09/03/08

Labor Day Weekend: Angler's Paradise (permalink)

cabin camping retreat fish fishing paradise anglers

Last weekend I traveled to south Missouri (near Liberal, MO) with some of the guys I work with to fish at a fishing camp called Angler's Paradise.  Rumor has it that the pit at this camp could hold a record breaking bass, and in fact many greater than ten pound to 13 pound bass have been found there. The owner, Don, is a great guy and takes fantastic care of the grounds and the modern, comfortable cabins.  He is very willing to swap fishing stories and provide advice for great spots to fish and the tecniques to catch em.

The lake is beautiful, especially in the morning when the still water reflects the surroundings like a polished mirror.  It is a pit, and old converted strip mine, so the walls surrounding the lake are mostly sheer cliffs or very steep wooded hills.  This means that most fishing needs to be done from boat, which we rented from the owner.

As for our luck fishing, we did not do nearly as well as any of us hoped.  The biggest fish anyone in our group landed was a 4.5 pounder, and I mostly cought 1-2 lb bass.  The owner attribute the less than stellar fishing to torrential rains this year that have already dropped twice the annual rainfall on the lake.  This has killed much of the shoreline vegetation and disrupted the habitat.  I hope to return there next spring when the ecosystem should start recovering.