POWERGRAMS

34 Conservation and Development grants the past two years to make major improvements to the Holman House. The organization continues seeking paying memberships and contributions. ED LISENBY LAKE Before dawn most every day, Jim Overton takes his place front and center between crickets, minnows, night crawlers and just about anything else someone could need to fish at Lisenby Lake. He sells snacks, rents batteries, anchors, paddles, motors, life vests and the whole boat package for $30. He takes pictures of the big bass, shellcrackers and catfish that people lug back to the clubhouse to weigh. "There's been some 8- to 10-pound catfish caught out there recently, some real big bass," says Overton, who's been at the lake 19 years since he retired from General Telephone & Electronics. "There's real enjoyment working out here. It's not a job, it's a blessing." The 96-acre lake was built by the state in 1958 and is now operated by the city of Ozark. It reaches 26-feet-deep in the center but many people choose to cast a line from several fingers of land extending into the lake or along the scattered piers jutting out into the water. On a hot summer morning, cars are parked near the shore where the drivers have set lawn chairs. These fishermen hope to break the Lisenby records: largemouth bass of 14.88 pounds; channel catfish at 30 pounds; shellcracker of 4.2 pounds; and bluegill at 2.69 pounds. Some visitors have come to picnic at the many concrete tables in the 390-acre park; others are tossing food to friendly ducks wandering through the pine trees. A 3.1-mile path that is part of the Alabama Birding Trails entices others to walk or jog around the lake (pets on a leash are welcomed). An archery park at the lake entrance hillside is next to a new mountain bike trail. "It's beautiful here, just a great place to be," says Laith Fontenot, an Ozark native who's been supervisor at Lisenby for two years. On a wall over Fontenot's head is a mounted 11-pound bass that was caught by a fisherman standing on the rock peninsula directly behind the lake office. He says a potentially bigger bass was recently caught that was 21 inches long but weighed in at 10 pounds after laying its eggs. Fontenot says three men made three excursions to Lisenby and caught 120 pounds of catfish, never reeling in more than six or seven on a single visit. "Trying to get the word out, get more than our everyday customers to come here, is our challenge," Fontenot says. "If people see Lisenby Lake, they'll be awed like I am every morning when I come to work." Lisenby Lake holds big bass, bream, catfish; at top right, Overton has welcomed guests for 19 years.

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