# New pay-lake..... Monster Catfish Lake



## cuda67bnl

There's a new pay lake just outside of Loganville, called J&M's Monster Catfish Lake. It's been open about 7 weeks, and yesterday afternoon I decided to stop by and see what it's all about. I stopped in and read the rules, and decided to fish it today. 

They're supposed to open at 8:00am, but they were closed when I arrived at 8:30. So, I called their number and talked to the guy that runs it. He was having some issues and wouldn't be able to get there until lunch time, but he told me they would be stocking it with 1280 pounds of fish today, and come by at lunch to see what they were putting in it. I figured that sounded like a decent plan, so I went fishing somewhere else til lunchtime, then made my way back over there.

When I got back there, the fish guy was there, but the owner wasn't. He was on the way though. So I hung out with the fish guy and talked shop with him. Once the owner arrived, the stocking began. I filmed every single fish that went in the water, and I don't think there was more than one or two that was less than 7 or 8 pounds. The biggest was 42 pounds. There were a bunch in the 15 to 25 pound class. I may try and post the video later.

 If I recall correctly, they've put almost 5500 pounds of cats in this pond already. And I bet the pond ain't 3 acres....... They have multiple fish in the 40 pound class, several in the 60 pound class, and the biggest is 82 pounds. Lord only knows how many are in there in the 15 to 30 pound range.

They're open from 8:00am to 8:00pm during the week. 24 hours a day on the weekend. It's $8 to fish for 12 hours. You can keep anything under 8 pounds, but have to throw anything over 8 pounds back in the lake. I didn't see anything under 8 pounds........

They have tournaments on the weekend. It's the normal $8 to fish, plus $10 (I think) to get in the pot. Biggest fish wins the pot. I think they also do a side pot where every fish you catch, they put your name in a "hat". End of the night, they do a blind pull for the winner. I may be slightly off on the side pot deal, but I think that's what the girl told me yesterday. I do know that the place has been pretty packed on the weekends and there's been some darn big fish caught.

We tried fishing it today after we watched the stocking. Only got one hit, and that was on a live bream. I never had a chance at the fish because without warning, my pole shot out into the lake and disappeared! I spent the next hour and a half casting another pole out trying to hook the line on the missing pole, with no luck. Right before we left, I decided to walk around the pond and try casting for it again. Another guy fishing happen to hook it, to my relief. And the fish was still on! He ended up wrapping up in something in the middle of the lake, and I had to break the 50 pound line. I was just happy to have gotten my rod back.

While the bite was off today, I can say that there are some NICE cats in this lake! If you're looking for a mess to take home and keep, this may not be the place for you. If you're looking for a place to fish with the very good chance of catching a monster, it's worth the price of $8. Below are some pics of their rules, as well as a couple of me with fish. The big fish is the 42 pounder that went in today. The other is just a baby........


----------



## cuda67bnl

some more.......


----------



## doodleflop

A friend of mine has told me about that lake. I'm glad to see someone else brag about it. Might be worth the 1-1/2 hour drive now.


----------



## cuda67bnl

doodleflop said:


> I'm glad to see someone else brag about it.



I'll get the video loaded and post it. There's some fine cats in this little mudhole!


----------



## creteus

I drive by it from time to time. Its at the intersection where my boy plays soccer. Its the smallest lake I've ever seen to be a pay lake.  Looks pretty cramped to me


----------



## doodleflop

I'll be there Saturday evening/night fishing.


----------



## chad smith

That pond is on the corner of hwy 81 and youth Monroe rd? If it is I used to fish that pond every day until around 8 yrs ago and it was full of big bass, I mean monster bass!! That lake was full of green slime on the bottom, all you could do was fish top water, mainly topwater rubber frogs due to all the green moss on top of the water! I have caught many 7,8,9, and 10 LB bass from there, and big jumbo bream! I did fish for catfish once and caught a nice 15 lb flathead out of it! There were also some gigantic crappie in it also!


----------



## cuda67bnl

creteus said:


> Looks pretty cramped to me



It is small..... I'm guessing 3 acres, tops.



chad smith said:


> That pond is on the corner of hwy 81 and youth Monroe rd?  That lake was full of green slime on the bottom, all you could do was fish top water, mainly topwater rubber frogs due to all the green moss on top of the water! I have caught many 7,8,9, and 10 LB bass from there, and big jumbo bream! I did fish for catfish once and caught a nice 15 lb flathead out of it! There were also some gigantic crappie in it also!



That's it. Still rather slimy on the bottom too, but nothing on the top. And with all these big cats in it now, there won't be no other fish......


----------



## cuda67bnl

doodleflop said:


> I'll be there Saturday evening/night fishing.



Bring some pole holders, or leave the bail open....... trust me on that.


----------



## j_seph

creteus said:


> I drive by it from time to time. Its at the intersection where my boy plays soccer. Its the smallest lake I've ever seen to be a pay lake.  Looks pretty cramped to me



Most of em are pretty cramped. One of the reasons they have restock em 2 or 3 times a year cause the fish die off.


----------



## Vmarsh

creteus said:


> I drive by it from time to time. Its at the intersection where my boy plays soccer. Its the smallest lake I've ever seen to be a pay lake.  Looks pretty cramped to me



yep.


----------



## cuda67bnl

Here's 3 clips that show the stocking if you're bored enough to watch them. At the very end of the 3rd one, I pan out just enough to show the whole pond. By the way, all of these fish came from Santee.......


----------



## Fishlipps Revisited

i have 2 things to say.....

1....i want one of those nets!!!...that thing's built like a tank!

2....just say "NO" to crack...


----------



## Nastytater

I worked my tail off this morning catching all these fish  just so they could stock this lake today.


----------



## BassHunter25

A bit more advanced then the DNR that just sling the little trout from the top of the mountain into the stream.  Half of them hit the dirt, they said " they'll make it in"  


I hope they got a feeding program for all those Cats


----------



## fish hawk

Rules are rules but some of those made me laugh!!!Plus there sure is a bunch of em.


----------



## Ricky

I laughed everytime I drove past that place,when it first opened.It 'd be packed,all the way around, but it looked like everyone was fishing a 20' x 20' area,in the middle of the pond.


----------



## grunt0331

Where is this at?


----------



## flip0302

grunt0331 said:


> Where is this at?



Highway 81 and Youth Rd intersection.
Believe there used to be a fruit stand in front of it.

Have seen it look like a big mud puddle at times.


----------



## flip0302

I think the crack was bigger than the fish


----------



## cuda67bnl

flip0302 said:


> Highway 81 and Youth Rd intersection.
> Believe there used to be a fruit stand in front of it.
> 
> Have seen it look like a big mud puddle at times.



Yep. Diagonally across from the BP station. There's an old Gin building there.

And it's not much more than a big puddle now. I was being generous when I said it might be 3 acres in size. There was only 3 or 4 of us fishing yesterday, so the size wasn't an issue. But I'm told they're packed on the weekends. I can only imagine the crossed lines when someone gets a nice fish on when there's a crowd there.......


----------



## Old_Dirt

I dont understand rule four "No chemicals aloud wd40, soap, bleach" are they talking about not using that stuff while camping in case of run off?


----------



## cuda67bnl

can't be used as a fish attractant.........


----------



## Nastytater

Is it the lake with a small island,or the other one on that corner?


----------



## cuda67bnl

Nastytater said:


> Is it the lake with a small island,or the other one on that corner?



It's the other one. The one with the island is much bigger.


----------



## Nastytater

Oooh..Ok then...So it's the lake they use to call Byrds Lake. Might have to get down there one day next week to check it out...


----------



## Old_Dirt

cuda67bnl said:


> can't be used as a fish attractant.........



I didnt know they were attracted to that stuff. Learn somethin new every day. I need to go get some bleach for my eyes to wash the crack out.


----------



## cuda67bnl

Nastytater said:


> Oooh..Ok then...So it's the lake they use to call Byrds Lake. Might have to get down there one day next week to check it out...



Holler if you decide to go. I may join ya if you want some company. I'm gonna fish it again, but I'm not interested in doing it during the weekend. If anyone else wants to do it during the week, maybe we can have a group gathering?


----------



## KyDawg

I loved rule #7 "all alcohol must be in containers".


----------



## j_seph

Wd40 makes bait spray


----------



## lifterpuller

hahah cuda i dont know whats bigger that cat you are holding or that awesome beard you are growing! man i bet you were in heaven at that place!


----------



## cuda67bnl

I may have been in heaven if they'd have been biting that day, instead of just rod stealing...........  I may try again there later this week and see what happens. I'll be sure and post results here.


----------



## meherg

well how did you do doodle flop
how big was the money pot


----------



## cuda67bnl

Went and caught me a mess of bream today, and will be headed back to this pond tomorrow. Will update and give results tomorrow. I'm headed to the shop now to weld up some rod holders in anticipation of the big'un.......


----------



## grizlbr

*Christiancarfishhole stocked May 1 & 2 pay lake*

Fish must be biting to be stocked twice in one week? Took my brother-n-law there late evening and to have a reel looked at. After fighting with reel to near closing time Dean loaned me a pole to go out to keep lake, on a gist I placed half a chicken frank on the hook as I said 'enough and it's closing time.' Tossed frank in and had a 4 pound cat before I could reel it in. When you have caught your limit do not put a hook in the water! I have watched the tournament lake being stocked but never the catch an keep lake. If you have a fish fry catch them fresh and filleted for 0.50$ more a pound.


----------



## meherg

grizlbr said:


> Fish must be biting to be stocked twice in one week? Took my brother-n-law there late evening and to have a reel looked at. After fighting with reel to near closing time Dean loaned me a pole to go out to keep lake, on a gist I placed half a chicken frank on the hook as I said 'enough and it's closing time.' Tossed frank in and had a 4 pound cat before I could reel it in. When you have caught your limit do not put a hook in the water! I have watched the tournament lake being stocked but never the catch an keep lake. If you have a fish fry catch them fresh and filleted for 0.50$ more a pound.



Darell doesnt have tournaments anymore but wish he did


----------



## Rattlecrap

Would you call that "shooting ducks in a barrell"?


----------



## grizlbr

*Christiancatfishhole Holiday Tournaments*

http://christiancatfishhole.com if that works? Lists  Tournaments for 2012 Holidays. Lot of info says call for more info.


----------



## Sweetwater

cuda67bnl said:


> We tried fishing it today after we watched the stocking. Only got one hit, and that was on a live bream. I never had a chance at the fish because without warning, my pole shot out into the lake and disappeared! I spent the next hour and a half casting another pole out trying to hook the line on the missing pole, with no luck. Right before we left, I decided to walk around the pond and try casting for it again. Another guy fishing happen to hook it, to my relief. And the fish was still on! He ended up wrapping up in something in the middle of the lake, and I had to break the 50 pound line. I was just happy to have gotten my rod back.



I found out the hard way too...but a reel with a bait clicker free spool is the way to go for big cats fishing from the bank. When I catch wild big cats on bream....if the cat feels resistance early on he'll spit it out. They are smart.

A friend of my daughter fishes out there.


----------



## DeepweR

Those cats are from santee,,, those fish live on muscles,, find u some fresh muscles and fish with them,,


----------



## brother hilljack

All those big fish will be dead in less than a month so you best hurry. Great job promoting conservation to you all!


----------



## meherg

grizlbr said:


> http://christiancatfishhole.com if that works? Lists  Tournaments for 2012 Holidays. Lot of info says call for more info.



didnt know he hade started back but thanks


----------



## across the river

brother hilljack said:


> All those big fish will be dead in less than a month so you best hurry. Great job promoting conservation to you all!



 I don't think they are planning on them staying in there very long.  This is a put and take pond.  Essentially, the same thing as most Georgia "trout" streams.


----------



## efrith

That's sad !!

I'm glad them fish didn't come out of the river here where I fish.


----------



## DeepweR

across the river said:


> I don't think they are planning on them staying in there very long.  This is a put and take pond.  Essentially, the same thing as most Georgia "trout" streams.



I thought it had a 8lb limit? Over 8lbs u turn it loose right?


----------



## cuda67bnl

Correct.....


----------



## puddle jumper

across the river said:


> I don't think they are planning on them staying in there very long.  This is a put and take pond.  Essentially, the same thing as most Georgia "trout" streams.



Not really, do you know how long it takes for thoses fish to get that big...And they are transplanted wild fish not farm raised...

I will never be seen at one of these places...
PJ


----------



## jackherber

Thank you, Puddle. I was thinking the same thing, just didn't have the guts to say it.


----------



## GunslingerG20

brother hilljack said:


> All those big fish will be dead in less than a month so you best hurry. Great job promoting conservation to you all!



I was thinking pretty much the same thing. Might as well just go buy some fish at the store. I do wonder about the whole "anything over 8Lbs goes back in" deal. The big ones won't last in a body of water that small anyway, so why would they want folks to throw them back -- or are the owners that unknowledgable (I didn't want to call them ignorant without knowing more about this). I just don't care for the whole concept of "Pay lakes" in general -- but to each his own.


----------



## durango1192

I was there this weekend. This place is a bit of a joke, there were 4 guys fishing about 3 rods each , casting about 40-50 feet with monster floats and reaching the other bank. Basically, when I arrived, with these 12 lines already covering almost the entire pond. I did see at least a 15pounder being caught and released, had two lost fish on me. It seems that you have to bring your fish in for a weigh in when you leave. You pay 8$ in a trailer. I would not recommend going here. It seems that the fellows fishing dont respect the area of another fishing. Its very hard not to get your lines crossed.


----------



## cuz1220

this place is stupid just some lazy guys trying to get out of real work and make a living transplanting gods creatures into a mud hole!!!  Needs to be turned into a mudhole for jacked up trucks!!!!!! No way I would eat anything from nasty place! Cant believe it legal!!


----------

