Ragged Mountain Reservoir

Sunday morning I got up bright and early and went fishing at the Ragged Mountain Reservoir. It's only about 6 or 8 miles from my house.

It's amazing how on the south side of Charlottesville when you leave town you're immediately in BFE. Like the instant you clear the city limits - bam! - Outer Mongolia. It's one of the many things I love about my hometown. Many, many of the perks of a big city with almost none of the drawbacks.

In any event, I got clear of the house by 6 AM and drove out to the reservoir. Just gorgeous. You drive a couple of miles back into a valley and up a ridgeline and then you come to a small parking lot near an old abandoned house. The place looks completely habitable... I think maybe it was once the house for the reservoir attendant. It's probably still maintained by the City and County governments (the reservoir being a joint venture between the two).

I only ran into one group of two guys the whole time I was up there. It was quiet and the lake had a mist rising off of it. Geese and frogs were about the only creatures that broke the near-silence.

The other fishermen were on a john boat with an electric motor, so even they were quiet. There are no combustion motors allowed on the lake. This is probably a good thing, since the Ragged Mountain Reservoir provides a large portion the drinking water in the Charlottesville/Albemarle area. I don't much like the taste of motor oil in my water. Meh, call me a snob, I guess.

It started raining about half an hour after I arrived, but it didn't matter much. The Natural Area around the reservoir is completely undeveloped, so the trees come right up to the shoreline. Side-casting, anyone? The rain came down, but very little fell on me under the trees. I found a really nice spot and settled in.

There was a relatively flat rock next to the shore that I sat on. I set my line with a bobber and some powerbait, cast in, and commenced to relax. After enjoying the sounds of nature for a good thirty minutes I put on my iPod. Pink Floyd's Meddle was on tap - the chillest of the chill. When I need to relax, that album is the Alpha and the Omega.

If anyone wants to hear this album, here's a link: Pink Floyd's Meddle. You'll need the Rhapsody Player - no big deal if you have high speed.

I was looking out over the lake, mist rising, a light rain falling, and geese calling in the pale early morning light and I just felt so calm. The Pink Floyd, playing softly in one ear, added an extra touch of peace. I could have dozed off right there.

As tempting an idea as that was, I decided to switch out to a lure so I'd have to be a bit more active. I think my second cast with the lure I hooked into something. It was a fighter, that was for sure. My cheap-ass Zebco 33 was bent way down and even when I cranked the reel, the line still went out when the fish wanted to run.

I thought I had something huge. I was pretty excited. It took about five minutes to reel him in. I'd pull and crank for a bit and then let him run. Pull and crank, let him run. When I pulled him in I was a bit disappointed with the seven inch or so bluegill all that work had yielded. Disappointed, but with a respect for this tough little bugger. I freed him from the hook and returned him to the water.

I didn't catch anything else, but that was hardly the point. I left the reservoir feeling relaxed and calm.