Fished Wilde Lake 12/5 amd 12/7

[tech11165]

Kayak.jpgcrappie.jpg
Went out with a buddy of mine and had my maiden voyage on my new Native Propel 10. It worked great. Still messing with seat adjustment. Caught plenty of Crappie once I found them. No luck on Bass. My buddy was targeting bass and he caught 3 nice ones. 12/7. Off work on Mondays so I went again to Wilde Lake. No bass again. I suck as a bass fishermen any ways. Plenty of Crappie. Winter crappie are easy once you find them. Still working on my bass fishing skills. Never really fished for them before. Mostly bay fishing.

[bignose]

Wilde Lake is my "home water". I live 4 blocks from there. The fishing rules are a sore point with me.

It isn't bad as a fishery, but some of the neighbors on the South Side of the lake are not very friendly, and there has been an ongoing debate with Columbia Association since the late 1980's. I had the regulations clarified in 1996, only to have the Association change them again, in 2008, due to the pressure of a few well heeled neighbors with residences on the South Shore. You have to register your craft with the Columbia Association. The fishing rules are hidden in the boating regulations.

The current regulations are deliberately vague (the language was not vetted) and boundaries are unenforceable: i.e. "No Fishing in front of the Residences…….."
To my way of thinking that means that you cannot fish in the street in front of these houses.
And the signage around the lake is not up to date, which their own regulations require.

You can sit in the "restricted water" all day unless you pick up a fishing rod, at which point you are in violation.
It is fishing that they are opposed to and they hide behind reasons such as damage to the waterfowl. There is a "swan safety zone", except they haven't had swans there for over ten years.
It was a problem in the late 1980s when trout were stocked in the pond which created a fishing circus, but the State no longer stocks trout there.
I have had a couple of these nut jobs video me fishing and sent the films to C.A.

Lake Elkhorn is a couple miles way and you won't have to deal with any crap from the residents. And Kittimaqundi, nearby, has a better Crappie fishery, anyway.

The funniest thing of all is that the Columbia Association has two large photographs of me fishing from my canoe in Wilde Lake, to promote the "Columbia Lifestyle."

[tech11165]

That's funny. I had no idea they had restrictions. I had a lady taking photos of me today. Thought that was odd. That sucks with registering your boat ETC. We are going to Elk horn Thursday. Any ideas on where?

[bignose]

That lady taking the pictures is one of the property owners. I've had problems with her in the past.
Registering your boat is no big deal. Just go to the Open Space Management office on Gerwig Lane and fill out the form. It's not too far from Elkhorn. You'll get a sticker for your boat. You do not have to be a Columbia resident.

If you launch at Dockside Lane: carry across the parking lot and down the steps, I'd head towards the dam, and try off of the rip rap along the west side in about 10 feet of water. It drops off sharply, you have a depth finder, I saw. Occasionally you can catch crappies near the mid lake covered pier.

[Mark]

I had a lady taking photos of me today. Thought that was odd.

Must be a sister of the camera lady at Spriggs Farm.

[Mark]

How do you like your propel?...I've been thinking about getting that exact model. Did you get it locally? The closest dealer I can find is Appomattox in Va. Have you tried standing in it?

Sent from my LG-H810 using Tapatalk

http://cdollaroutdoors.com/index.php/rentals

[tech11165]

I bought it from Amazon which went through Appomattox. I love the reverse for bass fishing. Don't really need for trolling the bay. Can't go wrong with a HOBIE or native.

How do you like your propel?...I've been thinking about getting that exact model. Did you get it locally? The closest dealer I can find is Appomattox in Va. Have you tried standing in it?

Sent from my LG-H810 using Tapatalk

[justacanoe]

wow, just wow. that is what i hate about Maryland, and why I want to move to Alaska. Columiba and Howard Co are full of busy-body big-govt. liberals who take offense at a person fishing quietly on a paddle or peddle boat. This is not a drunk party barge with T&A hanging out, this is not waters skiers zooming up and down the lake with some risk of collision (and lots of noise), this is not a 200HP glitter rocket tearing up the lake at dawn. For all practical purposes you are as quiet and nature comforming as a native American in a canoe, and still they stalk you and photo you.

Gawd have mercy! What a crock!

(WSSC also sucks, they shortenend the fishing day from 1 hour after sunset to sunset, shortened the year by one month (formerly March 1 - Dec 15) now (March 15 - Nov 30). More than doubled fees in 10 years, never repair the ramps, never fix the parking lots, never fix the crappy mooring poles, never put a proper light at the ramp, and close the ramp arbitrarily on for thunder storms. Also they eliminated the only non-handicapped parking spot next to the ramp, and put a speed bump on the short steep road to the ramp.)

(in fairness, WSSC did add 1/2 hour before sunset, but it was still a net loss of 1/2 hour per day, and one month per year).

[bignose]

Columiba and Howard Co are full of busy-body big-govt. liberals who take offense at a person fishing quietly on a paddle or peddle boat.

Just a quick note:
This site has remained mercifully free of the political commentary that has poisoned sites like Tidalfish. Please consider that before making such a broad blanket statement.

This issue has nothing to do with politics.

It is more of a matter of the "snobs versus the slobs", the "haves versus the have nots".

Several well connected owners of lake front property view this as "their" lake, and are unwilling to accept that it is Open Space and open the the general public. They are elitists, and have a sense of entitlement.
It's kinda like somebody buying a house next the airport and then complaining about the noise.
BTW, the largest number of craft that I have seen on the lake, other than when camp is in session, is 5, and that was on a Sunday afternoon.

As I wrote above, I have been working on this for 30 years with the Columbia Association trying to get the access, regulations and enforcement situation tolerable for fisherman and residents, alike.
This is not an issue at the other Columbia ponds. So fish there if dealing with their nonsense annoys you.
All I can say, right now, is to register your craft, fish in the legal areas, and do not give the residents a reason to get further restrictions, ridiculous as they may be, added on.

I ran into a similar situation on the Severn a couple of years ago. A property owner began to berate me because I was fishing near "her" dock. I had to remind her that "her" dock was built with the State's permission over the State's water.

[DanMarino]

It is my understanding that Jim Rouse, developer of Columbia, lived right on the lake. So that might explain some of the "issues".

[bignose]

No. Jim lived on the lake, true, but he was in favor of a multiple use facility. It's a couple of his former neighbors that are the continuous problem.
I guess that they never had to share their toys when they were younger.

The problem began when the State began stocking trout in the pond and it created a "fishing circus."
With a load of bait fishing guys chasing trout, public drinking, trash, and no place to relieve yourself, and a confrontational attitude of a couple of the locals……….and then a swan ingested a hook and died….this was in the early 1980s.
As anyone who has fished the lake may have observed, most of the accessible shoreline that is clear enough to fish is on the South Side, directly adjacent to several condos, and these people don't care for people fishing in their "backyard" even though there is a pathway and an easement there. The North shore, where shore fishing is legal, is generally overgrown with "riparian" habitat, and has very limited access.

By 1992-3 the State shifted the stocking to Centennial and Lake Elkhorn, but by then, unfortunately, attitudes of the residents had been set.
The Waterfowl and habitat committee wield an undue influence with CA as well as the aforementioned residents…….and they all hate fishing. It was all I could do to keep them from banning fishing altogether!
And they are a lot more organized than a loose knit group of people who want to fish the pond.

[sparky1423]

Where is the best area to launch into Lake Kittimaqundi? I viewed on googlemaps and found a few locations, any rules or regulations I should be aware of? I've been itching for a good day of crappie fishing.

[tech11165]

Let me know about the crappie at Kittimaquandi. Any size to them? I found a few holes at Wilde lake. One great one at the fountain, but that is off limits. I know now. I did get a permit. I kind of like the other two lakes in that area anyways. More natural feel and no restrictions. I feel like I am intruding and on display at Wilde lake. I probably won't come back there. Nothing spectacular over the other Columbia lakes. We'll see. Thanks "Bignose" for your help earlier this winter. I'm a better salt/brackish fishermen than bass fishermen. Bass fishing is hard or I'm just horrible at it. I need to hone my skills in the spring and fall before trying winter time fishing for bass.

[bignose]

I park and launch at the lot just below (South) where the Whole Foods is. Technically this is Whole Food's or Haven at the Lake property, not CA's. Park in the corner nearest to the Lake.

Just remember to get your CA permit from the CA Open Space Management Office over by Gerwig Lane.
Unlike Wilde Lake, there are no ridiculous fishing regulations, just normal State of MD DNR rules.

You may want wear headphones until the foliage fills in, if you are fishing from a craft, as Route 29 is about 30 yards to the East and the traffic noise is annoying. I like to fish on Sunday mornings, less traffic.

It's a short carry to the edge of the lake. There is a small shallow cove that has a lot of branches in it but a kayak should be no problem.
The best crappie fishing is around the long pier at mid lake.

The lake was dredged and reconfigured a couple of years ago, and by the end of June is full of swamp snot, trash, and pond weeds. Obviously, the dredging didn't help much.
It used to be a very good bass pond. Now mostly crappies and carp. I haven't caught many decent sized crappie there, but I seldom target them. I have seem some guys with nice stringers taken off of the pier.

To be honest, Lake Elkhorn is a better pond, and has a floating dock for an easy launch. Dockside Lane, off of Cradlerock. And you won't have to deal with obnoxious residents there.

[sparky1423]

Great Intel, thanks again