Chris
Ryan of Birmingham caught this 12 lb bass from a club lake in March of
2012.
Chris Ryan
with another big bass from a club lake, March of 2012. |
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"It is outstanding to see so
many mature Golden Shiners in Donavan Lake. Shiners will produce some truly
giant bass," stated Hafner. |
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| "Donavan Lake's fish
population is balanced and healthy. It is good to see all classes of bream and
small bass. The presence of Threadfin Shad and Golden Shiners should make for
some outstanding fishing. The water is in good shape with a fine alga bloom.
This lake is in the top 15% of all lakes that I
have tested this year. Good job Manager Wilson," reported Hafner with a
smile. |
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| Noah Bentley
caught this nice bass from Sturdivant Lake on a Rat-L-Trap. After being
released, the bass swam off toward deep water (20 Dec. 2015) |
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| John Heard, Marion, knows
how to beat the July heat. John catches lots of bass with finess baits and a
light tackle spinning rod (July 2010). |
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Mike Hoke,
Birmingham, joined the Club in January, 08. |
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Stephen Russell (below) and
girlfriend Liz Lassiter (above and with larger bass) are members since early
March, 08, and they really got after the big bass.
"Just wanted to send
you a few pictures of the bass we have caught this March. My girlfriend Liz and
I have been catching some big bass on the Donavan side. Fishing has been
great!" ...Stephen Russell, April 4, 2008.
Below and left... 11 lb 7 oz. bass caught by Stephen in July,
08. |
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Liz caught the big bass on this
August, 2009, day. That is still a nice bass that Stephen
caught. |
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New member, Larry Clark, is fast learning to catch
lunkers from Club lakes. Larry had little luck his first few trips but now he
is tuned in and look at that smile.
This 11 lb. 7 oz. was
caught in August, 07. |
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| Ray Wilson (brother of Manager Wilson) from Heber
Springs, AR., catches a lot of big bass at the Club. This one hit a buzzbait,
July, 07. |
Manager Wilson with another big bass f rom a Club lake,
July of 07.. |
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David Potts of Marion is one of the best Club bass
fishermen, July of 07. |
ManagerWilson gets lucky with a Club lunker, July
of 07. |
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Manager
Wilson (left) and David Potts (above) catch lots of big bass from Club lakes.
These two fish were caught in the summer of 07. |
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Shane Stuart, Daphne, AL., sent the two
following photos and email after another great trip to Bar-D:
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"Mr. Wilson,
Let me start by saying
that the club is everything I expected and more. When I joined in March without
even wetting a hook before I signed the check, I was a little nervous. But over
the last two months I have had an excellent time each time I have come up. For
several years I went over to Louisiana fishing but I will not go back there as
long as I can fish at Donovan and Bar D Lakes. I used the fish cleaning station
last month when you got it finished and it worked very well. The worst part of
any fishing trip is having to clean your fish when you get home but now that
you have the fish cleaning station, I clean my fish before I go home. It is
really nice to be able to get home and enjoy fresh fish without all the hassle.
Thank you very much for put that up for the club members. I saw a statement in
your newsletter that you wanted a picture of a 2 lb. bream to put on the site.
I am attaching a picture of 2 - 2 lb bream. I caught these to at Bar D on May
6, 2004. The female on the left weighed 2.1 lbs and the male on the right
weighed 1.9 lbs. Both were weighed the next day so they had already lost a
little weight. One was caught on a fly rod and the other was caught on an
ultra-light. These are by far the two largest bream I have ever caught and I am
going to have both of them mounted together. Thanks again for all of the hard
work you put in to make the club an excellent place to fish." Shane Stuart
Daphne, AL |
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| Big bass are caught in every month of the
year at the Bar-D lakes. David Carlisle from Bay Minnette usually hooks into at
least one big bass per trip. "I hung one bass with eyeballs as big as
quaters...could have been 15 pounds. It pulled loose at the boat," reported
Dave (Aug. 2003). Click on the right
image for an enlarged view. Hold cursor for a few seconds over the enlarged
image for scroll bar button to appear...click button for scroll bars. |
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Larry Daw of Satsuma, AL, with a 2 lb 12 oz
shellcracker from Donavan Lake, June of 04.
Peppe Daw, Larry's son,
got to watch his father catch this monster bream. This is what fishing is all
about. |
Joe Elliott of Brent caught this nice tilapia on a
cricket. |
Dr. David Potts, President of Judson College,
caught this nice shellcracker on a microlight rod and a Roostertail
lure. |
Art sticks created by Judson College students and
placed beside Sturdivant Lake. This landscaping art is a product of Manager
Wilson's idle time. These sticks have been replaced by a series of newly
designed art works (June, 09). |
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 Manager Wilson and Jessie Holifield recently
placed hardwood trees for structure in Donavan Lake. Let's hope the beaver
don't eat the oak and hackberry. |
American Sport Fish of Montgomery supplied the F1
hybrid bass, coppernose bream, fathead minnows, and threadfin shad for the
Club. |
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Brian Sharp, member
since February, 2008. Read his fishing report below this photo. |
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| E-mail from Brian Sharp: We
had 9 fish this day, biggest was 7.2 pounds, (2) 6 pounders, (5) 5 pounders,
and one small fish. (4) caught on worms, (1) on a stick bait, (1) caught on a
jig-n-pig, (3) on crank baits all within about 50 feet of each other over a 3
hour period. We were the only folks on the lake that day and the bass were
feeding on shad like I had never seen in my life. It was a 6 hour feeding
frenzy. I bet they bit today with this weather on its way. We had weather
coming on that day too. My buddy was wearing the blue jacket it was the first
time he has fished in about 15 years, he caught two 5's and a 6 (March day,
2008). |
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Jessie Holifield caught this 22 lb Grass Carp on Donavan
Lake. Grass Carp were stocked in all Club lakes to help control weeds. After
these fish get over 12 inches long, their gill rakers are too far apart for
them to effectively feed on filamentous algae which is the main reason that
they are placed in lakes.
Large Grass Carp are actually a small problem
in fishing lakes and they are very hard to catch for removal. Jessie has
permission to bow fish for Grass Carp. Yes, Jessie "caught" this big fish on a
fishing bow...what a sight to watch. |
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The Swan men
(brothers, uncles, grandpaws, etc. have been guests at the Donavan Inn for
three straight years. They value the time they spend together at the Donavan
Club. They are good fishermen and a lot of fun to know.
Eddie caught the
17 lb catfish on a crankbait. He thought he had a world record bass for a
while.
Riddle: How do you turn a catfish into a swan? The answer can be
found on one of these photos. |
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