# 4 decades of Greenbelt Lake.



## Stinky_Pete (Mar 28, 2011)

I remember......

I was four. I was going fishing for the first time in my life - "what are we fishing for?" I asked my brother...."sword fish," he replied. 

A song played on my dad's AM radio......Roger Miller's King of the road. it was 1967, I had no clue about Vietnam, the Civil rights movement, or even what a hippie was.

I caught bluegill and catfish. I needed lots of help to do it. 

This was a very grandiose time in the history of the lake......I never saw so many people fishing. They still rented boats. They even sold bait.

When I was ten - a "giant" 18" bass ended up in the very small creek below the spillway. My friends and I conspired to capture it. We plotted.....drew maps.....I even built a boat - a mighty vessel to lay siege upon the famous sea creature. Alas, the critter was old and wise.....he foiled our mission time and again. 

In April of 1977, my dad and "some other kid - not me, but ANOTHER nerdy 14 yo" caught a big ole mess O crappie at Tridelphia reservoir and decided to release them into GBL. They remain to this day.

During the 80's, I discovered Bass. My bait of choice: the BLUE plastic worm. No other worm would have caught anything - ever! Of this, I'm certain. You see; I had become (to dear old dad's mortal embarrassment) an "expert." 

Greenbelt held some very big bass during this time of rampant and "unfishable hydrilla. I would rent a row boat and while my girlfriend rowed (hey, this was NOT your gal) I would tangle with three and four # bass. 

This lake is very deep - they use to drain it every so often. Contrary to reports, the fish where NOT relocated. I would clean up during these times, with many bass, so big, they would end up breaking the line! 

I'm an old geezer, now.....the lake is no longer the mysterious "swordfish farm" that it once was. Like everything else in life - the magic wore off with time. 

Just enough remains though, for me to keep chucking that blue plastic worm. 
































 Greenbelt Lake

By Tom Fuchs, February 18, 2006

Inscription. Construction on the Greenbelt project began with this lake on October 12, 1935. Originally a heavily wooded 23-acre valley cut by a stream, the lake required one year and over two hundred men to complete it. Because the federal government was interested in putting as many unemployed laborers to work as possible, much of the land was cleared by hand. Men hired by the federal government's Resettlement Administration pulled the trees out by their root, cleared the brush, and built a 22-foot dam on the east side of the lake. The dam now forms the eastern link of the path that encircles the lake. 

The original plans for the lake included a bathhouse and boathouse. The boathouse was to include a dock with a boat rental and launch, sand beach, and changing facilities for bathers. The federal government never built the boathouse and other structures in the original plans due to budget constraints. In addition, health officials soon discovered that the lake contained bacteria that made the water unsafe for swimming. The lake has been closed to swimmers since July 1938. In former times local residents rented boats on the lake. 

The park surrounding the lake is named after Albert "Buddy" Attick who helped to build Greenbelt and then became a lifelong employee of the city, serving as Director of Public Works for 23 years.


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## Hooked Up (Feb 6, 2009)

I remember it most for the times when it froze over and we would play ice hockey on it..........then drive our cars on it at night........seems like a few teens died that way.....Allens pond as well


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## MrWiskers (Feb 25, 2006)

Good read thanks.... I caught my first fish there over 27 years ago


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## Stinky_Pete (Mar 28, 2011)

Yes! It use to freeze up good!!!!


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## SpeedRacer (Sep 5, 2010)

Wow. Thanks Pete. Brings back a ton of memories. We lived in Spring Hill Lake Apartments for few years back in the late 70's. My first fishing trip with my Dad was there. It was the summer of 1977 a year after I came over from Japan. I was 8 years old. I remember catching lots of Bluegills and small catfish back then. If I remember, there were some large goldfish or they may have been Choi there too. We used to catch them with mix of Peanut Butter and bread. The following year, there was a guy walking around the lake casting a Mepps spinner and I remember thinking this guy is nuts. He's not going to catch anything on that. A few casts later, he brought in nice trout. I was amazed and even more hooked on fishing than I was already. Since that day back in 1978, I never caught a trout there in all my many years of trying. I've caught LM Bass, White Perch, Crappie, Bluegill, Catfish, a Hybrid Bass and tons of Snapping Turtles. Never a trout. Lol. Might have to drive down there one day and try again.


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## therevolution (Oct 12, 2010)

Can you put a canoe/kayak in there. I've seen canoes in the woods thee behind the houses, but never seen anyone on the water.


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## Stinky_Pete (Mar 28, 2011)

therevolution said:


> Can you put a canoe/kayak in there. I've seen canoes in the woods thee behind the houses, but never seen anyone on the water.


I would check with GC Police first.


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## Stinky_Pete (Mar 28, 2011)

SpeedRacer said:


> Wow. Thanks Pete. Brings back a ton of memories. We lived in Spring Hill Lake Apartments for few years back in the late 70's. My first fishing trip with my Dad was there. It was the summer of 1977 a year after I came over from Japan. I was 8 years old. I remember catching lots of Bluegills and small catfish back then. If I remember, there were some large goldfish or they may have been Choi there too. We used to catch them with mix of Peanut Butter and bread. The following year, there was a guy walking around the lake casting a Mepps spinner and I remember thinking this guy is nuts. He's not going to catch anything on that. A few casts later, he brought in nice trout. I was amazed and even more hooked on fishing than I was already. Since that day back in 1978, I never caught a trout there in all my many years of trying. I've caught LM Bass, White Perch, Crappie, Bluegill, Catfish, a Hybrid Bass and tons of Snapping Turtles. Never a trout. Lol. Might have to drive down there one day and try again.


This lake was once loaded with goldfish - they came out of someone's fish tank. Choi too......


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## damian.ma (Apr 16, 2010)

spelled Koi....


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## Tommy Robinson (Feb 3, 2005)

Ever catch Carp in there? I looked at it one day. Loads of bubble trails but they appeared to be turtles. That place is full of them.


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## Stinky_Pete (Mar 28, 2011)

Tommy Robinson said:


> Ever catch Carp in there? I looked at it one day. Loads of bubble trails but they appeared to be turtles. That place is full of them.


Never once saw a carp there. 

You want the Anocostia river. To be specific - Fletcher's field, right off Kenilworth ave. They spawn here in May. Huge, fat and vicious......like my ex!!!


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## SpeedRacer (Sep 5, 2010)

Thanks for the spell check Damina.ma. Lol. My bad. 

Tommy, there used to be a bunch of huge carp in Indian Beaver Dam Creek right up the street from Greenbelt lake. Not sure if they are still there but don't see why they wouldn't still be there. From Beltway Plaza/Greenbelt Road, take Cherry Wood Lane which goes right along the side of Spring Hill Lake apartments. Follow that to where to the road that takes you into the Greenbelt Metro (which was all dirt back in the late 70's and 80's). Or from Greenbelt Lake, take Cresent Rd, right on Kenilworth Ave and a left onto Cherry Wood Lane. Before there was a Metro station there, we used to walk right up to the bridge and there used to be a path that ran parallel to the Creek on the other side of the what is now the Metro parking lot. We used to use walk (more like tip toe) back about 100 yards from the bridge (going away from 495). If you didn't spook them, you'd see them hanging in the shallows. They would quickly swim into what little deep water there was once we'd cast our lines. We'd wait for a while and if we were lucky, we hook into one. Even when did hook one, we'd lose more than we landed. Not much space there and with our light tackle, if they ran and we didn't turn them, they were gone with most of our line or hang you up. Ah..... Great times. Big Bluegills too. Of course with any wooded area with water, snakes.

Not sure how far you live from there but might be worth a try (If you didn't already know about it).

I know this is a Greenbelt Lake thread but figured it was close enough to the lake to share some memories.


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## Stinky_Pete (Mar 28, 2011)

SpeedRacer said:


> Thanks for the spell check Damina.ma. Lol. My bad.
> 
> Tommy, there used to be a bunch of huge carp in Indian Beaver Dam Creek right up the street from Greenbelt lake. Not sure if they are still there but don't see why they wouldn't still be there. From Beltway Plaza/Greenbelt Road, take Cherry Wood Lane which goes right along the side of Spring Hill Lake apartments. Follow that to where to the road that takes you into the Greenbelt Metro (which was all dirt back in the late 70's and 80's). Or from Greenbelt Lake, take Cresent Rd, right on Kenilworth Ave and a left onto Cherry Wood Lane. Before there was a Metro station there, we used to walk right up to the bridge and there used to be a path that ran parallel to the Creek on the other side of the what is now the Metro parking lot. We used to use walk (more like tip toe) back about 100 yards from the bridge (going away from 495). If you didn't spook them, you'd see them hanging in the shallows. They would quickly swim into what little deep water there was once we'd cast our lines. We'd wait for a while and if we were lucky, we hook into one. Even when did hook one, we'd lose more than we landed. Not much space there and with our light tackle, if they ran and we didn't turn them, they were gone with most of our line or hang you up. Ah..... Great times. Big Bluegills too. Of course with any wooded area with water, snakes.
> 
> ...


All contributions are certainly welcome! I love that creek. It was full of fish - carp, bluegill, bass, suckers and I imagine very soon it will be home to thousands of snakehead. Trick here is to exploit the deep holes. The carp that can see you are easily spooked - also, carp are far and away the smartest fish around. Use nothing but a hook buried in FRESH corn (right off the cob) they don't like things that smell "funny."

There is a small park at the end of edmonston road that is great 4 carp - they hole up under the bridge here in huge schools. Keep low and DON'T make a lot of noise.

One of my favorite techniques here is to wade *up the river* and cast in front of me. Quite a strange little creek.


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