# Berlin Lake Area Fishing Report 6/7/2019



## Tall Tales (Aug 28, 2018)

As of this morning, water temps at Berlin are at 65 degrees at the surface with water levels 2 feet above normal.




Crappie
Crappie have been caught on and off throughout the week at varying places around Berlin and Deer Creek.
The most popular spots have been the Deer Creek Spillway during the day time and the Route 14 bridge at night, with some fish being taken at German Church as well.
At the Deer Creek Spillway, double 1/8oz jigs with 3″ twister tails has been the best producing bait, with panfish assassins being the best producing bait at German Church. Live minnows has been the best bait at the 14 bridge at night.

Walleye
Last weekend, our customers did well on walleye at both the Bonner Road and German Church ramps. Fireball jigs and nightcrawlers were the best producing baits near the willows, with nightcrawler harnesses working better in deeper water.
Fishing had slowed during the middle of the week with the storms, but expect the fishing to pick up on this weekend with the weather improving.

Hybrid Striped Bass aka “Wipers”
Wipers have been caught near the Deer Creek Spillway on chicken liver and live minnows as well as larger twister tails.
They have slowed from last week, but are still beinght caught mixed in with crappie and catfish.
As the catfish have become more active, try using jigs rather than chicken liver if you don’t want the by-catch.

Catfish
With increasing water temperatures, Catfish have begun to turn on. We saw a few stringers this week, with Deer Creek producing the most fish and Walborn producing the biggest.
Nightcrawlers and chicken liver have been the best baits, with shrimp just behind that.
The Deer Creek Spillway produced a bunch of catfish yesterday with liver and nightcrawlers being taken almost as soon as the bobber hit the water.


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## Trapperebeck (Feb 28, 2019)

Thank you for the report , & doesnt anyone fish for gills ?


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## kevin t (Apr 5, 2014)

Forgive this probably REALLY stupid question...Where/what are the willows? Not sure what I am looking for.


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## Zanderis (Sep 20, 2018)

kevin t said:


> Forgive this probably REALLY stupid question...Where/what are the willows? Not sure what I am looking for.











At Berlin Reservoir, "Fishing the willows" is a long used technique. Berlin has changed through the years, willows were on points, sandbars.....through time those willows disappeared...the natural progression of reservoirs. The pattern probably started early.
Usually in the spring....after the walleye spawn...the food sources....warmer water are there. Other species can be caught near the willows....anything that swims in the lake.
Nighttime fishing around willows are good too....if water levels are high enough....its a good pattern in summer for walleye...bigger walleyes feed at night.
The picture is one of the largest areas of willows....railroad trestle in foreground....willows east and west of trail.
Lots around the islands. Boat and shore fishing possibilities. Different techniques from live bait...jigs...floats/bobbers, crankbaits. I loved gold Big O's back in the day. Hope others chime in......learn this and you will improve your fishing!


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## c. j. stone (Sep 24, 2006)

As far as "where" they are, as you travel(boat or wading) near the shoreline just about anywhere on the lake, you will see flooded trees and/or brush. The larger trees are closer to shore but cottonwood and willow "bushes" will grow perhaps as much as 40 yds out into the lake. The willows esp. love water/wet areas. With the fluctuation of water levels on Berlin, there are many small humps, or "islands" seen growing during low water which have well established root systems and when you have highwater periods(mid spring into fall), you have a bonafide "fish-topia" when the baifish move out of deeper water into these natural cover areas(aka-"the willows"! and baitfish bring in the predator fish, sometimes in bunches. These areas are difficult to fish due to constant snagging the unseen, below water, branches/stems but with practice, you can have some great number days on your preferred "predator fish" which include crappie, bass, walleye, even channel cats and others. Most people fish "near" the willows, not right in them although that can be productive if your are a good caster, good at "reading" the water, and/or have perfected the use of "weedless" hooks into your presentations. Most use jigs or weedless spinner tipped with a piece of crawler or a minnow-some guys use minnow imitating plugs. Some people insist the best fishing is not infront(main lake side) of the cover, others "behind" it(from the backside right up to shore!! That's it in a nutshell!


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## Zanderis (Sep 20, 2018)

C. J. You are right on every point.
I used to use a 7 foot medium heavy rod....with Northland propeller jig (GOLD) and half a nightcrawler....dip that in the thickest willows!


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## kevin t (Apr 5, 2014)

Thanks guys. Pretty much what I thought. Thanks for the help!


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## c. j. stone (Sep 24, 2006)

Sorry-non report!
I was at Berlin yesterday afternoon. It was "one of those days", higher than normal water and "very stained"(visibility was only abt 6-8").(When using lures alone, they have to see it to eat it!) Strong south and sw wind didn't help either with boat control. I caught One big crappie(jig must have hit him in the nose!) Guys starting to tie up and vertical jigging under the bridge early at 6pm. I launched at Les's, they had NO good recent reports due to the water conditions.


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## Zanderis (Sep 20, 2018)

c. j. stone said:


> Sorry-non report!
> I was at Berlin yesterday afternoon. It was "one of those days", higher than normal water and "very stained"(visibility was only abt 6-8").(When using lures alone, they have to see it to eat it!) Strong south and sw wind didn't help either with boat control. I caught One big crappie(jig must have hit him in the nose!) Guys starting to tie up and vertical jigging under the bridge early at 6pm. I launched at Les's, they had NO good recent reports due to the water conditions.


The floating buoy by the dam had turbidity at 51 NTU...

Normal is 3 to 9....
Mud slurry!


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## c. j. stone (Sep 24, 2006)

Zanderis said:


> C. J. You are right on every point.
> I used to use a 7 foot medium heavy rod....with Northland propeller jig (GOLD) and half a nightcrawler....dip that in the thickest willows!


I make an old standby spinner rig(resembles Erie "Mayfly" Rig) with a weedless "worm" hook sz 1 or 2 on the end, couple beads(any favorite colors, I use the "old-school" translucent red ones mostly), clevis w/a plain chrome or gold blade(med. small), then another bead. This is tied on 1 ft 8-10# test clear mono leader. Use half crawler, leach, or 2-3" minnow. Couple #3 splitshot(use the "bite-on" round, not the "removable" ones-the removable's "ears" will snag obstructions) 14-18 inches from the lure. Throw this at edge of flooded willow "bushes" and just past, or next to mature trees in the water. This lure with the weedless hook is pretty much snagless. Crank it back fast enough to keep it above bottom yet just enough to keep the blade spinning. When you feel the strike, count "1000", then hit them, they need to chomp down on it. Decent sized eater eyes are in there just about any/all the time. Enough casting and you can get numbers! My best one out there was 5#. Another lure I like to rig weedless is a yellow or white 1/8oz ball jig with same color twister tail grub. Push hook thru center of head and out abt 1/4" back, turn 180 degrees and push grub up snug to jig head, then push the hook halfway thru(farther back) into grub body towards the tail end. Fish this like the spinner rig above(let them sink a bit towards bottom but then always keep them moving in a line straight back to you to minimize snagging). A "safety pin spinner" in front of a jig will help reduce snags as well! For open water casting, rig the grub conventionally. These two basic lures wiil catch just about anything that feeds in the "willows. Never throw lures with "treble" hooks into the willows, you might as well be throwing dollar bills!


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## Mikj8689 (May 13, 2018)

I was out Monday morning in what I believe is considered the willows. Stormfront was on its way and was able to use the wind to drift almost perfectly along shoreline with a few corrections with trolling motor now and then. Missed one good fish, caught dozens of cats(waste of bait and always mess up your line imo). 3/16 moon eye propeller jig topped with crawler. Heard the same from another boat back at ramp, lots of catfish. I like to troll but this year have really focused on jigging trying to perfect the technique.


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## Zanderis (Sep 20, 2018)

c. j. stone said:


> I make an old standby spinner rig(resembles Erie "Mayfly" Rig) with a weedless "worm" hook sz 1 or 2 on the end, couple beads(any favorite colors, I use the "old-school" translucent red ones mostly), clevis w/a plain chrome or gold blade(med. small), then another bead. This is tied on 1 ft 8-10# test clear mono leader. Use half crawler, leach, or 2-3" minnow. Couple #3 splitshot(use the "bite-on" round, not the "removable" ones-the removable's "ears" will snag obstructions) 14-18 inches from the lure. Throw this at edge of flooded willow "bushes" and just past, or next to mature trees in the water. This lure with the weedless hook is pretty much snagless. Crank it back fast enough to keep it above bottom yet just enough to keep the blade spinning. When you feel the strike, count "1000", then hit them, they need to chomp down on it. Decent sized eater eyes are in there just about any/all the time. Enough casting and you can get numbers! My best one out there was 5#. Another lure I like to rig weedless is a yellow or white 1/8oz ball jig with same color twister tail grub. Push hook thru center of head and out abt 1/4" back, turn 180 degrees and push grub up snug to jig head, then push the hook halfway thru(farther back) into grub body towards the tail end. Fish this like the spinner rig above(let them sink a bit towards bottom but then always keep them moving in a line straight back to you to minimize snagging). A "safety pin spinner" in front of a jig will help reduce snags as well! For open water casting, rig the grub conventionally. These two basic lures wiil catch just about anything that feeds in the "willows. Never throw lures with "treble" hooks into the willows, you might as well be throwing dollar bills!


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## c. j. stone (Sep 24, 2006)

Yep, pretty close! Instead of two hook "harness" set-up, use one weedless hook. Use enough beads after the hook so the blade spins well in front of the hook, not in effect, "shielding" it from the fishes mouth. With two hooks, maybe more/larger worm, it's not all that important.


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## Lewzer (Apr 5, 2004)

willows fishing this past weekend.


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## Zanderis (Sep 20, 2018)

Lewzer said:


> willows fishing this past weekend.
> View attachment 310923
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> View attachment 310925


Willows on Zillow! Fish and Fisher people LOVE them!


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## Zanderis (Sep 20, 2018)

Lewzer said:


> willows fishing this past weekend.
> View attachment 310923
> 
> 
> View attachment 310925










Mill Creek boat ramp at Berlin is closed....high water.
High water in June at Berlin....lol


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## BuckeyeFishin07 (Apr 10, 2017)

Zanderis said:


> View attachment 310933
> Mill Creek boat ramp at Berlin is closed....high water.
> High water in June at Berlin....lol


Surprised they haven't begun draining the lake in preparation of winter already! LOL


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## Zanderis (Sep 20, 2018)

BuckeyeFishin07 said:


> Surprised they haven't begun draining the lake in preparation of winter already! LOL


Mother Nature is not following their "GUIDE CURVE"!


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## BNiemo (Mar 28, 2019)

Is it worth even trying to fish right now or is it just too mudded out? I was thinking about going out after work one night and dropping some lights off the boat for some crappies.


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## BuckeyeFishin07 (Apr 10, 2017)

BNiemo said:


> Is it worth even trying to fish right now or is it just too mudded out? I was thinking about going out after work one night and dropping some lights off the boat for some crappies.


Any fishing is better than sitting at home as far as I am concerned!


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## razu (Jun 19, 2006)

Bonner road this evening










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## Zanderis (Sep 20, 2018)

razu said:


> Bonner road this evening
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Wait till Wednesday...1 foot shy of full


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## jjanda (Nov 11, 2018)

Bring your waders if you plan on launching at German Church









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## Zanderis (Sep 20, 2018)

jjanda said:


> Bring your waders if you plan on launching at German Church
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the geese love it


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## Zanderis (Sep 20, 2018)

jjanda said:


> Bring your waders if you plan on launching at German Church
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> ...










Could be worse!


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