Steve, looks great! Glad to see you got your pond! Are you going to try and get some FHM going soon?
You know, I was actually going to ask about that. I got at least 2-3' of water already in the deepest hole, maybe 30-40' across? Water is very turbid due to getting a rain storm the day after the pond was complete with all that exposed clay. Will FHM do ok in muddy water? I'd definitely like to get them started so I can stock it maybe later this fall if we get enough rain.
I’m not an expert, and I only have one pond, but I stocked FHM with about the same exact water level and clay content when we built our pond. The next year there were millions. I did put in a lot of pallets (all from the excellent advice I received here). If I remember correctly, FHM like to lay eggs on the underside of flat surfaces. The pallets worked well.
9 yr old pond, 1 ac, 15' deep. RES, YP, GS, FHM (no longer), HBG (going away), SMB, and HSB (only one seen in 5 yrs) Restocked HSB (2020) Have seen one of these. I think that's about all I should put in my little pond. Otter attack in 2023