so I'm thinking that is pretty reasonable. What I like about the two 'dirt movers' I've got estimates from is that the both have experience in pond construction. The first guy more experience with large ponds and the second guy more experience with shallow 'duck ponds' for the DNR.
What type of construction does your pond have? Is it damn or dugout... if dugout how deep and does it have a trench surrounding it or just the clay-lined design alone?
Thanks!