Hey, I can't help it if your name is tied to that phrase!
At least it's not associated with communist soldiers of previous wars like mine is.

Jerry nickname for German soldiers, not communist soldiers of previous wars But that is funny right there, G1 Jer-n-Joe

A buddy of mine and I met with Larry King of Hopkins Outdoors out at the Gilbert Pit on Friday as planned. The lease was just picked up by Hopkins Outdoors in Sept 2013, so they're just getting started with their development of the site. More on that in a minute.

In general, the 3 lakes at Gilbert Pit showed pretty well. 2 of the 3 looked particularly interesting to me, those being the small (6 acre) shallow Stump Patch, and the 15 acre Spring Lake. Both of these lakes had a lot of visible structure and good water clarity. They also appeared to be at full pool, and the folks there believe that's because they're spring fed. There was one gent on Spring Lake test fishing it, but he was at the other end of the lake and we didn't get a chance to ask how he was doing. He appeared to be on some type of small watercraft like a kayak, but we didn't get close enough for a positive ID.

The third lake, Cold Water, is a fairly typical gravel pit. It looks pretty deep and apparently has a population of sand bass in addition to native largemouth and catfish. It would be interesting to explore Cold Water with a depth finder to survey the bottom looking for good structure. It's not clear how much vegetation is in this lake, but there's none on the shoreline.

On the negative side, Spring Lake has some vestiges of previous pumping operations, e.g., large metal pipes and other metal structures near the launching area. They can be easily navigated around, but the sight of them does detract from what otherwise is a quality looking lake. Larry indicated that the rest of the lake appears to be free of this type of debris. I doubt there will be much of an effort made to clean it up unless someone has some heavy equipment and a lot of time on their hands. I wish land owners would hold their tenants responsible for restoring the land as close as possible to its original condition, but that's probably wishing for too much. Hopkins Outdoors, on the other hand, appear to want to be good stewards of the land, and they're looking for leasers who are like-minded.

Hopkins Outdoors will begin developing these lakes in earnest in the spring as the water warms up. They plan to do a shocking to determine just what they've got at Gilbert Pits and then begin stocking with blue gill, shad, and Florida-strain largemouth. At the moment they estimate a fisherman can expect to catch 10-15 fish in a day's outing with largemouth sizes running from 1.5 to 3 lbs with an occasional 5 lb-er. Larry was very up front and refreshingly honest about the current state of the fishery, which I have to respect.

They currently have about half of the leases filled at Gilbert Pits.

That's my initial impression of this private water offering. Although the operation is immature, the lakes have been there a while and some previous posters indicated some big bass have come out of them in the past. Hopkins Outdoors is not new to developing this type of water resource, so I believe they'll put a good effort into managing it. I'm considering getting in for a year and then see where they go from there. If you have any specific questions for me, post'em up and I'll try my best to respond.

Whichever one is in the far back is the best w/o a doubt.

I was the guy test fishing when y'all were taking the tour and apologize for missing the opportunity to meet you. I managed to catch a nice chunky 2.5-3 lber before heading over to hook up with Larry. I thought y'all were still with him but it was a member. First off, Larry is a class act and all 3 of these Lakes have potential. With the plan they have in place it will not take long for all three to provide many hours of enjoyment. I fished for about an hour then Larry and I decided to cruise around the big pond with his depth finder. We explored and visited more than we fished. Unfortunately, I had to get back for a conference call. The member I met was a great guy and I have little doubt the folks that join will respect the fishery and be a pleasure to share the water with on occassion. These Lakes are perfect for the little load-n-go boats I enjoy. You can visit the links below to learn more about them and are welcome to take one out any time.

Sorry we didn't get to meet you as well. Agree with your assessment of Larry; he's a good guy and I hope to get to wet a line with him one of these days. I take it you've decided to join?

So the $750, I assume that would run for the date you signed up to that date next year?

If you wanted to test it out for the $150 daily rate, if you sign op can that be put toward your dues?

How deep are these ponds? Are there shad?

Could you PM me more info on location? Wondering if its close enough to be worth my time... I am in Lewisville.... DUH

1) The lease runs from 1 March 2014 through 28 Feb 2015
2) You'll have to talk to Larry King about applying the test fishing fee to the dues
3) The Stump Patch is ~6' deep; Spring Lake is ~18'-20' (I think); Cold Water is ~25' in the east end
4) Look up "Gilbert Pit Road, Milsap, TX" on Google Maps for detailed info on the location (coordinates are +32� 38' 16.54", -98� 2' 30.27")

Hope this helps! For more detail, check out their web site (www.dfwhunt.com) and give Larry King a call.

I've fished the Gravel Pit lake (Way Out in Eastland) several times growing up. It produced some quality fish, so I have no doubt that his new properties will produce some good ones as well.

Gentleman sorry for the delayed response. The boat expo this week had me covered up. All the above is correct and Larry is an outstanding guy. These lakes are excellent and I know that with Hopkins managing them they will just get better. I plan on being out there in late February and posting up pics and a report. I hope to see as many of you guys as want to be apart. This is a good opportunity. If you ever need me quickly or have more questions call me at 8175388675 Alan Sladek

I wanted to clarify a few things or perhaps some misconceptions. We do not limit how often or how many guests you may bring. We limit you to bringing the SAME guest 3 times in a single year. This is done to stop members from sharing a single membership.

There are no limits on how many times you may fish in a week or month.

88% of all reservations are made 3 days or less in advance. The purpose of a reservation is two fold. One, this allows us to monitor fishing pressure. As opposed to a traditional lease where you don't know, unless you are in communication with all parties on the lease, if the place was just hammered the day before you planned your trip. We spend an enormous amount of time and resources to monitor this and build rest days between trips. We turn down lots of reservations for the purpose of allowing our lakes to rest. Two, when you reserve a property it is yours and yours alone for the duration of your trip; no other members on the lake with you.