Lake Y Project

WE FOUND A lake. It’s unimpressive. I guess we could call it average, if you want to be nice about it. Sure, there are some bass in it. But, there are more gar, crappie and catfish. We are going to call it Lake Y, but it could well represent the majority of small lakes and ponds scattered throughout the country. Left unmanaged, small fisheries, say from 3 to 100 acres, can get out of balance a lot faster than you would imagine. Bass can become scarce from predation of other critters, or worse, overpopulate a lake and stunt. Nondesirable species (at least to hardcore bass anglers) like catfish, gar and carp can create such a biomass in limited space that largemouth simply cannot thrive. Cover and structure can deteriorate; vegetation can choke out open water; and water quality can become unbearable for fish in a matter of a few years. If you fish a small lake that may resemble this description, the Lake Y Project is for you.

“The best way to get a complete picture of what’s under the water is to shock it … the image of your fishery becomes