Be very careful before you build a pond in the watershed of TPWD's crown jewel.

Al, what am I looking at there? Are those bags of sakrete?

You got to be kidding. Fish control structure?

TWPD = Texas Parks and Wildlife Department?

Not to throw sand, but our fire chief got into it with a former Park Ranger after we had to cut a fence to get in to the fire. More so, the fact that a dozer was brought in to cut a firebreak was an affront in the park manager's view. TWPD does a lot of great things, but I think they can get a bit touchy when they think their authority is being infringed upon!

So, what's the story?

Tony, those are the "footers" for my grass carp fence. I threw down 5 bags and have to get about 40 more. I was told by TPWD that I needed a footer at the bottom of the fence, and the biologist and I agreed that the concrete bags would suffice.

I'm blessed at being the absolute tip top of the watershed for Lake Fork, and have been taking baby steps to get my grass carp permit for over 3 months now.

I finally got all the rebar strung out today (900' worth), and hopefully will finish all this up next week.

Long, long story for another time, but the end is finally near.

snrub, hopefully if everything turns out well, you were correct!

Mobilus, I've certainly had, and still do have issues with TPWD, but the biologist that came out here did me a solid. He was open minded, honest, and helped me work out a solution to a problem that was almost unsolvable.

I'll relate the whole story after I hopefully get the permit in hand, but I can't imagine there was any scenario that could have been tougher than what I dealt with here.

Footers......wow. I can't wait to hear this story!

Should be a good one!

Al, that is ridiculous. I've never had a problem getting GC permits. The only fish excluders I've ever used has been hog wire at run arounds and over the overflow pipes. And, I've been able to just send a photo to prove I have done it for their files. I call the guy and get the permit and have then been able to send the proof.

That fence should be a good enough fish excluder.

Dave I agree, but I was going to get rubber stamped with a permit denial. I wound up following the suggested barrier construction exactly as the online recommendations illustrated. I should know the final outcome in a couple of weeks.

So, what's that greenish looking stuff that is near the ice?

Are you taking about my snowless grass? I'll be mowing in a month.

Yes. I had forgotten what grass looked like.

Now, the GC permit waiting game begins. 1,000' of rebar and over a ton of concrete bags later, I hope I'm done.

Absolutely ridiculous.

And my back hurts.

Is there a reason that you didn't put in forms and pour concrete rather than using the bags of Sackrete?

Ease of application?

Sprkplug is correct. Lowes delivered it all on a pallet for free, so I just forked it directly over where I needed it. It was less than $100 for all the concrete.

Well done Al - state won't be able to fault your efforts - looks like you could handle a dolphin or small whale with that fence.

Certainly inexpensive enough too. Thanks.

Crazy to have to do that.

Grass carp permit for 110 in hand. Now that it's over, I guess it was worth the effort.

50 into the big puddle this year, then wait 3 years and see how they do. No reason to get in a hurry, and create muddy water issues.

Well Al, that's quite a fence. Put in for my permit a couple of weeks ago. I am 25 miles from fork. They seem to be worried about my carp coming your direction. Monty Brown is my guy with TPWL. He told me he had just turned down a pond over by fork. My biologist built me a fence out of horse pen wire, he knows Monty so maybe it will pass. You got any of them Camelot bells from overtons?

Congrats Al.....what an ordeal!

Now that it's over, I just did what the required specs required. Monty was my guy as well, and he and I found 3 possible locations for the fence. The one I picked was the best IMO. As I said earlier, Monte worked with me, and I got the potential problems resolved by following the posted specs exactly.

The issue for me was Lake Fork. I'm at the top of Lake Fork Creek, and with the hydrilla die off over the last few years, any grass carp in that watershed was an issue.

I will say that if you want a grass carp fence in TX, know how much water you have, the percentage of weeds in your BOW, and know exactly what kind of weeds your targeting. I think knowing the answers to all the questions he asked did ultimately help me get the permit.

No CB's this year. Later this year I'll put the grow out pond in for them, and let them soak for a while until I fin clip them and put them in the public pool.