History of the Fishing Club by Dick Hoover: Reminisces about the origins of the AFV Fishing Club
The AFV was a very different place when I arrived at the end of 2005. Nearly all of our services were “in-house,” i.e. only a lawn-care contractor. So… if we wanted something, our Village staff was consulted. There were no contract requirements. The staff were our “employees.”
In order to form a “club,” for example, the group petitioned the Village Executive Director, who issued a “charter” establishing the club, adding it to the list of “official” activities. An example of the “charter” for the AFV Flying Club and Yacht Club is posted on the Model Shop wall.
The Fishing Club was chartered by the late Jerry Turner an avid fisherman and Texas native. I think Jerry fished for bass in every Texas lake, certainly every famous bass lake. There were only about 8-10 “charter members” in our very loosely organized “club.” Two of our original members had trailer boats and fished lakes all over Texas. We all fished the Village drainage ponds, but primarily Texas bass lakes. Another relatively small group of residents including Russ McCarthy and the late Ernie Carwile were coastal fishermen along the Texas Coast. As we aged, more and more of us had to give up boating and devoted our fishing to the ponds.
All the “charter members,” except me, are now fishing in that great blue pond above. The idea of a fishing club originated with Turner, who had an 18-foot aluminum Lowe. He recruited me in 2006 and we petitioned to form a fishing club. His original idea was to assemble a group of potential fishing partners for his trips around this great bass-fishing state. I was one of his “regular” partners. Ralph Comer who also had a boat was also seeking partners. As the club formed we also gathered “older” members dedicated to Village pond fishing. This prompted club interest in the health of our ponds, particularly the “gazebo pond.”
As I said, the club was loosely organized, we often had women residents and Yacht Club members join us to discuss environmental and shared concerns about the ponds. Our primary concern was addressing our Staff Maintenance people about pond water quality. As with all ponds, aeration was critical. In those days it sometimes took months for pump repairs. Maintenance was “in-house” and very cooperative. An example was when I volunteered to put a gate in the gazebo railing for a wheelchair fisherman. We didn’t rely on work orders…when I discussed what I wanted to do, “viola,” Maintenance installed the gate before I could buy materials. While the gate didn’t turn out to be a great platform, at least the handicapped now had access to the pond.
Around 2009-10, one of our older guys volunteered to buy $5,000 worth of bass fry for the gazebo pond. The late Terry Freeman coordinated the purchase and the club got Maintenance to assist with a water quality and fish count of the pond. Experts brought in a boat and nets to survey the pond and make recommendations. A large number of the small bass that make up the pond were removed. While the pond had maintained a “natural” balance for many years, the hope was to introduce a new and larger strain of bass.
Next, Freeman paid the supplier to deliver the fry and a large supply of fish food the fry would need. The supplier briefed the club and Maintenance on care and feeding of the young bass. The recommendation was to feed the young fish for three years only, at which time they could forage for themselves. Of course, the large number of bluegill and catfish also benefited from the feed. The pond has some great bluegill fishing and…they just happen to be delicious fare, as my old Cajun friends used to say: “I gaur-an-tee!” In the ensuing years we had to restock the feed supply by volunteer assessments of $100. We also supplemented the food supply with about 100-pounds of live crawfish that Turner and I bought from H.E.B. Another successful activity was pouring bags of sand around the shore for the female nests. This was very successful, as you could watch the bass spawn from the shore. The sand is no longer visible due to sediment in the pond. This might be done again…its cheap and works.
At one point a few years ago some members wanted to build a pier into the pond for fishing. Maintenance listened, but we’re talking big bucks to drive pilings and, of course, code requires a 4-foot railing making fishing a stand-up only event…no good. Also the ladies did not want and “ugly old pier in our beautiful pond.” An important consideration was the Yacht Club who wanted unobstructed access to the pond for “yachting.” The Yacht Club reminded us that we are welcome to use the “dock” built by them adjacent to the gazebo.
I guess it was around 2010 that Ralph Comer suggested that we needed “cover” for the bass. Grass was not a practical option as the lake shore was often exposed in the summer due to draughts. Also, someone, I don’t know who, put some grass-eating carp in the pond. Fortunately, I understand, these carp cannot breed. (Bad for the carp, good for the pond.) The nature of the pond requires periodically spreading a creature-safe herbicide to maintain water quality. So…the solution according to Comer was to put old Christmas trees throughout the pond. No good for a small pond, so, instead, Turner and I constructed 8-10 “trees” from lengths of flexible PVC hose set in 5-gallon buckets. We coordinated with the Yacht Club to be sure the trees were at least 20-inches below the surface. Maintenance agreed to place the trees in locations where one could cast along the bank. Well, this idea was no good. The fish still hung near the oxygenated pumps and avoided the artificial trees. And, as the level of the pond went down the trees “came up.” The Yacht Club boats were getting snagged, the fish didn’t seem to congregate, and soon, as the water receded, the tops stuck up out of the water and looked terrible. Maintenance, bless them, hauled all the cement-laden trees to the dump. Over-all the fishing club’s worst mistake!
Jerry Turner, our King Fish, was approaching his “Autumn Years” in about 2012 and donated his 18-foot Lowe to the Fishing Club. So…I doubt many know that the Fishing Club had its own boat…even if only for a few days. Our AFV Executive Director said: “No, not only No, but, Hell No!” The Village would not accept ownership of Jerry’s boat. (The reasons were obvious.)
Ralph Comer sold his boat, became a pond fisherman and took over as King Fish of the club. He didn’t give up Texas bass fishing and became my partner, fishing from my Alumacraft. Ralph made the club a little more organized with regular meetings and an agenda to improve the pond. Another pond quality evaluation was professionally done, this time I think by the county co-op. Maintenance purchased “bubblers” to increase oxygen and purchased “spare” pumps to insure pond oxygenation. (They also look nice). When Ralph got too old to fish with me, and I got too old to handle my boat, I too joined the “pond only” bass group. Russ McCarthy became King Fish when Comer abandoned ship. I have been blue-water fishing in Alaska for the past many years and continue to stock my freezer annually. But, I still love bass fishing and teach my grandkids hoping to catch “Old Walter” who resides beside the pond’s western-most aerator.
If I am, in fact, the last surviving “charter” member of our original fishing club, there’s no one to challenge the veracity of this fishing tale. And, I caught a 15-pound Florida bass on a fly rod, fishing from the gazebo gate.
Dick Hoover, 2019