Bad News

[the reel ess]

I have been fortunate enough to get a gate key giving me access to a private 30+/- acre lake. All my big fish pics, including my PB have come from there. I've been into the gym lately and had not fished in over a month so I went Saturday midday. On the way out there were people cleaning up the property and I could see some of the owners' stuff was gone from the yard. I asked if they were going to sell and the answer was yes. They're getting up there and 41 acres is apparently too much work for them. I understand. But I'm going to lose access to it when they sell. I've caught 21 fish over 3 lbs. there since Jan 2021. It's an amazing fishery. No doubt one of the very best I've been to. It also has crappie and good bream. This is very sad news. But I'm going to try to go once a week until it's sold. I know some would say I should buy it. It's well out of my range. Oh, and I caught a 6-3 there Saturday on a frog in lilies.

 

A few of my greatest hits from this place:

 

[gim]

Maybe you could get permission from the new owners?  Worth a shot at least.

[Bird]

Sad news indeed but the memories will live on.

My cousin has a 15 acre pond that I'm the only one that fishes it.

Helped him stock it several years ago.

A family of Otters took up residence in the pond......you can't buy a fish, cleaned it out.

 

[Will Ketchum]

Sadly that's nothing new. I lost count of the places off limits anymore.

[Fishlegs]

Hopefully you can get permission from the new owners since you have some history there. Maybe try to offer some help to them when they move in. Good luck! ?

[Susky River Rat]

Take a case of beer and offer help.

[WRB]

Good news you enjoyed it while it lasted. 

Tom

[N Florida Mike]

1 hour ago, Bird said:

Sad news indeed but the memories will live on.

My cousin has a 15 acre pond that I'm the only one that fishes it.

Helped him stock it several years ago.

A family of Otters took up residence in the pond......you can't buy a fish, cleaned it out.

 

Otters ?

[MGF]

Don't feel too bad. I only have permission to fish one private spot. It's almost impossible to climb down into without climbing gear and the fish are all dinks.

 

Had a spot for a short time many years ago that was fantastic. I could catch big bass in large numbers. The problem is that the owner let everybody in. He left the gate to the access road open and there was even a little parking area that he left open (no crops).

 

So then one day somebody shot up a bunch of glass bottles and went 4-wheeling through his corn...that's when the chain and no "Do not Enter" signs went up. Can't even find a place to hunt these days.

[The Baron]

That’s a downer, for sure. Enjoy it while you still can, then approach the new owners and see if you can keep the same arrangement.  Use the previous owner as a reference and offer some help with maintenance, perhaps.

 

If you have access to a young child… maybe a girl of 4-5 years of age, bring her with you when you ask the new owners.  Tell her if the new owner says no, she’s to cry inconsolably until that changes. Payment for the acting will be in ice cream.???

[slonezp]

2 hours ago, Darnold335 said:

Take a case of beer and offer help.

A stack of hundreds would go further

[LrgmouthShad]

Here to confess that my PB is also from a private lake. But the average size bass there was like 12” and the second biggest I caught from there prior to PB was 2.5lbs. Weird. 

 

You would always hear about DD or near-DD fish living there though. Just stories. 

[GRiver]

It might not be over……

[WRB]

Probably be turned into a private home community, buy property or get to know an owner.

WhenI 1st moved to:where I live now I owned a parcel at Lake Sherwood and got nervous and sold it.....big mistake!

I don't recall how I met the gate keeper at Bard water supply reservoir after moving to Simi. Bill didn’t know how to fish and told him that I would teach him and demonstrate how to fish a plastic worm. Bill was exited and we had about a 5 year friendship until he retired and moved to Oregon. Bard has a population of big hunger stupid bass, it was off the charts while it lasted. Nothing lasts forever so enjoy it while you can.

Tom

[txchaser]

4 hours ago, the reel ess said:

I should buy it.

See if they will lease fishing rights to you for a year, in exchange for reporting biology stuff (fish weights, presence of forage and predators, water condition and temp, vegetation type and health), ensuring the lake shoreline is cleaned of trash, culling as needed. Gives you a running head start with the new owners. And they can position it like "yeah theres a guy that takes care of the lake and all we have to do is let him fish it" .... 

It's a long shot, but high payoff. 

 

[Catt]

Memories is what this sport is about 

[the reel ess]

On 7/24/2023 at 7:59 PM, LrgmouthShad said:

Here to confess that my PB is also from a private lake. But the average size bass there was like 12” and the second biggest I caught from there prior to PB was 2.5lbs. Weird. 

 

You would always hear about DD or near-DD fish living there though. Just stories. 

The average where I fish is a pound. But then there's always that class of exceptions that has the potential to get bigger. Most places either don't have the upper class bass or has it in smaller numbers. This place has shiners, minnows, bream, crappie. Plenty for big bass to eat. It has turned me into a mostly shallow water specialist.

On 7/24/2023 at 9:41 PM, txchaser said:

See if they will lease fishing rights to you for a year, in exchange for reporting biology stuff (fish weights, presence of forage and predators, water condition and temp, vegetation type and health), ensuring the lake shoreline is cleaned of trash, culling as needed. Gives you a running head start with the new owners. And they can position it like "yeah theres a guy that takes care of the lake and all we have to do is let him fish it" .... 

It's a long shot, but high payoff. 

 

The issue with this place is it's owned by all the people who owned property when the Army Corps of Engineers flooded it. So that's like 10 different families. And there's a guy on the other side who appears to be developing an AirB&B business or something. I'm afraid the place was already going to the dogs. I've even seen a couple guys running their gas motor in it. It's all electric, but who's gonna stop them? But, yeah, I'll be fishing there until the property is under contract. The current owner told me that's fine and made sure I had a good key. I think they'll probably float the idea to the next owners that they only let like 2 people go in and we're very conscientious, even looking out for their welfare. I just know if it was mine and right behind my house, I'd think twice before letting anyone in.

[Mobasser]

A similar thing happened to me with a nice pond I had access to years ago. The property was sold, and the new owner didn't want anyone fishing there. It was a good pond. That was ten yrs ago, and just two years ago I gained access to another pond. It never produced very well, and I haven't fished it yet this summer.                             Good that you got to enjoy this lake while you did. It looks like a great fishing lake.

[Captain Phil]

15 hours ago, Will Ketchum said:

Sadly that's nothing new. I lost count of the places off limits anymore.

 

I've lost count of the small lakes that we used to fish that are now private property.   People are clamoring for water front property.  It's a dream for many people to retire on a lake.  Developers see this demand and respond.  Lakefront property values in Florida have gone to the moon and beyond.  We even have developments where lakes were artificially dug and stocked with fish. Thankfully, the county where we live has kept and improved many small lake boat ramps.   Some of our best bass fishing comes from those lakes.

[the reel ess]

On 7/25/2023 at 8:53 AM, Captain Phil said:

 

I've lost count of the small lakes that we used to fish that are now private property.   People are clamoring for water front property.  It's a dream for many people to retire on a lake.  Developers see this demand and respond.  Lakefront property values in Florida have gone to the moon and beyond.  We even have developments where lakes were artificially dug and stocked with fish. Thankfully, the county where we live has kept and improved many small lake boat ramps.   Some of our best bass fishing comes from those lakes.

I grew up on Lake Wateree, SC. We had the property since before I was born. We used a pop-up camper, then had a trailer and later a house on it. It was my dad's dream to retire there. My mom got sick and died and he didn't even want to go there. So I maintained it and used it some until he died. I had to sell it after that. But honestly, the lake is now overcrowded and almost intolerable around holidays. It gets more polluted each year and there are permanent consumption warnings. Not to mention, the county dramatically raises taxes every few years. I never caught a bass over 5 lbs. in the 40+ years I fished there. I was ecstatic when I found this private place and had carte blanche to go as I pleased in daylight hours. 

[Tackleholic]

Over the course of 50 years I lost my priviliged access to two small rivers which were a Smallmouth paradise.  Each time the Boy Scouts bought the property and closed it off.  I was able to retain my privilege on the second by helping the Boy Scouts in financial manners.  Eventually, they began Land Leasing the property to deer and turkey hunters for additional income, and the hunters did not want me around.  Paradise Lost, again.

[Blue Raider Bob]

16 hours ago, Bird said:

Sad news indeed but the memories will live on.

My cousin has a 15 acre pond that I'm the only one that fishes it.

Helped him stock it several years ago.

A family of Otters took up residence in the pond......you can't buy a fish, cleaned it out.

 

What, these?

[txchaser]

14 hours ago, the reel ess said:

The average where I fish is a pound. But then there's always that class of exceptions that has the potential to get bigger. Most places either don't have the upper class bass or has it in smaller numbers. This place has shiners, minnows, bream, crappie. Plenty for big bass to eat. It has turned me into a mostly shallow water specialist.

The issue with this place is it's owned by all the people who owned property when the Army Corps of Engineers flooded it. So that's like 210 different families. And there's a guy on the other side who appears to be developing an AirB&B business or something. I'm afraid the place was already going to the dogs. I've even seen a couple guys running their gas motor in it. It's all electric, but who's gonna stop them? But, yeah, I'll be fishing there until the property is under contract. The current owner told me that's fine and made sure I had a good key. I think they'll probably float the idea to the next owners that they only let like 2 people go in and we're very conscientious, even looking out for their welfare. I just know if it was mine and right behind my house, I'd think twice before letting anyone in.

Ah. I hope it works out for you. 

[the reel ess]

10 hours ago, txchaser said:

Ah. I hope it works out for you. 

I meant 10 families. Fat finger error. And I'm an estimator. LOL

[Bankbeater]

Sorry to hear.  I've lost two good lakes over the years because the property was sold.  I drive by one of them every day.