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The Lake..
Hidden Lake ranges in size from approximately 3 surface acres in the late fall to late spring and then evaporates down to approximately 2.5 acres in the summer. Although referring to this size body of water as a "lake" may seem a bit grandiose it was already named that when our family purchased it. Besides I believe in the saying "If a body of water is on your property you can refer to it as a lake, if it is on someone else's property then call it a pond." A spring (or possibly two) feed this lake year round and a seasonal creek add water during the wet months.
When we purchased this property the "little lake" only contained Large Mouth Bass, Green Sunfish, and Bullhead Catfish. The lake had not previously received any active management which we decided to change when we purchased the property. The Large Mouth Bass had been suffering from a lack of a forage base and, accordingly, we added Bluegill, Redeared Sunfish and Gambusia (mosquito fish). In addition the pond weeds had been allowed to grow without any intervention. We began an active weed management program and have significantly improved the quality of the lake. The lake also has a few resident turtles that appear to be American Pond Turtles.
This pond a prime source of water for the local wild life and a fun recreational lake for swimming, fishing, kayaking and other water activities.
At it's deepest the lake is just over 17 feet deep. Most of the lake is between 5 to 10 feet deep. The pond was constructed by building an earthen damn across a small valley. Based upon discussions with the locals we believe that the damn was constructed in the 1940s.
Speaking of pond management, one website that is chock full of great information including books, magazines and a fantastically helpful forum is Pond Boss. For anyone that owns a lake or pond, manages a lake or pond or just wants more information I highly recommend this site. It can be found at www.pondboss.com
Click on the thumbnail photos below to view a large images of the lake..
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