I have a ranch under contract with a 20 acre lake on it. The lake was built in the early 80's and is located in North Texas. I have fished it once in bad/ cold weather and caught +/-30 fish between 2 guys in 2 hours. Most of the fish were 1-3 pounds and looked very healthy. Question: What due diligence items should I conduct prior to closing on the ranch? My goal is to have a premier "big bass" lake for my 4 boys and myself. Do I have the water tested, lake shocked, ect....?? Thanks for your suggestions.

AW Ranch welcome to the forum, its a wealth of great information.

I am no expert, but water testing and shocking are great ways to start.

As far as shocking Bob Lusk who runs this site is one of the best and opperates out of Whitesboro, TX (if that is close to your lake). You might want to look into his book offered on this site called Raising Trophy Bass. I have it and re-read it often.

A 20 acre lake has great potential for trophy bass, I would get it shocked for sure. That way you know what is in the lake, and which way to take it. You could find that the lake is fine the way it is. Also it could prevent you from buying fish you dont need, or buying fish that become a quick snack.

If trophy bass is your goal, I would want to find out if there are any Florida genetics in the pond (probably not). Then I would consider adding some Florida or F1 bass based on the results/advice of the shock survey team.

You can also consider things like a feeding program and fertilizer program, but I will leave that up to the pro's.

Others will be able to read a little further into your catch rates and the size of fish caught.

Please keep us updated! Good luck!

Hi GW and welcome to Pond Boss. Wow a 20 acre lake, contratulations that is great!

If if were me I'd call Bob Lusk immediately and pay him for some consulting time. A 20 acre lake is a significant body of water. It it had any dam issues or weed issues or water quality issues it could be expensive to treat and improve. I think some consulting time would be well worth spending money on. But thats just my opinion.

The mere fact that you caught a good amout of fish per hour and that the fish appeared healthy is a great sign!

We're glad you found Pond Boss. Hang on for some more answers.

Welcome to the PB Forum AW Ranch. You ask "What due diligence items should I conduct prior to closing on the ranch?" . I assume you mean as to the lake and not as to the entire property.

Given the size of the purchase I agree with the comments by JHAP and jakeb. I would also gather some soil samples from the pond watershed for testing and send them off to A&M for analysis. Bob could help with that. That info would be good to have for management later as well. A pond assessment by Bob would be good for both management and due diligence. Also good to find out about the neighbors.

20 acre lake, that sounds like due diligence

then it is negotiating the moolah and getting those damn cows outathere

I would check for leaks below the dam and inspect the condition of the spillway structure, any questionable areas might be costly to fix in the future.

First, contact Lusk and pay attention to everything he says. He generally says a lot.

Having a premier big bass lake is tough. What lengths are you willing to go to? This can easily mean turning fishing into work so you can cull as needed. Bring money. You'll need it to create and maintain a big bass lake.

How is the runoff area? Can anyone cut it off from you?

Any stocking records? I'm talking about all of the info you can get on the history.

Grazing or wildlife exemption?

Aw I think you should contact me to come and help you evaluate it with my rod and reel. Really I wouldn't mind and I am really cheap.

Pay close attention to James Holt. We are in the neighborhood and very service oriented.

thanks for all of the advise - spent the day with Bob Lusk last week and now have a clear direction. I will have Bob put pictures of the lake on the website throughout the year as we enlarge/ manage it. Hope to have closer to 30 acres soon and some lunkers. Be good......

BA

Hey AW. I saw that Bob talked about your place near Paris. You should try and make it out to the meeting at my place next saturday.

http://www.pondboss.com/forums/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=143504#Post143504

IMHO you made a great decision. If you don't mind keep us informed about what he says in his evaluation and what his recommendations are. It's not that we are trying to get in your business it's just that this type of experience is a learning tool for all of us.

Oh and we are always good, some times we are doing things that we are not supposed to be doing - but we are good at that as well.

James said...Aw I think you should contact me to come and help you evaluate it with my rod and reel. Really I wouldn't mind and I am really cheap.

DD1 said...Pay close attention to James Holt. We are in the neighborhood and very service oriented.

I couldnt agree more,I work free on these sorts of jobs,and bring cold beer too,as an added benefit,of coarse