How would I go about getting permission to fish there? I have no idea who owns the pond, but if anybody around wylie wants to know maybe I can tell them in case they know who might owns that place.

I know somebody who fishes there regularly and they have caught 30+ LMB in 2 hours. I just don't want to take the chance myself.

If it is worth the trouble to you you can find out who owns the pond from the County Clerk. Here is the link to the web page. Once you know who owns it you can write or go by and ask permission.

Thank you! That is very helpful. I think I will pursue it, wish me luck! From my research on these forums and what some guys told me, they mostly have big heads and small bodies, so hopefully I can help fix that situation.

What would be some good gestures/suggestions to help convince the owner? I am a honest guy that just enjoys bass fishing and would not abuse the privilege.

It sounds like some culling is in order for that pond, so offer to bring some to the landowner and even offer to fillet them out for him.

Is it a matter of culling the large fishies or the small ones?

That sounds like a great offering. If they have a beer in their hand when I knock on the door, I know what I will be bringing!!

Small ones

As a pond owner, I'd like to say thank you for your approach to this. Finding out the owner and requesting permission is the right way to go. I hope you are rewarded with that permission and have some great fishing times there.

Thanks guys! I will give it a try hopefully by the weekend. If I am lucky I will post some pictures and some feedback.

Hope it works out but don't get disappointed if the land owner doesn't give you access. We have a family farm and once we gave access to some friends. They wouldn't let us know when they were going out and would bring along other friends. And then one time they locked me in the farm when they were leaving (have a combination lock and key lock and they used the key, I used the combination, didn't have a key, and they locked the lock to the chain and not the combination lock).

So make sure you let the land owner know that you will be the only one going and that you will confirm with him before you go out.

i have a buddy that lets me fish his pond and i always let him know days ahead of time when i will be there, if i am bringing anyone with me, when i leave and give him a fishing report on my way home. i always ask if he needs me to check on anything or do any work that he's been meaning to do and maybe hasn't gotten around to but i take a mower and weed eater with me anyway and clean up the areas around his boats and doc and pick up any trash that may have blown onto the land that i see. if you are lucky enough to get access always try and leave the place just a little bit better than when you got there is a rule i follow. that has helped get access to some pretty sweet places all the way back to my college days.

Sounds like some great advice guys! I really appreciate it.

A buddy of mine knew somebody that had permission to fish there but he got that right taken away because other people (not him) would party and trash up the place. Its worth a try and if it does not work out, well in the future when I get my own place I will build a pond for myself and kids to fish at.

Thanks!

well spoke to the owner but he said no. said to many people trash it. i think I might shoot him a letter and ask him if he has reconsidered it and will offer him some help.

It is becoming harder and harder to find private ponds and lakes where the landowners are willing to allow you to fish for free or for a modest fee/trade. IMO, fishing is where hunting was 20 years ago. About 25 years ago it was possible to find a landowner that would allow you to hunt for free or a modest fee. That all changed as landowners realized they have an assett that many would pay for. Moreover, we are a sue happy society where landowners must be careful with what happens on their property. Landowners with good or great fishing lakes are able to profit from their asset. Sorry it did not work out this time. There are some landowners that still allow people, even strangers to access their property for free, but the numbers are in the decline.

I had somebody tell me that the public still thinks that watermelons, pecans and fish are free. As you know this is not true, but that mentality still exists. Landowners have bought an asset; most people want a return on their asset if their is a possibility to receive a return. Owning a private lake or pond provides that opportunity. The days of finding a landowner who just lets you fish for nothhing are not as easy as it use to be. Just read the posts of this forum, much of the FREE fishing is fishing HOA lakes; hoping not to get caught or run off, fishing community lakes or fishing a peice of land where the landowner is absentee.

Sad to hear but that is the truth. People these days don't give a darn about other people's property. Driving from the lake the other day and see this crew picking up litter. There are several full bags of trash every 100 yards. Don't understand why people just can't pick up after themselves. My parents live on a FM road in the middle of nowhere and can't count the number of 55 gallon drums they have filled up with cans they have picked up on a 1 mile stretch.