Posted by BMan from internetus.ardentrisk.com on August 25, 1998 at 17:21:19:
In Reply to: Ponds near Cantera Theatre posted by Wayne on August 07, 1998 at 17:27:42:
If you are referring to the McDowell Forest preserve lake right off of Diehl, then I am one of the few who fishes this lake. It appears to be an old quarry. Very shallow for the most part, some weeds, a few deeper holes (15'?), and LOADED with carp! However, I fish this lake for bass. Surprisingly, this lake has a fair number of good sized bass. I was fortunate to have a friend show me the lake after he caught several 4-5lbers 2 springs ago. I have 3 bass in the last 2 years out of here that were 20", 20", and 19" respectively. I'd guess them to be anywhere from 3 3/4 lbs to the heaviest weighing 4 1/2 lbs. Before you get too excited, I have found this to be a tough lake to fish at times. If I spend 3 hours on the lake, I would expect to get bit about 2-4 times max. The good part about it is you do have a decent chance at a "nice" bass. PLEASE practice catch and release here on the bass! But keep as many carp as you can catch (for you carp fisherman.) This place is loaded with carp - big ones!
For bass, Jig-n-Pigs, spinnerbaits, and topwater plugs seem to do the best here.
Good Luck,
BMan