Brian and I took the kids (and our dog, Toby) to Charleston Lake again over our Memorial Day holiday. We really enjoyed this magnificent lake last year as well as the cottage we rented, so a repeat visit was in order. My brother and Mom rented a cottage next door, so it was a nice family getaway.
Here is the cottage we rented again this year. Water's edge, clean & comfortable.
The boys immediately got into some fantastic shore fishing. As long as you cared to put worms on, you could pull in nice panfish & rockbass. Some were of a nice size, like this one.
Ty's needed something to smile about recently, and some good fishing was the perfect "prescription". Here's a typical rockbass caught from shore.
Weather held beautifully, except for half a day, but it didn't really stop us from getting out. Here's the "He Wolfe" in our boat with Toby. Note the new 40 hp Honda 4-stroke. Mr. Wolfe can be persuasive.
The engine is a DELIGHT! Our boat has gone from a plug to a zippy & quiet ride.
The kids also got some nice fish from the boat. Here's a nice perch.
Shane, not to be outdone. He did pretty well, detecting his own bite and setting the hook. (At one point he hooked into an OOS bass, about 13 or 14"; he knew immediately it wasn't a sunny and handed the pole promptly over to me!
No pic!)
We saw some interesting wildlife over the course of a few days: loons, ospreys, a beaver, an otter, countless birds, etc. Saw these lazy guys sunbathing...
...and this regal Great Blue Heron let me get about as close as I've ever gotten to one without spooking it. This was in Leeder's Creek.
Every night, I'd sit by the open window and listen to a lakeside serenade of frogs, loons and the occasional owl. AMAZING.
Of course, there has to be some dose of negativity to be reminded that this is planet Earth and NOT Heaven. Fishing for the grown ups was NOT good. My brother was the only one to land some pike, I think he got 5 or 6 (one was pretty big), and that was prior to our arrival. They turned OFF for Brian and I. I had one flash out of the weeds and swipe / miss my lure on the last day.
I got one accidental laker, about 23", with a clipped right fin. I think that means a stocker. It was beautiful, though. Anyway, after a while each day, I'd give up and perch/panfish with the kids...plenty enough fun for me, but I was disappointed the pike were snubbing us. I did pretty well with them last year & expected the same.On the last day, Ty woke up with a fever -- a precursor to what's been ailing him every since -- but wanted to get in one last fish before we headed home. He boated this HUGE rockbass from Green Bay. It was a hair off 11". Also, it was pretty dark, which is hard to tell in the photo; a nice fish.
Soooo, that rather sums up our brief but enjoyable trip to Charleston. I'm still in love with this lake and hope those of you who haven't experienced it yet find some time to do so. It is a visually stunning lake and offers some really diversified fishing, especially if you time opening seasons for lakers / bass with your outing. We missed both, unfortunately.
W.
Could not have picked a better place than Charleston for a trip...
Looks like the young lads were layin' a beating on the panfish population! And some good sizes too! 
Outstanding!!! 
