Fishing and Living in Peace at Charles Mill Lake

Mornings on Charles Mill Lake will always hold a special place in my heart. There is something special about arriving to the launch ramp before the sun rises. Whether it’s avoiding the stacked overnight rentals crowding the gas dock, or conversing with one of the many house-boaters that are just waking up to have breakfast or walking their dogs. These are the boaters that have been here for years and always have awesome fishing stories to share.

Once you’ve put your boat in and are parking your vehicle, you are almost always welcomed by the service department at Charles Mill Marina, offering up bits of knowledge from other fisherman that they have encountered the previous day.

All of this even before you’ve stepped into your boat and have started your fishing adventure.

You can see the houseboat lights flicker in the morning fog on your way to the deep fishing holes that Charles Mill Lake has to offer.

You finally pass the “NO-WAKE” buoys after what seems like an eternity idling out to them and get ready to speed out (as fast as you can with a 9.9 HP motor) to your favorite spot on the lake. Right before you are about slam the throttle down and take off, you notice that the depth of the lake drops to about 25’ and your fish finder starts alerting you to the large amount of fish right where you are at.

Even though you know that the spot that you are heading to will produce a ton of fish, your curiosity of what is on your fish finder overcomes your desire to head to your favorite spot.

Not even 5 minutes into your fishing trip, your plans change and you are now settled on seeing what is below you. You pick up your favorite rod and reel with your favorite crankbait and you start trolling at a very slow speed and a depth of 9 to 12 ft.

Before you have even made your first pass around the no wake zone buoys, your rod bends over, your heart starts pounding and before you realize it, you have a 5 to 7 pound hybrid bass trying to break your line. These genetically engineered, state-stocked fish are vicious and perennially hungry and looking for a fight. You grab your net pull in your catch and immediately know that it’s going to be a great day of fishing on Charles Mill Lake.

Unfortunately, this isn’t the case every time. Sometimes, you have to go out and find the fish. The good thing about fishing Charles Mill Lake, is that if you don’t have any luck fishing for a particular species of fish, you can always switch gear and try for something else.

In the early spring and in the late fall, you’ll find yourself replacing your heavy bass fishing gear, and replacing it with much lighter crappie gear. The shoreline is peppered with fisherman trying to catch a trophy crappie and almost everyone is succeeding. Light jigs and small bobbers are being thrown all around. You overhear anglers sharing their secrets and stories and try to soak in every bit of information that you hear. Whether it’s the color or size of the jig, to the depth of the bobber, everyone has a different method and almost all of them work.

After the crappie have decided that the water is getting too warm, they retreat to the deeper parts of the lake so that they can rest in peace until the temperature of the water decides to cool down again. You can catch crappie at Charles Mill Lake almost year round on the same gear, as long as you know where to find them.

Fishing for Largemouth Bass at Charles Mill is also very fun and exciting. During the spring, when the bass are starting to spawn, you’ll find yourself fishing on the part of Charles Mill called Mud Lake.

Mud Lake is a very shallow part of the lake consisting of laid down trees and small islands that produce a perfect breeding habitat for the bass. Starting at the entrance of Mud Lake, directly across from the marina, you’ll find yourself throwing large-bladed spinner baits and plastic worms to entice the bass to a nice meal. This time of the year, they are also protecting their eggs so any lure that looks like a natural predator will be the lure to throw.

Just like the Crappie in the lake, once the water starts warming up, they tend to go to deeper waters and rest until the feeding frenzy in the fall.

No matter what time of the year it is, you will always be able to catch Charles Mill Lakes most notorious fish. The Catfish. You can catch this fish year round using chicken liver, cut bait, or just a plain ole night crawlers. Just be sure to use heavy line and heavy rods because these monsters get big!

Fishing at Charles Mill Lake will always be one of my favorite places to fish. Whether your fishing for big catfish, or just trolling for crappie, you will always be met with smiling faces and people that aren’t afraid to tell you where their honey hole is at.

As an avid fisherman, this lake is, and will remain, one of my favorite fishing holes.

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