n8ly, this is the letter I wrote about considerations on a lake like yours. It appeared in the September/October 2007 issue of Pond Boss. Hopefully, this will give you some ideas.
Bob, thank you for the referral. I’m always glad to help anyone, anytime, anyway I can.
Keith, we have a 4-acre lake about 10 miles south of Sioux Falls, SD, a town of about 150,000. We use our lake for kids, handicapped and elderly fishing. Actually, we specialize in working with people in wheel chairs. The more you can tell me about your lake or the lake you are planning, the more suggestions I can provide.
PRACTICAL CONSIDERATIONS:
Number 1, 2 and 3—Safety! This might seem obvious, but let me tell you, there are so many ways a person can get hurt around a lake that it’s almost hard to believe. Let’s go through a few of them.
·People in wheel chairs are often helpless if they should fall into the lake. Often there is a slope down to a lake, which means a wheel chair has a natural tendency to roll down into the lake. You need to have a barrier wherever people in wheel chairs might have access to your lake.
·Algae grows readily on almost anything. It is very slick and a person can fall very easily on it.
·Check your liability insurance very carefully and MAKE SURE you are covered.
·It doesn’t sound like fun, but you might have to fence this pond and run it like a swimming pool.
·We have a large covered bridge (8’ X 54’) and another large covered dock (10’ X 32’). We restrict people to fishing from these two places only. I’m very strict about this and don’t tolerate any exceptions.
·You might have noticed that I said “covered” bridges and docks. Many of the people that fish our lake cannot stand being in the sun. It’s also much more comfortable for everyone.
·I suggest you have a number of people go around your area looking for safety problems.
FISHING EQUIPMENT
·We provide all of the fishing equipment and bait needed. We keep it as simple as possible.
·We use spin-casting reels only as these are very easy to use.
·We use a single circle hooks on a leader attached to a swivel and catch. Above this is a split shot and bobber.
·When a person catches a fish, they reel it in until the fish is just out of the water. A helper then grabs the line and pulls the fish in the rest of the way. The rod is then put into a rod holder that holds the rod out over the lake. Rods, reels, hooks and fish flying all over the place are a recipe for disaster.
·We use circle hooks only as they tend to catch the fish in the lip, making it much easier to unhook the fish. Circle hooks are also very effective for use by people with limited fishing experience.
THE FISH
·You’ll have to tell us what you have in mind for a lake for us to give you suggestions.
·Our management goal is a very high catch rate of moderately sized fish. I would suggest this for you also. You definitely do not want a trophy largemouth lake.
·We practice catch and release. We often catch the same fish 25-50 times in its lifetime.
·Circle hooks are essential to our catch and release as they normally catch a fish in its lip.
·Channel catch fish are cheap, bite well and are good fighters. You can buy 1 to 1 ½ lb. catfish to stock immediately.
OTHER COMMENTS
·Depending on the physical abilities of the people fishing, I usually insist on one helper/staff member per person fishing.
·I am personally present in all cases of groups fishing. Groups contact me to set up times to come fishing.
·We have a hatchery permit, which allows us to legally manage this lake in ways the average person cannot. I suggest you contact your state fisheries department for help and advise. They are normally more than happy to help any way they can.
·Hire a professional. Bob Lusk and the other professionals advertising in the magazine will pay for themselves many times over.
·We have islands opposite the covered dock. People are not allowed on these islands and they are full of wildlife. Sometimes people just sit and watch the wildlife.
These are very general comments. The more you can tell us specifically, what you have in mind, the more we can give you specific suggestions.
