Excellent Private Water Opportunity

Great Opportunity For Those Who May Be Looking For A Private Water Experience. This Footage Is From The Weatherford Area, 25 Minutes west of Fort Worth. This Property Features 3 Lakes From 6 - 25 Acres and Are Kayak Friendly.

Those are some nice looking lakes!

Great Thing About Them Is They Are Close and Receive Very Little Fishing Pressure.

and very costly..

$750 annually is not that bad really. If you go once a month that's only $62.50 each time. If I spent that money I'd definitely go more than once a month. I'd say that's a good price for a legitimate shot at catching trophy bass every time you go out.

When we going Alan?

These leases are affordable compared to others I have seen. I plan on hitting these lakes starting in mid February. I am working with the company to hold an open house or possibly a yak tournament on several of these lakes. The video is just from one site. I previewed another property yesterday that is a 40 acre lake within 15 minutes of where I shot the video.

Not something your average Joe can afford. I'm sure they are nice lakes but I'll have to stick with the public waterways. I've already paid for several of them in my lifetime!

I fished private lakes back in the 70's and it will spoil you. It's worth every penny if you can afford it.

I've never fished on any managed private waters but this intrigues me. I have a son that will be kayaking and fishing with me starting this spring and it would be nice for him to get a little fishing success under his belt to get him hooked real good.

The way I think of it is comparing it to a deer lease. Lots of people have a deer lease, pay for a year, dump corn all around for six months in the hope to see something during a couple of month window. This one is less expensive than any lease I've seen, has multiple sites, is usable 12 months and no charge for a guest or kid under 17. $65 bucks a month or just over $2 a day. Hmmm.....

If it was closer for me I would purchase a lease. If I want to take a friend or family member I want them to have a great time and have the best chance to fish. Leave the grind to me.

Heck!!! unable to view the video.

I sold fishing/hunting memberships to the American Sportsman Club in Lewisville back in 78. Thought I had the best job in the world until I found out a little more about the company. Lots of overbooking problems. Didn't stay with it for long. Never knew whatever happened to them.

I'd like to sample a few lakes before I purchase a membership. I like the way Chris broke the cost down to the day because I used to do that a long time ago when I sold tans. Looks amazing!!!!

I dont know a lot about private waters, but what would be the difference in a place like this and a place like a local trinity river pond?

Fixed that.

This.

Tempting for sure but I'd have to sample them out first before committing. If anyone has any experience with these private lakes, please share your stories. With PICTURES please!

Get your double digit then say...naaaa!

The price being expensive is going to be relative to each individual. It's certainly much cheaper than a hunting lease. If it has high quality bass and you could be guaranteed they limit the amount of memberships each year then I think it's worth it. Also think of ramp fees you could save. If you fish 2 times a month from ramps that have a $10 fee then that takes $240 off the cost.

I'm sure they it would be fantastic fishing and for those that live nearby a bargain when you take out the savings in gasoline travel expense.

I agree

This and according the FAQ's you might be able to get a group discount.

Alan, I didn't see how many memberships they are limiting it to - maybe I overlooked it.

Roger, I talked to the guy managing the lease yesterday. The Gilbert Pit lease is limited to 20 memberships; the number of memberships at the other sites will vary based on the amount of pressure they think they can handle.

The chain they're developing up north in the Denton area looks promising; not sure how much progress they've made up there yet. The Gilbert Pit lakes are fairly small but look to be at full pool. These guys are serious about running a family-friendly operation and tightly control the number of adult guests. It appears they're doing some development at each of their sites; given the time and money, these should be good places for folks who prefer smaller water for paddling.

I prefer small water versus 75,000 acre impoundments, so I'm going out there to check it out Friday. I'll let everyone know what I find out.
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The above post is 100% spot on. The leases are restricted to a certain number of anglers based on size and the amount of pressure the lake can handle. Hopkins Outdoors is a class organization and are geared to the family friendily atmosphere. These lakes will be managed and forge will be added as needed. Our goal is to provide each member with an opportunity to have an excellent day of fishing with the shot at numerous quality fish. Feel Free to shoot me a PM and I will be happy to shoot you over all the info I have. As soon as we get a warming trend I will be out shooting additional video and showing these great properties.

Is there a website or a number that a fella could call to find out some more information? Rather interested, but would like to be on the water for a day and check out all the details before I make a big commitment. Thanks for the help guys.

I haven't read all the posts yet but that is Gilbert Pit. I fished there hundreds of times in high school when anyone could drive in. Huge bass in there. They closed it up a few years after I graduated but I have fished there with permission 4 or 5 times over the years. Drug my Trident 13 down there a few years ago.
It's crazy to me that they are charging to fish there now.

I emailed the guy about a "test drive" before I made any decisions on an annual lease. He said that it cost $150 per person for the day. That is a little steep in my opinion... I'd hate to spend $150 to not like the lakes and waste that money. I may just stick to the normal public waters that only cost $5-15 dollars to fish... which is a little less harsh on the wallet.

A friend of mine had checked into fishing leases - I think the one in the link below was the one. Be aware that some will charge daily rates in addition to the membership fee, limit how often a guest can attend, how many times you can fish in a week/month, require booking a month or two in advance.....so not saying this may work for you but just be aware. I don't believe the DFWhunt.com properties are like this as I didn't see anything to that effect so they appear they could be a really good value for the right person.

http://www.privatewaterfishing.com/pages/faq

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.