Having a Pond Dug

[latj]

Friend of mine spent lots of $ trying to dig his own 2 acre pond and ended up having to hire it out anyway. I'll try and dig up some pics of the process, gave me a good place to play with the Jeep

 

[rhinoabe]

Well i will be trying to dig my own pond this year. I dug six 8ft.deep test holes two years ago and only one went completely dry last summer, but it has filled back up. The clay around here is unreal it is everywhere. My neighbor dug three small pond about six years ago ten to twelve ft deep and they all held water. I purchased a 3550 Ford back hoe for $6000.00 and a old dump truck for $2000.00. I had never used a backhoe before i bought this but i know now. i have done a lot of small jobs for the neighbors by cleaning out fence rows and old dumps and have recouped over $3500.00 back.

 

[ZS84]

All that fill dirt would make for a nice shooting backstop!

I could not have said it any better myself. It was like he read my mind before i thought it.

 

[ZS84]

A lot more than just digging a hole. You would think a pond will hold about any were but not really. A ton of money has went into many a dry hole. The farm accoss from me the owner has had three different excavation companies in all ready and poor guy still hasn't had much luck. He would have been much better off buying a property with existing lake or pond if he really wanted water.

I dont know where you are from but to me it sounds like bad soil. It is hard to build a water hole in sandy soil. If it is clay soil like in southern indiana then you have problems with water pooling everywhere due to the water not being able to drain through. Not just anywhere is suitable for a pond or lake. Digging a test hole is a good way to start off and just get a feel for what you have to work with without spending much if any money.

 

[Squirrel Dog]

I dont know where you are from but to me it sounds like bad soil. It is hard to build a water hole in sandy soil. If it is clay soil like in southern indiana then you have problems with water pooling everywhere due to the water not being able to drain through. Not just anywhere is suitable for a pond or lake. Digging a test hole is a good way to start off and just get a feel for what you have to work with without spending much if any money.

I agree with test holes they are some indication. You sure don't want to find sand or ledge rock. A rock vein is the suspected problem for the neighbor. I always wanted to build a lake myself but chickened out. I bought mine already built.

 

[blakduglis]

I watched some of the Ray Scott video on satelite a couple of years ago. It covered pond depth, drainage, building shelves at different levels for the fish to suspend over, and placement of trees and rocks. You may be able to find it with an internet search. It may save you a lot of time and money.
BD

 

[Tandem160]

I bought a place that had a "pond" on it a few years ago. The guy said he paid 9,000 for it and it never held water. I got it fixed for 11,000 last year. The dam was wrong and the original excavation went past clay and into rock providing an excellant drain. Some thing to note: Excavation companies (mine anyway) doesn't take credit cards. Cash only. The dozer guys are not be friendly to you they are billing you for every minute you talk to them about your project, at a 100.00 an hour it can add up. Plan on about a grand and 2 years for fishing. I got pics of my project i'll post them here when I can or PM me an email. There is alot to it, I would not tackle this with help from a reputable pro. By the way I need dozer work done near Shoals, IN. need it done fairly soon. PM if interested

 

[Mr.Strato]

My good friend and neighbor started putting in a pond/lake this summer.
He did all the appropriate planning and figuring; test holes and whatnot.
He's about 1/2 way done, he discovered he's haveing to pack in clay in the bottom, no big deal, just a time factor because it was so very dry last summer.
He in fact found out he would MAKE money on the project by selling the dirt.
Also, a hint...things like this (for me) take longer than I anticipate, this probably isn't a weekend job. We've found that on his there IS some "wait time" because he's selling the dirt- sometimes his buyers aren't ready and there's the issue of co-ordinating trucks and such.
Good luck, and don't forget to ENJOY the job as you're doing it!