If YOU Could IMPROVE any of the City of Denton Community Fishing Lakes what would you do?

South Lakes Hobson Pond - Trout Pound on Neighborhood Fishing Program
South Lakes Londonderry Pond - behind Metzler's and McMath Middle School
North Lakes - Bonnie Brae Pond
North Lakes - Windsor Pond
Lake Forest Pond - Ryan Road behind Good Sam
Monticeto Pond Cross Timbers Park in neighborhood north of Monticeto at Hickory Creek

My name is Jim.
Reply on the string, PM me, call my office at 940-349-7465.
I would like to improve these ponds in the next few months but I need user input to have the most effect. Also we have a 501c3 called Fishing Friends if anyone would like to donate toward that goal not trying to solicit for $ really need the info but I figured I would throw it out there to cover all my bases. If you ever thought "Well, if they'da ask me I'd told 'em ............ instead of what they ended up doing."
Well, I'm asking.

I will start this rolling.


Keep the grass cut low around the edges of the ponds.

Tall grass freaks people out.

Bank fishermen want easy access.

Windsor Pond is a perfect example.

Adding well marked brush piles reachable from the bank.

I agree with FFM. Add some brush piles to some of the ponds. Most of them have no structure at all.

Thanks tell me more.

Structure, structure, structure!!!

Restrooms since they are in city parks.

A parking lot for Lake forest.

I love our ponds. You wont catch any records from them but they produce. I can hit any of them at any time and catch fish. I'll think about this and add to it.

I wonder if there is any cost effective strategy to clear up the water at the trout pond? Perhaps if there was an intermediary pond that allowed the silt to settle out or something.

I like a mix of tall and low grass. Weeds keep the fishing good but it's nice to have a well mowed path to fish from too.

Ponds with deep water off the damns should have big brush piles in them, give the fish a place to go in the winter and hot of the summer.

I would be happy to put them in for you.

Sink them so that you can float a bobber 4' deep over them.

They have to be marked so folks who fish for cat fish won't get hung up.

Signs telling everyone how many fish they can keep.

City parks have lower limits and stiff fines for going over.

Good input and thanks but keep them coming.

On the water quaility and clarity at Hobson Pond, the Trout pond at South Lakes we are negotiating for a grant to fund a Best Management Practice Control for the inflow of the pond comming in that essentially will do what you described it is somewhat of a filter garden that will allow some of the suspended clay particles that come in during a significant rain basically it is varing types of plants and rocks that will allow the clear up of the inflow of water and the clay solids in suspension already in the pond will eventually fall out / dilllute with additional rain and move downstream to fallout in the heavily vegetated creek channel.
And yes, lots of folks do not know that ponds 75 acres or smaller within the confines of a public park located within the incorporated city limits of a municipality are categorized as Community Fishing Lakes and have specific regulations and harvest limits. TPWD Outdoor Annual 2011-2012 pg32, 37-41. Probably be worthwhile to brush up on these pages prior to leaving with more than 5 fish per angler. Might get pricey and not be the experience anyone wants to leave with. I want folks to have the best experience they can and leave (after picking up their waste) happier than they figured they would when they pulled in. Nobody is smarter than everybody so I appreciate any feedback you folks can give me.
Thanks

What about stocking of the ponds I know that south park gets trout in the winter and catfish but what about the other ponds any bass or crappie stocked?

Community Fishing lake regs << Click
The link in the TPW outdoor annual takes you to Lake Lewisville

For white and black crappie, their hybrids and subspecies, minimum length limit = 10 inches. Daily bag limit = 25 in any combination.

I don't think that's true in Denton.

I looked at the city web site and they link you to this for size and bag limits. I also thought it was different.

http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us/regulations/fish_hunt/

Also found this.

http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us/fishboat/fish/action/fishregs2.php?water=cfl0

If you take 25 crappie a day out of a small pond you will wipe out the population in one season.

Certainly all the bigger ones.

Hey, I am not an enforcement guy I am an operations guy. If one of our links is inconclusive I will work on getting that fixed also link or no link grab a paper copy of the reference and check out those pages and as stated I will be the first to admit of not being right all the time and I don't know if a misdirected link is a good defense of prosecution if you pick up a ticket.
Back to what I want to focus on is improving the quality of the 56 acres of lakes we have. We participate in the TPWD Neighborhood Fishing Program and get stockings based on TPWD's recommendations every 2 weeks at Hobson Pond. Monticeto Pond had a population of inferior bullnose catfish and we stocked it with channel catfish and hybrid coppernose bluegill about 3 years ago. The rest are moderately balanced for recreational fishing but my goal is improving them to the point kids put the xbox controller down grab a Zebco and some jigs and fish.
I don't see enough of the next generation fishing and it concerns me. There is no real way to reach my customer base except through groups like this. I want to get angler input but can't get the word out to even set up a public meeting to sit and discuss business. So, I'm asking for your ideas, criticism, comments, attaboys, why the heck do you guys at the city do ...... input, and basically ideas on making your lakes better for all of you.

Also, feeders what do you folks think about them?
Gaudy waste of money?
Important resource for forage fish?
Place for folks with nets to pull fish out of the pond once the fish get trained to eat by the feeder?
Or a good deal that improves overall fish quality?

Structure elements like submerged trees crappie condos 10 inch pipe sealed on one end for catfish habitat or any other structure?

Vegetation pros and cons - how much is too much? Species to use / avoid.

Forage fish talipia / shad?

I can't say I know much on pond maintenance and fish feeding. Those question might be better asked in this section of the forum.
http://texasfishingforum.com/forums/ubbthreads.php/forums/20/1/Ponds_Tanks_Private_Waters

Some things I thought of to improve them-

More fishing pears. We only have two and the one at Hobson is really only a deck on the bank. Little kids do better from a wood deck than sitting on the bank. More extending out over water would be good and it provides structure.

Our ponds aren't the best for bank fishing. North Lake South is too shallow too far out and gets overgrown. Forest park is limited and I never know if I'm tresspassing on Good Sam or not. Those two are better from a small boat or kayak. North lakes and South lakes as far as I can tell are nothing but shallow bowls. Nothing to cast at for fish. No or very limited structure, Drop offs, and channels. No place for them to hide and grow big.

You think we got side tracked on the stocking and bag limits but to improve the fishing it is needed. Most fish are undersize due to over fishing and no habitat for growth and reprodutction. Pretty much the only good pond for catching something to eat is Hobson for catfish or trout. Thats because they are stocked every two weeks. Crappie I dont believe have a chance of getting big enough to eat. The ones that do are taken pretty quick. I think structure and a stocking program will improve them greatly.

Seems the ponds in Denton had been made for a function and not fishing. North lakes for soil conservation. South lakes and Monticelo for flood control or to look good in a park. Lake Forest most likely was the Ryans damming up a creek to feed cattle. Not sure any had been made with fishing mind. Or they were not desinged by somebody with fish knowledge.

All good points.
Thanks!

You are correct all of the ponds we currently have are flood control retention ponds made to accept drainage in instances where we have significant rainfall and release it at a controlled rate. Channels are present in both North Lakes Park structures though not how I would have wished that they be designed, kinda narrow but you are right they were not designed as recreational lakes as a prime component of their use but they sure are handy when we get rains in excess of 5 inches per hour and they get BIG fast.
Docks - great idea love to get some more of you folks together for a public meeting to sit and discuss how to make the best of what I have and get your point of view as we move forward. Docks mean alot of different things to different people and I agree the one at Hobson Pond is a little smaller than dinky even for a small pond like that and it needs needs about 20% of the decking re-skinned. I am not all that thrilled about the one at North Lakes either. There are no real best management practices for public opinion and I am a guy with 125,000 bosses that wants to do a good job and have some lakes we can be proud of. Even if 80% of folks like what we do there are still 25,000 people that may take exception to it, so a fella has to ask around and do a little research and finding random fishermen to give you the straight scoop is a little hard cause when I approach folks they react like I am going to give them a citation which I do not have nor want to have the authority to do. With the right input and some decision making and a 50 foot long stick trackhoe a fellow could still pull these items off and make these improvements.

Keep the ideas coming folks and I apologize if I tend to use the word guys too frequently. Don't mean too don't mean anything by it my wife can outfish most men I know, self included.

I like the idea of getting kids hooked on fishing.

Kids like action and they like docks out on the water. Even if its not far out. Lay out a dock with some nice brush around it, or better yet PVC type fish attractors (less snags) and let the kids do work on some sunfish.

This would also help to serve the handicapped and older folks (like fish fear me) Could be federal grant money for that type of project under the ADA act? Just an idea...

I think what you are doing is good, get these guys in Denton into it, and they might do alot of the labor themselves and even supply the goods...

grassroots stuff is the best. Your getting some steam.

Hey, Thanks!

Would anyone be against stocking the ponds with koi?