Got My Permits....

[DanMarino]

Free permit stickers from the Columbia Association today.
I'll stick them on my 4 kayaks and be ready to go for quick trips.

[<MIKE>]

Free permit stickers from the Columbia Association today.
I'll stick them on my 4 kayaks and be ready to go for quick trips.

?

[buzz]

?

http://columbiakayaker.blogspot.com/...-columbia.html

[Shady]

I got mine last year and never even went... The 13 on the end of the expiration date was just written on with a marker and washed off pretty quickly.

Think anyone would say anything if I just put a 14 on there this year? Chances are good I wont get to any of the lakes this year either, but maybe...

Which one do you like most?

Sent from the water.

[DanMarino]

I've caught fish at all the Columbia lakes, but haven't been to them in several years. Once they started those dredging projects I stopped going.

[DanMarino]

The main reason I got the permit stickers this year is so my family can all go as a group. Triadelphia and Rocky Gorge are closer, but I don't want to pay their daily fees or yearly fees for my family who won't paddle there enough. The Columbia Lakes are free and close and have fish, so we should have a nice time.

[Shady]

I think the main reason I've never went is they seem wierd to get a yak into...

Sent from the water.

[<MIKE>]

Good to know. I belong to the Columbia association. Is Centennial included in the covered lakes?

[Shady]

Wilde, kitamaqundi and elkhorn only

Sent from the water.

[DanMarino]

^ This.

[bignose]

About the Columbia Ponds:
I live in Columbia and fish all three. Columbia Association uses photos of me fishing from my canoe in their headquarters as a way of showing the activities available in the community. The fact is, fisherman are not important, and while the environment at CA isn't hostile, it isn't user friendly either.

Wilde Lake: decent from the mid section towards the dam. Bass, sunfish and crappies are the main sport fish.
Very obnoxious, and pain in the ass residents, especially in the houses by the lake on the South West side.
I have been screamed at, harassed and video taped by one particular resident who does not know the rules.
It is "their" lake, and they don't want you there. Typical snobs vs. the slobs.
The State used to stock trout here, which resulted in a opening day fishing circus of drinking, trash, and public urinations. The trout stocking got moved to Lake Elkhorn in 1993. The local residents viewed all fishermen as the "enemy".

The fishing regulations are arcane and concealed in the boating regulations specific for Wilde Lake, i.e. one of their regulations specify no fishing in front of certain houses. I pointed out that I generally do not put my canoe in the street to fish where the "front" of the houses are. Their rules are unenforceable, but occasionally the police have been called. They used to try to say that they were protecting the swans (one swan died in the early 1980's from ingesting a hook) but they haven't had swans at the lake for at least 5 years.
They also complain that people fishing violate their privacy……….one guy went as far as saying that burglars could scout out potential targets from a boat! Uh, there is a path right next to these properties, why would a self respecting criminal go to the trouble? You get the idea.

The other ponds only require that you register your boat with CA and follow Maryland State regs.

I fought with them thru the 1990's and finally had a compromise solution worked out, only to have residents get the rules changed back in 2008. Google "Wilde Lake fishing regulations" for a detailed Sunpapers article from 1995.
For all intents and purposes, imagine that there is a line drawn down the middle of the western side of the pond, and fishermen are restricted to the North side. You are not supposed to fish the South side shore line, even though it is reachable with a long cast.
I have been working with the Columbia Association to update the signs (everything posted is currently out of date as per the new rules, but they aren't in any hurry to accomplish anything.
What is most annoying is that boating in general is permitted in the restricted areas, but the second that you that you pick up a fishing rod, you are in violation.
I can't imagine the protests a small armada of kayaks will produce.

I used fish here almost weekly. During the summer they run a camp right at the boat dock (all the ponds have some sort of camp activity, so I don't fish there during the day in the summer).
These days, I might fish there a couple of times in the Spring and only very occasionally in the summer.

Elkhorn: consistent and steady, I have done O.K. for bass and Crappies. It gets stocked with trout in March, which is ridiculous as they can't possibly hold over, and the shore guys fishing for them leave a lot of trash there. Most of the houses are set further back from the shore. Easy access from the parking lot on the North side of the lake across from McDonalds. Probably, under the current situation, your best bet. The dredging didn't help much, it still has a weed problem.

Kittamaqundi: used to be very good, once you got used to the noise of the traffic on Route 29. However, for the past three+ years the lake has been difficult to access unless you are willing to carry from the main parking lot down the steps across the fountain area (I've done this, but not going to try that again). The lower parking pad that we used to use is fenced off for the Whole Foods project and will probably not be accessible in the future. Since Whole Fields owns the lot, CA could care less. You can not legally drive your vehicle down the road where the ramp that CA uses is. The dredging and subsequent landscaping removed most of the cover and structure.