Trout and grand kids: Great combination

From staff reports
Published: April 17, 2008

I was on “Big Daddy” detail last weekend. Two of my grandchildren, James, age 6, and Virginia, age 3, had come from Atlanta to visit for a few days. Mimi’s job was to spoil them rotten and Big Daddy’s job, naturally, was to take them fishing.
I thought about my favorite farm pond where the bluegills are so thick that you have to turn your back to the water when you bait the hook – otherwise the fish will beach themselves trying to bite your line.
But I knew another place that was “automatic” and the fish were much bigger.
And that would be Graves Trout Pond near Graves Mountain Lodge. To all those with children or grandchildren who would like their youngsters to have a special experience , I recommend this trout pond highly.
We made the drive to Syria last Friday afternoon with great anticipation, only to discover that the pond was open only on Saturday’s and Sunday’s unless you called in advance.
Bummer!
But on the slim chance someone would open the gates for a special occasion, I stopped at the local store about 200 yards from the pond.
The store personnel were most accommodating and went up and unlocked the gates immediately. Then the fun began.
This pond is chock full of trout.
Mostly rainbows, but a few golden trout, which are really specially bred albino rainbows.
I already had the poles rigged with hooks and bobbers and made a cast with a mealworm skewered to a small hook.
Before I could hand the rod to James, the bobber disappeared and the fight was on.
It was a huge fish and snapped our line. After a few more break-offs, I adjusted the drag and instructed my grandson to hold the rod tip high when a fish hooked up. That way the rod would help absorb the shock when a fish took off. As I said, these were really big fish.
On about the sixth hook-up, we finally landed a fish, thanks to the help of a long net supplied by the lady at the bait house. Over the next hour or so, we filled up a cooler and did our share to prevent the Madison County economy from going into recession. The trouble with trout ponds is that the fish cost a little over $4 a pound, and as I said, these are big fish. But it’s hard to put a dollar value on the shriek of a small child going toe to toe with a leaping rainbow trout.
Even Virginia caught a couple of fish, but she and Mimi spent more time chasing tadpoles in the shallows than fishing. I knew the tadpoles were there and brought a small mesh net for exactly that purpose.
Fortunately, the tadpoles are free.
If you go, here are a few pointers. Even though we broke off some fish, I still prefer light line, about 4-pound test. If you use 8- or 10-pound test, it’s much harder to cast. You have to use bigger bobbers and extra weight.
So go with 4-pound line, set the drag light and work with the kids to not point the rod at the fish, but hold the tip high. Bring mealworms.
They work great. Go to the pet store and buy the large size, not small. Use a size 6 hook – and bring forceps because the trout will gulp down the mealworms almost instantly. If you want to catch a few on artificial lures – and James caught two that way on casts he made himself – buy some Trout Magnets. This is a little straight tail grub on a flat head jig. Trout eat these things about as good as live bait. Bring a cooler and put the fish on ice immediately. I clean the fish with the heads on and cook them slowly on the grill with a mustard, butter and lemon sauce. They are delicious.
The pond is now open on Friday’s through Saturday’s, but the nice folks at the store will open the pond most anytime with advance notice.
Got a special birthday party or event coming up for a youngster? You could hardly do better than bring a carload of children to the pond and let everybody catch a few trout.
Just bring lots of folding money. A rough estimate for the cost is about $6 per fish.
That’s because, as I keep saying, these are really big trout. I saw one that would have gone over 6 pounds, an expensive fish to be sure, but one that would deliver a million dollars worth of memories for a small child.
For reservations, directions or more information about Grave’s Trout Pond, call 430-923-4212 or 540-923-43231.