Thursday, September 30, 2010

The long lost lake







I was on my way to Busch wildlife one day after work, but I was dreading the drive out there and the future commute on the way home. I was taking a different way and drove by a neighborhood that I was familiar with. I began to think and remembered that my cousin in law's family still lived in the area. I immediately envisioned the small lake that belonged to the residents of this community. I decided to make a rash decision and quickly ducked into the neighborhood. I called my cousin to get permission to fish the water, and I began to remember how beautiful the lake was even though it is nestled on the out skirts of the city.

I assembled my rod and quickly got down to business, as I approached the waterline I could see some large black watery shapes on the surface. I began to see all sorts of cruising blue gills on the surface and tied on a small hopper. I began to catch fish left and right, and the first three or four fish fit neatly in the palm of my hand. I found a very small cove that had a medium sized stick up in the middle of it. I placed a cast right next to the structure and gave the little hopper a twitch. The surface erupted in a violent flash as a very decent blue gill began to strip line off my reel. I landed the fish and was pleasantly surprised to have caught such a decent blue gill so close to home in a lake that I have written off for at least a good five years. I placed a cast in the same place and with the same surface strike had another decent pan fish on, which I slid onto my reel because I am still new to fly fishing and it is nice to reminisce. I quickly landed a very strong and very nice looking red ear, which I photographed and released back into the murky depths.


I found myself catching fish after fish and after I changed to a rather large pink and white hopper, I began to catch some pretty nice looking bg's. I know I shouldn't have felt this way but on a couple of good fish, I was hopping that they would spit the hook. I had to hoist every fish up a good three to four feet onto the bank but I decided this was a great problem to have. I left the non stop action of the cove and began to pick off cruisers near the shore. I worked my way down to the rock dam and fished my way into the corner of the lake. I entered an area that is relatively shallow and threw my big popper in the bend in between the shore and the dam. I looked down at my phone and saw that my hopper was no where to be seen and there were ripples on the water. After what seemed like minutes I reacted and set the hook to immediately gave the fish the line that it so desperately needed as the he began to take a very strong run. I worked the fish for a little while and brought up a bass which at that moment looked like a whale. I was so happy to land this guy because he was very dark green and very bassy. I have been on a hunt for bass and this is largest bass I have brought to hand on a fly rod.


The best thing about this place is that it is hemmed in by trees. The steep shoreline and dense trees make the casting interesting to say the least. The lake is amazing because there is very little fishable shoreline and a large amount of water. It is very tempting all of the islands and coves that are just out of casting range. In the end I am very happy to have rediscovered this lake and I cant wait to explore its depths and unlock its secrets. I hope to get into the water and target some bigger bg's and crappie. The icing on the cake for me would be to track down some larger bass in the many coves and brush piles that dot the father end of the lake.


3 comments:

  1. Jealous of both those fish, but especially that male RE--always a treat and surprise this time of year. Love 'em.

    Glad you finally updated the blog--enjoyed the post!

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  2. Ron
    Great Post!! You got to love it when the gills and bass are trying to kill that popper. Just curious about the popper you were using--- is it a flat face or concave face? If you get a chance put up a pic of it on your next post. Thanks for sharing.

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  3. Thats an awesome bass what a fight..!

    www.bigerrish.blogspot.com

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