The pond in Golden Pond Farm is the result of a gravel pit. The northern 2/3 of my property was mined for class 5 fill. The agreement was to give me a nice pond when it was all done. They graded the site and built a berm which took three belly dumps and two bulldozers two weeks working 60 hours a week to do the rough work. Then some smaller equipment was brought in to do finish grading and seeding.
My land has sand and clay and since most of the sand was hauled away I have a natural clay bottom. The hole immediately began collecting water and it is now three years since the pond was created. The pond is a boomerang shape. The west side has steeper sides so the width is more defined. The east end of the pond has a steep south side but a slow sloping north side. The north side has new native grass and forb plantings from last year.
Aside from cattails coming in and a variety of weeds around the edge, I don't really know what I have or what has found it's way into the pond. I would like to put more native plants in the pond and stock it with a few fish species.
I am seeking advice on what species to plant in the pond. All "edge" species have been planted so these are only "underwater" species. I am curious about suggestions for fish as well. I was told a pair of pike, some large mouth and some blue gills.
The pond is about 1.5 acres and it's present depth and would be about 2.3 acres if it were full. The water is about 8-10' deep at the deepest and would be about 2-3' deeper if the pond was full. You can see the overflow pipe in the berm they created. The overflow drains to where the natural drainage was on the property. All of the water previously flowed through a farm field into the Vermillion Creek. Every year there was considerable soil loss which is now eliminated.
The nest issue is aeration. I am debating between a air-powered system such as a Koender model which could be put on the hill at the center of the pond or run electricity from the house, much further away. I am trying to determine the upfront costs and ongoing costs of a wind vs an electric powered system? Any suggestions on any of these items would be appreciated.
