I'm in New York State, near Niagara Falls.
Oh, the dozer gets the most use, as I'm still clearing trees. I have cleared 10 acres of trees since 2004. I have a graveyard of well over 1000 stumps.
The primary reason for the ponds was for the dirt. The land is perfectly flat, and a bit low, so the dirt will be put to good use for building on the lot. I am the primary owner of the land, and all the equipment. However I have a younger brother who owns a small lot of it, and an older brother who owns some. We will all build houses there, and the dirt & clay is for fill & landscaping. I need to raise about 8 acres of cleared land 3 ft in elevation. That's about 38,000 cubic yards of dirt. I calculate that when the ponds are complete, I will have excavated close to 50,000 cubic yards. So I will have some left over...
The water table where I am is typically 12-20" below grade during the winter. However it can vary 50" during the dry season. My plan is to line the banks down to the excavated clay layer with clay, and pack it with a sheepsfoot. I don't have a sheepsfoot, and am trying to locate one to pull with my dozer.
Still al lot of work to do...
Here are some aerial shots of the project abut 1/2 way through the clearing, and when the small pond was only 7 ft deep:
whitedwarf4's photos. Get free image hosting at ImageCave.com - free image hosting at ImageCave.com
I have read that trout need a pond to have 15-18 ft of water in it at all times no matter the season, I won't have that. Plus I heard they won't reproduce in ponds, LMB will.
Not sure about the LMB. In this area, it seems like LMB are the only fish that survive in small ponds...
My brother-in-law has a house with a 1 acre pond not 10 miles from me. It's had a healthy LMB population in it for years... Has some carp too, lol. His pond is of similar depth.
I guess I'm not picky about fish, whatever will live in it and thrive is fine by me...