Anglers fish for fun and profit at fee-fishing lakes, where hooking up is both a game and a business

aquaticspecies. Shipments of carp from Chesapeake Bayare inconsistent, Seghi said.

Sandy Lake, a 3-acre feefishing hot spot, is located less than a mile from the Monongahela River in Dravosburg. The former mining pit is as deep as 10 feet, fed by a stream and springs and engineered with bottom aerators and a catch basin. The site is comfortably landscaped with convenient parking and a well-equipped fishing shop. Co-owner Nancy Shirley said the urban fishing hole has earned a loyal year-roundcustomer base.

“We make sure we’re well-stocked and move the fish in and out based on the season — trout in the fall, big bass and catfish, and our big season is the [current] carp season,” she said. “Our people really like the contests for biggest, smallest, quickest catch and some more. We tag trout to win up to $100 or free passes. They’re serious aboutit”

Part of the way pay-lake operations compete is through the marketing of contests. They all do it differently. At Sandy Lake, 42 fishingspots are numbered. During each fishing session players draw for initial spaces and strategically move to unclaimed spots where they believe the fishingmight be better.

During last week’s contest competitors were choosy with their rigs — sinker or no sinker, barrel swivel and a bead or beaded hooks, rice or cornmealpaste baits.

Dziak prefers to string medium-action spinning rods with 6-pound-test line for himself and sons Rider, 12, and Warrik, 10. He likes No. 4 hooks and the family home cooks its own cornmealbait.

“We try to have it as soft as possible and you want it to flake off a little,” he said. “When they come in they feed off the little pile there and we have a little ball with a hook in it. … Getting everything just right — it’s an addiction. You want to comeback for more.”