Urban Bass Oasis

Written By - Terry Chia - 06/8/2007

Link to Original Article here

      
Some of lifes simplest pleasures often reveal themselves in awkward places.  Most people would say that finding money in your pocket is a pleasant and rewarding treat.  Most fishermen would say that finding a 54acre impoundment full of oversized and under-fished Florida-strain largemouth bass is a blessing.  However, to find a place such as this only minutes away from downtown Phoenix (and only 1.5 miles from my office) is more of a dream come true.

Oasis is a privately owned lake discreetly nestled into an industrial-zoned area of Phoenix.  For over 14 years, I have looked at this small body of water from the window seat of commercial passenger jets and thought nothing of it.  In fact, if you\'re looking out your window to the south, you will see Oasis as your plane approaches or takes off from the runway.  The intermittent roaring of jet engines in the immediate horizon will keep you in touch with reality and make you realize that you are fishing for trophy Florida-strain bass and ridiculously large bluegill only minutes from any home within the Valley.  Reality is quickly lost at Oasis once you start catching one trophy fish after another. 

The setting at Oasis is serene and very secluded.  Aside from the commercial jets, civilization only rears it\'s head in the form of buildings that are only partially visible, just beyond the crest of the steep banks.  The pond appears to be an old excavated gravel pit of sorts, with banks steep enough to intimidate any fly rodder who is usually accustomed to cold water lakes and streams.  Oasis Lake was formed 20 years ago when a water table was accidentally penetrated while excavating and developing this land.  Once it was determined that this water was here to stay, the lake was stocked with tilapia. Eight years later, the pond was purchased by ex-Yankee pitcher Ron Davis, who also owned and operated the Hook, Line, and Sinker tackle shop.  After the lake was stocked with Florida-strain largemouth bass, bluegill, and catfish, Davis made the lake available for rent and private fishing.  Today, Oasis is owned by Ron Davis and long-time pitching legend Terry Mulholland, who also operate the very impressive Big League Dugout in Scottsdale. 

 Guide Kit Lutz will put you on bass all day long.

For a very modest fee, Kit Lutz and his guides will take you and a friend out for a day of trophy bass fishing and give you the royal treatment.  Although I have fished with guides before, fishing from a bass boat was a very different experience for me.  Richard Vogel, my personal guide for the day did an outstanding job of keeping the boat positioned and kept me within range of shoreline and underwater fishy structure for optimum casting ease.  Keeping a fly fisherman in a boat happy is never an easy task, unless he\'s catching fish.

To a majority of fly anglers, fly rodding for bass is not the norm, but more of an experience.  Because most fly fishermen fish choose trout as their primary quarry, fishing for any other species is sometimes experimental at best.  At Oasis Lake, catching bass is not an experiment, but a sure thing if you have the proper tackle.  Upon arriving at the lake, I watched as AZOD bass fishing expert Kip Pollay and good friend Don McDowell (from the Shake, Rattle & Troll radio show on ESPN radio) loaded their boats with at least a dozen pre-rigged rods each.  I wondered if I had the right gear and had second thoughts about catching anything at all.  My confidence level was low, partially because of the company I was with, and partially because of my inexperience with largemouth bass.  Catching a minimal quantity of largemouth bass over the past 3 years hardly qualified me as a \"pro\", which is a short three letter word that says a lot about bass fishermen.  On this day, I was surrounded by pro\'s that were well deserving of the title.

After feeling a little out of my element for the first 30 minutes, I soon grew a slight grimace on my face.  As I watched the bass pro\'s launch and start flicking various baits towards the shore with pinpoint accuracy, I patiently waited on the dock with my daughter Chelsey for our guide to launch our chariot for the day.  My grimace grew to a full blown smile when I noticed pan-sized bluegill swarming the shallows next to the boat dock and leaping out of the water, chasing hatching midges and small fry.  Because I made an attempt to mimic my AZOD counterpart, I too had several fly rods rigged up, one of which had a small nymph on a floating line.  After catching a few of the hatching midges by swatting my ballcap, I found something that I could entice the bluegill with.  The #14 Hare\'s Ear would be sufficient to attract a few panfish.  My first short rollcast off the dock yielded a frenzy of sunfish that raced to the fly.  After two fish, I then started to experiment and jigged another rod, rigged with a  # 6 white & chartreuse Clouser Minnow around the boat dock.  To my surprise, the bluegill swarmed at that too and gave me a vote of confidence for the remainder of the day.  To further add to my security were the modern fishing electronics, unsurpassed knowledge of the lake, and the steady foot of guide Richard Vogel behind the trolling motor.  This proved to be a winning combination.

The remainder of the day proved to be one of the top 3 bass fishing \"experiences\" I have ever encountered.  By noon, our party had landed and released nearly 100 bass, plus another 100 bluegill.  The bass ranged from 1 – 3 pounds with constant hopes of landing fish in the 8 – 10 pound range which I have seen pictures of.  Although I was targeting the bass, I also had secret hopes of catching bluegill and sunfish that grew to 4 pounds! 

Oasis lake is an ideal place for any fly angler looking to try something new, particularly if you don\'t have much experience with bass on a fly rod.  Aside from the bass, playing a 1 – 2 pound bluegill on a 3 wt rod will give any trout a run for it\'s money.   The lake is also available for rent for private parties or can be rented to fish by yourself.  It is suitable for a pontoon boat or float tube and provides an excellent launching area, but casting from an elevated deck and looking at electronic fish finders is a rarity you may want to treat yourself at least once in your lifetime.

If you go, arm yourself with both floating and sinking lines.  My line of choice was a 6 wt. intermediate sinking Cortland Clear Camo line and a fast action 9\' rod.  This combination proved to be very effective in casting to the suspended fish throughout the lake and finding them around the steep-banked shorelines.  Both bass and bluegill seemed to prefer the moderate retrieve of a #6 white & chartreuse Clouser Minnow cast toward the shoreline.  In the shallows near the boat dock and at various other locations around the lake, bottom structure and planted structure provide ideal places for fly anglers to use a variety of larger nymphs and small panfish poppers to tease the fish into a frenzy.  Utilizing the over-the-(opposite)shoulder cast will allow you to cast all day long and will also keep your fly out of the guide\'s face.

Regardless of whether you\'re out looking to catch a monster bass or just there to have a good time and catch something different besides trout, Oasis is a great place to fish.  It\'s close proximity to any metro-Phoenix home and family oriented operation will keep you going back for more.  It\'s also a great place to share the day with a friend or family member that doesn\'t fly fish.  Kit Lutz and his guides are guaranteed to show you a good time and even supply bait and tackle to your non-feather-flinging friends.