There's a little lake i used to just love. It was full of big fish. It was seriously nothing to go out there and catch 3 fish over 7, sometimes in less than a half hour. But with the devastating floods of the past few years, the lake was reduced to nothing. Many big fish washed out through the overflow. Then it happened all over again the next year and finished the big fish population off. The only consolation was that the lake had a decent bluegill population and i knew it would grow big fish. So i bit the bullet and worked with the landowner to fix the overflow issue. I stocked the lake with all the decent fish I caught at the river this winter. This is a risky proposition in a lot of small waters. There's no guarantee that big water fish will grow in small water. In fact, usually the opposite happens. First, they have to adapt to a totally new environment. Second, they have to adjust to still water instead of current. And last, they have to figure out how to eat something besides shad. But i really felt like I could pull it off in this particular lake since it had such a healthy forage base. Fast forward to this afternoon. I decided to go check 'em out and see how they were doing. Things started off slow with only a few small bass. But as the afternoon wore on, the fish became more and more active. And they got bigger and bigger. And they were flat out smoking that red eye shad. Finally, right before dark, I got the one i was looking for. Here she is. Look at her picture from this winter at the river and compare it to now. She is recognizable by her broken dorsal fin and the little sore on her side. Looks like she's packed on a little weight doesn't it? I figure she's gained at least a pound. Look at the small head compared to her body. She's got "future double digit" written all over her if she continues to thrive like this. I'll keep my fingers crossed. I'll know more about how the fish are doing in this little lake when they spawn in a few days/weeks depending on the weather. Hope y'all are catching some too.

Great story and pictures.Congrats!

Nice! Seems like your plan is working out nicely!

Jeff

Looks like she is puttin on the pounds. Good job!

fantastic fish Paul!

Nice idea! Hope it continues like you planned