A Little Piece Of Paradise

Tuesday, June 3, 2008
by Ray Scott

He knew every inch of the lake, from the famous “Chevy Hole” that harbors the carcass of an old Chevrolet car frame to the “Clunn Hole” where angling icon Rick Clunn caught his 13-15 personal best in a fund- raising tournament attended by both Presidents Bush. Wilson caught his first bluegill and bass on our lake and he was only 8 or 9 when he was allowed to crank the big engine (always with a life vest on).

Photo: Ray Scott Outdoors Ray Scott and his youngest son Wilson stand inside what will become Wilson's 3-acre fishing pond.

Now just turned 29 and married to a beautiful lady named Noel, he is in the process of creating his own great small water on his very own 14-acre home site. And it is wonderful to see his intensity and his pleasure as he goes about creating a trophy-bass pond for himself. It will probably end up being about 3 acres – plenty for a great bass fishery, as I tell people all he time. Well-designed and well-managed ponds and lakes simply don’t have to be big to produce outstanding fish.

I didn’t have to help him. He knew he needed a good professional soil analysis and a survey to determine natural watershed, dam location, and the water line. We held our breath because some of the soil on his property is sandy – unusual in the largely gumbo clay of our area. Sandy soil does not hold water, as many people have found out – too late. But the samples revealed good, solid clay that would hold water.

The heavy equipment came in and started to sculpt his lake bottom according to Wilson’s specific directions. Now his years of experience came into play. He constructed several large ridges for the bass to cruise and for a nice congregation area, a small mountain of discarded concrete chunks. And of course he kept a generous amount of hardwood stumps and trunks for ambush points and cover. His dam wall is solid and gently sloped – no problem with getting a mower on the back side.

He invited Pop in for a final inspection and friendly advice, but it was already done. He had learned well.

Once the shoreline was well-established I gave him a special pond-warming gift – two live-oak saplings. They are my favorite tree, and I only wish I had planted many more on my property 20 years ago. I doubt I will live to see Wilson’s in their fullest glory, because they grow so slowly, but he and his future children and grandchildren will. Together, we picked planting locations on the edge of the lake and built triangular frames around them to protect them from the whitetail that roam our area.

Now it is a waiting game as the Good Lord fills the pond slowly but surely. We can only imagine what the final shape will really look like. The little red flags just don’t paint the whole picture – nature always has a way of providing wonderful little surprises in the end – like a little cove or curve you didn’t quite expect.

Once the pond fills, Wilson will begin stocking with bluegill and fingerling bass in the right proportion. I have already given him permission to cull my lake of bass 2 pounds and under. He vows to produce the world’s largest bass – or maybe Alabama’s largest. His eyes light up at the thought.

For the moment, the house site is empty. But the property is beautiful, protected from the road with a rolling landscape and clusters of hardwoods. It might be a while before he can afford a house. But hey, the bass lake is ready. What more could he want?

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