Looking for some good ideas from the experts on a new "pond" project. I need help on the preferred depths and proper fish selection and management for this unconventional project.

Our farm has a live stream that runs throughout the year. There is also a cut off oxbow that meanders around adjacent to the stream. This oxbow fills with water and turns into a "pond" whenever the stream has a minor flood and overtops its banks.

This pond only lasts a few days in places, but some of the deep pools may survive up to six months. I originally thought the oxbow pond had a hydraulic connection to the nearby stream through the sandy soils. However, I have shot the water levels in the oxbow and they are higher than in the stream. (After the stream subsides back to the normal flow level following a flood.) Therefore, the oxbow soil conditions create at least a partial seal and are capable of creating a "perched" water table.

I dug a test pit and discovered that at least one of the perched pools is sealed by sitting on bedrock composed of shale.

This oxbow is situated in the floodplain. I am allowed to excavate, but not allowed to build any embankment or raise the ground level more than 1 foot from the existing grade. I could go big with an excavator and dump trucks and create a nice, deep pond by hauling the spoils out of the floodplain. However, that would not be money wisely spent, because the new pond will always be subject to flooding when the adjacent stream rises high enough. I would have undesirable fish coming in, and my good fish going out during the flood events.

I believe I can "enhance" the existing pools via excavation to make them both wider and deeper. I can then spoil the material right next to pond and spread it as a flat berm only one foot tall. The dimensions of the existing oxbow and the surrounding topography will largely control my pond design. However, I would like some help optimizing the depths/features of the pond for the proposed fish population. I am considering 3-4' deep pools with 1-2' deep waterways to connect the pools. There may be a few places where the soil will allow some small pools up to 8' deep.

This needs to be a fairly low budget project because it can never be a "perfect pond" due to creek incursions AND I cannot excavate too many yards of material without running out of space to place the spoils. The proposed pond would be long and narrow. Total surface area could be as small as 0.20 acres, or could be as large as 1.5 acres.

Questions:

1.) What fish species combo would you recommend for this type of "pond"? [It will probably have some undesirable fish (mainly GSF) dumped in via flooding every 1-3 years.]

2.) For that type of fishery, what should I focus on creating with my excavations? For example, more depth in the pools, or more surface area (width) to the long, narrow pond.

3.) I can divert water from the creek into the oxbow most of the year (since it flows back into the creek on our property). How much is the minimum required amount of water to divert (in daily % volume of the pond) for the fish to thrive? (They will be in a simulated shallow stream environment, rather than a typical Pond Boss type pond.)

Thanks for any help on this project while it is still in the "pie in the sky" design phase.

Feel free to add any comments on the myriad things that I have not yet considered!


FishinRod