Pulling the Trigger on Property with Strip Pits

[podum]

I'm buying 120 acres in west central Missouri with a buddy for hunting and fishing. Gonna manage for quail.  Plenty of deer.  It has an old coal mining strip pit that is about a 1/2 mile long.  Likely 40 feet deep according to old maps. It has bass, crappie and bluegills.  Wondering what's possible with the introduction of other species.  Any experience.

[ness]

9 minutes ago, podum said:

I'm buying 120 acres in west central Missouri with a buddy for hunting and fishing. Gonna manage for quail.  Plenty of deer.  It has an old coal mining strip pit that is about a 1/2 mile long.  Likely 40 feet deep according to old maps. It has bass, crappie and bluegills.  Wondering what's possible with the introduction of other species.  Any experience.

Congrats on the purchase! 

[snagged in outlet 3]

Awesome!!!

[fishinwrench]

Old Peabody property? 

Didn't realize there was any still out there that hadn't already been snatched up.

What a lot of the old coal pits lacked was shallower spawning areas.   Steep sided strip pits can only sustain the number of fish that can reproduce themselves.   The ones with decent shallow areas, on more than one side, can be awesome fisheries.

[Dutch]

If I were planning what you referenced I’d be asking that question of a fisheries biologist instead of on here.

[jdmidwest]

What more would you want?  Yellow perch maybe.

[fishinwrench]

2 hours ago, Dutch said:

If I were planning what you referenced I’d be asking that question of a fisheries biologist instead of on here.

Oh please!  🙄

[snagged in outlet 3]

My experience after watching the MDC takeover management of at least a dozen very good lakes around the STL area is you will have a lake FILLED with 11-13 inch bass and very small bluegill.  
But it should be noted this happened at the same time they publicized them on the internet.    I’ve been thinking of selling my pond prowler because they aren’t worth fishing anymore.  
I’d be very interested in following along as you progress.   

[Ryan Miloshewski]

Where are you going to be? I have multiple friends around the Clinton area that have the same types of properties. One has done really well with walleye and crappie growing really big in his (and 6-7 lb largemouth). A lot of select harvesting of both. Biggest crappie has been 15" and biggest walleye 24". And his strip pit is maybe 20-ft deep. You should be able to get away with most anything in a 40-ft deep pit.

[ColdWaterFshr]

I've got a buddy that has 2 old Peabody strip pit lakes out near Windsor, MO.  Have fished them 3 times with him and its ridiculous for bass.  No exaggeration, every other cast, and it really doesn't matter what you throw . . . . topwater, cranks, soft-plastics, popper-flies.  The problem is, that kind of almost gets boring . . . almost.  He does have a problem with his year class.  Seems like there is only about 2 . . . .  16-17 inch bass, and 13-14 inch bass.  Bluegill population is not great, probably due to the huge number of bass.   Oddly though, the crappie, in certain brush-pile areas, are abundant.  All fish look fat and healthy.  I think it has catfish, but we haven't caught any.  

Both lakes quite deep, long - maybe 1/3rd mile each, and narrow.  Shallow end that gradually deepens to a fairly long 40 ft deep end that continues.  Banks in that area are steep drop-offs, just like a quarry.  Densely wooded all the way around.