# No fish in this lake they said...



## meisjedog (Oct 4, 2010)

My son works as an outdoor education teacher at a camp for children and adults. It has a large brackish(1" visibility) spring-fed private lake that is surrounded by pads. cattails and has a max depth of 40'. Because of liability issues, we can't fish a large portion of the lake because they have inflatable slides, a large dock as well as a 10' jumping platform. Physical bank access is impossible because much of it is a marsh. This lake is only fish by kids for two weeks using hotdogs on a bamboo pole. I can see baitfish activity and other fish activity in large areas, but it is way beyond our range. The thought is that the lake does not hold large fish, they die off due to the color. He has caught some small cats, so I said I'll get some shrimp and we'll see what we can get.

Instead, I decided to net some snacks in the morning, bag them, and put them on ice!
I said, "If there is a big cat in that lake we'll find him!"









We had also tried all manner of plastics topwater and cranks for about an hour without success, so I brought out the shad.

We are on a T-Dock, set up with a slip bobber, large cat hook with two shad cut in half crammed on that hook.

Me: I am just slaying these dinks. One may be a channel, the other I am wondering if it is bullhead?

















He's fishing the inside of the "T" about 9.5' down and I say, "If you're not getting bites, I'd move. However, he dropped his line and was content to let it sit dead still, with absolutely no movement. I am moving around the dock every five minutes and get some nibbles, but no fish. I started thinking perhaps the water quality is in fact bad and they do have a fish retention problem.

A few minutes later he says, "I've got a fish, it's a big one!" I thought to myself, I'll help him net this little cat but...

Bam!
A 22" Fish Ohio!








The release:





15 minutes later - another one. Only 18" this time, but still! He schooled me and I couldn't be happier! Honestly, trying to net these fish hogged straight from the bottom on 30lb PP and into a net was half the fun, they were all over the place once they hit the top!

















Then came the mosquitos and they were thick, even biting the tips of my fingers, so we had to call it.


----------



## One guy and a boat (Aug 8, 2018)

Nice bass and I'd say the lakes fine. Just need different approach with low visibility. They probably key in on scent & movement instead of sight. Both are bullheads. Top is brown and bottom is black. 

Kip


----------



## Beave82 (Apr 6, 2006)

I am familiar with that body of water and if somebody told you there are no large fish in there they couldn't be more wrong as you found out. It is a very large natural pond for the area and it is also a very healthy body of water. They do a couple weeks of fishing camp every summer and the kids utilize the row boats and artificial baits to catch alot of nice bass. If your son is doing outdoor ed. for the camp he should research the lake some so he can better educate the campers, it's not your average large pond. You're also not going to find any brackish water in ohio


----------



## meisjedog (Oct 4, 2010)

My son has been a camper there for the past six years, and then last year, he was offered a position as a counselor(youngest in the 100-year history) but did not run fishing camp until this year. Because he was only 17, they could not offer him full-time until this year which he accepted and put off a year of college just to gain the experience. They only had one week of fishing camp this year(possibly two next year), which I believe the ages ranged from 7 - 15 years old. They have a men's camp, but I think it is over as well. A retired pro comes out for the camp, but I don't think he fishes when they go out in the lake. He mainly focuses on teaching them how to rig and cast. They caught some fish, but they are mostly smaller cats and bass and a few crappies. It is a sponsored camp, and I think they give away a nice rod and reel to the largest catch, but again it was a relatively small bag. My son runs the camp but is also the lifeguard, and apparently, it was fun to flip your kayak, so he has to rescue them every time and left little time to fish. He is really good with 6 to 11 year old's so his time on the clock is Sunday through Saturday morning, 8 am to 10 pm, and that does not include the times when one escapes the cabin at 11 pm and goes running off into the woods - heh!

I gave him a Garmen Striker with a pool noodle wrapped around the transducer and the unit mounted on a waterproof battery box which helped catch the kids tons of fish this year from the dock. However, he has to take them off the hook as well. He has very little time to explore, but maybe I can get the director to let us take a canoe or my powered yak out further in the next few months.

I thought they were both bullheads as well because they were so stout, but It's been a good twenty-some years since I caught one as a kid.


----------



## matticito (Jul 17, 2012)

Nice fish!


----------



## Never done fishing (Jun 27, 2017)

Wow, what a great story, meisjedog! Those are the memories that last a lifetime!

This is the place that started my love for fishing as a kid. So many memories there! Looks like it hasn't changed much. I will post more later when I get the chance.


----------



## Dave068 (Jul 10, 2016)

Great story and sounds like a great camp. It's nice to see young people use their curiosity and catch big fish. BTW brackish water means it has some salt in it but not like sea water. Not a visibility issue.


----------



## c. j. stone (Sep 24, 2006)

Those bass seem a bit light for their length. The first one especially has a huge head from plain age but the body is “thin”! Don’t know where the shad in the net came from but if from that lake, those bass should be rolly pollies! If not, perhaps the lake has a “baifish”(or lack of) issue. You never mentioned bluegills, if lacking those, a good stocking would add some good fishing diversity for the kids(although I’d have to think they are already in there?, and fatten the bass up at the same time. Bass usually spurn bullheads because of their barbs.


----------



## Never done fishing (Jun 27, 2017)

I attended one of the annual family camps from 2005-17, and fishing camp in 2014. I fished the T dock from dawn to dusk, stopping only long enough to eat breakfast, lunch, and dinner. During my youth, I caught good-sized largemouth, smallmouth, crappie, carp, and bluegill. It seems like the last few years the bullhead population has really increased (according to Meisjedog's photos) There weren't too many caught before 2016 or so.

As far as methods to catch fish, we caught good-sized carp on pieces of corn on the bottom, worms for bluegill, hair jigs for slab crappie, and hotdogs on the bottom for large bass. In fact, the picture below is a 22 inch bass my friend caught using that method. It worked much better before the pesky bullhead population increased. Since it is a private, camp lake, it doesn't get much pressure, so the fish will bite almost anything.

As far as structure, there are two Christmas trees sunk in the inside corners of the T docks. There should be buoys marking their placement. Also, there is indeed a retired pro who runs the fishing camp, everyone knows him as Fisherman Dan. He knows the lake inside and out and has planted rock piles in certain places around the lake. Meisjedog, your son would have to ask him where exactly, he's probably added some structure since 2014. 

Meisjedog, congrats to your son on becoming camp counselor. It takes a lot patience to deal with young kids!









Sent from my Moto G (5) Plus using Tapatalk


----------



## bman (Apr 20, 2009)

To the OP-I’ve also fished that lake exactly one time. Was there with my daughter when she was younger at a Dad/Daughter event. I fished for about an hour, flipping a jig near any wood I could find. And I killed the bass…it is loaded with quality bass. Nice job and never listen to anyone who tells you there are no bass in a pond or lake. It would be almost impossible for there to be no bass in just about any body of water in Ohio.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## meisjedog (Oct 4, 2010)

We took a boat out a few weeks ago, had sonar, but the trolling batteries were not charged properly - so we had to row.









Got crazy windy and with only a few bites after a few hours, we headed back to the dock. Water hass cleared extensively, but the wind churned it right back up.










Got back to the dock and he did it again. "Never Done Fishing", it looks skinnier than yours, maybe just how my son is holding it, but had length.

















Got few bites that day. I caught a much smaller one, however, it was fat.

Caught on a jig tipped with a "minnow" - heh! 









Going back on Monday depending on the wind.


----------

