Does anyone out there have any info on this club? Anyone a member?

They adverstise as an access to private land/ponds in the Texas area for fishing and hunting.

Also, if there is anyone out there that has a pond who would be willing to consider a fishing least I'm sure there would be interest.

The Dallas Fly Fishers make an annual trip to a local AFGC pond every year. It seems to be a popular trip based on attendance and fish caught.

Looks like they have a trial offer to give a taste http://www.gtbc.com/trialfishing.htm

Let us know how that works out, I don't know anyone personally who is a member but the waters as seen on the websites look great.

I am a former member of the club and I thouroughly enjoyed the experience. Ultimately it got to be just a little to expensive for me (because of the annual renewal dues). I can tell you that most of the many lakes I fished were great. Usually I was the only one on the lake and the fishing was mostly fabulous. I caught my biggest bass (9 1/2 lb) on one of the club lakes. If you don't have a bass boat, and can't fish the big lakes this is a super alternative. Plus if you have children it is a great opportunity for them to get hooked!

Thanks Planofishman.

There are still a few questions I need answered prior to putting out that amount of money to fish, but it still might be worth a try.

No, I don't have a big bass boat. I have the "Major Mistake". That is the name of my Landau 8 foot jon boat. Fishing these ponds would keep me off the bigger waters where Texas boaters have two speeds: off and full ahead! To fish with my little boat I have to stay in the trees, but I guess that's OK because that is where the bass are....sometines.

planofishman,

I appreciate your comments on that club. I've been contemplating joining, but question if its worth it for a Houston area person as most of the ponds seem to be in your area. May give it a try anyway. Thanks.

Planofishman,
So you had to pay each time you wanted to fish, in addition to the annual dues? How do the reservations work? Do they only allow one party on a pond/lake at a time?
Im intrigued, because its tough finding a place to fish living in the middle of Dallas. If you find some fish, you can bet its no secret.
For anybody else interested in this, I found the following article:
http://www.wfaa.com/sharedcontent/dws/spt/outdoors/stories/072405dnspooutfeat.24d6b74.html

Steubo,

The article seems to indicate an annual fee plus a daily use fee. I can say, as one who has several ponds to stock and manage, that those fees do not seem out of line to me. I just wish they had more places in East Texas and around Houston.

Out of line????? Are you kidding, you pay 500 up front for a sticker and a newsletter, then have to pay an additional 45 dollars per day everytime you want to wet a line on one of these ponds seems like it is pretty out of line to me, heck for the cost you could probably afford to buy your own boat, afford the monthly payment and hit the local lakes in your area cheaper than paying for this!!!!

Steubo-
Think of it like making a reservation to play golf. You call in tell them the lake you want to fish. They will give you a reservation number that you need to make visible in the front winshield of your car. Most all of the sites have gates with a combination lock. After your reservation is made you will get the gate code. The website has driving directions and details of the lakes. Alot of the lakes have their own jon boat for you to use. I would simply take a trolling motor and battery and I was good to go. How many people they allow on the lake depends soley on the size of the lake. For the small ponds you will usually be alone. One thing you can do is ask them if someone else is going to be on the lake! I can tell you from 2 years of experience that I was alone on the lakes about 90% of the time. I loved the experience and would highly reccommend it. If you have any other questions let me know.

Look at this way, the annual fee is about what you would pay just for boat insurance annually, not to mention payments and gasoline, along with extra gas for the tow vehicle due to decreased mileage while towing.

I was a member a couple of years ago, and felt like it was a great deal. The 2nd and subsequent years don't renew at full price, the price drops substantially.

They limit the number of anglers on any given body of water to 6 or less, depending on the size of the lake. The lakes are intensely managed, and many of them have trophy fish in them. I caught several fish over 7 lbs in club lakes.

I also never had a day of less than 25 fish, and many days of over 100. If you want to take a child or spouse, this is a quick, easy way to ensure they'll catch fish and lots of them.

You get what you pay for, and if you just want to get away from pressured lakes, along with the crowds and catch fish, this is money well spent.

You can buy a bassbuster type boat for 200-500 dollars, or a float tube, and have a blast in these lakes.

Kelly

This seems like something I might be interested in. But I would like to talk with somone from the boards over the phone before I make any financial commitment. Anyone willing to give me a call?

They have a bulletin board on that site if you want to post over there and talk to a member.

Navdoc, you obviously have no idea what it costs to manage a trophy bass pond/lake. I'm assuming these ponds/lakes are managed. If not, then yes it is out of line. If they are managed for fish, and every indication is that they are indeed managed, then it is not out of line at all. In fact it is a bargain, especially when compared to fees for deer hunting on managed land in this State.

I would much rather pay that price to be able to fish in privacy, without jet skies, without tournament crazed bass fishermen, and with fish that haven't see every WalMart/Bass Pro lure several hundred times.

To each his own...but I've just convinced myself to join up

I would have to agree if it was a club rate, pay up front on a yearly basis, 500 dollars and then have club access to the private ponds, however I'll stick with my earlier post and state that 500 dollars and then having to pay a day use fee of 45 every time you want to visit one of these places is a little steep, I mean 20 fishing trips a year will run you an extra thousand, 900 to fish and figure in at least a 100 for secondary expenses.

It all depends on what you want. I spend easily $3500 for a trip to Mexico and more to the Bahamas and other places. Twenty trips a year for $1000 is fine to me, as long as the quality is there and the places are readily accessible.

You couldn't pay me to fish the public lakes anymore.

It all depends on what you want. No one is wrong or right, just different approaches.