The trip didn't last long. Either the trout were not stocked or they did not know how to behave like trout. I didn't spot the first rise. Normally those fresh stockers will rise well most of the winter so it looks like the fish may be delayed this year if we are lucky.
Where does luck come in? Well, in the process of exploring the lake, I heard what sounded like an awful lot of water below the dam. Upon closer investigation, I discovered that the drain seems to be open. Now, I'm not sure why, but it seems like every year or two the lake is drained for some reason or another. If that is what is happening right now, we may not even get the winter stocking at all. So, there goes all the luck out the window....maybe.
At least there are still a few bluegill around and willing to play. I managed a few like this one and one small bass that flopped off before I could manage a picture.
Also discouraging was the widespread algae coating the lake bottom. Runoff from the golf course has been altering the lake for years now to the point that I'm wondering how it is affecting the fish population. This lake used to put out some slab sized panfish and nice bass up to 8 or so pounds. The last few years, I just can't find any fish over 2 or 3 pounds and even those seem to be few and far between.
Currently I'm looking into the possibility that the Park is illegally polluting their own lake with fertilizer rich runoff from the golf course. As of right now I'm not sure about all the regulations on such things, but the situation is getting bad enough that something needs to be done so I guess I'll be doing some legwork over the next few days. More on that later if anything comes of it...
