Lake Margery

[ucfireman]

They gonna drain Lake Margery at Marben farms for repairs.
Gonna be a lot of dead fish, what a shame.

Lake Margery at Marben Public Fishing Area is in the process of being drained in order to safely conduct important maintenance including replacement of gate valves and boat ramp improvements.

While drainage is occurring, the boat ramp and bank access will remain open as follows:

• Boat Ramp: The ramp will remain open as long as it is safe for use. Signage will be posted once ramp is unavailable.
• Bank access: Anglers can bank fish at Lake Margery until heavy equipment arrives for maintenance work. Lake will be drained at this point.

When maintenance is complete, the lake will be allowed to refill. Once the water is at appropriate levels, fish stockings can occur. Potential re-opening date for the lake is Fall 2024.

 

[basshappy]

So someone from DNR in the know can correct me if I'm wrong, but:
1) the draining is slow and not overnight. In fact it is going to make it easier to fish as the fish are pushed into smaller area.
2) I predict the DNR will perform shocking throughout the draining to net and relocate fish of interest.
3) This is part of the "Master plan" to return Margery to its heyday of lunker bass lake. Two years back they drained the pond above it, and stocked cats, gills, and hybrid bass. That pond by archery course can in theory flow into clubhouse kid event pond, which can flow to Margery. We were told they are removing all largemouth and spotted bass from those two ponds above it and stocking Margery with only female largemouth bass and forage for those girls to girth on. Like Panic Pond down south. So if this is now beginning on Margery could be something awesome down the road. That lake female only largemouth ...

 

[hipster dufus]

Hope it comes back, marben been dead for yrs

 

[basshappy]

@hipster dufus we didn't start fishing CEWMA until maybe 4-5 years ago. I understand we missed out on some awesome fishing in years before then. But it is one of our go to destinations to this day. My boy has landed some nice bass, carp, catfish, and bluegills there. It can be tough some times depending on variables, but it is loaded with fish.

 

[ucfireman]

I hope they do shock and relocate what they can.
Or even leave some water in the lake where the fish can live while the dam is repaired.

Im not well versed but what is the purpose of only female bass? Seems like there would be no reproduction if thats the case.
And yes I know the famales get bigger than the males.

 

[basshappy]

@ucfireman that is the point for female only largemouth bass impoundment - big bass. Like the Panic Pond down at Silver Lake WMA. We were told lake chubbs would be stocked as a forage base. Draining the water is only way to be certain all fish removed. Shock works to about 6 feet depth. So if they can draw it down way shallow they can remove the biomass.

 

[IKG49]

I’m there a few times a month, always catch something.

 

[ucfireman]

So if its all female and big fish, Are you going to be allowed to keep fish you catch? Seems like it will have to be constantly restocked to just keep the bites up.
With the take out and the released fish mortality (Some live some die).
Seems like a waste of time and money when you could just stock it and have natural reproduction.
But to each their own.

 

[basshappy]

So if its all female and big fish, Are you going to be allowed to keep fish you catch? Seems like it will have to be constantly restocked to just keep the bites up.
With the take out and the released fish mortality (Some live some die).
Seems like a waste of time and money when you could just stock it and have natural reproduction.
But to each their own.

I don't know what rules they might enact for Margery, but at the Panic Pond there are rules:
- Open Sat, Sun and Mon 30 minutes before sunrise and 30 minutes after sunset
- Closed in July and August
- Artificial only no live bait
- Keep 1 bass over 24-inches per day
- Each year 50 1 lb female bass are stocked to replace any removed from fishing

My boy and I fished the Panic Pond. All we caught were gators. LOL. It is a tough pond for sure, but many land nice bass and double digit bass are not uncommon.

With all of the ponds at Charlie Elliot I imagine they might be managing ponds more intensely looking to have certain species in certain ponds to draw fisherpeople. Versus every pond having the same species.