At Lake Elmer

Lake Elmer is located just northwest of Kingfisher, OK. It can be found on the DeLorme Oklahoma Atlas and Gazetteer on P. 31, Grid H-8, or Page 72 of the Lakes of Oklahoma map book prepared by the Oklahoma Water Resources Board. The lake was built in 1962, and then closed for renovation and restocking through 1978-1979. A fish kill in 2009 pretty much wiped out the lake as a fishery, but it was drained, upgraded again, and restocked with bass, sunfish, and catfish. It has a 3.4 mile shoreline, and additional information on current water levels or quality can be found by calling 580-762-2248, but it currently appears to be down about five feet. Because of the low water level, trailer launching for any but the smallest boats may be difficult to risky. Its primary use is as a recreational fishing lake. The Water Resources Board map doesn’t show any camping, but the Dept. of Wildlife Conservation does allow up to three days of primitive camping there.

Looking across Lake Elmer you can see some of the brush

anchored along the shore to protect fingerlings.

More fish havens and an egret working the shoreline.

One advantage of a small lake is the draw for wildlife into

a small area, making them easier to observe.

A cormorant taking flight.

 

The road back to the lake (Rd. E0780) is a round-top, unmarked, but paved road. We were a bit disappointed when we first saw the lake, as it appeared a lot of land-clearing trash had been dumped into the waters. When I launched Buddy on the lake and started to paddle its perimeter, however, I was delighted to see that intensive efforts have been exerted to provide a flourishing fish habitat. What I misinterpreted as trash is actually shrubs and tree tops that have been placed along the water’s edge to provide protection for fingerlings. They have even been anchored in place with cinderblocks wired to the brush. Besides these, many spider-blocks of different sizes have been added, as well as a tire reef. (Spider-blocks are many lengths of tubing cast in concrete to almost make a tubing bouquet where fingerlings are safer from large fish.) Even with these in place, there is still plenty of open water to enjoy.

The nearby town of Kingfisher came into being overnight with the Land Rush of April 22, 1889. It was named for an early resident actually called King Fisher. It also straddles the Chisholm Trail, and a statue of Jesse Chisholm is prominent in town.