Digging a pond

I want to dig a pond above where our garden is, there is a lot of ground water and some small holes I’ve dug have filled with water, I checked the water when it was droughting this year and there was still water in there. I am going to try and dig a pond with a shovel this fall...
is that all I do? Dig a hole?

if you just want a small pond, for sure, just do some digging.  think about where the dirt you dig out will go, and what shape and depth you want.  good to have gradual access somewhere so critters can get in and out easily.

Dig it and it should fill with water in the wetter part of the year.

Holding water is the tricky part. If there is a lot of clay in your soil it may hold water for a long time, without any extra effort or inputs. If you want it to hold water through the driest part of the year and you don't want to wait and see if the native soil will do the trick then you'll need either a pond liner or bentonite (a clay like powder).

I have the same question... same situation.

I have a low point on our property that is always wet on the surface - even in dry season. I've dug about 6 holes in different areas nearby (up slope) and they all fill with water that seeps in - some rather quickly.

I've also found crayfish in one of the holes!

So, I'm thinking about doing the same - digging it out in dry season.

Any good books that detail this process?

Contact your local Conservation District, they have all the information you need. There are also incentive programs for CRP.

Depends on what kind of gardener you are, but i recommend growing willow on the south side and cutting the twigs every autumn. This will shade out the pond in spring/summer. People speak of using pigs in there that use their body weight mucking about in the pit and condensing the mud so much that it condenses and holds water. Permies level 10 though, that tip,
I use the rainwater of the house to feed a small lined pond. Next to the veggiepatch. An IBC tote is filling up and the overflow goes in there. I can connect thousand liters to the overflow pipe that flows into the pond. It's never dry and i scoop water out to hose the veggies with rich warm water all summer. It has created so much bio diversity which helps contains pests like slugs and such that has made the gardening easier. Many different plants attract many species of insects attracting birds which enrich the garden with droppings as well.