SGL Beaver Dam - FAIL

[draketrutta]

I thought I would switch gears and try a small beaver dam located on SGL.
I was on my way down to Pittston and decided to take the back way and scratch my fishing itch at a pond I have not fished in awhile.

This pond holds great memories of when I was a kid - used to catch lots of bullheads and calicos in this lake -  and camped on shore many times.

Several years ago there was a big January flood that burst part of the small earthen dam - which resulted in a drastic reduction of the water level..

Beavers went to work and built up the level somewhat, but not as high as it used to be.

But I digress:

PGC Gun Range in Suscon - where I parked my truck:



A path leads into the woods that leads to the pond. The picture is deceiving - the snow depth was about 16in and some parts of the path the snow was over my knees - talk about a workout breaking trail. I knew better than to try and drag a sled - I was only carrying a bucket with my ladle,jig rod, and carried my hand ayger in other hand... - glad I had that auger - I leaned on it a few times when taking breaks in route.



Lots of beaver activity. The rodents had a few access holes through the ice and there slides were visible on the banks:



The Beaver Lodge - well insulated for winter:



I drilled a hole near shore - Ice was THICK - about 14 inches - with a foot water under it.

Second hole 25 yards out - Ice about 16in - about 8 inches of water under it.

Went out another 40 yards  - 16in of ice and I hit swamp muck - no water - the smell was wonderful...

Darn shame - I doubt that a fish could survive under that ice.
Besides the beavers, maybe a snapper turtle or two would like those conditions
...

makes me wonder how the other shallow SGL ponds are fairing this year with the thick ice.

at least I got alot of exercise - I felt like I did a couple of hours on a gym stairclimber when I got back to my truck.

[BIGCREW]

we call that sportsmans dam,I fished there years ago,they did a nice ob on the range it needed it

[draketrutta]

the name we always called this pond was 2-10 (why I don't know).

There is another lake (on private club property with gated access) 4 miles down the road towards Dupont - right b4 you climb the backside of Mile Hill - that is called the Sportsman Club.. I fished it a couple of times in the past as a guest and it had lunker bass. Loads of fun at night with the jitterbugs.

I would love to get on that place with an auger.

[Locnar]

I fish a few ponds like this and have a few more marked on google maps I havent got to yet, Jitterbug is definately my go to lure when I try one of these places from May to October, one of the best lures of all time and I rarely see people using them.