Aubrey Lake: On The Water

I have now officially lived in northwest Georgia longer than I have lived any other single place - 10 years now! I get a little stir crazy now and then and get the itch to move somewhere different, but there are definitely some perks to living in the same place long enough to discover and explore hidden gems that don't get a lot of notice. Along with Pine Log, that I mention frequently, Aubrey Lake is another good spot very near my house that I am just now getting around to exploring. Even looking online, you wouldn't find much about this lake which used to be a private lake owned by the Aubrey Family, and I've added the little map to the right just to show how urban (urban by Cartersville standards) the lake is, and yet it seems to go largely unnoticed. I've been twice now, and both times seen no other visitors. Could it be because it is December? Yes, it could be. Could it be because of the bright yellow sign as you drive up warning of the large alligator that apparently lives in the lake? I suppose it could be that too. But I prefer to think it is just an overlooked little lake with a lot of spring fishing potential.

The afternoon out on the water gave me a chance to try out the Guide 119 canoe I traded for a few months back and put one of the  ash and cedar paddles I've been working on to the test. The Guide is a canoe made by Old Town that measures 11'9" and weighs right around 50lbs. It's definitely a solo canoe or maybe a tandem with a small, light other person who doesn't mind kneeling. It's a comfortable canoe to paddle and feels a little kayak-ish with the fold-down backrest and the lower seating position. The width is such that you could paddle it with a double paddle, but I'm not a big double paddle fan, and I put the double aside after about 5 minutes of use. Besides, I also wanted to get some use out of my homemade paddle and see how it performed outside of my garage. This paddle is an ottertail style made of ash and cedar, and it is part of my control group I used to determine whether my allergic reaction was from cedar or just a fluke. (It was in fact a cedar allergy, apparently.) I found the paddle to be quite satisfactory. It is light, did not feel in any way delicate, and propelled me back and forth around the lake all afternoon. I'll definitely keep making more of this style in the upcoming months. 

A duck blind tucked there near the edge of the lake

Looked like some nutria damage here