One of the first projects I undertook when we made the move to the farm in 2020 was restoring the lake to the great fishery it once had been. The story of the lake has, quite literally, been an “up-and-down” saga for years.

At one point due to lack of rain, a leak, the gradual silting-in process that had occurred over the years or all of the above, the lake got so low that you could actually walk across its middle section on dry ground. In fact, that summer, its waters dwindled until all that remained was the deepest section by the dam, about 1/4th of the overall size of the lake.

We lost a lot of fish that summer, and the bigger bass were really hit hard. I well remember mowing on the levee and finding the skeleton of a huge bass that had been picked clean by the birds. I stood there staring for a long time, wondering how much that old bass must have weighed. I’m no forensics expert, but in my mind and based on the bass I have caught over the years, it would have easily surpassed the 10-pound mark.

In the years that followed, plentiful rains restored the lake to its former glory, and we soon found ourselves in uncharted waters, no pun intended. Never before had too much water in the lake been a problem. In fact, at one point when the waters were low, the spillway had actually been capped to prevent any water loss.

When the waters remained low, as they had for years, the fact that the drain had been capped wasn’t an issue. However, the now-swollen lake was in danger of coming across the levee, which abuts a major public road (major being a relative term here in the country). When the waters finally began to trickle across the road, I enlisted the help of a neighbor with a small excavator to pop open the metal drain pipe and allow the excess water to escape.

Since that time, the lake has gone through a normal cycle of filling to capacity in winter and dropping slightly during the dry days of summer. This ebb and flow has allowed us the opportunity to implement the management practices necessary to restore the fishery.

Our first year here, I began fertilizing the lake throughout the summer and have continued the practice each year. In his article “4 Tips for Managing A Pond Like a Pro,” author Roger Burge outlines the importance of implementing a consistent fertilization program. According to Burge, “Fertilized ponds can hold up to four times more fish than an unfertilized pond.”

Burge is the owner of Georgia Plantation Solutions, a full-service aquatic management company and is an expert when it comes to tailoring management plans to meet the needs of those with small ponds and lakes. I found his article on mossyoak.com, which, along with Mossy Oak’s GameKeeper podcast, has become my go-to source for help with do-it yourself management projects here on the farm.

Since not every small-farm owner has the resources to hire an aquatic management company, resources like the Mossy Oak’s GameKeepers offerings are invaluable.

Aside from fertilizing, which “will increase growth and reproduction rates of all fish,” Burge names one thing as critical to successful lake management: catching and keeping fish.

“The best, most productive ponds that I have the opportunity to manage are heavily used ponds that encourage harvest,” Burge said. “Bass under 15 inches in length and all crappie should be harvested to allow the resident population to prosper.”

Of note, Burge also points out that “a pond can stay balanced without bluegill harvest, if bass are present.” He adds, however, that “bass must be harvested annually to maintain the balance of the pond.”

Reading this article was very eye-opening for me. It made me realize that while I had done a great job with part of my management practices, I had failed in another. I had excelled in the work — fertilizing and stocking — and I had dropped the ball on the fun — catching and keeping fish.

It’s ironic to me I had failed in what was essentially the reason why I was doing the work in the first place. Saturday morning, I set out to right that wrong.

Just after daylight, I launched Pop’s newly refurbished boat, tied on a green pumpkin/chartreuse Senko and started fishing my way around the lake. The weather was perfect, the sunrise was beautiful and in less than three hours I had caught 39 bass under 15 inches along with one bream (what I grew up calling a strawberry bream).

It was pure, unadulterated fun, and for those three hours, I felt like a child again. When I finished, I cleaned all my catch, and Sunday night we had a fish fry. Enjoying those fish with my family was a wonderful reminder of why we made the permanent move to the farm.

Until next time, here’s to being a gamekeeper, to doing our part in the outdoors and to enjoying the fruits (or in this case filets) of our labors, and here’s to seeing you out there in our great outdoors.

Email outdoors columnist Brad Dye at braddye@comcast.net.