Once in awhile you stumble across something that seems too good to be true. Saturday was one of those times. We left Pyeongtaek at 0400 and headed south to Jeonju Lake.
After driving around for a little bit we spotted a concrete boat ramp, and after a few minutes we were fishing. There was no one around, probably because they were fast asleep or licking their wounds after the big game (la-hoo-sers). For my part, I’m glad I went fishing and didn’t watch it. The lake was beautiful, the sun was out, the wind was down, and the water was smooth as silk. Being the first time there, I wasn’t sure how we were going to do, but let me tell you, we tore em’ up. They were hitting almost anything we threw at them. All of the bass we caught were between 2 – 3 lbs, and we lost a few bigger than that. We caught so many fish Bill and I didn’t bother counting. It was the same way with Ruben and Ron in the other boat. I wasn’t even angry when I snapped the tip off my BlackHole spinning rod. For the first time in a long time I took some bass home for a friend who had asked for some. This was the nicest lake I’ve been on in Korea, and one of the best bass lakes I’ve ever fished. Besides the cooler-full of samples we took home, I was left wondering “where’s the catch? There’s got to be a catch…” On the way out, while we were loading the boats up on the trucks a cop came by and stopped on the ridge overlooking us. “Here it comes,” I thought, “the catch.” Nope, he just watched us, didn’t say a word, and followed us out to the main road where we turned left and he turned right.
I also believe it’s worth mentioning this lake is pristine. There was no trash on the shore anywhere. The nets were sparse in and out of the water, and you could clearly see fish swimming around the bottom downwards of 20 feet. There were schools of baitfish everywhere in the shallows, and the bass were gorging on them. In two or three years this lake will rival Andong for the size of the bass. It already blows it away for quality and quantity.
One odd note: Bill and I heard a giant swarm of bees go by twice while we were out on the lake early in the morning. It was the weirdest thing, and it gave us the creeps. There were so many of them they sounded like a train going by. I said to Bill, “maybe they lost their queen.” Bill said, “as long as they don’t try and make me their queen, I don’t care.”
Someone got sunburned…bad
. I read on Anglerstown where the webmaster said fishing is not allowed on that lake – if it’s the same lake you’re talking about. Maybe that explains why it’s so clean and has so many fish.
I saw Ron down town last night and his face was as red as a beet. lol
I’m glad to see that you guys had a nice time. It doesn’t get much better than that. Awesome!
Nomad, are you serious? That would suck.
Who took the group photo? Were there any other people out there fishing?
Rob,
Sorry, it wasn\’t the webmaster, but Charles who left this comment:
By fishing there,You are removing The NON Native SPECIES,That have invaded THE PURE KOREAN enviorment.
By removing the Trash BASS,You are doing a great service to the PURE KOREAN native fish,
So get out to that lake and remove those Trash Bass invaders,Do it ,And the Korean People will thank you!
Sounds like fishing is prohibited on the lake. The trick is to look for the metal signs that are usually posted in the area. You will need to be able to read Korean but they will give you the answer. A suprising number of lakes prohibit fishing and all forms of recreation, most for no reason at all. Its a huge waste of public resources. What is more annoying, is that on some of these lakes where sport fishing is banned, a select groups of commerical fishermen have permission to net whatever they want. Go figure.
Odie Joe is right. The Korean Ministry of Environment labels largemouth bass as an evil non-native invasive species, yet does nothing to manage the fish populations.
Gar reads Korean and knows what nakshi gum-ji means. I don’t think he would have ignored a no fishing sign, if there was one, or would he?
The Asian Carp is considered to be an invasive species in the States, and according to a post over at anglerstown, Korea is considering making it illegal to catch and release bass. Go figure!
Well Rob ,If we need to rid Korea of Ugly American Bass,
T bone would be the one to do it,He is a Bass PRO, you know.
All,
Sometimes it’s better to ask for forgiveness than permission. An online friend I met through Anglerstown told me about the lake. He recently went out there all the time before he moved off peninsula. He rented a bass boat in Jeonju and launched in this lake. My wife called the rental shop in Jeonju and asked where we could launch the boat and he told her the same. The cops came by once and asked him to keep away from the dam because someone might complain, but they didn’t care that he was fishing. We saw two other boats on the water with koreans in them, and a few bank fishermen. The Koreans were launching from the opposite side in the dirt. That is probably what we did wrong. I’m pretty sure we were using the police launch, but since neither of us had 4WD we didn’t have much choice with Ruben’s boat.
I think we can get away with fishing this lake if:
we go in small groups
Take our trash out with us
run clean
find another place to launch
If I get told by the authorities I can’t have a boat in the water, I would still go back for bank-fishing. It’s that good.
By the way, yes there are signs that say no fishing. I caught a bass under one last year when I was scouting it with my wife.
If push came to shove, I’m just another ignorant Migook who can’t read Hangul or speak Korean.
Mr. Gar I will join you in a few weeks,
Sound to me you have the plan.
Just tell Ron it is illegal to fish there.
We can try some of that night bass fishing there.
Even Rob caught or snagged, one fish at night
Joe, keep talking smack and you can walk from the airport.
I knew that was going to happen.At least you are responding to my evil blogs.
But we really should get a Bass tracker.It would be exellent on that lake
Joe,
You’re on. I propose spending the night in one of the nearby hotels. It’s a long drive for a day trip. Night fishing would absolutely rock on this lake, and we wouldn’t have far to stumble back to later.
The Bass Tracker is 150K won for the day, but you have to pick it up somewhere in Jeonju city (I have the number), unless we can get Adjoshi to deliver it to the lake… ka-ching, ka-ching.
I don’t make plans with Ron anymore. Don’t get me wrong, he’s a good friend, but I tried that and it didn’t work out – too many times. I just say I’m going fishing, where at, and what time I’m leaving. If he shows, great. Big Bill has never let me down, so I usually plan trips with him.
If Rob won’t pick you up I’ll come and get you.
Im in youngson .. We have a four day this weekend .. can you give me more details .. I want to just go fishing for the day ..
Andria,
have you been fishing here yet. We are at Yongsan as well and have not been yet. I have just found out about fishing here.. LOL
We are dying to try it..
I’m currently stationed at Osan. I found a lake approx 20-30 miles away ENE. It is a big reservoir with a humungous Dam on the WSW side of the lake. Does anybody know the name of this lake? It also has a water skiing rental and duck boat rental. Please let me know the nam of this lake and if there is any good Bass fishing in it, I saw plenty of people pulling in Carp, but no bass. Much Appreciated! Sean
Sean,
You’ll have to be a bit more specific than that in your directions. I know of a reservoir with a water ski place, but that’s only about 5 miles from the base, and that’s one of my favorite lakes for bass. Maybe if you could give us some landmarks like roads, towns etc, we could help you out.
Nomad,
Not sure of the exact distance..we tend to ride trails out to the lake/reservoir. Takes us about 1.5 hours on trail. Not sure of the city either. From Doolittle gate we follow until we hit the first intersection, then take a right and a quick left onto what I believe is highway 1? We follow that down and take a left ona little road to connect to another highway. Follow that all the way down until you hit the reservoir, it goes up a moderate and windy road, then there is the Ski place on the left. If you follow the shoreline, there are 100′s of people fishing for Carp. There is also a little island that people drive their cars out onto. I also have Google Earth Coordinates.. 37’06’31.43′N 127’12’01.07 E
Please let me know if that helps…thanks!!
Sean
Sean,
That’s Idong reservoir, one of the lakes I fish. And yes, it has some bass in it. Bluegill as well. It costs 5,000 won every time you fish there. But even closer to you is the stream/river that goes around the base, which also has bass in it. You just need to find the holes. Of course now isn’t the best time of year, but they’re there. That stream eventually merges into the river that’s in the back of Camp Humphreys, and there are lots of bass in there as well.
Nomad,
Thanks for the help boss! It costs 5,000w? Hmm…last time I just went there and started fishing…nobody said anything? Well, thanks again for the info! Take care!
Sean,
Did you get the email I sent you?
Nomad,
That I did…Thank You
Just found your blog. I am at Osan also. Wish I found it sooner or else my ugly sticks would have been packed. I am heading to the coast this weekend for the Deep Sea fishing trip with outdoor rec. Is anyone else going? If I am not doing anything Monday, I might fire up the Hyundai and tool on out to the Res. Got to get a boat. Little rubber raft oughta work just fine huh? Golf, fishing, beer and no wife for a year!! Why didn’t I think of this earlier!!
I could sure use more info on the jeonju lake. Is it the one on hwy 27 just south of town? Also, info/number for boat rental. Anyone every fish Unam? Huge lake with huge bass located on hwy 30 off Interstate 25.
Im at Canp Casey and my brother is at Camp Castle does anyone know of any good fishing around here. We are trying to plan something for the spring, so any info would be helpful. Thanks
Jason
There is a pay lake with bass, bluegill and carp about 4 miles west of Cp Casey Main gate. It has a good rep. Other than that hit the bigger ponds and streams in the area to see if anything bites. If you can travel there is Chun Chon reservoir northeast of you. Web site Anglerstown.com has descriptions of some fishing on Kangwha Island but you will need transportation.
Oh the pay lake also has trout in season.