Food For Thought

So I happen to be acquainted with the manager of the state wildlife area that holds Trout Lake and Brookie Lake and several more lakes. I was chatting with him the other day, complimenting him on his work, as usual, and filling him in on some of my recent experiences.

So I asked him if Trout Lake is drawn down through the summer because of irrigation. He said, no, it's just that the lake doesn't hold water. They tried using it back in the Twenties to hold water for agricultural purposes, but found out that it leaks. So water flows in and flows out, and by late summer/early fall there simply isn't enough water to keep the level up. I'll never refer to it as "still water" again.

Then I asked him about a little lake I can see in my drive into the wildlife area. You can see it right under the "Two mile hike" legend in the photo. He passed over that one--nothing to write home about--and casually mentioned the existence of yet another lake beyond that little one. A two mile hike in, and you have to pack a float tube in with you. That means no boats. He said the fishing was good.

So I asked what's in there. He said, "I saw a man catch a twenty-inch eastern brook trout out of there." I scoffed, in a respectful way. He said, "I have a picture of it somewhere..."

Now that gets you thinking.