My wife, Liz, and I were visiting
one of her sisters in Okemos, MI in late May of 2007. Their kitchen
was being remodeled by a local contractor who had a small lake on
his property. I was talking fly fishing with my brother-in-law and
the contractor offered up his stocked pond. He said the State had
put in the small lake as part of a plan to restore useable public
resources that were taken away by the building of the State freeways
around East Lansing. The lake is apparently public though accessible
through private land.
One night I went out there to fish and caught many largemouth bass
and bluegill using an older 8 1/2' 6wt Fenwick glass rod and old US
made Pflueger Medalist reel loaded with a 7wt floating line. My only
fly used was a Gurgle Pop.
About midnight I cast a size 8 or 6
standard
Frailey's Gurgle-pop with yellow body, white legs and goldish
colored polypro tail. The fly splatted right next to some tall grass
that lined the bank and extended out into the water. I heard
something like a slurp and lifted the rod. The fight was on and
lasted some time before I finally just pointed the rod toward the
fish and backed up pulling the thrashing fish up onto the bank. It
was a very dark, warm, moonless night and I wasn't sure what I had
landed until I saw it in my camera. I did not measure the fish but
guessed its length at 30 inches or more before I returned it to the
pond. I have been back to the lake/pond twice more in daylight and
after dark. It still has numerous bass and bluegill. I have never
seen another catfish there.
