Pond Boss Forums INTRO Questions & Observations Private Ponds

I am a college student finishing up my degree and I am writing a report on "Paying to Fish at Private Ponds"

Would the anglers out there pay to fish the private ponds in their region? Why or why not? (I am not talking about professionally stocked and managed ponds)

Would the private pond owners allow anglers to fish at their ponds for pay? Why or Why not?

Thank you!

Welcome Fish.

You might want to email Steve Alexander. salexander@privatewaterfishing.com

He is a member here on Pondboss and has a pond leasing company down here in Texas. Steve is a great guy and I imagine he would be glad to help you out with any questions you might have.

Welcome, Fish Omaha!

Personally I would never charge someone to fish my pond, except my landlord (sorry, inside joke).

Just my opinion but I think you'll find most private pond owners, especially those you'll find on this forum, very protective of what they have. And for most, what they have was/is created with a very strong passion in pond/fishery management. We've all worked very hard and invested a lot of time and money to create, to us, our own little (sometimes PITA) slice of paradise.

For me there's no greater joy than having friends and family out to enjoy nature, the pond and it's surroundings. And better yet is to see the looks and reactions from those, young and old catching fish.

For this/these reasons I would not allow anglers to fish my pond for pay.

Welcome to Pond Boss.

This is just free thinking, but it may help to 'define' the kind of person who would actually pay to fish another person's pond. I'm not talking about fishing with a guide and/or using the pond owner's boat.

If you could 'define' that kind of person, you could come up with what you think that person would actually pay to fish someone else's pond.

Good luck!!

I agree with Lovnlivin...each of us have our own reasons for owning a pond...my goal is primarily peace and quiet...friends and family visitors are enough for me...there is no way I would allow Joe-Public in to fish my ponds for pay. Besides liability issues...what is to be gained by having strangers on your property every week? I doubt there is that much money in it, unless you make it a big business and that would ruin it for me. My property would then cease to be an "escape".

ps: if you are looking for additional feedback there is a nice young man that runs/owns a pay to fish pond near my place...real nice college kid named Brandon...here is his website:

http://www.willnerfishfarms.com/fee-fishing.html

Sunil,

I am talking about the individual who notices a pond while driving down the road and fantasizes about fishing said pond. My goal is to make these ponds available to your everyday angler.

Does that make sense? It would be more of your diamond in the rough type pond instead of your public areas which are over fished.

My ponds are pretty new. They can't be seen from the road... Thankfully. My brother has a friend that's a fishing guide that contacted me about having his clients from out of town up to fly fish on days the wind keeps them off the big water. Offered me a pretty decent sum. Had to decline. I've done all this to enjoy with friends and family, mostly the little kids. There are vast public opportunities to fish in this area. My ponds are not for hire. No one else would take the care with them that I do. I used to have rental property. Perhaps the many experiences I had with tenants recklessly and needlessly damaging things has formed my stance. I'm sure of it actually.

Hollywood,
Good for you. I don't blame you. All that work for someone else to come out and abuse (most likely). No one will respect your place to the degree that you will. My place is hid so far back up in the woods, if anyone would show up back there...they cannot give me any acceptable reason to be back there...I don't think being lost would be an acceptable excuse for a trespasser on my place. I'm too far off the beaten path. I've done the landlord thing myself in the past...never again. Again, good for you.

I've seen the condition of most of the public waters around here....there's exactly zero chance I would let that happen to my pride and joy.

There's a reason I live in the middle of nowhere and have 'No Trespassing' signs all around the place.

Would you buy a used automobile that had been used as a rental car? I think if someone is paying to fish, their attitude and the way they treat your property is much like how they treat a rental car. I invite friends and family to fish my pond and adhere to my rules. My home, my pond, my rules.

Just to clarify, I'm an absentee land owner, so I do allow friends to fish & hunt my property with specific permission regarding dates & times, as opposed to blanket permissions.

I only to that to have 'friendlies' at my property instead of scumbags.

Now, Fish Omaha, what you said about driving down the road, and seeing a pond and wanting to fish it.....I've had the same feelings. I don't know how to translate that into gaining permission to fish the pond.

I worry about the liability aspect of the whole thing. Better have great insurance when you have Soilfloc-ed your pond and the fisherman comes in, paid good money, and goes for an unexpected swim and cannot swim.

But if there is something like the local snowmobile clubs have with a group insurance for all members. The pond owner (land owner) signs up to let the personal pond be fished with restrictions and contract, they can share in some of the fees as incentive to open the pond. The insurance is paid for by the club and the land owner is covered.

2Old2Soon,

What if you could put your own rules in place and fine them if they break the rules? You approve each individual and can even specify if it is catch and release only.

I am not trying to sell you on the idea. I simple want to know what would need to be in place for you to even consider it.

I think a leased car is a better analogy than a rental car in this situation. Buying a rental car it becomes your own. However, if you are leasing a car and know you can be penalized harshly you baby it like it was your own. Agree?

I love all of the feedback and all of it is helping me immensely.

If some constructive feedback could be provided that would be great!

liquidsquid,

Exactly, the club would help if not cover all of the liability insurance cost for access.

Sunil,

I cannot discuss the specifics of my project in order to receive unbiased feedback.

What if you had complete control of who accessed your land and when they accessed it? They would require your permission and would have to notify you upon arriving and departing.

What does it cost to raise a 10# bass from scratch? A BUNCH!

FWIW I would never "rent out" the pond. It is for the enjoyment of friends and family. That is not to say I might not let a stranger fish it on some very rare occasion.

My Dad followed a philosophy about hunting on our farm that I think I would also apply to my pond. If a car load of guys with expensive guns and an expensive vehicle stopped and asked to hunt, my Dad always said no. If a poor man with an old shot gun and a couple skinny kids in his old car asked to hunt, my Dad's answer was go ahead. He explained to me his thinking was that the poor guy was maybe hunting to feed his family tonight.

Public fishing around here is over fished and a good catch is rare to come by. If the right guy pulled into my drive with a couple skinny little kids and a couple old Zebco 202s, maybe even asking could he do some chores so he could fish, I just might let him take a CC or three home with him.....

BUT I would never let anyone fish for money.

BrianL,

The goal is not to raise and provide the angler a 10lb bass in this specific case.

The goal is to provide access to fishing waters previously un-accessible to the angler.

Bill D,

Thank you for your insight and I think that is a great philosophy.

Fish Omaha I get you are attempting to see if it can be a win/win situation and have a happy ending.

And I think sometimes it would be happy and sometimes it wouldn't.

And the sometimes it wouldn't is the reason most of us after spending tens of thousands if not hundreds of thousands dollars on our pride and joy properties are reluctant to let Joe Public in to fish our ponds.

There is just a whole lot more that goes into these properties than people realize when they drive up and say "I'm ready to fish!".

Another problem is if I let Joe Stranger fish who seems like a nice enough fellow...and Joe Stranger catches a mess of fish....what do you think he is going to do?

Joe Stranger is going to want to come back....and he most likely will want to bring friends with him or at least tell friends "hey I slaughtered the bass at that place down on County Road 515 and Old Cemetery Road". And who knows if Joe's cousin or work buddies ask for permission when they show up and I'm not there? Maybe it gets watered down to "yeah that guy said I could fish"...and the next group thinks it's ok to hop the fence..."well Joe told me you were cool with people fishing". Again why would a pond or property owner open that can of worms?

Fish Omaha I think you may find a few pond owners that don't care....and would tell a stranger "yeah go ahead and fish that old cow tank...just don't make a mess"....but I would assume most properties owners are not going to allow strangers in because they feel it is just inviting potential trouble.

Fish Omaha I suppose one possible scenario that might work and that could convince some pond owners to let people fish is a "PondPay2Fish" model based sort of like the hotel model of AirB&B or VRBO.

I think a model could work with a few pond owners where it wouldn't be some guy knocking at your door as a surprise...it would be a website like AirB&B or VRBO where a reservation could be made, payment in advance, and the pond owner would have more info like credit card info, address, telephone numbers, etc...about the people allowed on the property....and rules/liability release could be stated up front and signed in advance by the fisherman.

When I was stationed in NC it was pretty common to pay a few bucks to fish in farm ponds. I paid it, and would again.

My pond is too small to allow random.people to fish it and keep what they catch. I think I would allow folks to pay to catch and release...or only keep what i tell them they can.

Sean

There are six neighboring ponds (owned by three different neighbors) that I fish sometimes. The owners know me well enough to trust I won't bring anyone else or talk about it. I know what's allowed to keep and what to release. I caught most of my adult BG brood stock (now spawning) out of two of those ponds.

But, to them I am not Joe Public. YMMV.

With our ponds/property having once been a campground, I've seen firsthand what happens when money changes hands. No way, no thank you.

I let friends and family fish, and I'm happy to have them. I would also welcome a supervised, kids fishing club or organization. But I'm afraid a never-before-seen total stranger has zero chance of buying any fishing here. Harsh, but true.

Was just on Facebook. Several folks I know that consider themselves good fisherman had posted pictures holding bass (season is closed here now) so these fish were being released. Bleeding. Covered with leaves and dirt. Large egg laden females held by the lip with all that weight tearing her up. This is NOT happening at my place. Not for any fee.