Fishing Club Reels in Hundreds of Interested Anglers

When Randy Allsup cast out an inquiry in the monthly newsletter for fellow Cross Creek Ranch residents interested in fishing, he probably didn’t expect to hook a huge crowd.

But he did land a big catch – Blake Greer – and he’s netted hundreds of other residents who want to be part of the community Fishing Club.

“It was just a small group of us — maybe six or seven — who met that first time to talk about common goals, interests and hobbies,” Blake said. “But then I took it to Facebook and created a group that rapidly grew to more than 300 members.”

The page is full of photos of residents with impressive catches from the many catch-and-release lakes in Cross Creek Ranch — many of them showing excited children holding up fish they just caught.

That’s what the club is all about, Blake says.

“We’re trying to promote family fishing fun in the neighborhood,” he said. “I joked that when we were looking for a home and saw beautiful lakes with a ‘No Fishing’ sign, we’d just turn around. One reason we settled on Cross Creek Ranch is its natural beauty and amenities.”

One way Blake hopes to further the club’s goal is through a fishing tournament Cross Creek Ranch Director of Fun Will Porter has scheduled for April 25. The competition would be for residents in grades kindergarten through 12^th grade who will be “casting for college,” with prizes being college scholarships.

To get ready, Fishing Club members have met with Lake Management Services who has offered to survey the large lake by the welcome center.

“There are a number of lakes in the community, but this one is the largest with about 100 acres of surface and has the best accessibility, so we’re concentrating our efforts on it right now,” said Blake, who often takes his kayak out on the lake to fish. “The lake was stocked at one time, so they are going to go in and tell us the numbers of large fish and what fish there are to support bass fishing.”

He said the group is also considering submerging a manmade structure to give fish a safe place to spawn.

“We hope to keep it fun and make it possible for people to catch something every time they fish,” Blake said.

The Fishing Club also has been working with Cross Creek Ranch General Manager Rob Bamford.

“He was very excited about our plans,” Blake said. “We hope to continue working with him to make the most of this resource.

“Cross Creek Ranch is like living in the middle of a park.”