Your situation sounds very similar to mine. I have a pond that is a great roost pond; lots of flooded timber. The ducks pour into it every day. Well, we all know the law on hunting a roost these days, so the huge inventory of ducks was very difficult to hunt. I knew I needed a feed pond. I considered making one in the back portion of the pond I had, but then came up with a better idea. I simply had a new pond built further up the small stream that was flowing into my roost pond. I cut timber in 5 acres around this little stream and had a pond built there by a guy that knew exactly what I wanted. We kept it shallow. I now am able to plant whatever I like in this new feed pond. I flood the pond around the first of November and drain it at the end of February.
During the pond's first two years I planted some corn and milo in it. I then baited the stew out of it but never hunted it. Soon the ducks found it. I ever used a recording of wooducks that I made to lure them over. The ducks soon started feeding heavily in the pond and we dumped 3 or 4 five-gallon buckets of milo in the pond each day. The ducks absolutely loved it and I had about 700-1,000 ducks feeding there twice each day by February of that year. The plan was to get the ducks in there, let them like the place, and then let them migrate back north, hoping they'd bring their friends back the next year. I've since figured out that corn works best as milo and is gone by December. The whole plan was coming together!
Now the ducks roost in my old pond and pour into the new pond for morning and afternoon feedings. By only hunting the feed pond, the ducks are not disturbed by the hunting. We hunt the pond with 5-8 hunters every 7-10 days. By having both the roost and feed ponds on my farm, I am able to monitor and control the pressure that is on the ducks. I don't have to worry that my neighbor is blasting away and causing them to be overhunted. It's fun!
Here are a couple of pics of my farm. The first is a pic that was taken last summer when the corn was growing. Below that is a pic taken this past Sunday, followed by a pic looking back into my roost pond. Then you'll see us enjoying the fruits of our labors!