Over the last couple of years I've done a LOT of bass fishing... the biggest perk of the NFL offseason in my opinion. It's not ideal for hunting and I missed out on a lot in that regard, but I bass fished my brains out. I believe I may have recently fished what could very well become the best private bass lake in the world within the next few years. I recently was given the opportunity to co-host the Bucks of Tecomate and Tecomate Whitetail Nation shows on Outdoor Channel if I was ready to be done with football. I didn't have to think long about it. My body is beat to smithereens and hosting an established hunting show has always been my dream job. I got in on 3 shows at the end of this season (which will begin airing next fall) and will be on many more next year. One of the coolest things about this gig has been getting to know Dr. Gary Schwarz, a Tecomate founder and the top maxillofacial surgeon in the country. Gary does things the same way I do.. Completely full throttle and once he sets his mind to something he won't stop until its done. Gary has set his mind to building the best bass lake in the world, and I believe he won't stop until that's done as well. Construction on La Perla Lake was completed around 7 years ago. It's 90 acres of the bassiest water you've ever seen. Gary became famous in the whitetail circles for pioneering food plots geared toward nutrition and not only attraction and he grew giant native S. TX deer with food plot nutrition. He's essentially doing the same with bass. La Perla lake has probably 25-30 acres of forage ponds above the lake that Gary has the capability to drain into the lake to supplement the bass. The growth rates were already high, but when he perfected his prawn system they shot out the roof. He brings in Indonesian freshwater prawns and grows them in the forage ponds before draining them into the lake. It's pretty incredible to catch a bass with a 10 in. blue pincher hanging out of their mouths. I'll be adding pics at the end of bass, prawns and lake construction. I was down there for a recent shocking survey in which a 14 lb giant and 7 more from 10-12 were shocked up in one day. The biologist told me there were probably already over 100 bass in La Perla lake over 10 lb. While down there for a Tecomate Whitetail Nation show featuring Aggies vs Longhorns we got footage of 2 over 12 that were caught in less than 24 hours. I caught my 2nd biggest 12-2 oz monster that will be on the show. It will be an awesome episode as the bass were just one part. The scary thing is that Gary is now working on a 2nd lake that could definitely be even better. This lake, called Jalisco, will be 60 acres with 30 more acres of forage ponds above. It's an incredible sight without being filled. I will try to keep everyone updated on the progress of these lakes. The editor for Bassmaster magazine recently came down and wrote an article featuring Gary's lake projects coming out in the next week or two and he made the comment that he thinks it will be one of the biggest story he's come across in 10 years. No boats are allowed in the La Perla lakes that have ever touched the water anywhere else because of the risk of golden algae and considering Gary's investment in these lakes I think it's smart. The Bassmaster editor told Gary that the La Perla lakes are the biggest bass projects in history as none of our reservoirs are created for the specific purpose of bass fishing. Pretty crazy stuff. I really believe there will be a couple state records swimming around in La Perla lake within 1-2 years. Whether or not they'll be caught... we'll have to wait and see.

I want to post some pics but I'm having trouble getting them to load. If someone wants to post them for me PM me an email and I'll send them over.

WOW! That is great to hear about.

Thanks for sharing the information and will be looking forward to seeing the show.

First of all, WELCOME to TFF! I'm an Aggie but have always been a big fan of yours. And I'm a Brownwood boy so I've been cheering for you and your brother for some time now. Glad you're here.

There's a long line of people that have made that claim but it sure sounds like your friend is putting a unique twist on the formula with that type of forage. Camelot Bell is the most publicized of the "giant" bass lakes but there are others you don't hear about. There's a fellow in the Texas panhandle that spends $2,500 a month on forage and has done interesting things in lake design that makes his bass "catchable" by concentrating them in just a few areas of the lake. It's actually pretty genius and supposedly they are starting to catch pigs up there. The Athens area has some freak show lakes as well and we are talking about guys with unlimited funding.

A couple of variables that definitely matter are good genetics, forage and WHERE the lake is located, similar to vines that make good wine. Texans have trouble competing with our Cali counterparts when it comes to wine production and growing 20+ pound bass. The weather, terrain and other variables seem to keep us under a certain ceiling. Where is this lake located Jordan?

What a great project to have a front row seat to. It will be interesting to hear more and see the pictures you mentioned.

Thanks for posting this,
Jackson

P.S. Feel free to email your pics you want posted to jacksonbean@gmail.com.

Thanks Jacksonbean.. I sent some pics. One thing that I think will help La Perla is the long South Texas growing seasons. It's 30 min from Falcon. Anyone who has experienced Falcon knows how hard those fish fight. I was a card-carrying "Falcaholic" for a good while. They fight the same way at La Perla. I agree, there are some unreal lakes in the Athens area. Some of which I've been able to fish. I've heard stories of Camelot Bell's glory days. The cool thing about La Perla is there are a lot of small canals, submerged shorelines, and islands that give it a ton of shoreline for the size of the lake. Also, Gary just installed a HUGE aerating system with heads all over the lake that has never been done on this scale to my knowledge. Check out the Bassmaster article when it comes out soon... I didn't do justice to explaining it. The pics will definitely help. I'll be posting some updates on twitter and will be getting my facebook page going again.

I had the pleasure of visiting the La Perla ranch a couple years ago while on a trip to Falcon. Fished the lake for a few hours and caught some nice fish. Nothing big but Gary was just getting it going really well. I was very intrigued by the Langostinos and Gary's entire hatchery system. Is he still messing with the big redfish, too?

Welcome Jordan! Pretty cool gig you have now. I've seen some of your Tecomate stuff on twitter. Get the photobucket app and load pics on it. Then it'll give you the image links to post pics directly.

Welcome. You get a good oral/maxillofacial surgeon passionately involved in a project and you know it will be done well.

Sparing no expense it seems for a very noble goal. It's bizarre that Camelot can grow the bass they do under normal oxygen tension. Adding an aeration system should help those fish flourish, even the forage base will benefit.

I just got your photos and will get them up directly. Those little lobsters are FREAKY looking. I bet that looks crazy when you see the blue tentacles poking out.

Photos on their way.....

Jackson

sounds great, will it be open to customers or remain private invite?

What an interesting story!

Hey Rob, this is the owner, Gary Schwarz, and yes it will, but on a very limited basis. I did not want to start until the lake was really ready, but my friends I listen to, like Jordan, Alton Jones, and James Hall (editor of Bassmaster) assure me that it is. We are getting our pricing and details together now and will be ready soon. I have to generate revenue not only to help with the incredible expense of doing this, but also to satisfy IRS requirements of running a legitimate business. The key to the long term success however will be properly managing the fishing pressure. I want this to become and to stay the number one bass fishing destination on the planet. To be that, and to stay interesting to anglers, I designed it not only for the fish, but for fishermen as well, with over 7 miles of shoreline and over 50 aerator heads supplied by 7.5 miles of leaded lines and two 20 horsepower compressors. In addition to that and to the forage ponds, there are 15 feeders feeding the bluegill, with more to come. The idea is not to concentrate the fish too much, but to make the whole lake fishable so as not to educate those bass too quickly. Even at that, any fishery can be educated to the point of diminishing returns, so I want to start slow. We will book up to 3 groups of from 1 to 4 people per month only, for a total of two days of fishing spread over three days each time from noon on one day until noon, two days later. In addition, I will limit myself and family to a two day session only per month as well. Thus, each month the fish will see lures for only 8 of the 30 days on average. We will then have the customers keep great data to track how it is going. What do you think?