private trout pond

[D.grunt]

hey all, I am just throwing this out there to see if i would have any interest in any of you getting a membership to a private 40 acre rainbow trout pond. there would only be 100 memberships given out at 1000.00 each for your family to fish as much as you like. I know this pond has grown 14-18lb trout before, it is as deep as 30 feet in some spots. I would like to purchase this land but i need to know if there would be this kind of interest. It is within an hour of calgary to the southeast, so please let me know if you would be interested and i can make things happen from there thanks for reading!!

[BeeGuy]

If you do some homework on your business plan you will find that such things already exist and depending on the experience you can provide, the demand will be high.

[Bhflyfisher]

I would think your big bucks are going to be from the fly fishing crowd. If you go through with it, i'd be curious about the demographic as to who is willing to pay.

You could get some more interest if you had more then rainbows in there im sure...

[BeeGuy]

Def at least 10:1 Fly guys if not more.

The issue you will have is when 80 of the guys show up on the same Saturday morning.

Trees, structure, and lots of bays will help spread things out.

A big round hole in the ground won't be very attractive.

If you are charging that much you will need a club house and facilities.

[Freddydog]

We live where there is quality fly fishing all around with little pressure. If you think im full of dung move to Ontario and let me know. For a thousand bucks I can fish near Calgary for real fish in real lakes....not to be rude but dont waste your time and money...

[D.grunt]

thanks beeguy, that is the plan, i do want to turn it into an enjoyable get away, with trail rides and archery range, and rifle range etc, for all outdoor oriented families, i know there is much research to do. But if i can get a feel for interest then i can make it something to persue.

[D.grunt]

I know there is a lot of great free fishing all around the province but i am looking to make it more of a family outdoor get away that they can do as many activities pertaining to outdoors as possible, hopefully if it were to go well a person could expand it and allow more families to come at some point. i appreciate all input, negative and positive, i know not everyone is going to pay that, but if you can give instruction in activities provided as well i think many can benefit. I would like to make it a camp for scouts, beavers and brownies if it were to go well someday to, if its even possible that is

[Zip-in-Z]

There's a few of these operations back home in Man. in old gravel pit's. Most owners struggle to keep them going, if you have deep pockets, wish you all the best.

Zip ...

[BeeGuy]

Originally Posted by Freddydog

We live where there is quality fly fishing all around with little pressure. If you think im full of dung move to Ontario and let me know. For a thousand bucks I can fish near Calgary for real fish in real lakes....not to be rude but dont waste your time and money...

Came from Ontario.

Indeed, you are dung filled.


For those that know, there are already private trout ponds south of Calgary with a very high demand for membership.

[lannie]

If there was camping spots and the trout pond was one of the attractions I can see it working well. I am not aware of any ponds already in service that charge 1000.00. Where are they and they actually have a waiting list? I am very surprised people would pay 1000. for nothing but a pond.
Then again when bottled water was first available I did not believe it was a viable business. Best of luck to you, maybe you will hit the jackpot!
You did also come up with this idea at about midnight on a Friday night and that was your first post ever. CHEERS MAYBE!!

[Chisholm77]

Interesting concept. Is the $1000 an annual fee? Or do I pay $1000 to get in and then pay annual dues? Surely $100,000 would not be viable to purchase the place and then keep it running. The only way I see this place working is if you structure your membership similar to a golf course. Unless you're just looking to recoup some of your initial costs and then plan on dumping your own cash into it for the next however many years.

[badger]

I was a member of a private fishing club for several years before it went under (pun intended). There was plenty of demand and it was an enjoyable experience. With the right amenities it will work. There were 25 members of the club and that was one of the attractions, it was never over run even on the busiest days. Right from the start you will have to decide if it is a for profit enterprise, or a member run club like a shareholder golf course.

[MoFugger21]

I find it funny it that the "initial concept" was just a trout pond, that has now expanded into this huge place with different facilities..... I

In my opinion, anyone who pays $1000 a year to go fish for stocked rainbows at a small pot hole southeast of Calgary, either has too much money, or is completely out of there mind!

[fish gunner]

Originally Posted by MoFugger21

I find it funny it that the "initial concept" was just a trout pond, that has now expanded into this huge place with different facilities..... I

In my opinion, anyone who pays $1000 a year to go fish for stocked rainbows at a small pot hole southeast of Calgary, either has too much money, or is completely out of there mind!

More or less explaining phillis. So it will be stocked with brooders for the first few years cause who pays to catch 8" stockers. I personally don't like private waters unless man made,otherwise it's a loss of water that belongs to us all.
So a brood pond for the first 3-5yrs at a grand a touch. Well a fool and his money are early parted. if this is a man made pond the best of luck , if not go rot.

[Mutter87]

I would pay, as long as it was not just Rainbows and C&R for all trout over 5lbs.

Now I'd want to see the lake first, ensure it has all the features I like, a good shallow flat, drop offs, lotts of trees surrounding it, not to big.

What would yearly membership dues be?

All I need for ammenties is a maintained outhouse.

[Northwinds]

D. Grunt
There are a number of pitfalls involved with raising trout.
Have you ever raised them before???
There are a multitude of hidden cost's that pop up, such as stocking costs.A lake this size would need a min.of about 10,000 fish@2.25 each(8-10's)
Does it have quality water? Will it need areation???A 40 acre lake would need about $20,000 spent for water quality.Is electricity available or would there be additional costs for gen sets?
Is there a history of blue green algae??? It will cost about $2400/month for algae treatments,it all depends on nit. and phos. and most of all temp.Those hot august's are a killer in untreated ponds.
Another thing you need to consider is trout mortality.Again water quality comes into play here as well as predation.I have 9 species of birds that take fish,the worst by far are Cormarants.When the fish are small,these birds will harvest $60 worth of fish per bird per day.Then we have herons,loons osprey's,eagles
etc.
The other issue is release mortality.In the hot summer months the slightest stress can and will kill fish,NO MATTER HOW CAREFUL YOU ARE in your release.On fed ponds with big fish,a 80% mort in hot weather can be possible.
Another possible issue is what happens to your members deposit if there isn't any fish???
I am not try to discourage you,just trying to make you aware of a few of the issues involved with fish farming.
All the best if you pursue this venture
NW

[Northwinds]

I should mention the figure of $60/per bird per day is based on the value of a trout at the end of summer, a kill of 2 -4 fish/day is common for these birds

[D.grunt]

thanks nortwinds, I have not raised fish before, and of course we'd get the water tested for sustainability. This area of water is pretty deep so i think the fish would weather ok in summer and winter, as for power and treatment and such it is all available. the owner has raised fish there before but had issues with other fisherman coming in and fishing without permission, so they quit stocking it. I do realize there is risk with any live stock. I think the main thing is to find fish that are still able to breed not like the regular ones from the hatchery that are sterile (hard to get anything that isnt regulated by government any more). The intent of this area would be a family fun play ground with some immenities, it would be a lot better paying 1000 bucks a year for this (with camping archery, rifle range and trail rides etc.) than paying 5000 bucks for a permanent site at a regular campground and there are people out there paying for those, so this would be similar but with more activities to do for no extra cost. but i am still in very early stage of this idea so thankyou for the input

[HunterDave]

Talk with the "quality" fishing clubs down that way (ie Trout Unlimited) and get them to canvas their local membership to see what interest they have. They all want "quality" fisheries where they can catch big trout but I'm not sure how much $$$ it's worth to them. Maybe a partnership to start off and get you going would be a good idea. Good luck.

[FishingFrenzy]

Originally Posted by D.grunt

thanks nortwinds, I have not raised fish before, and of course we'd get the water tested for sustainability. This area of water is pretty deep so i think the fish would weather ok in summer and winter, as for power and treatment and such it is all available. the owner has raised fish there before but had issues with other fisherman coming in and fishing without permission, so they quit stocking it. I do realize there is risk with any live stock. I think the main thing is to find fish that are still able to breed not like the regular ones from the hatchery that are sterile (hard to get anything that isnt regulated by government any more). The intent of this area would be a family fun play ground with some immenities, it would be a lot better paying 1000 bucks a year for this (with camping archery, rifle range and trail rides etc.) than paying 5000 bucks for a permanent site at a regular campground and there are people out there paying for those, so this would be similar but with more activities to do for no extra cost. but i am still in very early stage of this idea so thankyou for the input

From a logistical standpoint, if you don't have a creek running in or out with a gravel bottom, rainbow trout cannot spawn. Im not sure about other types of fish for stocking but I know it has been mentioned and discussed that rainbows cannot spawn without running water.

[Blairh]

Originally Posted by FishingFrenzy

From a logistical standpoint, if you don't have a creek running in or out with a gravel bottom, rainbow trout cannot spawn. Im not sure about other types of fish for stocking but I know it has been mentioned and discussed that rainbows cannot spawn without running water.

Could probably build something like this with a pump of some form and a backhoe...wouldn't be cheap to build/run but it could be done.

[fish99]

the government will not let you have trout that are able to spawn successfully. you have to get them to approve the pond first ,then you register and buy your fish from a fish farm. all sales are tracked by the government. check it out well before you jump in. cheers.

[Jimboy]

Originally Posted by MoFugger21

I find it funny it that the "initial concept" was just a trout pond, that has now expanded into this huge place with different facilities..... I

In my opinion, anyone who pays $1000 a year to go fish for stocked rainbows at a small pot hole southeast of Calgary, either has too much money, or is completely out of there mind!

Especialy when ya cant keep your catch.

[Bhflyfisher]

Originally Posted by Jimboy

Especialy when ya cant keep your catch.

Well you cant have the best of both worlds can you? If i were spending money on fish, and they are generating income i wouldnt want fish being taken out of the pond by people. Usually a quality fishery manager would feel as though each fish represents a sort of investment. Why would you allow people to take fish out of the pond, if its not a self sustaining ecosystem?

I also dont see what would be the need to keep a 10-15lb fish.

[Lornce]

Tough to get interested in a trout pond that I wold have to pay $1000 to get aces to. For me It wouldn't happen with the blue ribbon world class Bow river and a multitude of other streams, ponds and rivers out there withen easy access I wold say no chance for me.

[Freddydog]

Ouch I am dung filled ...........perhaps however I would rather fish in my toilet than any water in ontario.......

[EZM]

Originally Posted by Lornce

Tough to get interested in a trout pond that I wold have to pay $1000 to get aces to. For me It wouldn't happen with the blue ribbon world class Bow river and a multitude of other streams, ponds and rivers out there within easy access I wold say no chance for me.

I share you perspective - it's not to say marketing this to the right group would not work but at $1000/family (and one hundred members only) you are only beginning to scratch the surface on the cash flow you will need to get this operation up to a dugout - never mind a nice multi-acre pond.

After that consider your revenue stream ..... how are you going to pay for maintenance, chemicals, aeration equipment, feed, new fish stock, etc....

These operations probably are not that straight forward.

Definitely spend some time doing research ............ if you do enough research and come up with a viable business plan ............ make it happen ..... best of luck.

[goldscud]

There is already a private pond south of Calgary where guys pay $600+ to catch some quality fish (with a long waiting list to get in). I think you could find 50 guys pretty easy that would buy into your idea. Due to the lack of spots in southern Alberta where you can catch rainbows over 5lb (that are not brood stock), folks are driving great distances(4-12 hr) out of province to find better fish. Folks are spending lots of money to travel and stay somewhere else. A more local spot would be interesting for many.
It is unlikely to have a spot where you can have a reproducing population of rainbows, so triploids would be a good choice so you wouldn't get egg-bound females from spring and into summer.
Not everybody wants to kill fish....some just want to fight some big ones. Guys are driving to Manitoba and investing lots of money just for the chance to catch some trout over 5lbs.
The Bow is great, but as soon as lakes with BIG fish in them thaw...I am out of here.

[Chewbacca]

Originally Posted by FishingFrenzy

From a logistical standpoint, if you don't have a creek running in or out with a gravel bottom, rainbow trout cannot spawn. Im not sure about other types of fish for stocking but I know it has been mentioned and discussed that rainbows cannot spawn without running water.

Not trying to be contrary but I have a friend that has two dugouts full of rainbow and there are lots of babies swimming around.

This sounds like an ambitious undertaking. Lots of things to look at first though. Not my cup of tea as I like to go where there isn't a lot of people.

[Lefty-Canuck]

Originally Posted by Rigpig25

Not trying to be contrary but I have a friend that has two dugouts full of rainbow and there are lots of babies swimming around.

This sounds like an ambitious undertaking. Lots of things to look at first though. Not my cup of tea as I like to go where there isn't a lot of people.

Are your sure the babies are rainbows? They could be a shiner species that have established in the pond.

LC