My wife and I took a Chinese exchange student for her very first fishing experience at Melody on Thursday evening/Friday morning—it was too hot to fish in the middle of the day.  She was thrilled to catch 4 bass and 3 slab crappies!  Not bad for someone who was learning everything from scratch: how to cast a lure, how to retrieve, what a bite feels like, what to do when you get a bite(!), etc.  She did better with crankbaits at first, since you just keep reeling and the hook is set.  Plastics were more of a challenge, but she did much better with them Friday.

Lake is only down 8 or 10 inches from full pool, the dreaded hyacinths are nowhere to be found.  Tons of small fish and fry hanging around the shallows, I think the tilapia stocking is making a real difference.

HUGE crappie,  some had to be well over 2 pounds.  There have always been nice ones at Melody, but they are chowing down on the baby tilapia now and adding weight.

Fishing was good pretty much everywhere, though I think we caught bigger fish near deep water.  Two 18 inchers around 3 pounds topped the bass catch, with several in the 16 to 17 inch range.  Most seemed well fed.  We harvested 4 smaller bass, which brings my Melody total to 49 this year, roughly 45 to 50 pounds.

Isaro, Patti’s new husband, has built an additional boat shed for the Bass Buster type boat they bought this year.  No more bailing after it rains!  There are now two boats in good condition, very helpful for a large group.

Looks like a small tornado went through their property a few weeks ago, many trees are down.  One large branch broke off and landed in the lake at the dam, giving additional shelter for the little fish.  As for Patti and Isaro, their shelter needs a new roof, but otherwise they are fine.

By the way, Patti is now raising sheep in addition to cattle, so for those who enjoy the taste of lamb…