My father likes to tell the story of how hard it was to force me to stop fishing and come for dinner when I was a boy. From the time I was six or seven, I would walk across the street to fish from a small dock for bluegills or whatever else might take my worm. I could sit for hours, catching little fish after little fish, always with the hope of something bigger coming along. Fast forward forty years, and now all I must do is walk out my door to sit on the dock in my own backyard. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
I\u2019ve been in the construction process for a little over a year. Building a new home, especially in today\u2019s inflated market, is tough. Everything costs more than you expect it should. Some of the labor force I\u2019ve experienced has left me far more than concerned. If we don\u2019t make a big societal push to return young people to the trades soon, we\u2019re going to be in big trouble. While struggling through this experience, the bright spot has been the construction of my 3-acre lake. I don\u2019t have a name for it yet, but I expect it\u2019ll come to me in time. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Farm ponds have always been a favorite place to fish for me. I\u2019ve more than once been accused of not liking to fish. It\u2019s been said I like to catch, and the fishing gets in the way. There\u2019s a deeper metaphor hiding in there somewhere, but it is true to a point. I like action, and for catching a lot of fish, it\u2019s generally hard to beat a pond. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
When I bought my new property, it had two small, manmade ponds that were separated by a small levee. They were marshy messes, but home to birds, snakes, turtles, frogs, wood ducks, and more. Deer came to drink from them and so did many other critters. When I decided I was going to drain the water to be able to move the dirt, I felt bad about the displacement that was about to happen, but made a promise to the wildlife that I\u2019d replace what had been there with something better. I know that is relative, but all are welcome in the new water. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
It took a lot of work with heavy equipment to deconstruct the two existing ponds. A giant dump truck carried load after load of dirt out of the depressions and to the back of my property where it was dumped and spread to fill in ravines carved after decades of erosion from runoff. Across the landscape, I was making improvement, while keeping in mind, sometimes you have to make a mess before you can clean things up.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As my earth work crew continued to dig and shape, and move and spread dirt, I would come to the bank each evening to visualize what the future of the water would look like. Upon completion of the job, one with which I am very pleased, they marked where the water will reach. It may be hard for some to see what the lake will look like at that level, but it\u2019s clear to me, clear as Ozark stream water.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I have gone ahead and built a dock. It\u2019s not much bigger than the one I used to sit on all those years ago as a boy. There will be a bench at the end, and God willing there will be plenty of people, both young and old, who sit there, starring at bobber waiting for it to dance. When it does, the pull of the line will connect right to the muscles that cause smiles. It\u2019s a dream come true to know I\u2019ll be providing a place where one can sit and fish and let the worries of life fade away.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I already do it. Whenever I find myself upset with the cost of the latest invoice, or the lackluster approach to the job I just paid for, I know it\u2019ll all be ok, because at the end of the day, I\u2019ll go sit on my dock and stare at my lake. I\u2019ll be looking for the turtles to return and listening for the bullfrogs bellowing. I\u2019ll be ecstatic the first time I hear the whistling of woody wings overhead, in hopes they find comfort in the boxes I\u2019ve built for them, and I\u2019ll be hoping the fish are growing big. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
This past week, with the lake about one-third full, I stocked my first 1,000 fish. I added 500 bluegill, 250 redear sunfish, and 250 yellow perch. The latter being an absolute favorite of mine. When it comes to table fare, you can\u2019t convince me anything coming from freshwater tastes better than a yellow perch. I also added 10 pounds of minnows. I\u2019ll repeat this same stocking two more times before adding largemouth bass this time next year. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Having my own little lake isn\u2019t something I could have even imagined when I was sitting on that dock in northwest Indiana all those years ago. I honestly don\u2019t know if I ever really considered something so special until I bought this land. But now that I do, I\u2019m going to do everything I can to make it as good a fishing hole as possible. And I\u2019ll pray it leaves at least one little boy or girl with a passion for fishing they otherwise might have never developed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
See you down the trail\u2026. Pic: Stocking fish like these little yellow perch into a private lake or pond is an investment in the future. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Brandon Butler
bbutler@driftwoodoutdoors.com<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n