My buddy and I fished Melody on Saturday the 6th of March.  Water temps were pretty cold, probably in upper 40s/low 50s, not surprising since they had snow on the ground previous week.

The lake was pretty high & fairly clear.  Hyacinths, which were a big problem last summer, aren’t as bad now due to Patti’s efforts and the cold weather.  There were a few submerged weeds, but less than usual for this time of year.

Despite being a three hour trip from Shreveport, this is a favorite of mine.  Patti is a warm, friendly lady who will do whatever she can to make your trip worthwhile.  She has a great setup for the boat now, it stays on the water under the roof of a boathouse.  Just load & go.  In years past the boat was drawn up on shore and fire ants got into the wooden parts, making launching a bit too exciting at times.  Not any more.  And unlike the boats at some of the sites, this one doesn’t leak & is quite seaworthy.

Due to the distance I usually stay at Patti’s lodge house.  Not fancy, but very roomy and comfortable.  Two large bedrooms, two bathrooms, a kitchen and large common area.  Homey.

As for the fishing, it wasn’t red hot—in fact, we didn’t see a single bedding fish—but we did manage to catch around 25.  We put away about 15 in the fish basket for eating or compost.  Patti asked us to take out the sub 15 inchers to help the lake, and we were glad to do so.

The fish ranged from dinks up to about 3 pounds, with two exceptions.  First, my fishing buddy had on something very large in the shallow back bay, but after a brief fight the drag couldn’t keep up and the line snapped. After we finished crying, I hooked a nice fish myself.  We were shocked when it jumped, it was huge.  After about ten minutes, I was lucky enough to net a 25 plus inch fat lunker, probably a momma full of eggs.

We measured the length as best we could—you try it with a flopping fish!—but we had no weighing scale.  Even worse, my buddy then told me that he’d left the camera in the lodge!!!  We estimate around 10 pounds, but it could have been a little smaller or bigger.  We returned her gently so she should be fine.

If you come, PLEASE harvest the smaller fish.  Patti will put them in the compost if nobody wants to eat them.  And if you hook a lunker, handle with care and return so that we all can experience healthy big fish in the years ahead.

Frank James