Walsingham Lake is great for the kids

By RICK FRAZIER

© St. Petersburg Times, published July 9, 2000

With most youngsters out of school for summer, what could be better than taking them to a freshwater lake or pond to spend a few hours fishing?

The outing will last a lifetime.

Walsingham Lake in Walsingham Park, off 102nd Avenue and Seminole Boulevard, is perfect for such a trip because of its size (100 acres), so the children won't be on top of one another vying for the perfect spot. Of course, once one pulls in a big fish, they'll all elbow their way into that spot. But that's true with adults, too.Children 16 and younger are not required to have a fishing license at Walsingham, which makes it much easier financially. The park also offers restrooms.

Start fishing at the south end of the lake by the bridge. This area has little fingers or points that protrude and have natural deep drop-offs that attract a variety of fish. It's not unusual to catch bream, crappie, catfish and largemouth bass without having to move.

All you need to catch these fish is a cane pole or a lightweight spinning rod and reel. Rig the pole or rod with a small No. 6 or No. 7 hook and put a small bobber or cork a couple feet above it. Normally you don't even need to use a weight, but if you do, small crimp-on weights are ideal.

Dough balls are a great bait for this style because they're easy, inexpensive and you don't have to go to a special store to get it. Red wigglers and crickets are tops, but if you chum with bread first, the dough balls will do the job.

Also, youngsters often are more comfortable with dough balls than worms or crickets. After a while they'll figure out what size dough ball to make and they'll be on their own.

With the bag limits for Walsingham Lake, youngsters can take 20 panfish or bream per day. Bream are bluegill, redear sunfish and redbreast sunfish. It can be either a mixed bag or aggregate of all three kinds of bream. Black crappie or speckled perch have a limit of 10 per day and have to be a minimum of 10 inches long. It's not a bad idea to carry a small measuring device just to make certain of your catch.

Catfish, both channel and brown bullhead have a bag limit of six per person per day. Handle these guys carefully because they have sharp barbs on their dorsal fin and pectoral fins that could cause a nasty wound if handled improperly.

Largemouth bass are catch-and-release only at Walsingham Lake. Try to hold the fish by its lower jaw, or lipping, and carefully remove the hook. Try not to let the fish flop around on the ground or bank.

This will only remove its protective slime covering and will eventually cause infection that could kill the fish.

Alligators are a natural part of Florida as they are a natural part of Walsingham Lake. Alligators normally are more afraid of you then you are of them. Just be alert while cruising the bank and if you see one sunning itself, leave it alone and you both will have a better day fishing.

- If you've had a great day fishing from land and want to share it with our readers, then contact the LubberLine at (727) 893-8775 or contact Rick Frazier at captrick@luckydawg.com.

© St. Petersburg Times. All rights reserved.

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