Saturday, June 18, 2011

Pine Lake

I finally got the hyde out on Pine Lake.  Rob at Pappy's told us the Blue Gills weren't on the beds just yet but I was anxious to check out the lake and more importantly find the Bald Eagle nest.  Having received the low down from from my local man in the know Jim P we set out for a nice boat ride.  The lake is a giant sand bowl.  Structure is limited.  So much so that logs were set all along the shore line in 4 feet of water anchored down with cinder blocks to provide structure.  The Gills weren't on the beds but the crystal clear water didn't hide the abundance of Large Mouth Bass that we witnessed.  We also witnessed a few giant snappers basking in the sun. 

With Jim's directions it wasn't  more than 5 mins before we were yards from the Eagle nest and an incredible encounter.  At one time a parent shrieked a cry, swooped down to the lake, grabbed a fish, and returned to the nest to feed her offspring.  Looks like only one eaglet survived on this nest. Statistically one or two offspring survive.  Last year on the Little Manistee there were three eaglet's that survived.  Apparently this is quite rare.  There was a prolific dragon fly presence on this lake.  They were landing on us repeatedly over our stay.

  When you get to see them up close they truly are remarkable insects and they eat mosquito's too!  No shortage of those SOB's right now.  :0(  We caught no fish but it was nice to get out on the lake and see what it is all about.  I suspect it will turn on in a week or two.

2 comments:

Trotsky said...

Nothing like a "giant snapper" to get your motor racing ....
Happy fathers day numb nuts

Harv said...

Very Cool!!!

Please do get a freezer full of them 'gills so we can have a big fish fry after a full day of chasing chromers this fall........