Grandfather Trout Ponds

This place was great. The old man running the place had such a thick accent that we could barely understand him, but it added to the charm of the place. Everyone in the group caught a fish and had a great time. One fish actually jumped out of the bucket and back into the lake, which made the kids enjoy the experience even more. $ 6.95 a pound can get pretty expensive but it was worth it for all the laughs and smiles we got from the kids.

Great fun! My son caught two fish in about an hour. Total of a little over 3 lbs. only way to not have a good time would be to not follow the number one rule. You KEEP what you catch. This is a business and it’s not catch and release. Despite other reviews I’ve read the ponds were clean, not over crowded at all and no dead fish. We we’re there at 10:45 right as they opened.

I don’t write reviews but felt compelled after reading all of the negative ones. We went to grandfathers trout pond on 10−11−13, on a beautiful fall day. I was anticipating (and even a bit excited) to encounter the surly old man who ran the place based on other reviews but did not encounter anyone who fit that description. There were only a few people there so maybe during the busy summer months they get a lot of demanding tourists they might get edgy, but for my husband and two boys 6&9, they were very easy going and helpful. We fished the large pond and went home with 3 large rainbow trout, which they filleted for us. All in we spent $ 80 (you have to keep everything you catch) and I made a lovely trout amandine for dinner. We had a blast, don’t let the other reviews scare you. My kids loved it and wanted to fish more but we set the expectation with them (based on prior reviews) that we have to buy and eat everything we hooked, so they were prepared. Good family fun, we spent about 1.5 hrs there. Kids could have stayed longer running around the fields and looking at the fish. Thanks guys!

This business seriously need to take a step back and reexamine the interview process they use when employing workers to assist customers. I went with a larger group that included multiple younger children and was appalled by the attitude of the people that worked this trout farm. In fact, I would even say that this was the worst fishing experience I have ever had in my life. First I must warn any potential customer that when you first approach this place it seems very kid friendly and the reels & rods are all rigged which was a plus, but it all goes downhill from there. First you must keep all fish that you catch. Now this isn’t actually that out of the ordinary as rainbow trout are surprisingly fragile creatures. However the problem here is that when you have a young inexperienced kid pulling in a fish and an accident happens such as what happened to my group where a fish breaks his hook (common with cheaper hooks) the people working at the shack are likely to begin shouting and making a huge commotion about the chance that the fish may splash back in the water (as fish are liable to do). That is exactly what they did to us, which, naturally, upset the children and turned what was meant to be a relaxing trip to let the kids get a few trout for us to eat later into an unnecessarily stressful experience.
If you have been to trout fisheries before you may be aware that some like to charge you by the pound; with some places weighing the fish before cleaning it (avoid these!) and others weighing the fillets (fair procedure). This place was, unfortunately, the former and charged a good bit more than standard fare per pound. They also advertise that the fish will be cleaned cheap but what they DON’T tell you is that if you want the skin removed (which is not difficult for any experienced cleaner) this cost extra, and when the man cleaning the fish was asked about this he was quite rude about this fact. At the end of the day, if you just want your small child to have fun catching a fish this isn’t to terrible, but if you have a larger group of kids and you actually want to be able to feed them the fish they get for dinner, go find a good stream somewhere. Trust me, your money will be spent much better elsewhere!

1. They provide you with all the tools necessary to catch the fish.
2. You’ll catch a fish, guarantee.
3. They will clean, slide and pack with ICE the fish you catch :)
4. The price per pound a little bit pricy $ 5.99 x pound.
5. Excellent Customer Service.

We took my 18 month old son here to catch his first fish. The ponds are heavily stocked so you are guaranteed to land a fish. You pay for what you catch and the farm provides everything else: tackle, a net, bait, etc. I think the fish cost $ 4.95/lb. There are two ponds, one with larger fish and the other with smaller.
Even though my boy was too young to reel in the trout he loved watching them splash out of the water and helped with the net. The man working weighed and cleaned the fish for us. They even bag it and put it in ice. We finally arrived home in Orlando, FL a few days later and the fish was fresh as ever. We baked it and it is light, flaky and delicious! You can’t get much fresher fish!
There are several such trout farms in the area. This one has a gem mine also but when we visited it was almost too cold to fish, let alone mine for gems! The man working wasn’t the most friendly of guys, in fact he seemed a little surly. Surprising considering they must get a lot of kids come through there. And really, you are getting paid to help people fish. How could you complain?