Yesterday, I went to Panther Lake in Willow Springs, NC, to do some pickerel fishing. I've only caught a few before and wanted to see if I could add a few more to my total.
The lake itself is fairly small (under 10 acres) and private. It's $5 per fisherman and an additional $10 if you want to launch a boat. You pay your fee via cash honor system and fill out a form that lets the owner know that you drove, then shove the cash in a slot in the door. There's a small ramp that's wide enough for a single boat / vehicle at a time.
While the lake looks really nice and I was initially very excited to fish it, I quickly found out that it's overrun by grass in the lake. I would estimate that I was pulling grass off my baits at least 3 out of every 4 casts and it got to be frustrating very quickly.
I did manage to catch some fish, at least 3-4 pickerel and another 3-4 (small) bass. I've see pictures of larger bass caught out of the lake and I'm sure they exist, but I just didn't have the patience to make so many casts with larger bass lures, just to get them caught in the grass.
I thought the lake was nice, but for a $15 launch fee, the owner(s) really need to invest in some herbicide and knock some (or all) of the grass down, as the lake is almost unfishable unless you're fishing topwater or very small lures at the top of the water column.
Top baits of the day were the following:
Z-man Finesse TRD (Molting Craw color): amzn.to/3AY8rDN
1/4 oz Panther Martin Dress Gold / Orange Spinner: amzn.to/44wODVN
4 май 2023
