# I give up on Findley Lake !!!!



## bigdogbull (Apr 19, 2012)

I just dont get that place (Findley Lake) in Wellington. I drive an hour there not one boat out at sunrise and the fish finder is showing fish suspended in 8 fow and on the bottom in 12 fow. I tried everything from bottom bouncing to letting the bait sit on the floor . I even tried for the a few that were shown to be in 2 fow under a bobber with crawlers and wax worms. ... Does anything ever bite in that lake????? I have now given up on that place unless I can get some pointers here on the OGF board....:S


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## smokercraft15 (May 21, 2011)

what are you fishing for? i fished that lake 1 million times. i can give you some crappie and bass info.


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## bigdogbull (Apr 19, 2012)

anything that bites( bass, cats, craps, gills,..... just hate getting skunked . any info and pointers would be appreciated.


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## Wannabitawerm (Apr 13, 2004)

Gills in the spring, crappie and cats on the blowdowns, I use minnows, waxies or dough baits. Bass aren't worth the effort and haven't been for years. I only fish findley for the social aspect. It's a tough lake to fish. 


Ain't technology great? Now I can be distracted by fishing everywhere I go!


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## smokercraft15 (May 21, 2011)

bigdogbull said:


> anything that bites( bass, cats, craps, gills,..... just hate getting skunked . any info and pointers would be appreciated.


bass are pretty good there actually. you just gotta fish deeper(dont follow the southern states fishing show techniques) its a ohio lake. big bass and huge northern pike there. fish deep and slow. for bass.

crappie? slip bobber. picnic point! use your depth finder and use marker bouys. bigger crappie are usually deeper than most lakes. again, use your depth finder and mark fish. crappie look like a woodpile stacked up on your depth finder. throw a marker bouy and see what depth they are at. there is a great underwater point on the northeast shoreline across from the beach. usually off the tip in 18ft of water. there are shallow big bass too in the shallows by the campground boat ramp in the wood. jig n pig or worm. fish it tight to the wood and deadstick it. slooooow retrieve. wellington upground is jus like findlay... fish deeper!

catfish, when im there. guys from shore i talk to always do well. talk to the guys shore fishing. findley and wellington upground get bad reps cuz guys try to throw spinnerbaits under the surface like the texas guys do around the shoreline etc. bluegill i cant help you with sorry. slower and deeper for bigger bass n crappies. also southwest shore next to the beach, fall downs(wood) usually a 2lber on that shore every time i go there.


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## smokercraft15 (May 21, 2011)

this shoreline is good for a 2lber everytime too. good for early spring jig spawning crappie. fishin with joe catches the same 2lber in the same spot i do everytime. check out this vid. its north of picnic point. lots of wood and shallow flat and further down nice dropoff.


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## Wannabitawerm (Apr 13, 2004)

Just an FYI. There are no poke in findley. Last stocked in the late 80's. They can't survive the heat. I've fished it for the past 15 years and have never seen nor heard of a pike in there. Wellington upground however has plenty. 


Ain't technology great? Now I can be distracted by fishing everywhere I go!


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## jt2 (Aug 14, 2012)

So Wellington is better overall? I'm 20 mins from both and will be there this weekend


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## smokercraft15 (May 21, 2011)

Wannabitawerm said:


> Just an FYI. There are no poke in findley. Last stocked in the late 80's. They can't survive the heat. I've fished it for the past 15 years and have never seen nor heard of a pike in there. Wellington upground however has plenty.
> 
> 
> Ain't technology great? Now I can be distracted by fishing everywhere I go!


um, i beg to differ on the pike. ive caught big pike in wellington and my biggest pike ever was caught in findley. about 40 inches long, i fished findley and wellington a million times since 1986 to current. i caught my last pike in findlay 10 yrs ago bass fishing. they are in there. so FYI there are pike in there. i catch them accidentally fishing for bass. "cant survive the heat?????" there are alot more in wellington.


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## smokercraft15 (May 21, 2011)

jt2 said:


> So Wellington is better overall? I'm 20 mins from both and will be there this weekend


wellington is better for bass cant be sure which is better for crappie. i do know the cats in wellington are huge.


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## jt2 (Aug 14, 2012)

good to know thanks for the tip


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## Wannabitawerm (Apr 13, 2004)

Smokercraft, they are not in there. If its been 10 years then you caught one of the last ones in there. Have a discussion with roger Nikiforow, the naturalist. He will tell you that there are no pike in findley, nor have there been for years. The state quit stocking them. I'm not gonna argue the point with you. Wellington has huge like yes, findley, zero. The water temps at findley reach the upper 80's every year. That equals no pike. I have fished it for years and I have never caught, nor seen, nor has any of the park staff seen one in years due to the fact that findley cannot support them. 


Ain't technology great? Now I can be distracted by fishing everywhere I go!


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## Wannabitawerm (Apr 13, 2004)

And also, findley and Wellington upground could not be more different. They are in absolutely no way similar. If you're taking about the lower, then yes, it's a muddy mess most of the time too. 


Ain't technology great? Now I can be distracted by fishing everywhere I go!


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## Wannabitawerm (Apr 13, 2004)

Smokercraft, do you ice fish the upper? Saw the most massive pike ever on my camera up there. If I would've hooked him, I never would've got him out. I would put him in the mid 40's. Have also had them hit crappie while bringing them up. That is an unbelievable impact when bringing up a little crappie. Lol. 


Ain't technology great? Now I can be distracted by fishing everywhere I go!


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## backagainbaha (Dec 3, 2004)

Wannabitewerm knows- I have fished with him and he made me a true believer of Wellington Upground- in fact it is about the only lake I ice fish. Clear, clean and awesome with camera- I have also witnessed these northerns, they make it a little exciting when they come into view.


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## laynhardwood (Dec 27, 2009)

I hooked a pike in Findley lake about 15yrs ago but like wannabitaworm says there are no longer pike in Findley it was 88 deg this year no pike can stand that the upground is atleast 500 times better for every species except catfish Findley is a turd unless you fish for cats 


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## smokercraft15 (May 21, 2011)

laynhardwood said:


> I hooked a pike in Findley lake about 15yrs ago but like wannabitaworm says there are no longer pike in Findley it was 88 deg this year no pike can stand that the upground is atleast 500 times better for every species except catfish Findley is a turd unless you fish for cats
> 
> 
> Outdoor Hub mobile, the outdoor information engine


so i guess there are no pike left in alot of the ohio lakes since they all reached mid to upper 80,s???? so mosquito, resthaven etc no longer have pike??? im sure resthavens shallow ponds got pretty hot this summer


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## smokercraft15 (May 21, 2011)

Wannabitawerm said:


> Smokercraft, do you ice fish the upper? Saw the most massive pike ever on my camera up there. If I would've hooked him, I never would've got him out. I would put him in the mid 40's. Have also had them hit crappie while bringing them up. That is an unbelievable impact when bringing up a little crappie. Lol.
> 
> 
> Ain't technology great? Now I can be distracted by fishing everywhere I go!


yes i do fish the upper, not alot like i used to. i been fishing newer lakes got kinda bored with findley and wellington. i do think the are good spots once you learn them though. i did always catch a ton of pike in wellington by accident. last one i caught and filet it had a 4.5 inch crappie in his belly and he still chased down my 1/2 spinnerbait.


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## laynhardwood (Dec 27, 2009)

That's the reason they quit stocking Findley we can argue all day long but the fact is you won't catch a pike at Findley anymore I have fished it to death and since the weeds are gone so are most the bass worth catching also used to get fish Ohio yellow perch in there not anymore tho still get some decent crappie and big channel cats you can be mad all you want but there are no pike left in Findley they electro shocked it I believe in 08 and didn't find any 


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## smokercraft15 (May 21, 2011)

laynhardwood said:


> That's the reason they quit stocking Findley we can argue all day long but the fact is you won't catch a pike at Findley anymore I have fished it to death and since the weeds are gone so are most the bass worth catching also used to get fish Ohio yellow perch in there not anymore tho still get some decent crappie and big channel cats you can be mad all you want but there are no pike left in Findley they electro shocked it I believe in 08 and didn't find any
> 
> 
> Outdoor Hub mobile, the outdoor information engine


electroshocking may not be as accurate as you think and pike are in arizona and new mexico and virginia and oklahoma lakes. i guess findley lake is way warmer than those dry heat arizona lakes????? i guess i have to quit fishing for pike cause most of the lakes in ohio wont have them anymore. cuz they all got real warm this summer.

i remember when alot of people told me wellington upground didnt have crappie jus cuz the never caught any in there lol.


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## smokercraft15 (May 21, 2011)

wikipedia on northern pike

Within North America, there are northern pike populations in Illinois, North Dakota, South Dakota, Minnesota, Michigan, Montana, Maryland, West Virginia, Wisconsin, Indiana, Connecticut, Rhode Island, New Hampshire, New Jersey, Massachusetts, Vermont, Iowa, Utah, Northern New Mexico and Arizona, Colorado, New York, Idaho, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario and Québec (pike are rare in British Columbia and east coast provinces), Alaska, the Ohio Valley, the upper Mississippi River and its tributaries, the Great Lakes Basin and surrounding states, Missouri, Kansas, Nebraska, Colorado and parts of Oklahoma. They are also stocked in, or have been introduced to, some western lakes and reservoirs for angling purposes, although some fisheries managers believe this practice often threatens other species of fish such as bass, trout and salmon, causing government agencies to attempt to exterminate the pike by poisoning lakes.[1]



ehow.com on electro shock fishing-



Sampling Bias

Some fish are underrepresented in electrofishing samples, including fish that live in sediments, crevices, or underneath rocks and therefore do not rise to the surface when stunned. Electrofishing also is not effective for sampling fish that live deep in large lakes or very small fish that biologists cannot easily see or capture.


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## smokercraft15 (May 21, 2011)

wikipedia must be wrong so ill let you call them and tell them pike cant be in the waters.



Average water temperatures fluctuate from a chilly 46 degrees F in February to an inviting 80 degrees F in August. Cold water months: January, 47; March, 52; December, 53; April 54; November 62. Warmest water months: July and September, 76; June, 70; May, 64, October, 69. Don't let cold water scare you away, there's always fishing!

Water Temperatures are available through the National Park Service at 928-608-6404 -- Carl Hayden Visitor Center keeps track.

Average high, average low and water temperatures in degrees farenheit are as follows:



Month


Average
High


Average
Low


Average Surface
Water Temperature

January


45


24


47

February


53


31


46

March


61


36


52

April


72


46


54

May


82


53


64

June


90


62


70

July


97


71


76

August


94


69


80

September


88


60


76

October


77


46


69

November


59


36


62

December


45


25


53


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## laynhardwood (Dec 27, 2009)

Well maybe you should tell the odnr that Wikipedia says to keep stocking Findley because lakes in the mountains of new Mexico can support pike you have spent way too much time proving they can survive warm water now go catch the nonexistent pike in Findley while I catch them in the above ground 


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## smokercraft15 (May 21, 2011)

laynhardwood said:


> Well maybe you should tell the odnr that Wikipedia says to keep stocking Findley because lakes in the mountains of new Mexico can support pike you have spent way too much time proving they can survive warm water now go catch the nonexistent pike in Findley while I catch them in the above ground
> 
> 
> Outdoor Hub mobile, the outdoor information engine


ill let you tell wiki that findley lake is way warmer than texas and arizona lakes that have pike in them. man! laynhardwood likes to argue lol. yeah odnr are rocket scientists now huh? they cant even manage the deer population in ohio.jus cuz you cant catch fish doesnt mean they arent in the lake. jus sayin!!


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