Evening Time on Rush Lake

[Walt Band]

It was a great day. About 85 degrees with very little wind in early
June. On top of that my wife was with me in my 2 man. We were fishing in the
Wichita Wildlife Refuge just north of Lawton, Oklahoma. Rush Lake is a 50 acre
lake nestled in a nice little valley in the middle of several beautiful
overgrown rock hills which are part of the Wichita Mountains. Boats are
restricted to trolling motor’s only. There’s not a ramp. You drive up to
the edge, put in and push through the weeds to get to the lake. It’s very
clear and covered with grass. It’s strewn with boulders and cliffs around
it’s perimeter. A lot of tubers fish the lake.
It’s quite an experience to just sit in the boat and watch the elk,
buffaloes, Texas Longhorns and Canadian Geese just hanging around the lake or
grazing on the overlooking hills. Rush is at the end of a dirt road and is
definitely not on the beaten path. The first time I found the lake a Road
Runner ran out in front of the car for about 30 yards just as we were
approaching the lake. There is no other place like this refuge in Oklahoma.
It’s a treasure.
The fact the fishing is fun too is icing. I fished the little lake
about 20 times last summer. I always caught fish. Nothing really big (up to 4
lbs) but the action was often continuous. I took several of my friends out
there one at a time for their first fishing experience. Fun was had by all. I
love to fish top waters on Rush. I’m partial to a little plug made by Don
Iovino called a Splash-it. It’s a pop-r type bait at about twice the price. I
bet I caught 300 fish on the first one I bought last summer. It can be killer
on the inside weed lines.
There are several small lakes in the refuge. They all have beautiful
little dams built in the 30’s. Quanah Parker Lake is a little larger (90
acres) and it’s dam is very picturesque. The lakes are all silted in but
they are plenty deep enough to hold a healthy population of bass. The weeds
can make them hard to fish though. There are also 2 larger lakes, Elmer Thomas
and Lawtonga (built in 1905) adjacent to the east side of the refuge which
allow boats and motors. They have been stocked with smallmouths which are
thriving. Some people are predicting a state record smallie will come from one
of the lakes this this summer or next. Both lakes were built adjacent to the
largest Mountain in Oklahoma. There’s a nice overlook on the top of the
mountain.
I like to pass the bigger lakes by and go into the refuge and fish
either Rush or Jed Johnson. Jed Johnson is on the same little creek as Rush and
is also quite extraordinary. Both are perfect for 2 man boats. I very rarely
see more than one boat on either lake. Most days I’m completely alone.
If I get hungry I usually load up and head to Meers which is 3 miles
away to get a “Meers Burger”. It’s a very lean beef burger made from the
meat of Texas Longhorns. It’s been voted the best burger in Oklahoma by
several publications. Medicine Park is also only a few miles away and the
Plantation Steak House is a throw back to earlier times. Their servings are
large. Grand Ma’s rolls are great too. The town was part of a very trendy
resort area around the turn of the century. It sits below the Lawtonga dam and
overlooks a nice little swimming hole. Oh yeah--- Meers is the home town of
Bassmaster Ken Cook.
On the evening my wife was with me I was fishing Rush from the front of
the boat and she was reading in the back. We were alone on the lake for about 3
hours. I was catching fish steadily and decided stay out on the water as
evening faded to night. It was my first time on the lake at dusk.
As the light faded my wife put her book up and we quietly visited for a
few minutes as a gentle breeze started to ripple the surface. I told her this
was the evening time when bass some times start to feed and the action can be
fast. Right on cue bass started hitting the Splash-it. I caught one on every
cast for several minutes just as the frogs started calling. The biggest was
about 2 lbs. We both just quietly laughed and enjoyed the moment. It was grand.
We stayed till it was completely dark.
On the way back in we were in for a treat. Back in the mountains there
were no lights and the night was crystal clear. The stars were extremely bright
and seemed to be suspended in a deep blue blanket. They appeared twice as big
as usual. The real star of the night was the moon though. It hung over the peak
of the mountain like a large soft orange globe illuminating the water to a
wondrous affect. The mountain itself was silhouetted black against the sea of
stars and moon. It caught us both by surprise as it was behind us as we moved
towards our portage. I notice it when I turned to say something to Diane in the
back of the boat. We sat and enjoyed the night for several minutes. It was a
perfect ending to a great day.

[RStorm453]

>It was a
>perfect ending to a great day.
>

And a perfect ending to a great story. Thanks for sharing it -- Rob Storm

[TNBass]

Walt, I enjoyed your memories of that country almost as much as my own. I
used to visit my bro-in-law when he was stationed at the Ft. Sill in Lawton,
and every time we hit town we'd head up to the Wichita Mountains to hike,
climb, and enjoy the lakes. I saw float-tubers going after bass, too, but I
never got a chance to wet a line myself. Glad to hear that they lived up to
my expectations as far as good bass-fishing goes.

Mmmmm.... Meers burgers.... I haven't thought of that place for awhile, but
they put on a good feed there, for sure.

Thanks for the account -- I forwarded a copy on to my sister's family (now
stationed in Kaiserslautern, Germany) for them to enjoy.

TNBass

---------------------------

Walt Band <walt...@aol.com> wrote in message
news:20000413012856...@ng-ch1.aol.com...

It was a great day. About 85 degrees with very little wind in early
June. On top of that my wife was with me in my 2 man. We were fishing in the

Wichita Wildlife Refuge just north of Lawton, Oklahoma. <snip>