Pulling the Trigger on Property with Strip Pits

[BilletHead]

1 hour ago, FishnDave said:

No, that isn't right.  A fisheries biologist visit is a consultation.  Doesn't make your property public.  If you take his recommendations and purchase whatever fish for stocking he recommends, that still doesn't make your property public.  
 

If the MDC offers to stock the lake for free, in exchange for allowing public access, that is different, and it should be clear that is the intent.

           And they don't tell you how many or when to let them in. that is up to you and you do not have to advertise. 

[FishnDave]

1 hour ago, ColdWaterFshr said:

Thanks FishnDave.  Who would I contact at MDC?  Ask to speak to a fisheries biologist that covers that area?

Yes, I think that's the best way to start.  If they can't do it, they can probably tell you who can.  In Iowa, there are Iowa State University Extension Office folks that come out and give advice.  In the link below, Appendix A has a University Extension office contact at the bottom (in Columbia).

Missouri Pond Handbook may offer useful insights:

https://freshwater-aquaculture.extension.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/MissouriPondHandbook.pdf

Appendix A gives some contact info for local offices and such.

Appendix B talks about public vs private.

 

[tjm]

3 hours ago, ColdWaterFshr said:

Thanks FishnDave.  Who would I contact at MDC?  Ask to speak to a fisheries biologist that covers that area?

Private Land Assistance Chris Brooke

Responsibility: Fisheries

660-885-8179 Ext: 4953

Clinton Office

2010 S Second St
Clinton, MO 64735
Counties Assigned To: Benton, Henry

 

Private Land Assistance

    Hunter King
    Responsibility: Fisheries
    660-530-5782    Ext: 4824
    hunter.king@mdc.mo.gov
    Sedalia Office

    2000 South Limit
    Sedalia, MO 65301

     Counties Assigned To:    Johnson, Pettis

[jdmidwest]

10 hours ago, Ryan Miloshewski said:

Busch used to be the absolute best. Grew up fishing it, and caught some really big bass and crappie out of those lakes. Last time I went out there I was disappointed. 

Radiation taking its toll.

[top_dollar]

23 hours ago, Ryan Miloshewski said:

Busch used to be the absolute best. Grew up fishing it, and caught some really big bass and crappie out of those lakes. Last time I went out there I was disappointed. 

              Busch is just fine.  Generally people who say fishing up there isn't any good only go once or twice a year when conditions aren't great, don't catch much, and don't come back.  If you spend more time up there you'll figure out how to catch em.  I think the main problem with Busch wildlife is the lack of harvest.  Most of those ponds have too many small fish that need to be harvested in my opinion.  Although what I explain below flies in the face of that and leads me to believe that environmental factors are more important than any amount of angling pressure, at least with crappie.    

            Conventional wisdom says that crappie will over populate a small pond and get stunted.  That does happen at some of the lakes, but other lakes have a much smaller population of larger crappie.  It seems that the clearer lakes have the bigger crappie generally, but not always.  Some clear lakes are full of dinks, and other dirtier lakes have good eaters.  Also, the size and number of the fish tends to change year to year in most lakes.  Lake 33 is the most consistent lake up there IMO.  It is perpetually stained and crazy overpopulated with 7 inch crappie.

[podum]

Wow!  Lots of helpful responses.  I’m still in the dark about the quality of the fish in the pits (there is one wholly on the property and one shared with an adjoining owner).  Ill repost in the spring as I get some feedback.

Wrench, there are shallow areas on either end of the pit, so I’m optimistic about spawning nurseries.  

[FishnDave]

2 hours ago, top_dollar said:

              Busch is just fine.  Generally people who say fishing up there isn't any good only go once or twice a year when conditions aren't great, don't catch much, and don't come back.  If you spend more time up there you'll figure out how to catch em.  I think the main problem with Busch wildlife is the lack of harvest.  Most of those ponds have too many small fish that need to be harvested in my opinion.  Although what I explain below flies in the face of that and leads me to believe that environmental factors are more important than any amount of angling pressure, at least with crappie.    

            Conventional wisdom says that crappie will over populate a small pond and get stunted.  That does happen at some of the lakes, but other lakes have a much smaller population of larger crappie.  It seems that the clearer lakes have the bigger crappie generally, but not always.  Some clear lakes are full of dinks, and other dirtier lakes have good eaters.  Also, the size and number of the fish tends to change year to year in most lakes.  Lake 33 is the most consistent lake up there IMO.  It is perpetually stained and crazy overpopulated with 7 inch crappie.

Yes.  Where I used to live in central Iowa, the fast-growing city of @70K population has around 25 public ponds... mainly created for stormwater detention as new subdivisions were built.  The ponds were stocked once initially, then large left alone, although the DNR does sample many of them each year.  Crappies were never stocked into any of them, yet they were present in nearly all the ponds.  I fished those ponds for @ 20 years, and saw how cyclical crappie populations can be.

Crappies in ponds, without a rich food supply like shad, grow fairly slowly.  So, a pond will have a bunch of small, paper-thin crappies for several years, then natural mortality, maybe some angler harvest, and bass predation will slowly thin the herd, and eventually the fish start to grow and look healthy.  They will have a good spawn or two... not in terms of many spawning fish, but high success rate.  The nice crappies phase lasts for a few seasons, then those bigger fish become rarer, and a fresh batch of stunted-looking little ones takes over again.  

What I learned from that is... don't give up on a pond or lake.  Try it every year, because their dynamics are always changing.  That might be the case with the Busch lakes... I catch fish there, but usually nothing spectacular.  So much pressure.  Plus I only know a couple of the C&R ponds very well.  I catch less at the harvest ponds.  Ok, the Golden Shiners have been pretty big... 😜

The sampling data on some of the ponds, like 33, always looks pretty good...but my fishing success doesn't match those kinds of numbers or sizes.   I suck at fishing and need help. 🙄

[podum]

On 1/24/2024 at 8:35 AM, Quillback said:

It is tough enough to manage a 20 gallon aquarium, I wish the OP the best of luck and have fun with it!

Gonna be a blast!

[Terrierman]

On 1/23/2024 at 7:54 PM, 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.

What a coincidence.  I just got a message from 23 and me that you're my biological father, and I've been looking for a place to hunt and fish.  I have a lot of experience, unfortunately it's not in wildlife management.  But somehow, I'm sure we will muddle through together.  You do have a spare bedroom there, right?

[jdmidwest]

49 minutes ago, Terrierman said:

What a coincidence.  I just got a message from 23 and me that you're my biological father, and I've been looking for a place to hunt and fish.  I have a lot of experience, unfortunately it's not in wildlife management.  But somehow, I'm sure we will muddle through together.  You do have a spare bedroom there, right?

Wow, you live in fishing and hunting heaven and need a strip pit farm too..... 

Try dealing with only Clearwater Lake and Wappappello for lake fisheries and many declining streams nearby that are too small and fragile to support the herds that have descended on them after the Covid outdoor revolution.

But if you are bored with what you have, I need another step child...