Pleasanton Lake West a small gem

Robert Reed and grandson Tom, Fort Scott, were all smiles as they prepared to head for home after a good day of fishing at Pleasanton Lake West recently. They not only had their limit of channel catfish and had caught lots of others and a few bass and small crappie.

Reed said, "I think this little (30 acres) lake is one of the best places to bring kids and the family for some good fishing and it sure is well maintained."

Don George, district fisheries biologist, had a lot to do with the popularity and success of this good fishing lake.

George said, "This lake has been in the top five Kansas small lakes ever since it was renovated and open to public fishing. We're just like athletics, we face major competition and when you make it to the top ten list, it's like superstars."

The lake was impounded back in 1936 as the water supply for the city of Pleasanton. In 1967, a new lake was impounded and became the water supply source for the city. When George came along in 1986, he wasn't happy with the quality of fishing the lake produced. It really had nothing done to it to help anglers. More than 60 years of siltation had made the shallow lake even shallower.

After working with the city council, George finally was able to drain the lake down and attempt to bring it back to life. After nearly draining the lake, people were invited to take whatever fish were left by just about any method, that was when George found conditions were worse than he thought.

First off, George designed piers in strategic places to make fishing from the bank easier and productive. Next he had cedar trees placed so it would provide cover for the fish and help fishermen locate good spots to catch them. Later George received fish from the state hatchery. Channel catfish, largemouth bass, bluegill and black crappie was the basic recipe for the lake's fishery. Creel limits were set that included two catfish of 15 inches in length.

Feeders were set in several spots in the lake and with feeders George said he could triple the size of the catfish in a relatively short time.

To show just how good the population of channels is in the lake, George deposited a bag of catfish pellets into the water and in a few minutes the water was alive with feeding fish. "They aren't as active as usual today," George said, "but you get the idea there are plenty of fish in this lake and we are at the low end of the season when the population is at its lowest. We will be restocking fish within the next 30 days."

George said the cooperation between the city and state make the lake's fishing success above what many people would have thought a few years ago.

Today there are many area anglers who say this small lake is their favorite fishing hole and a great place for youngsters to catch their first fish. There are fishing rodeos held each year at the lake and as Reed said, "I have enjoyed fishing with my grandson here and have seen many other families enjoy what we have; it's a great place to spend some quality time and I'm glad to see people like Don George so dedicated to keeping it that way."