The Lake - a photo gallery.
Since 1958 I have been lucky to
have this lake just 100 yards from my front door. The land surrounding the
lake is a federal wildlife refuge, so it is protected from development.
There have been great evolutionary changes over the past 50 years.
In the
1960s I was blessed to be able to see 750,000 ducks stop by around
Thanksgiving on their way south. Unfortunately, that is no longer the
case.
The main sport fish in the lake is the largemouth bass. There were some
giants (for the area) in the early days, but overall the bass fishing is
better now than back in the "good old days". Bullheads were common, but now
the lake is full of Channel Catfish. Yellow perch and crappie were also
plentiful years ago then almost disappeared. Both seem to be staging a
comeback in recent years.
There was a deer hunting season for a few years back around 1960, but
there has been no hunting (other than upland birds and wildfowl) for many
years now. The deer population has remained static over the past 50 years,
as cars now kill more deer than hunters ever did.
There is currently a
beaver population explosion. Houses litter the shoreline and cottonwoods are
disappearing as fast as they replenish. There were no squirrels on the lake
50 years ago, but they are now common. Bob White quail were common 50 years
ago, but have since disappeared, and the population of California Valley
Quail has come from few to gazillions.
Wandering Residents of the lake.
Scenic Views of the Lake
The Lake - 2009
The
Lake - 2010
The Lake - 2011
