Stocked some Camelot Bells this past weekend !!!

Stocked 1000 Camelot Bells in our 15 acre lake. This lake will be stocked exclusively for bass. This spring will be three years since , red ears, copper nose bluegills, and fathead minnows were stocked. I added approx 2000 threadfin shad this spring and 150 gizzard shad. The lake has a maximum depth of 40ft and several big under water rock piles and to creeks feed it. Lots of standing timber. Going to sink some PVC trees . Really excited about what we can turn this into!!

Keep plenty of bait in there and those fish will be 6 pounds in less than 3 years.

Yes sir. I will continue to add shad!!! And will keep an eye out for the Bluegill!! We have a very good base since the bluegill, red ears, and fatheads had three years of spawning!!

Your going to love the results. I fished Camelot this spring. Those fish are mean.

I'm jelly...we were gonna put 20-30 Camelot bell bass in a 1 acre that we were primarily stocking hybrid stripers, but while messing around the pond with my kiddo we caught a couple fingerling bass in a cast net (bass were never intended to be stocked).

I have heard that they have broad shoulders and fight like hell!!! I can't wait until they get in the DD range!!!

What is the acreage of your pond?

15 acres with Max depth of 40ft. Lots of standing timber flooded brush and several big rocks and boulders.

Well Ive been looking for a fishing lease, so let me know where to sign up!

Stocked 100 about 4 years ago after the drought drained our 7 acre pond. Fished it for the first time again this past May (over the past 4 years we also stocked 2-6lbers from HCO lake). Caught about 20 all about 1lb. Sure there are some bigger ones in there tho. Hope yours grow faster than mine!

txhunt, I fish Camelot Bell pretty often. You would not believe how many tons of bass we remove from that 40 acre lake each year. You've got to manage the predator population (LMB) and forage or you'll end up with a bunch of those one-pound bank runners. It's been four years. Assuming they've spawned several times. Get the dinks out of there!

Fouz we are planning on culling anything under 16" starting year three. We may need to Bump that up to 18"

Good plan, Brandon.

Thanks Fouz!!! Really looking forward to seeing how this evolves. In about six months will start trying to catch a few (barbless hooks), take measurements, weigh, tag and release. Would like to get 100 tagged this first year.

Need any help catching, holler.....good luck on building a trophy bass fishery!

Brandon,

Sounds like you did things right. One suggestion would have been to wait to stock Gizzard shad. Gizzard shad are not appropriate for new lakes. In fact, they can cause lots of problems as their numbers can easily spiral out of control if not for a large amount of larger bass (5 lbs and up). Your bass are 2 years away from 5 lbs. In the meantime, there are no predators to predate on the gizzard shad. Left to make lots of babies gizzard shad can cause a situation called Gizzard shad lock up. The lake simply becomes overrun with gizzard shad. You can Google Gizzard Shad problems or issues and find lots of information. Here is one such article.

http://www.paysonroundup.com/news/2013/jun/14/invading-gizzard-shad-blamed-plight-roosevelt-lake/

Gizzard shad can be a wonderful fish to stock. In fact I sell and recommend them for many lakes. One thing the lake must have is a nice population of bigger bass. You may have zero problems and it may turn out to be great for your lake. But, IMO the risks are too great for a new lake. Not much you can do now. But, wanted you to be aware of the possibility of Gizzard shad lock up. I would not loose sleep over it, but just be aware.

Yes Steve I stocked the gizzard shad after I read up on them. Hoping that since we just stocked 150 they wont cause much of a problem. I won't stock anymore that's for sure.

Good move overall! You are going to have a lot of fun with that.
I may be looking into buying a place and building a lake myself.
Those Bell bass will get huge if managed correctly. Sounds like you are off to a good start!

Do you have any pics of the lake? Just so I can be more jealous.

Here is kind of the full pool lines.

Camelots in their new home.

That's awesome! Beautiful lake.

Thanks the water is about 2-3 ft higher now than when I took those pictures. Lot of flooded timer and brush on the north end. Several big boulders and rock piles down by the dam. Built some PVC trees this weekend to sink in the deep water. PLan to build and sink about 30 of these things

Looks awesome! Good build on the trees too.
If I had a lake like that all to my own.. I think my wife might divorce me lol

Where can I get some of these Camelot Bells?

Call Todd Overton at Overton Fisheries. You have to call in the fall to get on the list. They go fast.

I'd call the owner of Camelot Bell directly. His name is Mike Frazier and his phone number is 254-747-1034. He has fry growing out in his hatchery pond right now. If you don't buy them directly from Mike, you cannot be certain they are Camelot Bell offspring. This year's fry came from a 14.50 female and a 7 pound male.

Fouzman, I don't agree about the uncertainty. I know Todd but he's too far away for me to shop with him and I haven't stocked the CB's. Todd originally bought from Frazier and has been breeding them. He has no reason to cross breed them.

I do not know Mike Frazier.

It is my understanding that the CB's are actually Floridas with a distinctive spot. They are also jumpers who are more inclined to bite than other pure strain Floridas.

So while I'm wondering about these Camelot Bells everyone is talking about, I'm flipping through Pond Boss and what do I see? An ad from Camelot Bell Lake itself saying that he has Super Lunker fingerlings available. Then I see an ad from this Overton guy saying he is the only place to get Camelot Bell bass. Hmm...

Well, this will be interesting to watch...very interesting.

Kickin Bass, I think you have it backwards. The latest PB mag doesn't have an Overton ad. The previous one did.

Sounds like a pizzin match between vendors.

I stocked 8, 6 month old CB LMB October 23, 2012 - out of a 13.5 female and IIRC a 7 lb male. They were fin clipped and I caught my first fin clipped CB at 2 lbs, 8 months old:


Overton stocked this 3 year old 8 lb pre-spawn CB LMB April 20th this year.


I know we are limited raising trophy size bass in a 2 acre pond but we have removed over 100 lbs or pure Florida bass and cross breeding will result in some fantastic offspring.
CB LMB is an exciting program.

George Glazener

I can't really comment beyond this...Camelot Bell bass come from Camelot Bell Ranch. Todd helped with spawning and marketing for a few years. Not sure if that arrangement is still in place, or not.

I think they are in direct competition now. It would be interesting to have both of them weigh in here. And, like you, I don't have a dog in this fight.

BTW, it doesn't matter a whole lot at this time of year. Water is too hot for me to stock anything.

Mike Frazier provided me with my first set of brood stock from his lake in 2012. We did a simple trade: I landed 50 quality brood stock from Camelot Bell, and he landed 500lbs of pure mozambique tilapia from me. I wanted him to see what difference stocking pure moz tilapia would make in his lake, and he wanted to see these CB genes spread all over the country. We were both fully aware that I was going full steam ahead with the Camelot Bell fingerling breeding program. This would promote his guided fishing and sales of Camelot Bell adults for free, and it would be a great move for us as well. So I got rid of every existing bass brood fish on my farm, and replaced them with Camelot Bell bass.

After this trade, Mike was trying to decide what he might do with his 1acre brood pond, and I suggested we start a lunker program with giant fish from his lake. We we partnered up on this deal. He provided the fish and the pond, and I provided guidance, pond management implementation, harvesting, and sales. Together we had successful programs in 2012 and 2014. In 2013 we experienced a late spawn, late fingerlings, and a fish kill in August (which revealed the late spawn). We were unaware of the existence of fingerlings in 2013 until the oxygen depletion and fish kill.

We at Overton Fisheries took jumper fingerlings from 2012 and 2014 and grew these out on the farm for future brood stock. Overton Fisheries has over 100 quality brood stock from Camelot Bell to use as brood fish. We don't have adult bass on the farm from any other source. We have the pond/hatchery resources, experience, and equipment to produce enough Camelot Bell fingerlings to stock the entire state of Texas. We are invested. I couldn't even talk Mike Frazier into an aerator for the brood pond (note: fish kill 2013). So believe me when I say that I believe we may really and truly be the only (if not the best) supplier of Camelot Bell Bass fingerlings.

We promoted Camelot Bell for 3 years with Mike Frazier's blessings. We have invested blood, sweat, and tears (plus big $) to acquire quality brood stock. So Mike changes his mind in the middle of the game. What am I supposed to do? What am I supposed to call these quality brood stock and fingerlings? What about all the other lake and pond owners who have purchased Camelot Bell bass? For all of us who now have Camelot Bell Bass, what are we supposed to call these fish after they leave Camelot Bell Ranch?

I want to thank Mike Frazier for providing me with all of these great brood stock. We have been proud to promote Camelot Bell Ranch for many years, and we still do today. We never intended to be a competitor, so if we are forced into that position then by all means we can and will compete.

Works for me Todd. Again thanks for all the help and look forward to getting more fish from you in the future.

This is entertaining! I came here to find some resources, not drama. I pointed out the parallels in the advertising to get members knowledge on the subject. The fact that Overton feels the need to defend himself, talk down about his supplier, and continue to say he may be the only supplier of these fish regardless of the fact that Camelot Bell itself advertises its fish for sale tells me everything I need to know about his character!

Caveat emptor, Kickin_Bass_2015, caveat emptor!!

I believe That Todd Overton's reputation speaks for himself.
Former President Bush trusts him to stock his ponds...
George Glazener


[/quote]

LOL...now this is really getting funny.

There is another fish provider in Texas, at least one, that provides fish to President Bush...but does not feel it necessary to go around trumpeting that fact and trying to take advantage of his business. His reputation does indeed speak for itself.

It should be obvious that I am not "trumpeting," ML. If you need some drama, tune in to political debate.

It should be obvious that I do not and can not control what is posted here by other members. The subtle and shady questioning of my character had been noted, and may in fact reveal more about your character than mine. And the thread is now hijacked, thank you.

Sorry BrandoA. But at least we have some background info posted here for clarification, which is what I thought Dave Davidson was looking for.

Meadowlark, you are speaking about Bob Waldrop of Tyler Fish Farms, a highly respected fisheries biologist in our area.
I was a customer and friend of Mr.Woldrop back in the early days and purchased some of the very best pure Florida Coppernose Blue Gill as well as pure Florida LMB .
As you know, he had personally caught and transported these fish from Florida. He also had picture of President and Mrs. Bush in his office, but no internet fishing forums to publish photos back in those days.
I also highly respect you for your pioneering stocking of tilapia in Texas farm ponds.

I do think character attacts, if warranted, should be under real names and not alias, even though I do know your real name.
I am disappointed “Kickin_Bass_2015” does not use his “real” name so his credentials would be made public.

Thanks for your reply,
George Glazener

I'll never forget the personal attack you guys launched on me for using my ranch name "Meadowlark Ranch" instead of my given name Larry Hartley. You literally stalked me and tried your best to discredit me....and continue to do so to this day.

The same thing will happen to Kickin_Bass_2015. The strong-armed tactics will come out in full force and some time when he least expects it....he will get a broadside from you guys. History repeats itself....and old habits never die. Speaks for itself.

Oh man! I ain't seen so much activity since the hogs ate my little brother....

I kinda wonder which came first, Camelot Bell bass or some other kind? Now I got no idea but almost would bet dollars to donuts them bass 'riginaly came from my old buddy (rest his soul) Harrell Arms. He likely got 'em shipped in from Florida, but he did used to buy bass and other fish from me back in the day.

Now there my be some big story behind where them bass originated, if so I'd like to hear it.

Now I don't know this Mike Frazier fella but he sounds OK, I do know Todd an' Bob Waldrop an' both Presi-det Bush' has been fishin' in more'n one of my holes too. I'd not hesitate a second to buy fish from Todd or Bob, an' I done voted for both them Bush' so them folks is all fine with me.

Now I' din't know I was s'posed to use my real name as a handle.....I been goin' by "Fishbreeder" since Gore invented in the internet, I think I may have my name in my profile, but I got no problem with folks usin' a descriptive handle (or the name of their ranch) as long as they's straightforward and not sneaky or something. Oh, BTW, my name's Brett Rowley. You kin ast them folks (Todd an' Bob an' George's) 'bout me. If you know some old pro bass fishermen, you might try them, but them young'uns don't know me.

I'd sure hate to see some nice feller run off from here on accounta what he chose for a handle, long as it ain't inappropriate.

Oh an' 'nuther thing, I done sent some of MY customers off after them Camelot Bell fangerlins from Overton's, jus' because. So there.

So now if you want you can get Camelot Bell, Tiger, Gorilla, Florida, Hybrid, Northern, Cross bred, black, white, striped, green, largemouth, bass.

None of 'em grows well without good habitat, good water, with a plentiful and diverse food supply.

You forgot "Tigre" bass...another marketing ploy that preceded the Camelot Bell one.


Signed:

Larry Hartley, previously known as Meadowlark for short for "Meadowlark Ranch" which preceded this Forum, the internet, this century, much of the previous century, and came into being as a celebration of the first human to ever walk on the Moon.

Brett,

Love your posts. They keep getting more and more country. Its nice to have a little levity when it gets tense on the TFF.

Well this went down hill!! Thanks Todd for all your advice and delivering some awesome Bass. Can't wait to see what happens in a few years!!

BTW, I have no dog in this fight. I find that I get along best by avoiding both dogs and fights.

I've known a lot of you guys for a long time on a personal and/or professional basis.

Peace Brothers.

I've seen this same sequence play out on other forums by fan boys, shills, and rabble rousers in general. Contrary to the insinuations and accusations, you can't avoid the quality of the 'products' sold and the customer service.

I found maintaining a sense of humor trumps maintaining a sense of decorum....every time.

Brett