How would you fish a gravel pit?

I know the lake,river and creek fishing but gravel pits i never really fished for crappie. I have the chance to fish this pit that is private in return for some cleaned crappie for the owner. A bass club had this pit for years but they no longer fish there. Only two people are allowed to fish this pit and has been this way for probably 30 years. It goes aways with channels and such and some areas wider like a pond then another channel to a bigger spot again. You cant bank fish it cause of all the trees so i would either take my kayak or possibly a small john boat or such. Its deep right at the bank all around that i can see.
So my question since it has very lil fishing pressure but for bass all these years, would you just look for deep water this time of the year or look for brush and such on the bottom. I have a graph on my kayak so seeing whats under me isnt a problem but all the paddling is something else since i cant really see how big this place actually is. Would you start in the channels, look in the wider areas or just paddle and watch the graph? Im thinking just paddling till i see something but would like input from anyone that has fished pits in the past for crappie since most pits are pretty deep and with clearer water then most lakes in this pit im sure the crappie would react differently then in a creek or river or muddy or stained lake.
Any ideas?
Thanks for any input
Mark

First of all, you are very lucky for the chance to fish it, sounds like a great body of water for sure. I have fished lots of gravel pits. One thing they usually have in common because of the manner in which they are dug are underwater hills and ledges. Right now I would fish the ledges first then check out the drop offs. Those underwater hills should form some pockets in-between, maybe some huge Crappie holding in them. But, definitely watch your graph. Be ready for a BIG Bass to hit that Crappie jig.

be careful around the edge of those pits.. i've heard some no so happy endings with those steep, inclined banks and heavy rocks.

where ill be launching in is nice, and right at the waters edge and after im in the yak, i wont have to worry about the edge of the bank. Redtoplady ive been trying for years to get into this pit and now cause of in laws knowing the owner and other reasons im finally going to get the chance to fish it. The bass fisherman loved it since they could go out there and catch 40-80 bass a day with most in the 3-7lb range and get a few kickers above that. It also has some huge catfish and buffalo in it as well. This pit is a lot different then all ive seen since their is trees all around it for the most part, that you can even walk thru since they are so thick, which tells me its been a long time since this was dug out, some of these trees over 30-40ft tall now. Ill check those drop offs and see if there is any humps in it as well.
Mark

If your talking about the one off of Malloy Bridge road, there should be some hogs in there. A friend of mines dad used to lease that for fishing and it was awesome. Havent fished it in 15 years. Most of those places either had to fill the holes or make a fishery out of them and stock them with Florida bass. It was cheaper to stock them. Good luck and dont get lost!

Nope not the one. Unless you know where your going you wouldnt find this one lol. The one i have acess to is off of beltline and 175 and not the alligator preserve one lol.
Ive heard there is a lot of big fish in it. A few years ago they had a fish kill in it when is got low, but there is 30ft water in it so a lot of the fish survived. My father in law helped clean it up with the dead fish in one area and was pulling out 40-50lb buffs.3lb plus crappie and some 10lb plus bass he said. plus of course smaller ones as well. I hoping to get out there next week when i get the go ahead to fish it. Just have to find the crappie first to satisfy the owner first then start looking for other species after that.
Mark

mark, you'll have to keep us updated on what kind of luck you have fishin there

Mark I have the same type situation in combine off of davis road. A 1/8 ounce roadrunner in chartruse or white is just hard to beat, and makes a great search bait. you already said you have a graph. so I would start in some of the deeper channels.

Google earth it so you can see the size and and shore line. Some times you can see the deeper areas by the water color.

I have alot of roadrunners so ill try that.
Never thought of the satelite image. I use it all the time chasing creeks and such down but didnt think of that lol .
Thanks for the input
Mark

light line, small lures

with a shovel?


--LOL!!

with 6# test, and a small inline spinner

I'm suprised nobody has mention the most post important information of all! DON'T GO ALONE !! I will gladly sacrifice a day of work anytime to make sure you have someone with you

lol Only way to fish this place is out of a tube or kayak since not any bank fishing areas that i can see. Its surrounded by trees, but yes ill have somebody with me the first time i go out there.

Man you guys are talking about the spots where i cut my fishing teeth! Malloy Bridge Road, Beltline/175, Bilindsay, Davis Road, the alligator preserve BEFORE it was a preserve, Gravel Slough, Bois D' Arc rd, some of the finest fishing on the planet! Back then basically gravel pits and sloughs and river cutoffs as far as the eye could see and the legs could carry you!


What memories of gargantuan bass, saddle blanket sized crappie, 1 lb bluegills and warmouths, deep, REALLY deep, gin clear water, and back then , even melon fields with cantaloupes the size of basketballs and farmers more than willing to part with them and make a buck!

Inside the levees of Malloy Bridge Road, the Trinity supports genuine alligator gar, some up to and over 100 lbs!

Try the humps, the deep sloping sides first, then look for the brush/stumps, limbs near deep water. If you get 3-4 days of good weather, fish shallow flats w/brush and jig them thoroughly. If water temp hits over 50 in shallow areas, try small roadrunners,or curly tail grubs, and watch out for marauding pre-spawn black bass, huge ones that this type weather situations seem to draw to shallow water like a magnet. They will be aggressive and attack viciously.

Gravel pit crappie are very aggressive, much more so than lake crappie, and on ul gear can give you a fight to remember.

Good luck, and we wanna see pics of full stringers!

Rudy

i grew up fishing some gravel pits in Kennedale and love the bite in the pits. out of just one pit, my father-in-law and i caught(in one day) 20-25 crappie (smallest one @ 1 1/2 lbs) and over 100 eatin size channel cat! i always have used pretty much the same tecniques that i use in the lakes! we fish the pits out of a 2-man water spider, tons of fun!!!!!!!!!

You need to get who ever has bought a graph from you in the past week or two and take thier 14 aluminum v bottom creek boat and 5 Hp evinrude that has just been sitting for a couple of years waiting to go fishing and make a long day of it. LOLOL

Wish i could but there is no place to really launch anything unless you can carry it to the water about 50ft lol. Thats why ill put my kayak in there.
Rudy if i can get in there ill be fishing from sunup till dark as much as i can. Ill be able to use my graph so that will help alot since this puit is mostly channels and very little wide water in between. The pit is off of beltline and beckett so you may have fished it in the past. I was told some areas are 30ft deep and i can see a lot of brush and trees in the water where ill have to launch my kayak in at.
Just have to give the lady some cleaned crappie and ill have acess to some great fishing i believe. Its gets next to no fishing pressure so the fish are hopefuly agressive and willing to bite and of course BIG! when i gett the chance to get in there ill post the results for everyone to see
Mark

You need to haul a kayak fishing buddy that has a hummingbird side imager on his yak. ;-) !
Makes short work of finding them in new water .

I grew up catching "saddle blanket perch" out of some gravel pits down near Newton and even if I didn't know to call em crappie, it was a hoot.

Let us know how you do!

that would make very short work of it indeed since its mainly small channels with lil open water. Im hoping their is some huge crappie in there since the only fishing pressure it gets is from two guys that only fish for bass and thats it. So the population of the fish should be pretty good and the size hopefully will be good also. There plenty of food, in the summer the one area you can actually get to the water you can see small perch and bass swimming around in the clear water. Plus with the fish kill a few years ago when it got low showed the size of some of the fish in there. The bass guys said it didnt make a difference on their catch ratio either, so thats a good sign. Im itching to get in there but have to wait on the word to get in there so i can go explore and see what i can find.
Mark

Good luck Mark I live in Ferris and have a 12 ft Jonboat with all the stuff if you need a partner.

right now i have my kayak with a graph on it plus there is a jon boat there i could use also with a t motor and battery so have the fishing part covered. trying to find other areas as well down there fishing also. Have some friends that have family down there that have land with pits on their land also. Ive fished a cpl of them but it was in the summer and we caught fish but no real numbers, since then my friend said the hes figured out the catfish and regulary pulld out some big blues out of the tank he mainly fishes but he throws them back since i dont think hes ever cleaned a fish in his life lol
mark

Some good fish in those holes. Good luck

Anyone ever fished the gravel pit by Hawaiian Falls in Garland?

Good Luck at your spot. Take a few pics.

shhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!

marktx depending on the size of the pit there is usually a roadbed from the bottom to the top somewhere that was used to get the equipment out or haul dirt whatever. Fish it like a point with a steep drop off on its edges. Good luck.

most of it is nothing but long channels but all conected together and a few open spots that are a bit larger. Was trying to go this week but now with the cold and rain i think ill wait till it gets sunny again before i go out there since it will be a all day affaie the first few times i go since i have a lot of scouting to do with my graph to get a lay of the land and get a map drawn up for it. I do that with all new small waters so i have an idea of depth, points, flats, brush etc so no matter what season i know where to start at, and also in case i forget lol
MArk

howd it go?

I know this post was years ago, but do you still have access to that property? I fish some stock tanks a few miles down the road off post oak road that have gar and bass in them but no crappie. Im usually on lake waxahachie but like to go to pits every now and then

Never was able.to fish it and owners changed since then.

I read all of this and you never fished it? Haha. At least make something up lmao

Wish I could but since then have found other spots I fish that are producing pretty good thru out the year.

Belt Line/175, Davis Rd, BoisD'Arc, Malloy Bridge, man you guys are fishing the pits my Dad and I used to fish when i was in Middle and High School! Gifford Hill dug most of those pits, and they are quite deep! Back then minnows were the order of the day. And yes indeed crappie pushing 3 lbs and maybe more were in there, along with some monster bass and catfish!

Hi Mark, been awhile!

Rudy