Trophy bluegill guide service in TN

Hello all, thought I'd introduce myself on here. I have a small pond management company in middle Tennessee. I do everything from aquatic vegetation control to fish stocking to fish feeder sales to aeration installation to yearly management plans; one of my best bass lakes recently gave up six largemouth from seven to nine pounds each for two anglers over two days' fishing (the landowner just informed me yesterday and I'm working on tracking down photos of the fish, of which he says there are several). I also have been spending my own money for the past three years on a handful of ponds ranging from a half-acre to twenty-two acres, which I don't own but for which I have an agreement with all of the landowners that allows me to offer guided trips on the ponds for trophy bluegill. When I started working with the ponds, they were in pretty bad shape - the bluegill in most of them averaged 2-3", were just morbidly stunted. So a lot of hard work and more money than any sane, underemployed person would spend on somebody else's land later, the 'gills are starting to get pretty big:)


We're open for business now. The cost of a trip includes a custom rod - here are a couple photos of the rod I made for my first client, who is coming back in October:

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Here's a bluegill rod I made recently for a bluegill enthusiast in Indiana:

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Here are a few photos of bluegill and shellcracker that have come out of my ponds this summer:

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PM me if you'd like more info. Thanks for having me on the site - it's a really cool place!
Walt Foreman
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Welcome to the site. Thanks for the introduction Walt, and thank you for being a Sponsor Member here on Crappie.com. Those are some real monsters there. Best of luck with your endeavors.

Thanks for the warm welcome, Slab! This is a really awesome site and I'm happy to be a part of it!

Welcome aboard Walt. Good to have you join us here at Crappie.com. Always enjoy your post on BBG and your knowledge of Bluegill will be very useful. The pics are very nice, looks like the ponds are doing great.

Love the fishing rod!! Can you just buy them?

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Originally Posted by CrappieStalker1

Love the fishing rod!! Can you just buy them?

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Yes, you can.

TROPHY POND MANAGEMENT - POND MAINTENANCE | AERATION DESIGN | FISH STOCKING | POND MANAGEMENT PRODUCTS

Interested so i visited your site. Rates are about the same as Bienville plantation but only keeping 5 gills under 8" thru me off. Welcome to the site tho.
TROPHY POND MANAGEMENT - POND MAINTENANCE | AERATION DESIGN | FISH STOCKING | POND MANAGEMENT PRODUCTS

Awesome Gills and fishing rods. Welcome

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Originally Posted by chaunc

Interested so i visited your site. Rates are about the same as Bienville plantation but only keeping 5 gills under 8" thru me off. Welcome to the site tho.
TROPHY POND MANAGEMENT - POND MAINTENANCE | AERATION DESIGN | FISH STOCKING | POND MANAGEMENT PRODUCTS

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How many would you prefer to keep per day? I do have a couple ponds that are not yet at the level of the best ones but still have 'gills that average around 8", and those ponds could use some thinning of the smaller fish (7-8" range), so I wouldn't mind letting you keep twenty or thirty out of one of those ponds. And, the largest lake I'm presently managing in this capacity is 22 acres, and it could stand to have a few harvested not just now but for the foreseeable future (at least for the next year and a half). So I do have ponds that you could keep a good mess out of. I typically take clients to multiple ponds per day anyway, just to keep from over-pressuring one pond on a given day, so it would be no problem to fish one pond for eaters and another for trophies. And my eaters are a sight bigger than most folks':)

The stricter limits are just to protect the ponds that are starting to get a lot of fish in the 20-24 oz. range, as I've aggressively thinned the smaller ones already in those ponds to get the bigger ones to where they're at, and there's not much wiggle room for keeping many without the ponds getting fished out.

Thanks for the link to my site! I'll be getting the rods page updated soon - some of the rods pictured on there were made a year ago when I was just getting back into building from a thirty-year hiatus, so the ones I've posted photos of here are more representative of the rods I'm making now.

I specialize in bluegill rods, anything from 5' super-ultralights that are lighter in action than any factory rod you can buy (1-4 lb. test), to 6'6" super-ultralight rods made on 2-weight fly rod blanks, to longer live bait rods 7-9' made on Lamiglas fiberglass fly rod blanks. Each will do things that a factory rod won't. I also make bass rods, or any other freshwater rod someone might want (don't have a lot of expertise in saltwater).

Anyway, thanks for the warm welcome, everyone!

If you ever in arkansas. Try lake conway we have some awesome bluegill and redear fishing

Thanks for the tip, Sorelips! To be honest though I'm a little spoiled these days as I have a couple ponds in which the bluegill average close to a pound apiece, and one in which they average over a pound and 24-ouncers are common, so I don't fish public water much anymore. I expect two-pounders to start showing up within the next few months in two or three ponds I manage, so it's a steep drop from that to the reality of a public lake. The owner of a four-acre pond I manage, that some of the fish I posted photos of came from, caught a northern-strain bluegill last summer (2011) that he measured by his hand at 14" long and 10" tall - he yelled several times at his wife who was visiting the neighbors to run get a camera, but she was talking and didn't hear him, and the neighbors' dog kept trying to eat the fish so he let it go...Makes me sick to this day to hear him talk about that fish...

Here are a couple bass that were recently caught from a lake I manage in an afternoon and the next morning of fishing. Let me know if there's anything I can do to help you with your pond or lake, or if you'd like to catch your personal-best bluegill or bass.

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definitely some nice fish,

Thanks for the compliment, Jimp!

What kind of boat would your clients be fishing out of and where in TN are you located? Also, do you mind to post a few more pics of panfish rods you have made for clients. It looks like you do good work and have some nice fish there.

Thanks,

Michael

I have multiple boats that I use depending on which pond or lake we're fishing. One of the larger ponds has a really nice pontoon boat on it, one of the fishing pontoons designed for pond use, probably about fourteen feet long. Another property has a fourteen-foot wide-bottom johnboat that's pretty new and a really nice boat. I'm located in Columbia, which is forty miles south of Nashville. There are several hotels within five miles of the majority of the ponds, including a Days Inn that's about two miles from them. There's a Holiday Inn Express that's only five miles away, and right off I-65 that comes down from Nashville.

I don't have any more photos of panfish rods at the moment; I have some photos, but they're rods that I made a while back when I was just getting back into rod building after a thirty-year hiatus, and they don't look as nice as the newer ones and thus don't give an accurate representation of what I'm building now. But I did just finish a bass rod today that I think looks pretty decent, and I'll be taking a couple photos of it Monday so I'll post those then.

Thanks for the interest and let me know if I can answer any more questions about guided trips or rods either one. I'll send you a PM with my cell # in case you want to chat about a trip or rod.

Where do you buy your rod building supplies, I get mine from Mudhole. I build rods for some folks but I'm not in your league. Beautiful work.

Thanks for the kind words, Blackhawk! I get my basic components, such as blanks, thread, guides, and most reel seats I use, from Mudhole. When I make handles that incorporate or are entirely made from wood, such as the two I posted photos of, I get the wood either from reelseatblanks.com, or stabilizedwood.com. I use a Jet Mini-lathe for the wood and cork shaping, though I look forward to someday being able to afford a bigger, nicer lathe as the smaller ones are not the best (as my machinist uncle pointed out to me).

Thanks for the info.

Sure thing!

Here are a couple photos of a bass rod I just delivered today-

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Took my mom fishing for a couple hours this afternoon - the bite was slow, but she did catch a female northern-strain bluegill on her first cast that weighed right at 16 oz.:

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We also caught two 14-oz., a 13-oz., and this hybrid that was a little bigger:

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11.75", 31 oz.

That hybrid looks like he's eatin good :yikes:Rofl

She is indeed, Blackhawk! I caught her about forty feet from the feeder. I think it's safe to say she hasn't missed any feeding times lately.

Those fish looks like they are on steroids LOL.Have you ever thought about turning a pond or two into crappie ponds. Its my understanding that they are the fastest growing fish.

Hi Bowhunter, thanks for the compliment on the fish! I have two arms to my business: pond and lake management, for which I manage private waters for whatever the owner's goals are, whether those goals be trophy bass, trophy bluegill, nice-sized bass and bluegill both, etc.; and my guiding business, for which I spend my own money on eleven ponds and lakes from a half-acre to twenty-two acres in size, managing those ponds and lakes intensively for trophy bluegill. My agreement with the owners of the ponds I guide on, requires me to give half of whatever I make guiding, to the landowners.

When I began working with these ponds I guide on in 2009, I felt that there was an open niche in the world of guiding in respect to trophy bluegill. There are thousands, if not tens of thousands, of privately-owned waters in this country that are intensively managed for trophy bass, where anglers can pay $300 or $400 per person per day, up to $1000 per person per day, for the chance to experience bass fishing on a level typically not found on public waters; but, presently, I only know of one private water in the country that is open to anglers and that has bluegill fishing good enough that two-pound bluegill are common, and they charge $1000 per day per person, or $600 per person for groups of four or more. I began spending my own money on the ponds I guide on three years ago because I felt that if I were able to get the fishing in them to where it was comparable to that lake that has a good number of two-pound bluegill, and I charged half or less than half as much for anglers to fish, that people would beat a path to my door.

So, as of now, I'm about a year away in most of my ponds from having fishing comparable to the $1000/day lake; I have one pond that will give that lake a run for its money by March or April, and is already a better bluegill water than most people could ever imagine; but, unfortunately, it appears as of now that I overestimated the appeal of trophy bluegill to anglers, because the business is failing badly. I really didn't advertise the guiding service much before this year because I was still working on getting the ponds turned around, but I've been getting the word out on several sites for a few months now, and I've had several people ask about my rates; but I don't know if people are comparing said rates to guides who guide public water on which they don't have to split their fee with a landowner and haven't spent $20K getting the fishery to where it is, or if they're unaware of what comparable private waters charge, or the economy is bad and they just can't afford it, or what, but no one is booking trips. I had two guys fly in from Texas in July and they caught roughly forty bluegill over a pound, including four in the pound-and-a-half range, in three days of fishing, but those are the only two guiding clients I've had.

So I'll probably give it another year (assuming I can come up with a way to keep buying the fish food), and if it doesn't improve drastically, admit defeat.

Sounds like you have done an awesome on those ponds. Have you try putting a bug in the ear of in-fishermen. If they came down and did even a small show with you I bet that would bring you and the landowners some real good money. Just a thought. I commend you for all the hard work, tme and money you put into your business and I hope for the best for you. I know it isn't easy to guide on public water but it is even harder on private waters starting from scratch. Good luck in your indeavours.

When I was just beginning my management of the ponds I guide on, I contacted In-Fisherman about the possibility of writing an article for them on catching trophy bluegill in ponds. They looked at it, said it was too long; I sent them a shorter version within a week, but they never got back to me about it, or responded to subsequent e-mails asking if they had read the shorter version.

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Originally Posted by tnpondmanager

So, as of now, I'm about a year away in most of my ponds from having fishing comparable to the $1000/day lake; I have one pond that will give that lake a run for its money by March or April, and is already a better bluegill water than most people could ever imagine; but, unfortunately, it appears as of now that I overestimated the appeal of trophy bluegill to anglers, because the business is failing badly. I really didn't advertise the guiding service much before this year because I was still working on getting the ponds turned around, but I've been getting the word out on several sites for a few months now, and I've had several people ask about my rates; but I don't know if people are comparing said rates to guides who guide public water on which they don't have to split their fee with a landowner and haven't spent $20K getting the fishery to where it is, or if they're unaware of what comparable private waters charge, or the economy is bad and they just can't afford it, or what, but no one is booking trips. I had two guys fly in from Texas in July and they caught roughly forty bluegill over a pound, including four in the pound-and-a-half range, in three days of fishing, but those are the only two guiding clients I've had.

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Have you considered making one or more of the ponds "fly fishing only"? I'm not sure if that would help or not, but Callaway Gardens here in Georgia has incredible bluegill fishing, and it's strictly fly fishing, C&R only. During colder months, they also stock big trout in the ponds, so people can fish for them as well.

http://www.callawaygardens.com/resor...o/fishing.aspx

It seems to be pretty popular, but there are a lot of other attractions at CG. It's conceivable that the FF operation loses money but is subsidized by other more profitable activities.

Anyways, it's just a thought.

Thanks for the suggestion, Deathb4Disco. I am aware of Callaway Gardens. I just checked their website, and evidently they just recently opened up the fly-fishing only lakes to also allow lures.

Callaway definitely has exceptional bluegill fishing, but it's not on a par with my best ponds. I saw an episode of Roland Martin's show that he filmed there fishing for bluegill, and the biggest one they caught they estimated at three-quarters of a pound; the Callaway website states that pound-size bluegill are caught regularly...The bluegill in my best pond right now average over a pound each, and the last time I fished it, with two clients from Texas in July, they caught three bluegill in the pound-and-a-half range in three hours of fishing, and at least twenty that were over a pound. Back in June, my second-best pond, which is the one that produced the two-pound hybrid on Thursday, produced half a dozen bluegill (pure northern-strain, not hybrids) that would have gone between eighteen and twenty-four ounces each, in three hours of fishing. So I don't think Callaway's bluegill fishing, though good, compares to what I offer. My rates are only $50 a day more than what they charge for two people, but to my knowledge they don't employ automatic feeders and high-protein fish food; I spent $7K just last year just on food.

I'd be more than happy to make a pond fly-fishing only, except for the fact that I don't have as much water as Callaway does, and considering I'm getting no business at all right now, I wouldn't want to have to tell someone that booked a trip that they couldn't fish one of my best ponds if they weren't fly-fishing.

tnpondmanager -
It's probably time to give 2 for price of 1 gift certificates and even try and convince your local Hotel/Motel to offer discounts for your clients.
Even run Fall specials.
Many fishing guides use these types of strategies.
Worth a shot since you are talking about quitting anyway
Half price is better than nothing now days ! JMO
Have you posted Videos on You Tube ?

I did actually give my only two clients thus far a discount, only charged them for one person. I have thought some about lowering the daily rate further; perhaps that's what I need to do; it's just discouraging to me to have to lower my rate to the range of guides who guide on public water. But I may have to.

I had planned on making some videos to put on Youtube, was trying to scrape together the dough to buy a camera, and then one of the clients I had in July bought me an underwater camera with HD video capability to show his appreciation for the quality of fishing...So then a couple weeks later I took a friend fishing, and at one point he said he was moving the camera to a safer spot, and that's the last I saw of it...What's that old saying about if it weren't for bad luck I'd have none?

Dont give up

Maybe you can contact Russ Bailey and see if he'll come and do a show with you. That would be a very good way to get the word out about your buisness.

Thanks for the suggestion - I will definitely consider that. Right now I have to be pretty careful about how often I fish my best ponds as altogether the ones that have trophy-sized bluegill only comprise about eleven acres between eight ponds. I just started last year working with a 21-acre lake and a six-acre lake that are on the same property and which will give me more water, and there's also a four-acre pond a hundred yards downhill from one of my best ponds, that when it gets right will give me more water; but eleven acres is not a lot, especially considering most of these ponds are about an acre each, meaning, every time they're fished impacts how hook-shy the fish will be in the future. I don't even fish them myself now except with clients. And, it makes a big difference: the guys that fished with me in July caught the heck out of fish in the ponds that don't get fished at all except by me, whereas they didn't do as well on the four-acre pond because the owner of that pond lets other people fish.

But, I will consider it - it certainly would be great publicity, for sure.

Here are a couple photos of my latest build. I just shipped this rod out to a bluegill nut in Austin. It's a 7' super-UL spinning rod built on a 3-weight Lamiglas fiberglass fly rod blank:

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