Hit South Lake Wednesday morning til mid afternoon - had a blast in those lilly pads. Just park your self in the thick middle of them and drag a purple worm or green pumpkin red flake lizard across the tops and just get ready!! After the lilly pad bite slowed went out to the middle of the lake and first cast with 10 inch black blue worm hooked something that I fought a good while but never got it to the top. Anyhow, one gentleman fishing the bank when I got there suggested I try North Lake as well. I don't know how to access that. Anyone ever fished North Lake? But now here's the lesson. When I was loading up a family pulled up, introduced themselves and started asking about the fishing in that lake. I believe their heritage was Asian decent. I told them about the success I was having in the Lilly pads and they corrected me. The ones that grow above the water with big leaves and the beautiful flower is the Lotus plant, not a lilly pad. They proceeded on to show me how it is such a beneficial food source in Asia where Americans don't care too much about it - other than it looks nice in ponds! They then picked some of the pods and showed me how to access the "seeds" inside, peel them and split them open and eat them. So I obliged and tasted one. Sure enough kind of tasted a little like coconut crossed with a walnut. They then explained that the Lotus plant is where they get Lotus tea from and the root of it is like a potato. Other things they get from it - clip it when young for salads, use the big leafs as a wrap for steaming foods in, lay the pods out to dry in the sun but water them every once in a while and an edible bunch of mushrooms will form. Anyhow, after a moment the thought crossed my mind "If I start trippin' after eating one of these "seeds", then all my kayak and gear are gone - boy was I a fool". But that wasn't the case. Really nice family, enjoyed the visit. Later googled up the Lotus plant and sure enough everything they told me was accurate. They call them Cajun Peanuts in Louisiana and folks harvest them out of the bayous down there. So, I didn't know what I was calling a lilly pad was actually a Lotus plant. So next time I go I can just snack on one of those I suppose!

Great info, enjoyed the story

Interesting. And now you have also taught something today. Thanks for the info.

Well I leanred something new today. Thanks for sharing! When you say south lake and north lake, where are you talking about?

Over there in Farmersville. Both lakes are south of 380, I just can't see how to get to North Lake from Google maps. Looks like you can make it down a dirt road for a ways. Will have to go check it out.

That's cool!

Good info

I love learning stuff like this. Very cool. Next time I see some, I'm definitely trying one.

I'll probably grab the wrong plant and poison myself.

Hope we are not fishing together that day..

None the less thanks for the info.

Great info! Wondered why I haven't seen more of these before. From Lake Naconiche earlier this year.

Fishing + Education, great story!

Are the seeds in the flower? Where's the pod? This is new to me

Yep, the petals of the flower surround the pod. When the petals drop off then there's just the pod with about a dozen or two seeds or nuts in there. Here's a great link about them:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nelumbo_nucifera

And like the pictures from Iconn4 (I think those are Lotus flowers) the flowers around here are the white version - in the south east they are pink and may have tiny thorns on their stems according to that family. They also make a popping sound out on the water (or maybe I was trippin'!).

I fished the north lake probably 12 years ago or so. Thing is, we found out we weren't supposed to be there! Back then it had been shut down and used for a police shooting range and I'm not sure what else. The road to it was very overgrown and started at a gap gate right along 380. IF people are allowed to go there now, I wouldn't consider it in anything not 4x4 with mud tires. You may get a little squeamish at the grade of the dam too-the way we went you had to drive up it towards one end. I had a Toyota that was half monster and half tractor back then and wouldn't want anything less if I were to try again! That's the extent of what I know about it. Best to call the city and ask about it before trying it!

I'm going to have to try this now haha.