Water Level & Grass Update!! (Week 12) [10 Acre Fishing Pond Project]

You asked for it so here's an update after busting the temporary dam and rebuilding the early 1900's dam. We're on to week 12 and it's getting closer to the overflow!
Enjoy!
-Brian
PROJECT VIDEOS:
• Rebuilding a 10 Acre F...
My goal is to create a safe haven for wildlife and a nice fishing pond to be enjoyed for generations to come.
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[@BrushCommando]

ALL PROJECT VIDEOS: kzbin.info/aero/PL5lOJUnYcpRC0Rk0z9RNcbiUoJdfuP5my&si=oUMzxUqF534eqDJ2

[@GoBlue79]

The big picture is becoming clearer every week! For sure the cold weather is uncharacteristic for your area - to see frozen water-tops may not be seen for some time. The mirror look to the lake adds to the overall beauty of the site - frozen or not! Ha! Braving the cold to give us a glimpse of the progress - thanks Brian!

[@ChitIDo-tq8jt]

The lake is coming along nicely. It will be full before you know it. Thanks for the update.

[@BrushCommando]

Slow and steady

[@rozmoran1840]

Looking good at the lake. Love the Canadian Air Force lol

[@bernardsteffen2788]

It may seem mundane, but your reports are important to some of us viewers and we look forward to them. Just seeing how the water looks and looking forward to viewing the fish and turtles as they emerge from this cold snap. Seeing the water rise and checking the water gauges. Wondering when will the water level reach the "over flow" level. Interesting stuff.

[@tomswindler64]

Nice,looking good,it’s coming right along.great video as always.be safe 👍👍👍😎😎😎

[@jaybear565]

Thank you for taking the time to make this video, it's really nice to watch the lake filling up

[@BrushCommando]

I’m glad you like it!

[@tonycole613]

Maybe spring it’ll be full, but it’s looking good. Can’t wait to see summer with the grass green. Awesome job. Stay safe keep the videos coming.

[@user-bq7kh5eu7v]

Chris did a great job it's a shame that your small pond could not be fully rebuilt.

[@sbmiller3699]

after a year or more your generator idea caught my subscription.

[@travisrussell3128]

“Permently relocated” thats a good choice of words 😂

[@BrushCommando]

😂 Gotta watch what we say here on the Tube

[@markpashia7067]

@@BrushCommando They make nice wall hangings when you tan them. Just leave it in the hoop and hang it in the shop or man cave. Never tried it but friends say they make pretty good stew as well.

[@firefly2472]

​@@markpashia7067yes, yes they do.

[@stephenhoran7597]

Very strategic move getting lets dig 18 to do the work I wouldn't have thought of watching your channel now I'm interested in it's progression. Just watch it on mute 😂😂😂😂

[@scottharbaugh4078]

The lake looks awesome bud. come spring time and with all the rains, it'll fill up quick and really turn out the way you intended it to be. thanks for the updates.

[@RockySwampRanch-r1f]

Looking good Brian, going to really be a sight to behold tomorrow morning with this snow we're getting tonight!

[@BrushCommando]

oh It's coming down now. Might have to make another video

[@Machinist1755]

Looking good.

[@brushcrawler8612]

The floating grass is probably from the area Chris pushed/smeared the brush down into the mud. As the lake bottom gets itself sorted out, some of that grass is getting loose. Maybe

[@briankemp8101]

The ice standing up from the dirt, we call hoar frost here in New Zealand. Used to love crunching it under our bare feet when we were kids.

[@richparks1966]

They call it 'Needle Ice' in the states

[@mattmanyam]

NE US we call it hoar frost round here, too.

[@JamesMasel]

By mid June when everything has greened up it's going to look great! Chris does nice work.

[@jimhoran5445]

My favorite spot is the feeder pond! 👍🏻👍🏻🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸

[@BrushCommando]

Sweet! I’ll try to show more of it next time

[@williamchristy8123]

Thanks for the up date.

[@BrushCommando]

You're welcome, glad you enjoyed it!

[@lostsailor2284]

welcome back

[@BrushCommando]

lol Thanks! Glad you hung around!

[@ni_wink84]

Canadian airforce 😂, that’s true those geese are not to be messed with, they will fight you

[@BigTader]

Lake is looking awesome all of your hard work is paying off. Thank for the progress. Stay safe.

[@BrushCommando]

Thanks! Sure has been a lot of work over the years,l, I'm excited how it's turning out.

[@papatomsthoughts]

Looks nice.

[@mfs7234-o4e]

Thanks for the update. The pond dam looks fabulous……thanks letsdig18.

[@BuckMasterNorm]

Thanks it is coming along

[@Vickie-Bligh]

Thanks for the update, Brian. Look forward to the changes at the Compound. Nice to see your new shipping containers in place.

[@BrushCommando]

Appreciate the support! Big plans for the Compound this year.

[@AnthonyValentine-vm1yc]

Can't wait till early spring. When is your rainy season? Here in UK supossed to be April. Yeah!.... blah, blah. LOL!

[@BrushCommando]

😂 July/August here

[@trigonx1]

Thanks Brian, hope you enjoy the snow coming :)

[@BrushCommando]

Glad you enjoyed it. The snow is coming down now

[@davidoliver2826]

It’s looking good! Man I would build a little lean too roof on that hut for a place to hang out. Anyway thanks for the update!

[@kway7583]

Nice, thanks for the update.

[@BrushCommando]

You bet! Glad you’re enjoying the progress.

[@BevRich-y8u]

Thanks for the update soldier... I was hoping you were going to make that little structure into a little party Hut with a stripper pole inside..🤙😃😀😆😅😂🤣🤑💯🤙

[@BrushCommando]

😂

[@Morbenenterprises]

Thanks! Keep em' comming!

[@kengriffith4968]

You can ice fish in a few days, Looking good be glad when it's full.

[@BrushCommando]

haha it's snowing now

[@ronthacker211]

Lookin' great.

[@BrushCommando]

Thanks Ron!

[@GregoryAParker-n9f]

Lake looks great.

[@BrushCommando]

Thanks, it's coming along!

[@johnm840]

Thanks for Update, Maybe Easter to get full.

[@mr.shannon6137]

KZbinrs Bama Bass and Hometown Acres both used a polymer pond sealer to fix there leaking ponds. It worked awsum for both of them. I dont remember the brand or type either used other than being polymer based.

[@heidibal255]

Thank you 👍

[@mikeknoll1130]

Looking good by spring you will be very happy with the progress.

[@genesispuredeaf2390]

I see significant change since the last time you updated….but then, I’m not seeing it everyday like you. Seeing the water in the trench and most of the grasses being submerged being a few of the more obvious differences. Congratulations on the dozer work, that really dressed up that area. I’ll say this….you also put in the heavy lifting (and spent a penny) while the water was down that you will never regret. The honey holes and all the fish habitat really accelerate the 🐟

[@BrushCommando]

Thanks! Glad you could tell a difference. I was surprised that it came up 4 inches given the surface area that it has now.

[@genesispuredeaf2390]

@ the thing that your last post revealed (at least to me) was the seepage going through that sand area because of the land ownership issue. Hopefully that owner (shared partner with the lower pond) will acquiesce and allow you to put more material there and perhaps remove a tree or two to fix that seepage issue. That water will theoretically still make it to the lower pond through the overflow system. It would seem to me that allowing the pipes to perform water management is much better than ignoring the damage that chronic seepage could facilitate.

[@BrushCommando]

@@genesispuredeaf2390 that’s exactly why. I believe they were just being difficult because I refused to sell them any property last year.

[@Damoinion]

Getting there. Looking good.

[@chetthejet3896]

Brain thanks for the excellent video. I am hoping for an early spring mid Feb. It is 5 degrees here this morning.

[@BrushCommando]

Wow, Stay Warm!! Glad you enjoyed the update.. It's snowing now

[@RAYAR54]

Looking good. LD18 just moved some equipment to an other pond repair.

[@BrushCommando]

He’s the busiest beaver in all of NC

[@BassGuy1]

Wow Brian, the lake is looking good! The feeder pond unfortunately is leaking from the root base of those trees your neighbor wanted to keep on back of the berm for sure. A heavy dose of bentonite clay might seal it for the short term. Chris loaded it up with clay but, because you guys couldn't remove the trees and core that section completely it going to be a weak spot because the trees and roots will continue to grow. I've got my fingers crossed for the bentonite solution to work completely. Been waiting for this update thanks Sir Lol.

[@BrushCommando]

Right, we just hoped for the best on the feeder pond patch job. Too bad Neighbor was being salty because I wouldn’t sell him some land.

[@BassGuy1]

Lol got it, the "salty" reason why.The bentonite should do it I would also treat with the polymer "Damit" dam sealer too it will find any leaks you don't see as well. The good thing is the leak seems small and localized to that area and should plug very well. The Bright side is the feeder pond is holding plenty of water to grow bait fish for the big lake either way. Would be cool to see the water levels on the big spawning beds you added on the next update. Hoping all the best for you bro!😊

[@tedohio3038]

Have you thought of digging the feeder pond deeper ?

[@azwrenchmaster5334]

Great looking lake! Noticed someone else mentioned the Bamma Bass polymer, which is what I was thinking. Not cheap but if you just used it on the one side probably would be worth it, and wouldn't take that much. If the other sides leak it'd probably end up in the big lake at least.

[@C10sRule]

The grass in the pond is nearly gone! Sweet! The marsh look is nice but open water is my preference. Once you have flowing water in your overflow you will likely regret that beaver is so close. They are triggered by the sound of flowing water. They have dammed overflows on the ranch we had in so many ways. The box it what they tend to target and we has a box filled once. It was way out on a far lease and on a routine fencing inspection I noticed a 10” deep groove had been cut into the emergency overflow. Went to the regular one and it was stuffed full of sticks and mud. My guy that was doing the inspection of the fences usually actually said he saw that but didn’t think it mattered as the emergency overflow was working,,,,. Before I let him go, once I spoke with the Foreman who said he was having a hard time getting him to work each day and he caught him sleeping out in the woods a couple of times. The Foreman was nervous about bringing it up to me as that guy and I played pool together in tournaments. I told the foreman he was doing just fine and we felt the guy had hit strike three, good acquaintance or not!! He wasn’t let go until he had that stand and the pipe under the dam (36” eyuchhh) completely cleared. I took care of the adult beavers actually in a permanent way. Trapped the babies and took them to a rescue. Then let the guy go. He was p*ssed off but at the fact he had to do that brutal job! 😂😂 it took a lot of close supervision to get him to get it done in a reasonable time!! 😊😊 It’s still looking great!!! A bit of bentonite goes a long ways. It’s almost as good as the chemical leak block, but way less money! 😊

[@BrushCommando]

Yeah, the open water is nice. It was neat having a marsh view for a little while at least.. Gonna have to make sure that beaver is kept in check!

[@C10sRule]

@ - I won’t fire ya!! Can’t!! Haha. Won’t unsubscribe,,,,,,too fun!! Haha! You can tame it if ya want!! Heh heh.

[@tedohio3038]

Another way to stop beavers is to put the inlet down deep under the water with the pipe running uphill . The outlet is at the level you want the water to be. Beavers cannot figure it out.

[@justwords3882]

Great work, thanks for sharing

[@BrushCommando]

@@justwords3882 glad you enjoyed it!

[@steveminton8329]

Looking good

[@gost9396]

Canada goose tastes good 😋🙂 regards from Sweden

[@TheWrena440]

Thanks! It still is a vast improvement over what it was for sure...good work! If you know more of the pond/lake history it might make an interesting video for some folks. Maybe old photos or old timers recounting memories (if you can find any). Just sayin'.

[@BrushCommando]

Good idea! I’ve only been able to find satellite imagery so far, unfortunately. A couple neighbors told stories of how big the fish used to be in the lake before the dam failed. Said it has the biggest bass they’d ever seen! The fire chief told me he used to trespass with his buddies to fish and the old man that owned it used to run them off. 😂 Here’s a video that has my neighbor at the shared pond telling a story about the beavers and the dam failing. Go to the 15min mark: kzbin.info/www/bejne/qmG8dKpja9VgjaMsi=yyMJChIcBOlsHMML

[@EricVanDorn]

Canadian AF guy, here. Nice update, slow but sure is the way to go for the big lake. Curious about the transplant tree, how's it doing? If it doesn't survive, i'd suggest another, til one takes,good spot for some shade in a few years. That building was probably a fish cleaning station at one time.

[@BrushCommando]

Not sure about the tree.. we’ll have to see how it’s doing in the spring. It sure does look good there though.

[@davidepool5884]

The pond and the area with all the piles of dirt and trash are looking so much better now that you’ve spread it out. That big grassy spot in the big pond is almost gone now. It will still provide cover for your small fish for a good while. Your pond should be full by early spring. I’m sure you have big plans for your ponds once it warms up. That bentonite really works on stopping leaks, it’s worth a try.

[@BrushCommando]

Thanks, that area has a good chance at growing some grass now. It’s not easy spreading dredged material.. talk about some clumpy and slick stuff.

[@markpashia7067]

Looking good there Brian. Not sure of your exact location, but you could be getting a major snow storm that will set records in your area. South Carolina and Georgia are getting serious snow and even Florida panhandle. If so hope you and the young ones have fun making a snowman or something. At least throw a few snow balls. My guess as best I remember was April first unless a major storm comes in which for your area might be March. So I suspect you will hit the overflow by then anyway. Nice looking push off with the dozer and like you say it should be a good stand of grass in the spring for you. Best wishes.

[@markpashia7067]

Oh, my dad had a leak like that in his small house pond along side and behind his house for swimming. It took a few tries of dropping bags of Bentonite Clay on the water near the leak but once he hit the right spot it plugged nicely. Just poured it out on the water and let the leak pull it in but you have to be really close to the right spot to get enough pull on it to work.

[@BrushCommando]

We have about 2” of snow on the ground as of this morning! The kids were excited when it started coming down last night… They just HAD to go out and play in it at 9pm 😂

[@DosMasTequila]

Nice video in the cold weather!! It’s too bad that your neighbor wouldn’t let you fix that dam properly especially when he seen what type of a job Chris was doing. Keep a close eye on that beaver cause beavers are notoriously famous for doing damage!

[@BrushCommando]

Thanks, they're actually just salty because I refused sell some land to them.

[@richparks1966]

That's Needle Ice, or an Ice Spike, it pushes up from below. Overflow up onto river ice is a liquid up welling that makes for untrustworthy ice.

[@BrushCommando]

Interesting! I’ve not seen that before. Thanks

[@highkicker11]

the small pond might benefit from some stuff barnabass used on his leaking pond 2 part polymer.

[@lnr12241]

Lake Watchamacallit is a good name for your lake lol

[@phylxguy5547]

Since there's a few different springs on the property maybe that's not a leak but another spring or here's hoping so but if you end up needing more head couldn't you run a line down through the culvert to the bottom side of the dam? I don't know if I was making a statement or asking a question haha well looking great Sir kudos & thanks for the update.

[@BrushCommando]

Debated on doing that, we’ll see how things pan out.

[@phylxguy5547]

@BrushCommando depending upon how much flow rate you end up with another idea is to run a ram pump assisted line from the lower shared pond back upto the new one to keep a consistent circulation to push the hydro or pelton propeller, the KZbin channel Land to house has lots of good experience & informational advice & how too's etc.

[@johnhenryNC]

I would put bentonite in that little pond. Some of that bentonite would flow where it's leaking and plug up the hole.

[@BrushCommando]

I’ll have to try some in the summer. Would be nice to have that little pond full.

[@silverlicious2086]

Slow but sure. More surface area = slower rise in water level. Plus I wonder if the cold water slows down the spring a little bit. Forecast tonight here in Cincinnati is -5F actual temp. Good night to binge watch KZbin.

[@BrushCommando]

Oh my.. -5!! Stay warm!

[@armoredsaint6639]

Well, there you go….. Lake whatchamacallit!

[@BrushCommando]

haha That's great!

[@bernardsteffen2788]

In your "spare time" you might add a few more Duck boxes., This being Jan 23, we have another 60 days before the Ducks do their Spring breeding rituals. I do not see anything to attract flying visitors.

[@1932cheytruck]

that's still a lot of water mite be a bit longer, as water get higher the surface area spreads out so it takes longer to rise

[@BrushCommando]

I was surprised that it came up that much

[@1932cheytruck]

@@BrushCommando yes you defiantly have good springs and probably a good bit of run off drainage form that subdivision an also the main road ditch . Those tree roots on the duck pond may be your seepage issue but defiantly worth at least trying the additive. It will get there and apparently the geese already gave there stamp of approval lol

[@diegojines-us9pc]

is that the hybrid grass carps you have. i thought the law said you can only have them if they cant escape the pond you put them in. to keep them out of public waters. just wondering which type you had.

[@BrushCommando]

They're Certified Sterile Triploid Grass Carp, a local fish hatchery stocked 30 of them 2 years ago and they can't go anywhere besides our 2 ponds. They do an excellent job at controlling aquatic vegetation!

[@diegojines-us9pc]

@@BrushCommando seen a electric RECC install some in a small pond around their office years ago. way TOO many for the size of pond. they ended up putting hay bails around the edge of the pond to feed them. they would come our of the edge of the water at night to eat the hay that was on the bank. because if they put the hay in the water it caused a mess. just let you know you can FEED them if you have to.

[@phil10000]

Need to fertilize the grass

[@CliffordRainwater]

Ah. I was wondering how it was going.

[@kengriffith4968]

North central Ohio tonight's temperature -12degees,stay worm dream of fishing in the worm sun.

[@BrushCommando]

oh my! That is bone chilling, stay warm! It's snowing here now

[@jonh643]

Get some big old channel catfish in there!

[@BrushCommando]

Had cats stocked in the temp pond about 2 years ago, they’re are around 3-5 lbs now. I’ll take y’all on a fishing trip when it warms up.

[@jonh643]

@@BrushCommando Hear me out!! Get those catfish to surface eat with your choice of floating dry food. Dog food works well. I’ve done this for over a decade and it’s awesome. They grow huge and kids love them! My best advice would be to get a metal stake of some kind-maybe a fence post-and sink it into an area that you’d enjoy feeding them consistently. I’d say your backyard is a perfect spot as it will make easy access. So check this out… throw the food out and simultaneously hit the metal rod with a baseball bat. Slowly but surely, you’ll get them trained on the resonating sound creating a dinner bell effect. With a lake that size you could grow trophy cats (15+ lbs - 8 inch mouths) that will also become friendly! They will cruise the surface and recognize you within time. Now that I mention it-I think your best bet would be cementing a metal fence post into a 5 gallon bucket. That way it’s easy to move around and also keeps your clay liner safe. I grew up on a 10 acre farm pond and to this day this technique works incredibly well-especially when you want to rig up some lines! The larger fish tend to be more shy. By mid July you’ll have them chomping at the surface.

[@jonh643]

@@BrushCommando kzbin.info/www/bejne/d3PGopaFpretmMUsi=BZNiY-0y0YWdJukf

[@BrushCommando]

@ When I was younger we had a small pond and I had the bream trained to come when I tapped on the rocks at the waters edge. Training catfish the way you described is a great idea!

[@jonh643]

@ do it!!! You can pet their noses eventually lol

[@5thgen916]

No dam grass - blame Canada (geese)

[@j.walker3498]

Beavers can devastate a fish population and habitat gonna be fun to open the valve for your future hydro plant. knee deep in water.

[@BrushCommando]

The flow will be impressive, once its full! The beaver will be "removed" once the water is close to going over the overflow. Also, planning on building a grate to put over the outlet to prevent them attempting to plug it in the future.

[@j.walker3498]

@@BrushCommando I was thinking about you having to climb on and over it to open valve. Maybe some blocks around it to make a walkway around to gate valve. I would build some forms around it, backfill some with stones and mix some concrete.

[@jeremybell9113]

Wait till the water starts out the overflow pipe he will build a dam in front of it.

[@BrushCommando]

He'll be delt with before water starts coming out.

[@firefly2472]

I see a little shed where you walked, what is that ? Sorry not sorry 😊

[@BrushCommando]

😂

[@Assassinlexx]

You need to deal☠️ with that beaver. As your brand new pond. They be damage the over flow etc. Call in a trapper.

[@BrushCommando]

It’ll be dealt with once the water starts trickling out. I’m also going to make a grate to go over the outlet to help beaver proof it.

[@Assassinlexx]

@BrushCommando That is good ,but something in the mindset of a beaver. When it hears water trickling. It will try to stop it. So with sticks and mud it will plug the drain output. So it aways either a damaged dam or the beaver (s). The good trappers work quietly and don't make a big seen. Just in and out with no one to know like a modern ninja.

[@axcs0119]

Looking good.