Man, I have missed this lake. It truly is the best spot to wet a line in a 50 mile radius. Obviously some things have changed (like the grassy area with the playground next to the tackle shop is now a dirt parking lot), but just seeing the lake up close again after so many years was wonderful.
I'm not a pro shore fisher by any means, so I wasn't expecting to have much success today, but I did score some lively crawlers at the tackle shop which turned out to be the winning ticket to getting bit. I caught a good 25 or 30 bluegill and redears, some were a pound or so. Saw a couple real nice bass pulled out of the reeds along the southwest shore right after 7am. The panfish were biting all around the lake, which I never knew the lake to be known for panfish, but hey it's better than the skunk.
Talking to some other anglers, they all said there were NO PLANS to stock any trout this year, they are just playing out the year to see how it goes. Supposedly the concessionaire only has a 1 year contract, so they could even shut down sooner than the 3 year re-piping project planned. These are just rumors, mind you, but I'd believe this sooner than seeing a stocking truck show up with a few thousand pounds of our favorite table far to dump into the lake.
It looks like the water level is down a bit from the spring, but still a bit higher than the last time I was able to fish here. Around the other side of Trout Island there is a water line running way out into the flats hooked up to a pump, so I don't know what that's all about.
I would really love to see trout return to the lake, it would really help get more people to the lake. The crowds weren't bad at all today.
It was really great to see Daniela again, it's awesome that she is back at the lake and was very enthusiastic about being there, as was I. Let's all continue to show our appreciation for the staff and the county for opening back up, it's really a wonderful place to get outdoors and not have to drive too far to get there.