# Indian Lake saugeye updated reports???



## BrettSass844

Heading to Indian Mon - Thur. Anyone have updated reports on the saugeye bite? Looked like it has hot the past couple weeks. Will be trolling mornings and evenings for saugeye. Then looking to put my boys on some gills in the afternoons. Thanks.


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## bigmexican

Fished sat. Morning 7 to 11. 7 keepers for 2 of us. Silver and black flicker shads seemed to be the best bait.Lots of other guys fishing seen the nets go several times. I think a little wind would help going to try tomorrow.


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## saugmon

Party perch and tenn shad.Most of the nets I saw were 10" dinks, LOL!!Pink lemonade missed a few nice ones.All the colors that I've been using the past week came up squat.Probably because it's the worst stained water so far this year.Hopefully it'll halt the weed growth..Still a little bit of cottonwood.

No action,change colors!!!Keep it near the bottom.Bring lure retriever!!!!

The channelcats went crazy this morning. First 10 fish this morning were 2#-4# channelcats.

Don't count out the afternoons Brett. I took a half day off yesterday and hit the lake at 12:20 p.m. and 4 keepers in the 17"-18" in the livewell by 12:40 p.m. and zero wind!!! Picked up a buddy later on. Slow after that but managed 11 eyes and quit at 7:30 p.m. All 16.5"-20".Longest troll ever but it was a nice cool day.


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## Redhunter1012

I'll second Pink Lemonade today. Took 5 keepers on that color in a #5 Flicker Minnow in the propwash. Took 2 on #5 Flicker Shad in Hot Pink, 2 keepers on chrome clown, 1 on Reverse Clown, and 1 on a racy shad. Caught 10 keeper crappies as well, with 2 being fish Ohio's. Only 1 of the 11 keeper Eyes was under 16". The rest were 16.5 up to 20". Lots of 17.5-18" hungry fish. I'll post some pics up later.


Almost forgot to thank Saugmon. I think he sees me getting nervous with the 15 other boats in the area on top of us and he's nice enough to sneak away. Takes about 10 minutes for everyone to realize he is gone before they go off to find him, leaving me to my lonesome, haha. I'm that guy on the Maumee river in the spring. Big time fan following. I asked for it today by throwing out my orange marker buoy. Didn't take long for the word to get out


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## BrettSass844

Nice I am pumped. I got a wide selection of flickers and other cranks. Plenty of the pink and flashy colors. Hopefully I can get these boys on some eyes. If you see a green Fisher mod V CC with a 40HP Merc 4 stroke out there, that's us. I will only be trolling 4 rods. Anymore is just to hectic with an 8 and 6 year old in the boat. 
How does blue do out there? I have a lot of luck with blue on walleyes up north and also on saugeyes over at Acton. The blue growler from Cabelas has been a great producer for me on other lakes.


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## float4fish

Yesterday was my first time on Indian in probably 10-12 years. I would spend hours on that lake and have a few fish in the boat at the end of the day and never any keepers. Yesterday was a different story because I read what these guys are doing, read posts going back a few years, and study the map. I got 5 yesterday along with the fun mix of a white bass, a perch, and a couple cats. Thanks for all the help fellas.


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## Redhunter1012

Couple Crappies on the blue growler today and maybe a dink eye or two. 2 Weeks ago it was my best color. Like saugmon says, change it up frequently


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## TomC

what you catch the white bass on? ive seen pics of a few but have never tried to target them


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## Redhunter1012

Here is my catch from yesterday


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## saugmon

TomC said:


> what you catch the white bass on? ive seen pics of a few but have never tried to target them


When they spawn,white roostertails and small jigs with twistertail grubs. 
Main Lake: Just normal saugeye trolling.


Another limit this morning. All 17"-18.5" and tossed back 6 keepers out of 23 total eyes. 3 were 16". Party Perch,Pink lemonade got an 18" at low idle while messing around with a dink 15.5".Pink flash late.8+ channelcats including a 5 pounder as I shut down to quit. Picked up the final 17" as I was reeling it in and it hit at the 25' mark.Typical saugeye fishing,never get distracted until that bait is out of the water. Channelcats and dinks taking over late.


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## BrettSass844

Good news. Looks like we will time it right. It can be hard with school and baseball schedules. 
Anyone ever have luck with stick style baits? Husky jerks, Berkley fire sticks, Cabelas flat side minnow or similar? I have a slew of these also.


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## saugmon

Full moon coming too!

I've trolled cordel big O's,thunderstick jrs,rapalas,shad raps,mini rattletraps,rebel wee r'sBomber Model A B02,Model A B04, Square A,Bandit 100 series,200 series,timber tiger,and a bunch of other shallow diving cranks.. I'll stick with flickershads!!!

At certain times,I've had success with bomber Flat A B02's.


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## Saugeyefisher

BrettSass844 said:


> Good news. Looks like we will time it right. It can be hard with school and baseball schedules.
> Anyone ever have luck with stick style baits? Husky jerks, Berkley fire sticks, Cabelas flat side minnow or similar? I have a slew of these also.


If there on feed mode big time almost any crank can work as long as it's put where the fish are,but these guys catch the crap out of them with flickers,and flickers are the cheapest crank out there that flat out produces everywhere for everything.


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## BrettSass844

Appreciate the feedback guys. Will put it to use tomorrow morning!


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## saugmon

Mother nature throwing us a curveball. Minor coldfront coming thru monday. Should be real good monday and tuesday but with most coldfronts and saugeye,numbers will go down after that. Cold fronts trump full moons!!!


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## Saugeyefisher

saugmon said:


> Mother nature throwing us a curveball. Minor coldfront coming thru monday. Should be real good monday and tuesday but with most coldfronts and saugeye,numbers will go down after that. Cold fronts trump full moons!!!


Unless its november..... 
It cracks me up in spring I don't want anything to do with coldfronts,except maybe really early spring pre-spawn. Then come fall im hoping for nasty cold fronts.....


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## fishstix36

When trolling the flickershads, how much line do you suggest to have out? I've had some issues keeping them down. I'll be trolling along at 2-3 mph and my bait will sometimes float up to the top and run inconsistently. It can be frustrating not knowing whether your bait is down closer to the bottom. Don't want to waste trolling time. I use 10lb test on a medium light rod. Any suggestions would be great. Thanks!


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## BrettSass844

Sounds like the bait isn't tuned properly or you could be dragging a small amount of junk on the front of the crank or the hooks. Flickers are very consistent for me. Usually tuned properly out of the box and will run great as long as they are clean.


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## saugmon

Bad crank fishstix36. I can have a 3 pk and 1 will be out of whack. You could also have too much line out. Release 6' out and make sure it runs straight.It should run good 4-5 mph.If it's off to a certain side,it won't catch much and make it easier to tangle a nearby line. You could try turning the eyescrew opposite of the way it runs but the way the bills are built,darn near impossible without loosening up that eyescrew imbedded plastic lip. I had success with the 6cms getting it set correctly then supergluing that eyelet.


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## Redhunter1012

On my 8.5' rods that I fish out the side, they are almost horizontal, and I fish them usually 45' back with great success. My back rods are 7' St. Croix spinning rods, and stand vertical. 1 I fish about 60' back with a 5cm Flicker shad, the other I run a flicker minnow no more than 15' back in the propwash. Both produce consistently


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## ristorap

Saugmon have you tried the sick perch color yet?


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## saugmon

April 15 I picked up a limit of 16"-18" on sick perch and chrome clown ristorap. None after that.Chrome clown held strong for a good couple months along with flash clown.Pink flash took over from end of april to beginning of may teamed up with slumdog and chrome clown. Outbreak and pink flash took over may 19 along with slumdog until after memorial day. Then they switched to party perch and tenn shad and now back to the pink flash tonight. They won't even touch outbreak now.

Got out for a 3 hr troll after work expecting a decent outing before this minor cold front.6 total eyes.1st eye on after 2 mins but a rare short 14.5".Excellent day for the channelcats. Only keeper sized eye was 15" and got tossed back early. 7+ channelcats.Pink flash took most. Hot perch took a couple dink eyes and most of channelcats.Pink flash had the majority of the dinks.Skunked were outbreak,pink tiger,pink lemonade, 5cm flickerminnow pink lemonade propwash rig.

Next trip will be breaking out slumdog,chrome clown,and flash clown.


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## Saugeye Tom

fishstix36 said:


> When trolling the flickershads, how much line do you suggest to have out? I've had some issues keeping them down. I'll be trolling along at 2-3 mph and my bait will sometimes float up to the top and run inconsistently. It can be frustrating not knowing whether your bait is down closer to the bottom. Don't want to waste trolling time. I use 10lb test on a medium light rod. Any suggestions would be great. Thanks!


throw a bag out to slow your boat down a bit too...


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## fishstix36

Thanks for the info guys. I have been trolling between 2-3 mph. Sound about right ??


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## BrettSass844

IMG_6572




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BrettSass844


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Jun 6, 2017








Today's catch. There wasn't one consistent color and the dinks were plentiful. Threw back a dozen cats just like these 3.


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## ristorap

Thanks saugmon for the info. I like to use other crank baits in some of the colors you use at Indian at other lakes.


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## float4fish

This doesn't pertain to IL, but I know you guys can help me out. Do the GPS depth finder show boat speed? I am going to be getting a new one soon, will be looking new or used in the $300 range. Finally getting back on the water after a few years away and you guys have helped me tremendously already, thanks.


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## BrettSass844

float4fish said:


> This doesn't pertain to IL, but I know you guys can help me out. Do the GPS depth finder show boat speed? I am going to be getting a new one soon, will be looking new or used in the $300 range. Finally getting back on the water after a few years away and you guys have helped me tremendously already, thanks.


Yes. Fairly standard feature. My old one had it and my new Helix 9SI does as well.


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## saugmon

My elite-5 shows certain increments of speed such as 2.77,2.88,2.99,3.08, etc. Very annoying.

My helix-9 shows actual speed and no extra decimal point.


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## OhioGregg

float4fish said:


> This doesn't pertain to IL, but I know you guys can help me out. Do the GPS depth finder show boat speed? I am going to be getting a new one soon, will be looking new or used in the $300 range. Finally getting back on the water after a few years away and you guys have helped me tremendously already, thanks.


My Garmin striker with GPS shows speed and water temp. I think most do now days. When I bought mine it was only like $179.
It didn't seem to help me out on Indian yesterday morning though. We trolled from 7:00am or so till 1:00. Lotta catfish and a first for me while trolling, a crappie. Not one saugeye, not even a short or dink. I used all colors of flickershads. My brother faired no better. Lotta cats and a white bass, he was using erie derie and crawler. I bame it on the cold front and wind....surely can't be that we suck at catching saugeye. LOL About 3 weeks ago we had 1 keeper and a boat load of shorts and dinks.


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## BrettSass844

1 keeper all day yesterday. Several unders. Catfish bonanza is still on. Fishing is tough in this wind and waves with my boys in the boat. 16.5 ft mod V has been less than ideal the last two afternoons.


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## Saugeyefisher

BrettSass844 said:


> 1 keeper all day yesterday. Several unders. Catfish bonanza is still on. Fishing is tough in this wind and waves with my boys in the boat. 16.5 ft mod V has been less than ideal the last two afternoons.


I'm sure this cold front isn't helping either. After 2 weeks of steady weather an just gorging they'll be tougher to get yesterday-tomarrow but as the weather stables they will start getting aggressive again.... 
I'm the summer I like to fish rivers during these cool downs. Fish seem to be less effected


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## BrettSass844

Braved the awful conditions this morning. 90 min on the water was all we had. When the rain started it was on! No dinks or catfish today. Yahooooooooo! 




  








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BrettSass844


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Jun 7, 2017


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## BrettSass844

Again no real color stood out. 3 came on 2 different colors with green, the rest were mixed. Both 19" fish came on #7s close to the boat.


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## ReadHeaded Hunter

We were out today as well. White/Blue fiberglass Starcraft. We talked to a couple people we passed. Headed north after getting pummeled on the south shore and ended with 5 and a handful of cats including a big flattie. Catfish are crazy in this lake. At one point our motor stopped running and all 3 rods hit as we were floating


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## ristorap

BrettSass844 said:


> Good news. Looks like we will time it right. It can be hard with school and baseball schedules.
> Anyone ever have luck with stick style baits? Husky jerks, Berkley fire sticks, Cabelas flat side minnow or similar? I have a slew of these also.


 I have caught saugeye on husky jerks, fire sticks, long a, little ripper, rip stick. I trolled with them.


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## BrettSass844

ReadHeaded Hunter said:


> We were out today as well. White/Blue fiberglass Starcraft. We talked to a couple people we passed. Headed north after getting pummeled on the south shore and ended with 5 and a handful of cats including a big flattie. Catfish are crazy in this lake. At one point our motor stopped running and all 3 rods hit as we were floating


Pretty sure I seen you out earlier. Usually I get doubles and problems at the worst time as well. Hope you got everything up and running right. We are waiting the wind out down at Russels Point now. Kids are playing at the playground and scavenging the bank. It's just starting to settle down. We came out about 7 but I didn't feel comfortable. This is what we are in if you see us around.




  








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BrettSass844


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May 28, 2017


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## arlee13

Fished Indian today we caught 10 eyes 5 keepers (16-18 inches) caught all keepers within a 45 minute period. We fished approximately 9 hours today. We caught over 20 catfish, white bass, and crappie which were all released. Caught all the eyes on walleye harnesses, colors varied.


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## BrettSass844

Fished for a few hours this morning. 3 keepers and a load of dinks and cats. Had to work hard for them today. All keepers came on a blue growler. 19" was the largest on a size 7. All eyes hit in 6 ft of water very close to 7-8ft. 
Was a good 4 days for us. We got several large ziplock bags stuffed full of fresh meat. Kids had a blast. Already asking to go back! Thanks for the tips guys. Very much appreciated.


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## saugmon

Picked up 3 keepers last night out of 6. Lost a nice one at the boat. 10 keepers this morning out of 22 eyes.New guy at the net almost lost 2 of them. Luckily I caught the biggest (18.5) as it fell off the crank into the net.Greenhorn reeled the fish in 1' from the rod tip.Flash pink early on starboard.Port dead til chrome clown went on and it got hot. Then party perch on starboard and that side got hot. Only a couple channelcats and 13" crappie. 1 caught in propwash with 6cm chrome clown.Tried 7cm and snagged up as we idled fighting keeper #10. Tossed back 1 at 15".
2-16"
2-16.5"
3-17"
1-17.5"
1-18"
1-18.5"

Water temp back to 69° and water clearing.Still fighting cottonwood but at least the weeds took it easy on us.


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## OrangeMilk

Thanks everyone for the tips. Wife and I had a pleasure trip to Indian for the weekend and I was able to get in about 3.5 hours of fishing. 3 keeper eyes and a crappie, largest being a 19" hog, threw back twice as many dinks.

Chrome Clown and Fire Tiger were the two that worked best, 2.3 mph was the key though. faster or slower got us nothing, other than the crappie when we were slower.


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## Blue g-eyes

saugmon said:


> Full moon coming too!
> 
> I've trolled cordel big O's,thunderstick jrs,rapalas,shad raps,mini rattletraps,rebel wee r'sBomber Model A B02,Model A B04, Square A,Bandit 100 series,200 series,timber tiger,and a bunch of other shallow diving cranks.. I'll stick with flickershads!!!
> 
> At certain times,I've had success with bomber Flat A B02's.



What size flickers are you using?


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## saugmon

5cm..

Water stained up pretty good yesterday with 6" clarity. Only 2 keepers and 2 dinks. Water Temp 69°. Low dink % this year and most are 2 years away from being keepers.The 13"-14" are few and far between this year.


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## OrangeMilk

I used 7's I have a large pile of 5's from Crappie trolling, so I guess it will be awhile before I invest in Flicker Shads again, I'm all set for Saugeye trolling.


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## odell daniel

Has anyone been getting them at dream bridge? On hot days I like the shade and the breeze, I have caught some nice ones there but usually late summer and fall.


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## gohabs1985

Great reports guys and a TON of help for a new saugeye chaser. 

Gotta ask though, where should I be trolling? I mainly fish Hoover and alum but never know where to start on the troll. Rock walls, depth changes, deep water by the damn, islands? Just not sure where to start looking for saugs. 

Any tips greatly appreciated!


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## RMK

gohabs1985 said:


> Great reports guys and a TON of help for a new saugeye chaser.
> 
> Gotta ask though, where should I be trolling? I mainly fish Hoover and alum but never know where to start on the troll. Rock walls, depth changes, deep water by the damn, islands? Just not sure where to start looking for saugs.
> 
> Any tips greatly appreciated!


X2 but wasnt brave enough to ask. lol


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## tomdury

RMK said:


> X2 but wasnt brave enough to ask. lol


I can always use a good tip (not secret spot). Never hurts to ask for a tip on water depth/structure/time of day, etc. At least that's what I think. Hell most times if you stop me at the fish cleaning house after a good day, I will tell you exactly where I was and what I was using. Not much for the "secretive wiley" fisherman. 

Any/all helpful tips appreciated!!


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## saugmon

They're scattered big time now.Gotta covers miles. Not much structure in the main lake. Not sure about the non main lake areas.Some major storms last night and maybe it'll fire them up?


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## TomC

How much rain ya get last night? See its raining now up there


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## saugmon

Pounded at my house.East side of lake got pounded with hail as we left moundwood. I put in at blackhawk this morning and didn't even notice any difference in the water level. 10+ channelcats this morning and only 3 keeper eyes out of 9. I threw everything at them including a bandit and Flat A.

Got drenched on the lake this morning then finished up at noon with the sun out and it felt like I was in an oven.


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## Blue g-eyes

tomdury said:


> I can always use a good tip (not secret spot). Never hurts to ask for a tip on water depth/structure/time of day, etc. At least that's what I think. Hell most times if you stop me at the fish cleaning house after a good day, I will tell you exactly where I was and what I was using. Not much for the "secretive wiley" fisherman.
> 
> Any/all helpful tips appreciated!!


Where's the fish cleaning house?


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## TomC

I wish they had a fish cleaning house up there.


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## Blue g-eyes

Where are they this morning?


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## saugmon

Got my limit plus tossed back 4 keepers.Started culling at 6:55 a.m. All 16"-19". Not many people out there and they were all spread out which is unbelievable.

Channelcats went totally nuts out there including 2 doubles.


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## ReadHeaded Hunter

gohabs1985 said:


> Great reports guys and a TON of help for a new saugeye chaser.
> 
> Gotta ask though, where should I be trolling? I mainly fish Hoover and alum but never know where to start on the troll. Rock walls, depth changes, deep water by the damn, islands? Just not sure where to start looking for saugs.
> 
> Any tips greatly appreciated!


Depth change is usually the key- points humps, etc. Around Indian major depth changes are hard to find unless you really know where to look. Covering ground in those instances is key. If you pop a fish, note speed, depth, and drop a waypoint and you'll have a pattern soon. Saugeyes also head up on shallow rocks at night to feed, so trolling near those areas as the fish are coming in in the evening or dropping out in the morning can bring a lot of success. Good luck!


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## Tjd

What depth crank baits are best to use?


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## saugmon

Tjd said:


> What depth crank baits are best to use?


Whatever size gets you barely bumping bottom.

5cm flickershads suppose to go 9'-11' but I can't get them to hit bottom of 7' with 30# 8# diameter braid.I mostly troll 5.5'-6.5' water.


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## Tjd

Great thanks,


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## float4fish

saugmon said:


> Whatever size gets you barely bumping bottom.
> 
> 5cm flickershads suppose to go 9'-11' but I can't get them to hit bottom of 7' with 30# 8# diameter braid.I mostly troll 5.5'-6.5' water.


Saugmon, do you use the precision trolling app? I just went heads first into and paid for the level just under the lifetime cost. Hoping that it is pretty accurate across the board when comparing line diameter with the Berkeley lines listed.


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## saugmon

I'm old school float4fish.I'm not sure of how they would list 5.5', 6.2'6.4' etc on depth charts.

Some of these newer flickershads are junk out of the pack. I tried a brand new 5cm 3 pk. 1 ran true,1 ran right,and other ran left. I'm starting to save the package and receipts and send the junk ones back. Individually tank test my A##. I've had success retuning 6cm,but not 5cm.


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## float4fish

saugmon said:


> I'm old school float4fish.I'm not sure of how they would list 5.5', 6.2'6.4' etc on depth charts.
> 
> Some of these newer flickershads are junk out of the pack. I tried a brand new 5cm 3 pk. 1 ran true,1 ran right,and other ran left. I'm starting to save the package and receipts and send the junk ones back. Individually tank test my A##. I've had success retuning 6cm,but not 5cm.


Well, since I have been reading posts from old school guys like you I have been out twice, twice I have put eyes in the boat. I used to fish Indian about 10 years ago and would fish all day for nothing. I salute you old school guys. 

I just got two real counters and a bunch of other stuff from Cabela's today to keep learning while actually catching. Happy Father's Day to the fellow hard working and dedicated family men out there.


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## Chemlab187

Tjd said:


> What depth crank baits are best to use?


It seems like everyone is using #7's, so running 12ft deep in 6feet of water


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## saugmon

Chemlab187 said:


> It seems like everyone is using #7's, so running 12ft deep in 6feet of water


12' deep? Being from Indian Lake,I can't fathom that depth, LOL!! 

I'll run a deeper diver down the propwash because it doesn't dive as deep in the turbulance and gives it some crazy action.Usually 6cm or Bomber B-04/Bandit 200 series..The other day,I tried a 7cm and no snags until I slow idled at 1.5 sog fighting a fish and center rod snagged immediately.
This is a useful rig because some days that is what the eyes prefer,deeper divers with more wiggle..


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## TomC

deep hole is over by dream bridge, at the mouth of moundwood on the north side where it goes into the marina. also north of lakeview there is a 20yrd by 20yrd square that's that deep


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## saugmon

Where's everyone at today? Woke up to major wind and rain so went back to bed. Got back up and settled down quite a bit. Only 1 boat trailer at lakeview harbor just before 8 a.m. Started at yesterday's hot waypoint. Twin 16"s in the livewell within 10 mins. #3 at 17" an hr later. Channelcat feeding frenzy going on as well. Then it kinda died out there while the dinks took over. Then at 11 a.m. the waves were a rolling, I decided to try another spot and lost some nice fish,but I waypointed them. Hammering those 2 waypoints yielded the final 3 eyes plus more channelcats. All 16"-18".
17 total eyes and 15+ channelcats.

Water Temp: 78°
Clarity: Less than 1'


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## Blue g-eyes

Anyone using Bass Pro brand baits like the flicker shads? If so, which ones? Trying to expand on selection in the box while minimizing cost.


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## RMK

Blue g-eyes said:


> Anyone using Bass Pro brand baits like the flicker shads? If so, which ones? Trying to expand on selection in the box while minimizing cost.


Flicker shads are the cheapest cranks I ve found.


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## saugmon

I checked out bps for their knockoff cranks and didn't see much plus not many colors. If I was to check into a cheap knockoff crank with lots of colors,H2O express from academy sports would be it. Lots of good feedback too.: http://www.academy.com/shop/pdp/h2o-xpress™-model-m-crankbait#repChildCatid=22428

Here's their entire line: http://www.academy.com/shop/browse/...mfName_ntk_cs%3A%22H2O+XPRESS%22&beginIndex=0


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## Redhunter1012

I have several of the bass pro style and havent noticed a difference. I've caught plenty of fish on them this year


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## saugmon

Those channelcats are ticking me off.At least 30 this morning and 20 of them in the 2# and 3# range. Tom C better get your butt down here and clean them out!!!!Just about every inside turn,idle slowly, and even the faster outside turns.They tore up my good used chrome clown so I had to put a new one on.It lasted 2 hrs and they knocked it out of tune.

But,where you got channelcats feeding,you got saugeye feeding.I even saw a couple seagulls/hawks pulling out small fish and flying around me which is a first. 21 eyes this morning, 11 keeper sized but limit'd to 6. All 17"-19". 3 of them chunky but you can't tell it in the pic. Tossed back twin 17"s and twin 16.5",and at least 1 in the 15" range. Did toss back 4-5 in the 13"-14.75" range which has been rare lately.That's bad news for next year folks!!! 3 nice crappie to boot and 2 had some pretty tore up tails. Twin 12"s. Missed some good fish as well including a 17" just an inch out of net range.It was a beautiful bright calm day to start but got rough when I packed it in at 11 a.m. Huge storm went through a couple hrs ago.
2-17"
2-18"
1-18.5"
1-19"


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## ristorap

I have used the bass pro shop brand that looks like the flicker shads. I caught saugeye on them from the bank.


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## Redhunter1012

Weather pending, I will be out there Saturday


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## saugmon

Tagged out again for the day but a lot of bad luck. Snag city!!!. Front definitely slowed them down and all scattered further apart. Took 6.25 hrs to get #6. Wind kicked up bigtime and snagged a 5lb channelcat while other pole snagged up. By the time I netted the cat,I grabbed the other rod and thumbed it and the line broke at the mono backing. Managed to dangle the other rod out and run out 4' of line to snag my spiderwire and started pulling it in before it wrapped my outboard. Spiderwire onboard,but I lost that crank. In case anyone doesn't know,spiderwire floats and next outboard running over it, gets all wrapped up around the prop. Almost lost another crank during a double snag that did get wrapped around the main motor that was spinning in the surf. 

All eyes in increments of 1/2" each from 16.5"-19". That was one expensive trip from my normal $7.50 trip. Also tossed back a 15" very early in the trip. 12 eyes total and catfish down to only 14 this trip.


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## Saugeye Tom

Redhunter1012 said:


> Weather pending, I will be out there Saturday


X2 looks like great weather


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## saugmon

Warm front went through to help fire em up.It was a very rare flat lake today. Tagged out again plus tossed back 1 at 16" and 3 in the 15"s out of 24 eyes. Channelcats also fired up with at least 15 which 10 of them 2# and up.Only a few snags this time and flat water made easy dealing with them.

I missed a ton of fish early in the morning. At least 8 but probably half were channelcats. Finally got some action at my backup spot. Circled that wp 3 times for 2 keepers and another lost at the net. The Redman1776 called me that he hit a good spot.By the time I got there,the pack also headed there. Only a couple dinks. But,later on I hit it again and got 2 more keepers. Then back to that backup waypoint and a couple of dinks and ended with a double,1 eye dink and a 2lb channelcat and called her quits. I got rid of a 16" but couldn't upgrade the other 2. Nothing over 18" and all on the skinny side. New moon coming!!! Party perch did most of the damage,chrome clown took the rest except blacklime bully tearing up 2 cats.

Water Temp: 73°
Clarity-1'


----------



## RMK

Here was my damage from this morning. 15, 16, and 17" eyes and a couple cats. I threw back 2 shorts and missed 3 keeper eyes and 1 cat at the boat. Think I need a longer net. Lol every time I d go to scoop them they weren't close enough and then gave a good head shake and treble hooks flying my way and fishing going the other way. Great first trip to indian and first time trolling on my own in my boat. 
Thanks for your help saugmon. I ll definitely be back for more!


----------



## RMK

And here is the after picture.... man those were some good eating fish! Even baked they were great. That's coming from someone who loves their fish fried.


----------



## saugmon

I'm grillng mine!!!

Barely eked out another limit this morning but still got some bad luck.16"-17. A nice 17.5" to start with and then I started losing fish. A dink eye put a treble barb through my middle finger and I grabbed some pliars and yanked it out. Didn't hurt 1 bit and still can barely feel it..So I fish on and the bite picked up at redman1776's spot and pulled #2 and #3 out. My helix kept shutting off then my elite did the same thing.Can't find my portable which probably had dead batteries in it. Then I dropped down the terrova and whala,I can track my speed on the remote. Tried starting the main up and nada.Bad battery, UGGH!! So I troll on and pick up #4 and #5 blindly.Turned off the livewell and had enough juice to run the elite. A very good reason to have 2 gps depth finders.Wind started picking up so I decided to troll in because it'll be a pain to put her on a trailer. Picked up#6 which was biggest eye at 17.5" at 9:55 a.m. and called it a day before the wind gets worse. Used the kicker to limp back to the dock.Battery had enough power to run the trollmaster remote. 12-15 channelcats. 1 slab of a crappie.

Now to tear out the rear deck.


----------



## Tjd

Going to try to make it out Saturday morning, anyone willing to share some good spots to hit.


----------



## Saugeye Tom

Tjd said:


> Going to try to make it out Saturday morning, anyone willing to share some good spots to hit.


going blind sat too, will prob start by oldfield


----------



## Tjd

I usually hit west bank and head towards old field, wasent sure if I should head esle where. But good luck, never know we may limit out with keepers.


----------



## float4fish

saugmon said:


> I'm grillng mine!!!
> 
> Barely eked out another limit this morning but still got some bad luck.16"-17. A nice 17.5" to start with and then I started losing fish. A dink eye put a treble barb through my middle finger and I grabbed some pliars and yanked it out. Didn't hurt 1 bit and still can barely feel it..So I fish on and the bite picked up at redman1776's spot and pulled #2 and #3 out. My helix kept shutting off then my elite did the same thing.Can't find my portable which probably had dead batteries in it. Then I dropped down the terrova and whala,I can track my speed on the remote. Tried starting the main up and nada.Bad battery, UGGH!! So I troll on and pick up #4 and #5 blindly.Turned off the livewell and had enough juice to run the elite. A very good reason to have 2 gps depth finders.Wind started picking up so I decided to troll in because it'll be a pain to put her on a trailer. Picked up#6 which was biggest eye at 17.5" at 9:55 a.m. and called it a day before the wind gets worse. Used the kicker to limp back to the dock.Battery had enough power to run the trollmaster remote. 12-15 channelcats. 1 slab of a crappie.
> 
> Now to tear out the rear deck.


Glad you made it back Saug. Always learning from you, this lesson be prepared for things to go bad.


----------



## saugmon

Boat's all put back together.Just bought 2 new batteries at Big R in lima in the spring for the terrova so went back up there for a new cranking one. Cheapest place by far for batteries.

Now to see what this semi cool front does to the eyes.


----------



## Redhunter1012

I should be on the water no later than 6 a.m. tomorrow morning. We'll see what all this rain does to them


----------



## saugmon

Where's everybody at this morning? We had the whole entire main lake to ourselves but got our butts soaked.Not sure what was in the rain,but my eyes burned bad.Got out 6:30 a.m. and 3 keepers in the boat by the time I picked my buddy up across from Indian head. morning out of 24. Mostly 16"-17" and a single fat 18". Tossed back 4 that were in the 15"s. Got most within a 200' circle of 1 waypoint.. 5 hits in a row as soon as we got to it.The wind was actually not too shabby.Biggest came during the heaviest monsoon. My buddy got a 27" carp that went 9.5 lbs and a plump 10" perch. I bilged out a ton of water.Good thing my battery died yesterday and not today. We quit at 1 p.m. when my eyes started to burn again. Darn chem trails!!!

Water temp for the 3rd straight trip: 76°


----------



## ristorap

What colors are you catching them on?


----------



## saugmon

Party Perch and chrome clown all week long. 2 straight trips with a hook in the finger, UGGH! Another dink got my left middle finger this time. Gotta get back to work to get my hands to heal up and sleep in.


----------



## TomC

What was up with the burning eyes? That's so not normal. I was temped to go up for cats yesterday but well, my boat is not equipped for monsoon rain! Im sure I could rig up some sort of bilge pump setup, but hey its only a 12' jon boat. Just wondering how much water fell up your way yesterday.


----------



## saugmon

Never had my eyes burn like that except with shampoo in it. Shampoo would have felt better.

Around 5:30 p.m.,river was 6' below spillway. This morning,the main lake rose almost 6".Still looked good and holding at 73.5°. Eyes slowed down but cats still hitting. Only a single 16" eye this morning and a 11" slab of a crappie.Lost a nice one with the net.


----------



## TomC

so got a nice flow in the lake lol. glad the spillway is flowing good again, it was running low on shad.


----------



## skiff

Took my 11 yr. old grandson from Texas up to Indian Lake this morning. Put in at Lakeview and started trolling flicker shads. Not much action until I sped up a bit then started getting some hits. Caught 3 just under 15" probably 10 or so dinks, lost 2 nice (19"?) at the net. But did Manage to catch a 16" and 18" plus a nice slab. Grandson caught the 18". Had a great time.


----------



## Tin Guppy

skiff said:


> Took my 11 yr. old grandson from Texas up to Indian Lake this morning. Put in at Lakeview and started trolling flicker shads. Not much action until I sped up a bit then started getting some hits. Caught 3 just under 15" probably 10 or so dinks, lost 2 nice (19"?) at the net. But did Manage to catch a 16" and 18" plus a nice slab. Grandson caught the 18". Had a great time.


 I was the guy that talked to you in the parking lot. I always like to see kids in the outdoors.


----------



## skiff

Tin Guppy said:


> I was the guy that talked to you in the parking lot. I always like to see kids in the outdoors.


Nice to meet you, my grandson loves fishing but seldom gets to go. Except when We visit them in Texas or when he comes up to spend a month or two with us, then we go as often as we can!


----------



## Saugeye Tom

I was there also...10 dinks 8 channels and a yellow fish....lust for crappie was with


----------



## Redhunter1012

We trolled from 6:15 til 11:30 today as well. Just a single 16" keeper and 3 keeper Crappie. Got around 8 dinks and 6 catfish as well. Lost several right after hookup. Quite a few missed hits. The 1 keeper we did manage was up shallow close to Pugh.


----------



## saugmon

I missed a ton of eyes this week red. Skittish shortbiters. Sharpened my hooks the other day only to take a 2nd treble in a finger. Never had a hook in me before and get 1 stuck in me back to back trips.Got 1 final day to end it on but not expecting much.


----------



## Tin Guppy

That's a small flathead, I got 1 yesterday too with 2 saugeye 17&18 they were short striking me to.


----------



## TomC

Ok, Im gona have to try the trolling thing again with my catfish gear again this year. Only crankbaits I have are my Berkley frenzys. I'll be up Monday thru Tuesday sometime. I don't know what depth the frenzy's run but im gona try. So if you see a small silver jon boat out and about, that's me


----------



## Redhunter1012

Heck Tom, I bet if you pull some harnesses with a worm and about 1/4 oz weight, you'll slam them. They are some nice, healthy size catfish to boot. Good luck


----------



## TomC

Cats are our main target, but I figure we could give the trolling thing a try again. I got 7ft rods with 6500c3's with 17lb line. So im figuring change two of the rods setups and just tie a couple crank baits with swivels on and try it for a bit.


----------



## TomC

If anyone is going to be out and about stop by and say hi, we will be drifting, trolling and anchoring and possibly on occasion moving across the lake at blistering 5.5mph!


----------



## 9Left

I've had that happen before( eyes burning/stinging as rain comes down your face)... It is from rain mixing with sweat as it comes down your face and hits your eyes. It burns like hell and ya actually have to stop what your doing just to wipe your eyes.


----------



## ristorap

TOMC What frenzy do you have the short bill or the long bill?


----------



## saugmon

4 keepers out of 9 eyes yesterday.Water level still up and had to let out 90' on starboard.Port side was dead til we let out 100' in almost 7' water.

Only 1 channelcat and a slab of a crappie. They started hitting better as the waves churned up. By 9:30 a.m.,there were 3 footers rolling and we got the heck out.

Water Temp:72


----------



## fished-out

saugmon said:


> 4 keepers out of 9 eyes yesterday.Water level still up and had to let out 90' on starboard.Port side was dead til we let out 100' in almost 7' water.
> 
> Only 1 channelcat and a slab of a crappie. They started hitting better as the waves churned up. By 9:30 a.m.,there were 3 footers rolling and we got the heck out.
> 
> Water Temp:72


did you have any sun screen on?


----------



## TomC

Oh come on the waves wern't that bad. Wind sucked. It went from west to south west. Then at 830 it went from hard south went to hard wind from the north west. Managed a load of channels, 1 flathead (5lber), 2 crappies and 2 18" eyes. Missed alot of fish today. Im hoping the wind calms down tonight.


----------



## ReadHeaded Hunter

Was planning on heading out with the fiance Thursday til I checked the weather-- steady winds in the mid 20s and scattered T-storms. Not great conditions, especially with a rookie fishing partner


----------



## saugmon

11 straight trips came to an end yesterday! Gonna try tomorrow evening after work. This has got to be the windiest season ever!


----------



## dytmook

I'm likely coming up this weekend. How do you deal with the pleasure boaters? Just get out early and maybe late then head in? I doubt we get the boat out too much but I'm just curious.


----------



## Saugeyefisher

dytmook said:


> I'm likely coming up this weekend. How do you deal with the pleasure boaters? Just get out early and maybe late then head in? I doubt we get the boat out too much but I'm just curious.


Some guys prefer the pleasure boats= they can really help with the bite. Lol I think its the 50 deep fleet of trollers/drifted out there you need to worry bout(keep them nets down boys).....


----------



## saugmon

The main circus is at the launch around 11 a.m. and later.The pack hasn't been too bad last couple weeks. I'll quit at 10 a.m. so I don't have to mess with the launch circus that most boats don't even know how to use the prep area.


----------



## Shocker

Do saugeye taste the same as a walleye?


----------



## Saugeyefisher

Shocker said:


> Do saugeye taste the same as a walleye?


Better ..... (at least to my taste buds)


----------



## Saugeyefisher

saugmon said:


> The main circus is at the launch around 11 a.m. and later.The pack hasn't been too bad last couple weeks. I'll quit at 10 a.m. so I don't have to mess with the launch circus that most boats don't even know how to use the prep area.


Lol then the same guys get mad at another guy that has his rig ready to drop in an go,when they find a way to get around the ramp/lane blockers.....

There was a guy at alum creek last week holding up the show,cause he felt the need to blow up his tube at the stop sign for the next boater in line. He had at least 10 rigs behind him waiting to get in/out,as he has his hood to his truck up using the battery for power to blow up the tube.... lol how thoughtless


----------



## Shocker

Might have to get out there once so I can try one


----------



## saugmon

4 keepers out of 14 eyes tonight in 3 hrs. All 15.5"-17.5" and came off 1 waypoint from sunday which yielded 4 dinks as well.Had to crosswave them running east to west. Just couldn't find that 2nd hot spot. zero channelcats and 1 mild snag!!!!

Kicker's rattling and gotta check it out tomorrow.

Water Temp: 71° and stained pretty good.


----------



## dytmook

saugmon said:


> The main circus is at the launch around 11 a.m. and later.The pack hasn't been too bad last couple weeks. I'll quit at 10 a.m. so I don't have to mess with the launch circus that most boats don't even know how to use the prep area.


I pretty much thought the same. I'll likely be out on shore Friday and Saturday but I'll be out early then maybe again in the evening. Maybe I can get the boat up and tool around some channels and stuff.


----------



## float4fish

Seen this on Facebook, no better place to maybe help this veteran out.


----------



## MDBuckeye

Thanks float4fish. Some pretty low life folks around for sure.


----------



## Redhunter1012

If found, they should be tied up and drug behind the boat for a few hours. 

I should be on the water tomorrow morning by 6:15. Hope to see you guys out there


----------



## Blue g-eyes

Redhunter1012 said:


> If found, they should be tied up and drug behind the boat for a few hours.
> 
> I should be on the water tomorrow morning by 6:15. Hope to see you guys out there


What's the rain looking like for tomorrow? Also, holiday weekend, what time will most the fishing be disrupted by the pleasure cruisers?


----------



## saugmon

Blue g-eyes said:


> What's the rain looking like for tomorrow? Also, holiday weekend, what time will most the fishing be disrupted by the pleasure cruisers?


Rain should be ok.

6:30 a.m. is when the pleasurecraft start, LOL!! Usually I quit at 10 a.m. unless the weather is crappy and that'll delay most of those pleasurecraft. Hardly anyone on the lake this evening. Managed 2 keepers out of 8.Also 3 channelcats. Cold wind shifted out of the west and then northwest is when I quit and then the rain as I pulled in the driveway at 8 p.m.


----------



## Redhunter1012

Only 3 keepers today. 1 at 16.5" and 2 at 18". Also got 5 keeper crappies too. 2 eyes on chrome clown and 1 on the solid hot pink. All my keeper eyes came in 6' of water or less. Lots of catfish today


----------



## saugmon

2 keepers out of 8. 1 at 17.5" and a very dark colored one at 18.5". Lost another around 16" at the boat. Slow to start with and couldn't get the 5's down in 7' of water with 100' released. Put on a 6cm at 85'-90' and started getting hits but they were few and far between.Only 3 channelcats. 1 double snag but both popped up with a thumbing of the spool. Lots of weeds today and of course our normal 2' chop.

More monsoons today so I imagine the lake level hasn't dropped any. Water Temp:73°


----------



## Redhunter1012

Yea, the #5's weren't getting done out deep. Caught a few shorts on the #5 minnows. Looked for shallower water around 10 a.m. and found fish. Battled quite a few snags and catfish. No lost cranks but I need to swap out about a half dozen treble hooks from the cats


----------



## float4fish

What would make them not get down? What size line are you using? 10# line at .014 diameter should be at 7' back 51'. Just curious in case I run into this issue some day, of course that would mean work allows time lol.


----------



## saugmon

30# braid at 8# diameter.Rod perpendicular to the gunnel which is 1' above waterline.Heavy waves,stained water.

Those eyelets of the flickershads are rinky dink.Does not take much to bend one. After a few catfish,a few will start diving deeper or side to side. Very difficult to get re-tuned.


----------



## Saugeye Tom

saugmon said:


> 30# braid at 8# diameter.Rod perpendicular to the gunnel which is 1' above waterline.Heavy waves,stained water.
> 
> Those eyelets of the flickershads are rinky dink.Doesn't take much to bend one. After a few catfish,a few will start diving deeper or side to side. Very difficult to get re-tuned.


You using boards?....if so how many....


----------



## saugmon

This has got to be the windiest season that I have seen Tom. For almost 50 trips,only 4-5 calm days that I could run boards and I did run them 2 straight trips. 1st trip yielded 2 eyes.Next day was trip 2 and netted zero eyes and a ton of snags. I had 1 flickershad that wanted to dive extra deep and snag up on that trip.Usually 2 rods keep us busy with these flickershads.

Tomorrow is calling for light wind and if my rider shows up,I'll be running the boards.Eyes have been very scattered last 4 trips.


----------



## Saugeye Tom

saugmon said:


> This has got to be the windiest season that I have seen Tom. For almost 50 trips,only 4-5 calm days that I could run boards and I did run them 2 straight trips. 1st trip yielded 2 eyes.Next day was trip 2 and netted zero eyes and a ton of snags. I had 1 flickershad that wanted to dive extra deep and snag up on that trip.Usually 2 rods keep us busy with these flickershads.
> 
> Tomorrow is calling for light wind and if my rider shows up,I'll be running the boards.Eyes have been very scattered last 4 trips.


Thx. I ran 4 in the wind. Pain in the buttox...caught cats and smalls


----------



## saugmon

On the H2o by 5:30 a.m. and went immediately into search mode.Major snag off the getgo with my rare tenn shad while it was still dark.Finally calm water and got to use my retriever. 3 dinks as I passed that waypoint 2 times and a 19" 200' from that spot with the tenn shad and went sour. 13 total eyes which are getting more active in the 75° water temp which was 76° when I quit at 10:45 a.m. No word on my rider but it would have been a good day for the boards if he showed up. Moved to another old hot location and saw a floating crucifix/clothesline post of 4x4 and 8' long with huge nails sticking out along with a 10lb dead catfish.Got the other 2 keepers there and missed a decent one outside net range.That eye jumped out of the water and threw the crank like a bass.Then he landed upside down and stayed belly up for a second or two and swam off.Never saw that before.A pontoon showed up and loaded up that crucifix and hauled it away.

Saw lots of dinks caught around me when finishing.Only 2 channelcats. Got to play around with the terrova for a few hrs. Tenn shad early then chrome clown later. Lake level dropped a few inches and didn't have to run any 6cm's. 100' sufficed!

2 days of east wind coming, UGGH!


----------



## Blue g-eyes

Caught 5 today. 3 dinks and 2 keepers, 20" and 17". 5 on 5cm Chrome Clown flicker and 1 on a Texas Red lipless. Also grabbed a 9.5"crappie on the Texas Red. 1 channel cat as well. Out at 6am in at 10am.


----------



## Blue g-eyes

Blue g-eyes said:


> Caught 5 today. 3 dinks and 2 keepers, 20" and 17". 5 on 5cm Chrome Clown flicker and 1 on a Texas Red lipless. Also grabbed a 9.5"crappie on the Texas Red. 1 channel cat as well. Out at 6am in at 10am.


This was yesterday.


----------



## saugmon

Limit this morning in 3.5 hrs. My good old northeast wind showed up!!!!! First 6 were keepers then 2 fat dinks. Culled out a 15.5". All were thick except 1 of the 16"s. They've been slow but they are eating well. Hardly anybody out there. Tenn Shad rocked!! Party perch caught a couple. Chrome clown got skunked. Also a 5-6 lb flattie that got tossed back. No channelcats but had a couple hit and fell off early. Zero snags!!! 

Bonus for today was finding a buckeyes hat floating. Anybody lose one yesterday?

2-18"
1-17.5"
1-17"
2-16"

Water's pretty well stained. Got another monsoon last night. Water Temp: 76°


----------



## notimetofish

Managed to pull two kids out of bed yesterday morning. On the water around 6. Great morning fishing anytime I can take them along. Had 5 keepers. 1 15", 2 18", 1 19", and my son caught a 21" for his first ever saugeye. He was a little excited. Caught 1 on a fire tiger flickershad. Missed 2 on chrome clown. All other keepers were on bandit 200's. All but 1 fish in 5.5' to 7' foot of water.


----------



## ristorap

What color was the bandit 200's ?


----------



## notimetofish

ristorap said:


> What color was the bandit 200's ?


Blue chrome and pink with black splatters across the back.


----------



## ristorap

Thank you


----------



## Eaglef16

How fast you trolling?


----------



## Redhunter1012

Haven't been out much with the new job. Wife was on call all this weekend til 4:30 tonight. So I'm bringing my 6 year old son for his first fishing trip to Indian tonight along with my Father in Law. Hope it aint too rowdy out there. Should be fishing by 6 pm


----------



## saugmon

All tagged out again and tossed back a 15". Hit yesterday's hotspot and got all but #6 there out of the total of 16 eyes. Not a whole lot of boats out there. 1 beat me to near my spot but they puttered off a short bit later. All dead til 6:10 a.m. and the 19" hit,then a 17.5" swallowed my crank within minutes of the 1st. Lost the 2nd half of a double for #3 and then dead again for an hr. Then the 2nd bite started at the same spot for #4, #5.and #6 that got tossed back. Never did get to the 3rd bite there and moved. Still 1 short,I saw a buddy of mine waving. Called him on the phone and 1 rod went nuts that I thought was a channelcat. I reeled it in with 1 hand while bs'ing with him til I noticed it was bigger than I thought and hung up.Up comes the 18.5" eye for #6. Bad snag at 10 a.m. plus 1 launch closed at chippewa so I called her quits.Only 2 channelcats this morning. Not as many dead floating catfish as there was the other day.Missed a couple of decent ones. Lots of weeds.Best hit of the day was a yellow dollar general plastic bag full of water.It ripped off 50' of line while the clicker was turned off, LOL!

Beautiful calm day out there,zero clouds, and water temp: 73°

3-17"
1-17.5"
1-18.5"
1-19"


----------



## Blue g-eyes

Taking a break from IL this weekend for some surf fishing in Hilton Head. Catching sharks.


----------



## 9Left

Blue g-eyes said:


> Taking a break from IL this weekend for some surf fishing in Hilton Head. Catching sharks.


Sweet! what ya use for bait ?


----------



## Blue g-eyes

9Left said:


> Sweet! what ya use for bait ?


Finger mullet


----------



## Redhunter1012

We struck out last night. Fished from 6-8:30. Caught some cats, 1-10" eye, and 5 eyes that ranged from 14.5-14.9999 inches. I just couldn't find any quality. Caught all but 1 eye on chrome clown, other came on lemon lime flicker minnow.

My 6 year old had a blast out there with grandpa and Daddy. He got to reel in a bunch of fish, and even netted a few. When we called it quits, I let him drive the boat around for awhile. Man did he love that. And he loved it when I let him ride in the boat as we pulled it from the ramp. Had a blast last night without having to clean dish when I got home, I'll take that anytime


----------



## TomC

Gary when you going next? Was going to take the boys up this week


----------



## saugmon

Not sure tom. I got kinzie all week and she doesn't like to fish so I'm stuck at home.

Redhunter,at least you're getting those 14"s.They've been few and far between this year.Most of my dinks are 2 yrs away from being keepers..My main rider and his boy got 4 last night in their pontoon.They ended up tossing them back.His boy is getting them on slumdog.Lots of turns too!


----------



## Redhunter1012

How many of those 14" do you think people keep? I see lots of people not even measure, just tossing fish in the cooler. With so many canals and places to dock a boat, it's impossible for ODNR to check people unless they did it on the water


----------



## Cobe24

Over the past few seasons, there have been a number of occasions when popular bank spots have been loaded with fish and fishermen and almost all of the fish that I was catching were shorts with many between 14-15. It would be averaging 10:1 shorts to legal fish or more for me while some others were keeping most if not all fish. 

I understand that some days technique can lead to certain anglers catching bigger fish but I don't buy that the way someone works a stickbait makes them catch all 15.25 fish while others are catching mostly 14.75 fish, especially considering that those fish are the same age class. 

This seems to occur at night to a far greater extent than during the daytime. Kind of a bummer to the law abiding fishermen, who I do believe are in the majority.


----------



## Saugeyefisher

I've had my fish checked both from bank and boat at Indian an I don't fish there a lot. Each time was early evening or late nite. 
There out there,a lot of times in boats you won't recognize. And there checking livewells.... 
Also the more people that report undersized fish being kept the more they'll get out there and check


----------



## arlee13

Was having the same problem at Mosquito Lake with people fishing in the wildlife area. Game Warden told me to call 1-800-POACHER and if they are in the area they will be right there if not they will try and get someone there. But the more calls they get about people doing something illegal the Supervisors will be more likely to keep someone in the area.


----------



## RMK

my first trip to indian a few weeks ago my 3rd fish was a 15" fish. measured exactly on my tape that is on top of the livewell. i was worried dnr might measure different than i did or its tail would get damaged from the other toothy fish in the livewell while i was searching for more fish. it stayed in the livewell for about 2 more passes. i got a picture with the 3 keepers and tossed the 15" fish back. didnt want to chance being checked or ticketed even though i completely think the fish was legal. too close for comfort for me....


----------



## Cobe24

Yes, I do get checked at Indian far more often than any other lake that I fish and have also been checked at night. I believe they do their best there.


----------



## Mark Hicks

Have the saugeye started up after the storms and rain


----------



## Redhunter1012

Over the last 2 years, I've launched my boat close to 25 times and never was checked. I have been checked several times shore fishing though


----------



## Cobe24

On second thought, I have never been checked by the game warden in a boat. In the boat, it has been the watercraft guys and they have never asked to see fish. I have actually been checked more frequently ice fishing than at any other time. One year, it was like 3 times in a week. Lol


----------



## dcool

This spring i got checked three different times in the same day fishing from shore.


----------



## Saugeyefisher

The one time in a boat on Indian we got checked. It was about 5/530 early spring after most of the boats had gotten off the lake. They where game wardens in a small fishing boat. They boarded and measured are fish. Checked are licence and left.
We had seen them earlier 2 times before they approached us. Lol I didn't know who they were till they where 10' from us and announced themself.
Each time I had seen prior to are encounter I though they where fishermen....
Another time was just last fall,it was about midnight we had caught some fish earlier at another location an had them in a cooler. By this time we where fishing a bridge where the parking lot is right there. My car was the only one there,I had caught 2 more fish at this location an out them in a bucket. 
Watercraft officer pulls up puts on hi beams an points truck to the spot me an a buddy are fishing. We didn't realize who it was,so we started shining and flashing are headlamps back at them to get them to turn there lights off. 4/5 minutes later (I assume he was running my tags) he finally gets out of his truck,walks down,checks are fish are lisence,asked all the normal questions. Then walked to my van an checked my cooler. Asked about are last location an if anybody was there when we left. Then quickly headed in that direction. All at about midnight on a Sunday night.
Was very pleasant to see them doing what there supposed to be doing at times of the day most people don't think they're out there.


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## saugmon

Mark Hicks said:


> Have the saugeye started up after the storms and rain


Which storms and rain? We can't go 2 days without rain and storms for the past 6 weeks LOL! Lake's still 6" above normal for the last couple weeks.As soon as it drops a few inches,wham another big storm.

Eyes are scattered and in pockets mark. Once I lock into them,it's for a short spell and then dead for an hr or so and they start up again near that spot or close to it. Then hit them again later in that spot.


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## Mark Hicks

Going to try to go Fri. morning may get wet


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## TomC

Fished it yesterday. Lake is 1ft higher than normal. Had the usual luck on cut and live shad. Lake was choppy and stained in places. Alot of people on the lake and a lot of fools that have no clue what no wake bouys are. Would love to see boat patrol park near the no wake zones and ticket people.


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## Mark Hicks

on water by 7:00 AM fished to about 1:30, water high as I have every seen it- 2 keepers 6 dinks


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## RMK

Will be out first thing tomorrow morning with a friend. Hope they are hungry!


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## brent k

Is the water stained bad and debris???


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## Mark Hicks

stained but not bad good shape for what we have been getting, clear maybe 1/2 ft.


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## saugmon

All the debris is in moundwood's channel. They needed swamp loggers out there when I put in earlier. 1 huge 12' log blocking most of the channel. It was gone when I finished.

2 keepers out of 4. Tossed back 3 channelcats that were pushing 2-3#. Also a bonus 12" crappie. First eye was 17" and got it off the getgo when the 2nd rod finally got released. The other keeper was the skinniest 16.5" that I have ever seen. Very rough out there.
Water Temp: 78°. Clarity was ok in main lake.

Main mission was to try out the new basemap update on the helix. Huge 9 gb file. Now it looks like I'm in water in the channels instead of on dry land with the older basemap.Well worth the update.


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## RMK

Fun morning on indian. Thanks for the help again saugmon.
3 keeper eyes. A fat 18 a 17 and a 16. Lost one more and 9 short fish. Bonus channel cat and flat head. 6 cm fire tiger did best for us along with orange tiger and party perch catching fish. 5.5 to 6 feet of water seemed to hold the feeding fish. 2 catfish trashed hooks on each of the flickershads. Water temp 77 to 79 not very muddy and not a ton of debris.


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## saugmon

Yesterday's report must not have took: Saturday:On the water at 5:30 and headed right for friday night's subpar hot spot. Zilch for almost an hr then went into search mode. Found them at my backup spot. 6 keepers out of 18.Nothing over 18".Lots of weed.Chrome clown and party perch until a 4lb channelcat knocked that party perch out of tune and slowed way way down after that.. Only 1 eye to go,I slapped on a 6cm firetiger like ryan mentioned and ended up moving back to my 1st spot. 2 more dinks and finally #6 by 11:30 a.m. Only 3 channelcats.

No floating crucifix's this time,but did see a huge plank of 2"x10"x 6' out by chippewa.

Sunday,7-16-2017. On the water at 5:40 a.m. at yesterday's hot spot and zilch. Headed to the other spot and 6:40 got into a few halfway there. 2 were 17" and a few dinks all scattered in 1/2 mile straight line and fizzled out.Back to that spot and started up again. Pulled out a 19.5" and another 16" and some dinks. Headed a straight line to the 1st 2 eye wps and pulled a 16" for #5 and a short spell for the final #6 at 19.5" at 10:15 a.m.. Basically only used 1 rod today.5cm with the most beat up chrome clown with oversized trebles on port side took all the keepers.Brand new shiny chrome clown=zilch.2nd gnarliest 5cm chrome clown with oversized trebles=skunk.Tenn shad=skunked.

100' released in 6.5' H20.

Out of the total 12 eyes,starboard got 3 dinks on outbreak and 6cm firetiger.Pink tiger took a 3lb channelcat..Nobody at the launch and had to go out through the entrance because of a huge pontoon trailer and truck blocking blackhawk's exit.


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## Mark Hicks

going morning, will post when we get back


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## RMK

dont want to hi jack this great thread but.... anybody ever slow down and pull harnesses? probably been about a month ago now but i pm pretty sure i saw some guys drifting. pulling flcikershads fast is definitely productive just thought about trying something different.


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## Mark Hicks

6 keepers- 7 dinks fishing not good


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## Cajunsaugeye

RMK said:


> dont want to hi jack this great thread but.... anybody ever slow down and pull harnesses? probably been about a month ago now but i pm pretty sure i saw some guys drifting. pulling flcikershads fast is definitely productive just thought about trying something different.


It'll work if you can keep the cats off long enough for eyes to munch it. If you just want action,then by all means,do it.


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## 9Left

RMK said:


> dont want to hi jack this great thread but.... anybody ever slow down and pull harnesses? probably been about a month ago now but i pm pretty sure i saw some guys drifting. pulling flcikershads fast is definitely productive just thought about trying something different.


Yes , I do! use a simple rig, same as I use in the maumee river, just a smaller weight. I basically use a Carolina rig. with a floating jig head and a nightcrawler . I do not slow troll however, I just go on a windy day and drift ...never had a problem getting my limit


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## RMK

Thanks guys. Sounds like I have something else I need to try. And I don't mind catching those kitty fish either!


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## zaraspook

RMK said:


> Fun morning on indian. Thanks for the help again saugmon.
> 3 keeper eyes. A fat 18 a 17 and a 16. Lost one more and 9 short fish. Bonus channel cat and flat head. 6 cm fire tiger did best for us along with orange tiger and party perch catching fish. 5.5 to 6 feet of water


Nicely done, guys! Wise time investment........


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## Redhunter1012

I used to pull harnesses and 1/4 oz Erie Deeries alot. This year I have been doing so good with the crank baits that I never really tried it. Lots of action though


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## saugmon

All tagged out again this evening and boy was she hot.Good thing some dark clouds were overhead most of the time.. All 16"-18" and 3 dinks. Just like sunday,all 9 eyes on port side with the most beatup chrome clown. Starboard skunked with flashy pink,2 different party perch,brand new chrome clown,and disco perch. 95' released in 6.2' H2O.

Water Temp: 81° on helix, 83° on elite-5. No weeds but did snag a baby snail and full grown snail.


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## arlee13

We fished yesterday from 7:30 am until 4:00 pm we caught 7 saugeye, 6 keepers 1-22 inch, 1-20, and 4-16 to 18. Fishing was good in the morning, then slowed down in the afternoon. Caught all of them on walleye harness.


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## misterbreeze

arlee13 What did you bait the harness with?


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## arlee13

Night Crawler and big gulp minnows. Caught all but one on nightcrawlers.


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## BrettSass844

Any updated August reports? I am thinking about heading up for an all dayer. Between my travels and my wife's work schedule I haven't had time to wet a line lately. 
Planning on pulling 4 rods with a variety of flickers and also taking harnesses. 
For those having success with harnesses, are you pulling them with bottom bouncers?


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## arlee13

I do not use bottom bouncers at Indian Lake, I use 3/8 ounce weights with harness. If trolling I go between 1 1/2 and 2 mph. Hope that helps good luck.


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## RMK

BrettSass844 said:


> Any updated August reports? I am thinking about heading up for an all dayer. Between my travels and my wife's work schedule I haven't had time to wet a line lately.
> Planning on pulling 4 rods with a variety of flickers and also taking harnesses.
> For those having success with harnesses, are you pulling them with bottom bouncers?


Any luck?


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## BrettSass844

We managed a few nice saugeyes but we had to work hard for them. Could not pick up multiple fish in the same area. Could not get a pattern on color they wanted. We stuck to flickers all day and didn't pull any meat. Catfish frenzy on pink and purple!!! I wanted to fish until later in the evening. However, about 5 or so I had enough of the pleasure boaters. I am more familiar with the southern half of the lake. Fish and stump waypoints on the Helix etc... We couldn't get one to bite in that southern portion of the lake that produced well for us earlier this year. All of ours were further north. 
I'm going to head back after the holiday when it cools off for a 3-4 day long weekend. Let some of these pleasure boats get parked for the season. Dealing with them gets aggravating after a while!
How is the fall fishing up there? Say when the water dips to 65? I came up once this past December, but we timed the shad die off perfectly and did not manage a bite all day. Everywhere we went there were half dead shad to be had with no effort.


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## BrettSass844

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My 8 year olds largest fish he has caught to date. 




  








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Now here is a real trophy...




  








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## Muddy

Nice work on the flat heads. Did your boys hang in there all day?


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## BrettSass844

They were good for about 7 hours. Having a McDonald's on the lake sure helps.


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## Blue g-eyes

Heading out tomorrow morning. What do you guys expect this colder weather to do to the eyes?


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## Shinji

Just got back from Indian tonight. Fished from 8:30-10:45. Didn't catch a fish. Fished Dream Bridge and Lakeview hoping the chop would bring the saugeye closer to shore.


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## saugmon

I'm hoping to try it tomorrow morning. Gotta run some seafoam through the main motor.


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## saugmon

Main motor wouldn't stay running this morning. The kicker had a hard time too but finally got her running. 90 min troll and zilch and called her quits. Fiddled around with the main motor for 15 mins and finally got it to idle slow. 6+ weeks of sitting in garage.I slapped half a can of sea foam and ran her full bore for 20 min.

Water Temp: 64°


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## BrettSass844

Glad you got it running. Awful day at Caeser Creek. 5 hours and only one smallmouth. Stranded with a flat on my truck now while the boat is in the water at the ramp here. I'm without my spare tire lock key so my roadside assistance on the way to get this spare tire lowered. What a day!!!


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## odell daniel

we fished Indian sunday morning(2 of us), caught around 30 eyes,all casting jigs in deeper water. got a limit of real nice ones. they are hitting pink, orange, pearl/chartruess joshies, silver flake koomers, really didn't matter what we threw at them, we had minnies and crawlers, didn't need either. The bite was from 8am to around 1 pm, One of these days I'm going to take a break from my addiction of buying lures and get a smart phone so I can post pics.


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## Saugeyefisher

Great job Odell! I figured we'd see a good report or two with the cool down. Always seems to happen now-October. 
What size coomers and joshys?


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## odell daniel

Saugeyefisher said:


> Great job Odell! I figured we'd see a good report or two with the cool down. Always seems to happen now-October.
> What size coomers and joshys?


2.75 joshies and 3" koomers, my favorite time of year,the bite should just keep getting better. We use a double jig rig a lot and the fish were hitting top and bottom jigs, good luck guys.


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## RMK

possibly heading out in the morning. any body been out lately? think the heat wave will have them shut down?


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## Saugeyefisher

RMK said:


> possibly heading out in the morning. any body been out lately? think the heat wave will have them shut down?


It's not typically what you want this time of year. But with a lot of fish still being in there summer patterns I bet you'll still pick a few off


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## bigmexican

I was up last sunday. Tried jiging vibes around dream bridge with no luck. Ended up crappie fishing caught 20 had 12 that would of been big enough to keep. I seen a few guys trolling the deeper water south of the bridge didn't see anyone netting any fish.


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## RMK

we gave it a shot early sunday a.m. no luck. boated a kitty cat and lost, mostly likely another cat, in the same area of 5-6 foot water pulling flicker shads. put on bigger 7 cm flicker shads and switched 2 poles to bottom bouncers with worm harnesses loaded with some of "walts green night crawlers" and went to look for the deeper water around dream bridge. found it. that was the only success of the trip. no takers trolling over there either.

we watched quite a few guys that looked like they may have been using slipper bobbers with i m guessing minnows. or possible even jigging. they were fishing the ledge to the deeper water. curious if anybody has any info on that? they seemed to be having some success. couldnt tell what they were catching either. talked to one of the first boats that was there and left shortly after the rest of the pack showed up. he said they caught one eye.


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## fishslim

glow perch 2.75 Big Joshy on 1/8th ounce orange head hopped off bottom. mid afternoon in the heat 5 friday and 3 today in about half hour
2 different spots today. had to get back to work. Fish were all 15 1/2" to 18" not very fat. fall bite not far away feed will be going strong.


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## RMK

fishslim said:


> glow perch 2.75 Big Joshy on 1/8th ounce orange head hopped off bottom. mid afternoon in the heat 5 friday and 3 today in about half hour
> 2 different spots today. had to get back to work. Fish were all 15 1/2" to 18" not very fat. fall bite not far away feed will be going strong.


your killing me! i had a pole rigged up exactly like that sitting in the boat as i was watching and wondering what the heck they were doing! thanks for the info! another thing learned.


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## 9Left

The best luck I usually have around dream bridge deeper water is just a 1/16 ounce jig head tipped with a minnow or a nightcrawler..just work it slowly on the bottom anywhere around the bridge


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## TomC

Channels and Flatheads have been biting!


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## saugmon

TomC said:


> Channels and Flatheads have been biting!


You weren't kidding on the kitty bite tom. Got 3 hrs trolling in and hit wolf off the getgo. Nothing til before pew and lost a dandy cat that peeled off 20' of line.No wind. Then a couple of 2-3 pound cats. Usually you get cats,you get eyes so I hovered over awhile with a couple more lost cats.Inside rod on tight turns. Then off to my old buoy #4 wp and more cats. Did lose a saugeye on top of the water but it'd be in the barely keeper range.The wind kicked up out of the south and I hovered over a dead floating 15lb carp and pulled in my only keeper eye at 20". A couple more cat misses.Then off to wp vernon and wes 1 and zilch.. Wind shifted out of the west and back to south of pew spot and channelcat frenzy again. Called it quits at 10:30 a.m. Water level way down,very stained water and 76°-77°. West side of main lake stained worse.No weeds and lots of leaves.

5cm chrome clown did most of the damage.Flashy clown took the rest. Tenn shad and party perch=skunked.


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## BrettSass844

Anyone having any luck trolling this fall? I am thinking about heading up this Saturday. 
Looking forward to trolling in the new rig! 




  








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## ERFishers

http://www.ohiogamefishing.com/index.php?threads/Indian-Lake-Saugeye.320244/

Updated thread


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## BrettSass844

Picked up a few females today and had a blast in the new Lund. Water was stained and 39 degrees. Size 7 flickers. 2-2.4mph. 
Tried some Joshys on wind blown banks and points late evening as the sun set with no luck. 
Here are a few pics of the day. Turned out to be pretty nice out. Sun on and off with only a light breeze at times. 




  








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## firemanmike2127

I'm envious !! We haven't been able to make it over to Indian Lake for the last month. That's a nice catch....good to see you're getting the new Lund broken in. Mike


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## ristorap

Nice fish What colors of flickers did the fish bite on?


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## BrettSass844

Could only get bit on perch or blue. Several came unbuttoned on the way in. That’s a first for me. They were all hooked on back only. My guess is they were following the bait before eating. Usually they inhale it or it is T-boned.


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## RMK

BrettSass844 said:


> Could only get bit on perch or blue. Several came unbuttoned on the way in. That’s a first for me. They were all hooked on back only. My guess is they were following the bait before eating. Usually they inhale it or it is T-boned.


i was interested to see you were catching on 7cm baits. i stuck with 5s in the spring for the most part. However unfortunately, i too have been unable to make it over for the fall excitement.


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## Rick L Roop

Interesting


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