Steve Alexander and I went out to electro-shock one of the lakes in the PWF portfolio. The Bluffs of Sandy Shore near Terrell is a beautiful active sand/gravel pit that is full of bass.

We shocked for 61 minutes total and netted over 70 bass with these two being the biggest. If you are looking for some of the best bass fishing in North Texas check out Private Water Fishing.

I’ve fished many gravel pits in my time, but wouldn’t call any of them beautiful…what makes this one beautiful?

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. The owner of this one wants to make it a trophy fishery. It has dozens of islands, humps, ridges, deep water, shallow flats, and lots of vegetation. He keeps pumping the bluegill to them.

Today's survey was to determine the relative weight of the bass and the baitfish population. Many landowners want a trophy bass lake but few are willing to spend the money to do what it takes to produce one especially in a lake of this size, approx 60 acres and growing. Fishermen are asked to remove all bass under 16 inches. There is a fish holding tank at the concrete ramp. The ramp can accommodate any 21' bass rig but if you don't have a boat no worries. There is a 12' Pond King pontoon bass boat at the dock.

Of the 70 fish we shocked today only 31 were 16" or less. The rest were larger and 95 to 120% of relative body weight. That indicates the water quality is good and the baitfish population is good. Steve will recommend the owner stocks additional shad and bluegill after today's survey.

For more info go to: https://www.privatewaterfishing.com/

Those fish looked to be about a 6.5ish, and a 5.5ish weight bass. Definitely healthy for sure.

What were the actual weights? It's hard to tell when they are long armed..

Membership fishing. Naw, I think I'll pass.

Agreed, automatic 30% high fence foul. Your 10 high fence fish equals 7 on public water. Just is what it is.

You were close. 7.00 and 6.05. The 6 was 20" long very healthy for sure

They are eating well, good to see healthy fish. The less pressure the better, I wouldn't let anyone fish it for the spring. Might start culling smaller fish. The shock test should give good feedback on how you should proceed.


Thanks for sharing.

Nice post and fish.

This is great to see!! Thanks for sharing this, Ken!

Nice fish. Looks like a great place!
Did y’all remove any of those 70 fish?
Removing fish less than a certain length or wt?

The original genetics are?

Is that Dennis's place?

We took 31 fish out that were 16 inches or less. Not sure where he got the fish he started with.

Maybe Steve will post

Our goal is to remove 1000 lbs of bass last year and again this year. We have been removing a 1000 bass each year since year 3. We are now in year 7. We removed 856 lbs last year, so we were close to our goal of 1000 and have removed 310 so far this year. We are removing all bass 16" (2.2 lbs) and smaller. The original genetics were 50% pure florida fingerlings (from a unnamed source) and 50% F-1 Tiger bass. In 2023 we refreshed the genetics with an additional 2500 pure Floridas. We add 50,000 threadfin each year and 500-1000 lbs of tilapia. Every other year we add 25,000 coppernose/red ear sunfish. We also have 8 fish feeders that go through several tons of high protein feed each year. The lake is also fertilized to keep a plankton bloom. Aquatic vegetation is kept in check (not eliminated) by aquatic herbicides.

We lost the first generation of big bass in year 3 (2021) to 22 otters. Those 22 were trapped or shot. We have only seen one otter since 2022. The lake is recovering since 2021 and we just had a 9.5 caught Monday.

The bass currently average 97% of relative weight. A testament to aggressive harvest and additional forage. Its a true commitment on a 50+ acre lake. It takes a lot of money to manage a 50 acre lake.

Wow great info thanks.
Otters!nooooo! 22 of them, good lord!
I dislike them. Cormorants also, much dislike.

Yeah $$$ on a lake that size.

Why, is fishing in a private pond / lake bad?

It’s not but some folks just have to [censored] on everything to feel better about themselves.

Yup, and it’s the same miserable bunch all the time.

I won't pay anymore to fish that I already do, but it's good to see a Texas landowner raising quality Bass. Hopefully he's successful and will donate some to the Share- A- Lunker program in a few years.