# CJ Brown Reservoir......



## crittergitter

Was stocked with advanced musky fingerlings last week. It got stocked at 1/acre or approx 1943 fish with an avg length of 10.7". 

I am very excited about this!!!


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## All Thumbs

some people like chocolate and some like vanilla - i sent 100's of email trying to influence their decision but the powers that be decided against me. oh well, at least some people are happy.


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## brandtcountry

seen a few caught already


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## crittergitter

All Thumbs said:


> some people like chocolate and some like vanilla - i sent 100's of email trying to influence their decision but the powers that be decided against me. oh well, at least some people are happy.


Why would you be against this? I don't understand this at all.


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## Saugeyefisher

crittergitter said:


> Why would you be against this? I don't understand this at all.


I dont either,guys open to it gain,guys apposing it lose nothing.
Except maybe a few baits a year 

Thanks for the heads up! Might take some pressure off other lakes In a few years. Cool stuff


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## All Thumbs

_


crittergitter said:



Why would you be against this? I don't understand this at all.

Click to expand...

just as easily asked, "why would you be for it? i don't understand this at all."_


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## Raider16

It opens an opportunity to catch another great sport fish, that would be my reason. What’s your reason for not wanting them?


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## cincinnati

All Thumbs said:


> _just as easily asked, "why would you be for it? i don't understand this at all."_


Puts some pressure on the shad population so the walleyes are more compelled to look @ your bait. (Not even mentioning that muskies are a hoot to catch.)


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## All Thumbs

not a right or wrong situation - "I" did not want them stocked. like i said before - at least some people are happy.


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## Legend killer

All Thumbs said:


> some people like chocolate and some like vanilla - i sent 100's of email trying to influence their decision but the powers that be decided against me. oh well, at least some people are happy.


Going to eat all the walleye?


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## All Thumbs

Legend killer said:


> Going to eat all the walleye?


lots of reports that they do not eat the walleye and if so very few


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## Legend killer

All Thumbs said:


> lots of reports that they do not eat the walleye and if so very few


Figured you were in that crowd.


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## Wow

What's not to like? --Tim


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## Ol'Bassman

I wonder how many of those advanced fingerlings will survive in a lake full of mature walleyes. The ODNR stocked muskies in East Fork along with a mature population of wipers and you couldn't find a musky with a dynamite stick. That's were the stock came from to stock CJ. 
They decided to stop stocking East Fork. It is an experiment that could backfire and produce some very big walleyes. Would have been better to put the advanced fingerlings in Cesar Creek where they would do some good in a lake where muskies are already established. Is it any wonder that these fingerlings wound up near Columbus instead of SW Ohio where they were stolen from. Although in recent years the ODNR has upped the numbers of fingerlings stocked, there were many years when CC was under stocked and I don't think the recent stockings make up for that lose.


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## crittergitter

Ol'Bassman said:


> I wonder how many of those advanced fingerlings will survive in a lake full of mature walleyes. The ODNR stocked muskies in East Fork along with a mature population of wipers and you couldn't find a musky with a dynamite stick. That's were the stock came from to stock CJ.
> They decided to stop stocking East Fork. It is an experiment that could backfire and produce some very big walleyes. Would have been better to put the advanced fingerlings in Cesar Creek where they would do some good in a lake where muskies are already established. Is it any wonder that these fingerlings wound up near Columbus instead of SW Ohio where they were stolen from. Although in recent years the ODNR has upped the numbers of fingerlings stocked, there were many years when CC was under stocked and I don't think the recent stockings make up for that lose.


1st - there was little to NO fishing effort for musky at EF.
2nd - EF has some serious algae problems
3rd - CJ will get plenty of fishing effort from both SW and Central Ohio musky anglers
4th - CJ has a dam system the exact same as the one at West Branch so escapement, that has been a problem at other musky lakes, should not be that big of a deal at CJ.
5th - With an average length of 10.8" I find it hard to believe that the walleye will be gorging on them.


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## TopRaider15

This is great news, figured the people that are against it don't want "musky guys" on "their lake". Just wish they would have dumped those fingerlings in the LMR!


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## All Thumbs

i saw some conversations about this subject on another web site (crappie.com) and he was saying that his friend targeted nothing but walleye at cj but has been catching quite a few of these new muskies - sadly he has been killing them all. this is crap, i do not believe in killing a fish just because you don't like them plus i think the keeper limit for muskie is 1 so he is also breaking the law. even though i disagree with the muskie stocking i would still report him if i saw him doing this crap. no fish should be treated like that. i remember as a kid seeing these other kids with big snagging hooks dragging up big carp out of our local pond - there must of been hundreds just littering the bank where they threw them up to die.


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## Troy Dave

I have been watching this thread with interest. I fish CJ a lot for walleye and drive an hour to Caesars to fish for musky. Would be nice to have them together. I'm just not sure they will ever amount to much in CJ. Where are we going to find them. There are almost no laydowns around the shore, no weed beds, no deep coves. Only a couple points with only one of them next to deep water. There is the dam and several humps, but the humps are usually full of walleye and some crappie fishers and that doesn't leave much room to cast for musky. I'm betting they don't hang around and follow the current out the dam on draw downs.
I'm not worried about musky hurting the other gamefish. They may get a few but will feed mostly on shad. The gills, crappie and white bass eat more walleye fry and fingerlings while they make their way out of the boat launch corral than the muskies ever will.
The muskies themselves are under a bigger threat than the other gamefish. I attended a talk given by a musky biologist once and he said of a non reproducing stocked populations, 50% will be lost each year through a combination of natural death, being eaten by other fish, harvest, stress from being caught and going through dams. That is without the ignorant few who intentionally kill them. So in six years approximately 30 fish of this original stocking may still be alive.


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## All Thumbs

they are saying that all of the man made drops will probably hold the muskies but i do not know


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## cincinnati

Troy Dave said:


> So in six years approximately 30 fish of this original stocking may still be alive.


Takes a mountain of luck to become a big fish.


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## Ol'Bassman

crittergitter said:


> 1st - there was little to NO fishing effort for musky at EF.
> 2nd - EF has some serious algae problems
> 3rd - CJ will get plenty of fishing effort from both SW and Central Ohio musky anglers
> 4th - CJ has a dam system the exact same as the one at West Branch so escapement, that has been a problem at other musky lakes, should not be that big of a deal at CJ.
> 5th - With an average length of 10.8" I find it hard to believe that the walleye will be gorging on them.


1) Not true. There was a musky fishing effort at EF. Few, if any, made it to maturity.
2) There is an algae problem at all lake with agricultural flood plains. Blooms come and they go.
3) CJ is a long drive from Cincinnati and Middletown. 
4) Don't fool yourself. I haven't seen a dam system yet that doesn't lose fish including muskies.
5) Walleyes can swallow fish up to 40% of their length and will try to swallow fish bigger than that and both fish might die in the process. So, at least, all those advanced fingerlings under the average will be easy prey. Muskies being long and slender would be easier to swallow than a blue gill, perch, or crappie so I'm thinking some of those over the average would go down easy too. 

It will take about 10 years before we know if stocking CJ will be successful. My biggest complaint is that SW Ohio lost those fingerlings. Funny how this decision coincides with Alum not being as good a musky lake as it was a few years ago and it is within 45 miles of Columbus.


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## crittergitter

Ol'Bassman said:


> 1) Not true. There was a musky fishing effort at EF. Few, if any, made it to maturity.
> 2) There is an algae problem at all lake with agricultural flood plains. Blooms come and they go.
> 3) CJ is a long drive from Cincinnati and Middletown.
> 4) Don't fool yourself. I haven't seen a dam system yet that doesn't lose fish including muskies.
> 5) Walleyes can swallow fish up to 40% of their length and will try to swallow fish bigger than that and both fish might die in the process. So, at least, all those advanced fingerlings under the average will be easy prey. Muskies being long and slender would be easier to swallow than a blue gill, perch, or crappie so I'm thinking some of those over the average would go down easy too.
> 
> It will take about 10 years before we know if stocking CJ will be successful. My biggest complaint is that SW Ohio lost those fingerlings. Funny how this decision coincides with Alum not being as good a musky lake as it was a few years ago and it is within 45 miles of Columbus.


Let's use facts shall we. The MAL shows angling days reported for all the program lakes.

1. In 2017 EF was last with 16 angling days. The next lowest was Clearfork at 85 which is more than 4 times as much angling effort.
2. In 2016 EF showed 12 angling days. Also last by a LONG shot. 
3. Those were the highest years for reported musky angling effort at EF. 

Based on available data, what I said is true.


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## Muddy

crittergitter said:


> Let's use facts shall we. The MAL shows angling days reported for all the program lakes.
> 
> 1. In 2017 EF was last with 16 angling days. The next lowest was Clearfork at 85 which is more than 4 times as much angling effort.
> 2. In 2016 EF showed 12 angling days. Also last by a LONG shot.
> 3. Those were the highest years for reported musky angling effort at EF.
> 
> Based on available data, what I said is true.


I have no dog in this fight, and really don't care, but there is one potential problem with the MAL. It has been documented that certain bodies of water see heavy angling pressure from people who are dedicated to documenting their angling on the MAL. Other bodies of water see very little pressure from people who are dedicated to documenting their angling on the MAL. A few dedicated MAL individuals on a single body of water can really skew the numbers vs. other bodies of water with little MAL participation. Not every musky fisherman out there participates in the MAL.


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## cincinnati

Muddy said:


> there is one potential problem with the MAL. It has been documented that certain bodies of water see heavy angling pressure from people who are dedicated to documenting their angling on the MAL. Other bodies of water see very little pressure from people who are dedicated to documenting their angling on the MAL. A few dedicated MAL individuals on a single body of water can really skew the numbers vs. other bodies of water with little MAL participation. Not every musky fisherman out there participates in the MAL.


And many guys will deny they have even seen a fish while they're unhooking one @ the boat. Gotta protect the "secret spot," ya know.


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## crittergitter

Unreported angling happens everywhere. To say it is heavier in one place than another is a little silly. All we can go by is what is reported. We can't quantify unreported angling or catches or kept fish or any of that. 

I could change my original statement to EF has very little "reported" angling effort especially as compared to the other program lakes. 

The ODNR has said this before, if you want a lake to continue to get stocked then you better be reporting and encouraging your friends to do the same. 

I'll be fishing CJ a LOT and reporting every trip.


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## Ol'Bassman

crittergitter said:


> Let's use facts shall we. The MAL shows angling days reported for all the program lakes.
> 
> 1. In 2017 EF was last with 16 angling days. The next lowest was Clearfork at 85 which is more than 4 times as much angling effort.
> 2. In 2016 EF showed 12 angling days. Also last by a LONG shot.
> 3. Those were the highest years for reported musky angling effort at EF.
> 
> Based on available data, what I said is true.[/QUOTE
> 
> There are a number of musky hunters that do not list their trips on the MAL. Me being one of them. In fact, I only post days with catches and I don't always do that and I am not alone. So you can't just go by what the MAL says. Even with the lowest angling days you list there were still days it was fished. Your original statement was that EF was "little or NO" fishing effort. I believe there was more than a little and definitely more than NO fishing effort. Your statistics were the rationalization the central Ohio musky clubs used to rob SW Ohio of those advanced fingerlings.


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## Legend killer

Go fish for muskie at cj, you will be washing lures for 10 years.


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## Saugeyefisher

Troy Dave said:


> I have been watching this thread with interest. I fish CJ a lot for walleye and drive an hour to Caesars to fish for musky. Would be nice to have them together. I'm just not sure they will ever amount to much in CJ. Where are we going to find them. There are almost no laydowns around the shore, no weed beds, no deep coves. Only a couple points with only one of them next to deep water. There is the dam and several humps, but the humps are usually full of walleye and some crappie fishers and that doesn't leave much room to cast for musky. I'm betting they don't hang around and follow the current out the dam on draw downs.
> I'm not worried about musky hurting the other gamefish. They may get a few but will feed mostly on shad. The gills, crappie and white bass eat more walleye fry and fingerlings while they make their way out of the boat launch corral than the muskies ever will.
> The muskies themselves are under a bigger threat than the other gamefish. I attended a talk given by a musky biologist once and he said of a non reproducing stocked populations, 50% will be lost each year through a combination of natural death, being eaten by other fish, harvest, stress from being caught and going through dams. That is without the ignorant few who intentionally kill them. So in six years approximately 30 fish of this original stocking may still be alive.


I imagine it'll be a open water trolling game on cj 
Find the big schools of shad,find the skis. 
Summer time troll the thermocline
Early spring u should be able to find them spawning/sunning along the dam rip-rap
Lipless cranks can be KILLER when this is going on
Any road beds or creek channels in the lake,if so these im sure will hold them at times.


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## cincinnati

Saugeyefisher said:


> I imagine it'll be a open water trolling game on cj
> Find the big schools of shad,find the skis.
> Summer time troll the thermocline
> Early spring u should be able to find them spawning/sunning along the dam rip-rap
> Lipless cranks can be KILLER when this is going on
> Any road beds or creek channels in the lake,if so these im sure will hold them at times.


....until something like milfoil comes in on a trailer....


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## Saugeyefisher

cincinnati said:


> ....until something like milfoil comes in on a trailer....


Not sure I get where your coming from buddy
Was just suggesting some possible future options for troy dave,lol that might still not even work 

Are there any current weed beds in the lake? They'll hold some skis for sure!


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## cincinnati

Saugeyefisher said:


> Not sure I get where your coming from buddy
> Was just suggesting some possible future options for troy dave,lol that might still not even work
> 
> Are there any current weed beds in the lake? They'll hold some skis for sure!


Was under the impression that there is no significant vegetation in CJ. If an invasive, like milfoil, was to become established, it would hold a lot of fish.

(No offense intended, BTW.)


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## Saugeyefisher

cincinnati said:


> Was under the impression that there is no significant vegetation in CJ. If an invasive, like milfoil, was to become established, it would hold a lot of fish.
> 
> (No offense intended, BTW.)


Copy that! An none taken,was just curuios


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## trekker

Is CJ now on an annual muskie stocking program or was this a 1 time thing?


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## Ol'Bassman

trekker said:


> Is CJ now on an annual muskie stocking program or was this a 1 time thing?


The ODNR has stopped stocking East Fork Lake and has put CJ on their list for yearly musky stocking. It will take about 10 years before 40"ers are caught. I just hope they don't whined up in the Mad river and go after the brown trout.


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## crittergitter

Ol'Bassman said:


> The ODNR has stopped stocking East Fork Lake and has put CJ on their list for yearly musky stocking. It will take about 10 years before 40"ers are caught. I just hope they don't whined up in the Mad river and go after the brown trout.


Alum Creek produced a 45" musky in year 5 of the program. Also, I don't think it took CC 10 years to produce a 40" musky. It's game on starting in 2020!! I can't wait!


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## Legend killer

Your going to catch a 20" muskie in 2020?


crittergitter said:


> Alum Creek produced a 45" musky in year 5 of the program. Also, I don't think it took CC 10 years to produce a 40" musky. It's game on starting in 2020!! I can't wait!


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## Ol'Bassman

crittergitter said:


> Alum Creek produced a 45" musky in year 5 of the program. Also, I don't think it took CC 10 years to produce a 40" musky. It's game on starting in 2020!! I can't wait!


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## Ol'Bassman

I cannot find any statistics for musky growth rate in Ohio reservoir lakes that are stocked yearly. But I did find this growth rate from Wisconsin. I find it hard to believe that muskies in CJ would grow at a faster rate than in Wisconsin. 

"Muskellunge Growth – The annual growth of muskellunge in Wisconsin is shown below. On average, musky are about 11 inches long after their first year of life, reach 34” in year 7, reach 40” in year 9, and reach 50 inches by age 17."


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## cincinnati

Ol'Bassman said:


> I cannot find any statistics for musky growth rate in Ohio reservoir lakes that are stocked yearly. But I did find this growth rate from Wisconsin. I find it hard to believe that muskies in CJ would grow at a faster rate than in Wisconsin.


Length of the growing season: In Wisconsin, they can be under ice for 6 months of the year.


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## crittergitter

Ol'Bassman said:


> I cannot find any statistics for musky growth rate in Ohio reservoir lakes that are stocked yearly. But I did find this growth rate from Wisconsin. I find it hard to believe that muskies in CJ would grow at a faster rate than in Wisconsin.
> 
> "Muskellunge Growth – The annual growth of muskellunge in Wisconsin is shown below. On average, musky are about 11 inches long after their first year of life, reach 34” in year 7, reach 40” in year 9, and reach 50 inches by age 17."


Hey, no problem. I found it for you. 

"Stocked muskies grow fast on a diet of gizzard shad, reaching 52 inches and 45 pounds, and we occasionally see some larger specimens," said Heyob. "Muskies stocked into Ohio's Alum Creek Reservoir in September 1990 ranged from 41 to 48 inches by July 1995. A 48-incher was determined by a scale sample to be 5 years old."

https://www.gameandfishmag.com/editorial/fishing_muskies-pike-fishing_oh_aa084003a/241351


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## Saugeyefisher

crittergitter said:


> Alum Creek produced a 45" musky in year 5 of the program. Also, I don't think it took CC 10 years to produce a 40" musky. It's game on starting in 2020!! I can't wait!


Rumor or not? But I "herd" way back when that they brought muskie from hargus to alum creek after draining hargus. Ever here anything like this?


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## cincinnati

crittergitter said:


> Hey, no problem. I found it for you.
> "Stocked muskies grow fast on a diet of gizzard shad, reaching 52 inches and 45 pounds, and we occasionally see some larger specimens," said Heyob. "Muskies stocked into Ohio's Alum Creek Reservoir in September 1990 ranged from 41 to 48 inches by July 1995. A 48-incher was determined by a scale sample to be 5 years old."
> 
> https://www.gameandfishmag.com/editorial/fishing_muskies-pike-fishing_oh_aa084003a/241351


Hey, you posted a link about musky fishing....in Ohio....in AUGUST!


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## crittergitter

cincinnati said:


> Hey, you posted a link about musky fishing....in Ohio....in AUGUST!


Haha!! Hey, I've seen some cooler water temps in late August. lol Mostly, I was obtaining the growth facts for our friend Ol'Bassman. You know, facts, from a fisheries biologist in Ohio that used actual science.


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## Ol'Bassman

crittergitter said:


> Haha!! Hey, I've seen some cooler water temps in late August. lol Mostly, I was obtaining the growth facts for our friend Ol'Bassman. You know, facts, from a fisheries biologist in Ohio that used actual science.


Results from one test does not present a scientific conclusion. It does support your argument but I think you are dreaming if you think you are going to be catching 48" skis in 5 years. CJ is not Alum.


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## Dillon.R.Nott

Thought I would ring into this thread since I just finished fishing at CJ today, February 18th, 2020. I was using a VIBE along the dam and had a good size Musky follow me in and tried to inhale my bait as i pulled it from the water, i was so shocked as i was casually fishing for walleyes. I got a very good view of the fish and it was clearly over 22” inches. I’d say anywhere from 25”-28”. Pretty impressive since they were only stocked not even 2 years ago.


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## cincinnati

Pick up a musky rig & start practicing your figure-8. Your life is about to change!


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## crittergitter

Ol'Bassman said:


> The ODNR has stopped stocking East Fork Lake and has put CJ on their list for yearly musky stocking. It will take about 10 years before 40"ers are caught. I just hope they don't whined up in the Mad river and go after the brown trout.


Remember this statement!

This is year 3 and CJ Brown has produced a 40" musky! BOOM!



*My Catch Summary*​​*All Angler's Catch Summary*0​Total Muskie Caught​270​0​Total Muskie Released​270​0​Average Length​32.3 Inches​0​Largest Caught​40 Inches​0​Total Caught 30 Inches or Greater​226​0​Total Caught 42 Inches or Greater​0​0​Total Caught 50 Inches or Greater​0​1​Number of Days Fished​66​

Very good numbers and this is ONLY year 3! I fished it once this year. I'll get over there more next year for sure!


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