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Digging Small Lakes
Oh my, I'm not even sure where to start on this one, but lets begin with some basic numbers so we know what we're talking about as far as the scope of the project.
First off, the dirt, lots of dirt. 5 acres 10 feet deep would generate about 2.2 million cubic feet, or 80,750 cubic yards of dirt.
Now moving the dirt, that 80,750 cubic yards would fill about 4,100 dump trucks.
If you step up to the other end of the scale, 20 acres would be enough dirt to fill 16,400 dump trucks.
Now, the other big problem you will have is digging the dirt. Industry standards say it will cost roughly $2.50 per yard to dig that dirt. So for a thumbnail calculation, figure about 16,150 yards per acre times $2.50 / acre to dig, the excavation costs alone would be about $40k per acre.
So excavation would be between $200k for 5 acres, to about $800k for 20 acres.
Now you have to get rid of that 4,100 to 16,400 dump trucks worth of dirt. I don't know that area much other than what Google shows me, but I certainly can't see any place nearby that would 'buy' that dirt, maybe up in the Dallas area, but that's ~80 miles and it would take a lot of cash away to truck it up there.
IMHO, the chances of someone willing to spend a million plus dollars for dirt that's 80'ish miles away are about the same as hitting the lottery.
Now the other problem you will likely have is the lining of the lake. Based on your description of the soils, it won't hold any water. If it's not clay lined it won't be a lake, just a big mud hole, a big expensive mud hole. If you have to bring in sealant (clay) add another $10k to $30k per acre to import and spread it.
Now on to the water issue itself.
You say "The creeks and rain will fill the lakes and the overflow will go into a main creek which runs in the middle of the property.". To me that says mountains of paperwork, permits and studies because you're talking about damning up a water course.
All in all, I wish you the very best of luck. I suspect you will need heaps of it.
Best of luck.
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Digging Small Lakes
A couple of points based on your latest info.;
First of all, dirt is cheap, handling it isn't. As an example, your idea regarding highways jobs, good idea, but I'd be surprised if they even took your phone call. All highways (and railways for that matter) are designed around a concept of "balanced cut & fill". That is to say, they generate the same number of yards of dirt from "cut" through hills, etc., as they need to "fill" the valleys or low spots. They also try to keep transporting dirt to a minimum because it's very costly. If the highway job is part of the Interstate system, this policy is mandatory in order to qualify for the $$$ subsidies.
Now since I've touched on costs, lets look at those numbers again for a minute. You seem to be ~75 miles from the DFW area, so it would be a 150 mile round-trip. Based on a 20 yard load, and it taking about 4 hours to do it, and that truck costing about $80/hour, it would be a $320 trip, so for 20 yards it would be $16/yard for trucking. Add to that the $2.50/yard to dig and load it, now we're at $18.50/yard. In order to sell it for the kind of prices you're looking at it's certainly screened soil, so add another $2.50/yard for that. Now we're at a cost $21/yard, and that's before we even look at you getting a penny, or any profit at all. This is also I'm sure based on "topsoil" of which this project looks to be about 15% the rest is just plain old dirt.
Best of luck.
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If this can get off the ground, then we plan to purchase the tractor rig and move up there fulltime. Allot of planning!
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Ok, I new the opportunity to stick in a bad joke would appear sooner or later in this thread, so before Jeff gets the chance......
How do you keep the tractor running under 10' of water? 
Best of luck.
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RTB, when I used the word 'profit' was referring to anyone who might 'buy' your soil, not you making a profit.
There is no reason for anyone to buy your soil except a) they need soil and yours is the cheapest, or b) they want to resell it for a profit.
IMHO, the chance of either are, in your case, slim to none.
Also, while thinking out this reply, it occurred to me I was a little off in one aspect of my calculations, the number of truck loads.
When you dig up soil you lose the compaction it is under when in it's native state, undisturbed. This adds about 30% by volume. This is what causes settling after you fill an area, or the hump left when you refill a hole.
That said, a 20 acre hole would not generate 16,400 dump trucks, it would more likely be around 21,500 truck loads.
I'm still not sure you grasp the full extent of the earthworks we are talking about here.
Best of luck.
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