Aug 04 2012
Frank James
Fingerling
A couple of buddies and I braved the heat at Melody for a few days—it was my last opportunity before I start teaching again—and both the fishing & hospitality were first-rate.
First things first, the bass seemed to have put on some weight. I caught a huge fish and was shocked to see that it measured “only” 20 inches—man, was it fat! One of my buddies has the pic and hopefully will send it in, but the thing is that this was not a female full of eggs, just a very well-fed fish. Most of our other larger fish were also huskier than we’d seen in previous years, a happy development.
I’m guessing the main reason is tilapia. Patti put them in last year and this year, and apparently the bass are chowing down.
Another related development is that the bluegill population seems to have exploded. Lots of fish, many of them very large & a blast to catch! In the past Melody has always given up some really big gills, but there weren’t that many. Looks like the tilapia have taken the place of the gills on the bass menu, at least to some extent. If you have some kids, or just enjoy catching monster gills (I do), you really should give Melody a try.
By the way, in addition to redear, we also caught some coppernose gills. Haven’t seen coppernose there before, but they are a welcome addition.
Twenty inches was the largest fish we boated, but we had on four or five others substantially larger that either broke lines or threw the hook. One bass took out about 60 feet of my line then jumped & spat the hook. It made the twenty incher look small. My buddy Roger had one that was probably even bigger, a heavy log that he dragged up to the boat. When the “log” saw the boat, it bolted. Sadly, Roger’s drag couldn’t keep up.
Maybe due to the heat, we found the morning fishing not only more comfortable but also more productive. Get up before sunrise if you want to experience good fishing!
We harvested 20 bass under 15 inches, bringing my total for the year to 108. We did not catch any crappies.
By the way, the habitat improvement with brush & trees seems to be working pretty well. Lot of small fish around them, and some larger fish trying to get to them! Hopefully this will continue paying dividends in the future.
Patti & Isauro were great hosts, as usual. Very friendly & accommodating, they even took us to a nice local lunch spot with some awesome chicken fried steak. We’ll be back!
Aug 06 2012
Steve Alexander
Keeper
Member Since :
2010
Number of Posts :
415
Frank,
Great report, thanks so much.
One of the many benefits of adding tilapia is the fact that it takes pressure off the bluegill population, and in this case the redear sunfish population. The bass now have an additional food source to feed upon; which takes pressure off the bluegill allowing them to spawn in greater numbers.
Brian and I shocked the lake last fall and noted the lack of habitat in the lake. The additional brush piles and tilapia have been a huge boost for the lake. If the lake was an hour from Dallas or an hour from Houston we would have a hard time managing the fishing pressure. As it is, it is one of the most underrated lakes in the club.