This is not exactly "big game" but I couldn't find another more logical place to put it, and I knew I could get some real knowledgeable responses here.

We've got this farm property that was acquired mainly for deer, doves and turkey. And the deer and turkey love the place. There are trail cam pics of several all looking in the camera. We've also got a small area, about 7 acres, that is low in the middle and shaped right for a lake on two sides. And I've got to decide how to use it.

Five choices. One, let it go back to nature. That's not very appealing.

Two, a lake. It's very sandy soil and has a ditch running thru it that's seasonal runoff from far away. One side is a blacktop, two sides are hills and one is scrub woods, with willows, sycamores and sweet gum. A dam could be put up on that side and the woods cut and flooded. And something would have to be done to keep the water from the public road's edge.

Three, I could put it in new woods and plant pines and hardwoods. Or four, I could put it in deer food plots. And five, I could make a pasture of it - but, I'm not a horse and cattle person.

Anyway, I know nothing of aquatic trees and plants or other considerations for doing a small lake or what fish to stock it with and so forth.

Any helpful advice would be appreciated.

There are a couple of books that will answer most of your questions.

However, be prepared for endless wrangling with various state and federal government entities. There are countless regulations that dictate ponds on private property. A buddy of mine spent two years fighting the Corps of Engineers over a 2-acre pond. They finally "allowed" him to go forward.

Or you could just build it and hope no one finds out.

If you are in the US, talk to your local NRCS office.

Two good options.

quote:

Originally posted by Mike Scott:
If you are in the US, talk to your local NRCS office.

Yep. That is the best way to go forward.

quote:

Originally posted by hartfish:
Or you could just build it and hope no one finds out.

Forgiveness is sometimes easier than permission!

[/QUOTE] Forgiveness is sometimes easier than permission![/QUOTE]

Not when you are dealing with the US government.

It's going to take a lot of soil testing. If it's sandy soil it probably is not going to hold water.

One of the locals said, "we just go ahead and do stuff like that (and don't worry about it)".

Of course he's the same guy who said, "if you want turkeys just pour a sack of corn on the ground".

The soil is really sandy. I think in times distant past the whole area may have been a flood plain.

Now, I "think" it gets complicated when you're talking about creating a lake by blocking flowing water from somewhere else. It's just a small ditch, but if gov't entities are even remotely involved I would skip the whole deal.

But we're the last place the ditch crosses before it hits a large creek and on into a river a couple miles away. But there are no "wetlands" anywhere in sight.

Ponds are not as easy as it would sound. First of all you will need to make sure there is enough run off to actually fill a pond. You can pay an engineer to do a water run off study, and then you will know for sure. Probably a couple grand as a guess based on what my customers have paid. Other than that you have to have a good idea how much water runs into this low spot. Does it ever fill up after big rains?

Second is soil study as mentioned above. Sandy sil will not hold water so you will either have to put a rubber liner in it, about .60 per sq ft, or line it with several inches to a foot of heavy clay.

Regardless lots of work and expense.

quote:

If you are in the US, talk to your local NRCS office.

Plus 100 on this. They will know the rules and regulations of the state/county you are located in and they will be able to tell you whether the pond would actually hold water.

Food plot. No question!

I have built 8 ponds. 5 are good. They hold water year round. The other 3 - I filled them back in and planted Christmas trees in their place.

If the pond is mainly for deer watering you are best off with a small "tank" type of pond. It should be about the size of a small house.

If the soil looks sandy or rocky, line it with about a foot of clay and disc (thorougly) in a liberal amount of Bentonite (sort of a white clay that can be bought at most farm supply stores) which expands 9 times its size when it gets wet and fills in the voids in the clay liner. Walk in the liner with your tractor (or jeep or truck) tires until it is hard.

Make an overflow at the dam end. Plant grass all around it. Keep bushes away from it. You don't want trees sucking up your pond water.

Build your ponds in a secluded location. Having one that waters deer near a public road invites fence shooters.

If your land is big enough for 4 or more small ponds consider buying a used dozer and build them yourself. It will be handy for lots of things beyond pond building - like scraping off brush for food plots etc.

I thought about a deer/turkey food plot, but I've already got about 15 acres scattered all over, big and small, in those. A food plot can't really be done anyway with this part. Too close to the blacktop. The locals would think it's a public hunting area put in just for them.

At any rate, I went ahead and called the state for advice. They used to really help with lake planning and even provided free fish. I think there was a time when they'd even help do the work. But not any more. It wasn't even easy to find anyone to talk to. And the first questions were, are you affecting any wetlands and exactly where is my place. And it was said I need an application for permission from the state water quality control board (five different permits) AND from the Corps of Engineers, and the permits are good for only 5 years and the fees are anywhere from $50 to $2,500. They also said the sandy soil and presence of willows are a "serious concern" and might indicate the "propensity" to become a wetland. And they come out and take samples of the ditch bottom and determine if the whole place meets their definition of a wetland and they see if there are any rare and protected bugs or insects. If there are I hate to think what happens. You'd be looking at the EPA next I guess.

I said, "look, I've got an urgent call on another line and have to go - I'll call back"...

There are old private lakes in the area that I suspect could never have been built today.

I don't know where you live, but you can use the state for information, but I would not use them for more, yet. BTW, in Missouri, if the state provides you with "free fish", your pond or lake just became a public fishing lake. Mine was already formed by strip mine and I still had to show proof that I purchased the fish for it. It sucks.