# 2022 CAESARS CREEK CRAPPIE



## 9Left

The annual campout is only two weeks away! I still have to work the next couple days but I will be out early next week scouting… I'll start by saying this though....


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## garhtr

Can't wait ! 
I look foward to your Trip and Report every year.
Good luck N Enjoy


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## crappie4me

soon as this weather stabilizes.. it will be time time to rip some lips.


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## DLarrick

Shouldn't be long now. I was out Tuesday and it was rough. Big skunk for me 

Sent from my Pixel 6 Pro using Tapatalk


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## fishdealer04

Temps are looking great! Need the rain to simmer down a bit so the lake can clear up some.


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## Morrowtucky Mike

And the wind


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## crappiedude

I'm glad to see the start of your 2022 CC crappie thread and I'm looking forward to following your season. Those warming temps should really kick start the upcoming season.


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## Thinkum Hooked

You changed the name from 2022 Caesar Creek Crappie, oh well, found it. Has anybody gotten a water temp from a depth finder? I don’t believe what the USGS is showing right now as representative of the rest of the lake…plummeted from 58F to 51F over last 2 days.


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## 9Left

yup... I think that temperature is accurate. I saw the same kinds of up-and-down trends in the first part of April last year also. I believe the USGS temp more than I would the fish finder on my boat… Those are just surface temps taken from a boat, And they only reflect the surface of the lake.

...... changed the title for you.


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## Thinkum Hooked

I get what you are saying on depth finder, but if you understand where the temp gauge is, it can get a bit wonky at times. I’m probably going to try this afternoon & will take some temp measurements the old fashioned way.


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## Harry1959

Thinkum Hooked said:


> I get what you are saying on depth finder, but if you understand where the temp gauge is, it can get a bit wonky at times. I’m probably going to try this afternoon & will take some temp measurements the old fashioned way.


Yes, especially in the summer time the posted usgs temps are sometimes significantly different than my Hummingbird readings. Like 10 degrees different and during the summer the water temps don’t fluctuate like the do in the spring


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## CMorris_99

Was out yesterday. Was getting readings from 50.8 to 52.6.


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## Saugeyefisher

I'm with 9 on this. I'm more interested on those subsurface temps. Surface temps can change significantly from morning to evening. 
I dipped a couple very small areas in between catching eyes yesterday an didn't hit any. Hoping to chase them hard next weekend


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## fishdealer04

Next time I get up there I'll try and take my fishhawk and see what temp readings I get compared to my depthfinders.


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## Thinkum Hooked

I got 53-54F @ 3ft down in the area where we were & found 1 area where I got 59 @ 3ft.


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## 9Left

i'm headed down to Jackson/Vinton county for the next four days to turkey hunt with my dad and hopefully find some mushrooms… I'll be back on Monday and then hopefully do some scouting for caesars Crappies… the campout is right around the corner! I will be posting pictures soon


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## Thinkum Hooked

Good luck 9Left! Hope you get what you are after.


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## 9Left

well fellas.... looks like it's gonna be a perfect beautiful weekend… Got down here to the cabin around noon today… Unpacked… And then headed down the road to Wayne national Forest to check things out… My cousins property borders Wayne national… And it's a gem... only 15 acres… But it borders the national forest... he has two creeks running through his property… And the first Creekbed proved to be successful...








next in line… The neighbors property… He has 20 acres and a Beaverdam pond at the back of his property which he allows me to fish and duck hunt… Turned out to be a great afternoon…








I absolutely can't wait for Saturday morning opener… Hunting turkeys with my father… He's 76 and still gets around great in the woods… Hopefully I'll post some pictures of a fat Tom


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## 9Left

Back at the cabin now… ready for some refreshment...


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## Thinkum Hooked

I did catch some crappie tonight, nothing exceptional, but got 10 between 10-11” & a couple less than 10. 5 hours of fishing time & caught most of them in 20 minute window?


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## 9Left

ok boys... got here today just after 12 PM… Set up camp… And my dad and I hit the lake for a few hours to scout... looks like it's gonna be a fun weekend! we thought the fish would be deep so we started in a few spots with quick access to 20 feet of water… Fished it for 30 minutes and nothing… Moved back into some coves… Water temp marked at 55°… Retrieved jigs and jig and bobbers were the ticket.... anywhere from 3 -10 Feet of water… I set the Jiggin Bobber to 2 feet and hammered some pigs!I .....
































my dad and I fished till 5 PM and then headed in to camp..








for some cheddar bratwurst, baked beans, and cold beers…








Most of the fish we caught were a prespawn and I caught more than my dad with a jig n bobber... The slower presentation worked great… My dad fared well retrieving just chartreuse twister tail… We ended up keeping 24 fish this afternoon biggest was 12.5"
Will be up early in the morning making pancakes and bacon… And then hit the lake in the morning fishing with minnows and I'm sure the afternoon bite will be on again… See you fellas tomorrow


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## 9Left

Colder temps this morning so we took our time, had a good breakfast and headed out around 10 AM… Another pretty decent day I'd say total we caught about 25 or so fish… Fished till 5 PM and called it a day…Kept 23. once again the kiddo had a good time… His dad (my cousin) Finally got him a nice rod and a new pflueger president reel...And he was very proficient with it this year.








The overall size of the fish this year's been pretty nice… We only threw back a few fish and you know me, my boat has a 10 inch size limit. Time to head back and cook up a nice dinner and have a beer… Tomorrow morning we're going to hit the day armed with a few dozen minnows… I think we might be able to pull a few more fish… Most of everything today came on a jig and bobber set 2 feet deep tight to cover in about 6 feet of water.
Hopefully post another pretty decent day tomorrow! Tight lines fellas…


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## Harry1959

great pictures and it doesn’t get any better than the smiling kid holding the 2 crappie


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## Saugeye Tom

Carl, beautiful brother ❤


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## 9Left

Today started early with heavy rains... we hung around the campsite and had a good breakfast, I made sausage egg and cheese burritos with some pastries, fruit and hot coffee... the rainlet up about 8:30 in the morning and we headed out, this time armed with several dozen bass minnows… And I'm sure glad we bought them… It was a very slow day, Again we hit the Crappies and a few feet of water very tight to cover… Bobber and minnow set 12 inches deep… We immediately pulled half dozen fish that were pushing 11 and 12 inches... And then the rain started again… we put up the cover on the boat, waited it out for an hour and then headed to a few more spots… For the life of me, I could not get a fish to chase or hit a retrieved jig today, all day… Every fish except for the two saugeye came on minnows . we randomly pulled up into the water tower Cove and I pitched a 1/16 ounce chartreuse jig next to a log and WHAM! The fight was on with my ultralight… Ended up being a 19 1/2 inch saugeye! It was my personal highlight of the trip…








The next highlight was the kiddo pulling in a couple slabs in a small Cove on a minnow…








everything always feels right when you teach young ones how to do it… then you watch them do it on their own. Top it off he did it again, he caught his personal best saugeye on a jig… Right at 15 inches on the jig...He was super proud to be able to throw it in the live well....








called it a day around 4 PM because we have to get headed back in ... The ride back in was special for the kiddo and his grandpa...








...it's Saturday night and the big fish fry for family is tonight… Everyone will be coming in about 6:30 PM to enjoy the fish harvest… this is when you teach the young ones to do the rest of the job… Lol… Crushing the cracker crumbs with a beer can…








... We will be headed out again early tomorrow morning armed with minnows and fishing until noon and coming back to break down camp and head home… Will report one more time tomorrow afternoon… tight lines fellas!


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## 9Left

don't forget fellas… This is what it's all about… Getting family together.... Saturday night fish fry for the family...It doesn't get better…


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## 9Left

woops... I think I posted the kid holding the slabs on two posts… I'll find that picture and post the new one


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## crappiedude

For the life of me I can't figure out why you need those hot dogs when you have all that fresh fish fried up.
What a great trip you guys have had.


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## 9Left

crappiedude said:


> For the life of me I can't figure out why you need those hot dogs when you have all that fresh fish fried up.
> What a great trip you guys have had.


lol.... kids ... that dont like fish.... I don't understand it either… But I like to cater to everyone.


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## crappiedude

9Left said:


> lol.... kids ... that dont like fish.


LOL....I understand


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## Thinkum Hooked

Glad your annual get together was a big success & there is not much better than hours fresh crappie & saugeye!


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## Harry1959

9Left said:


> woops... I think I posted the kid holding the slabs on two posts… I'll find that picture and post the new one


 That picture was worth seeing twice


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## garhtr

crappiedude said:


> I can't figure out why you need those hot dogs



Guarantee I would've thrown some mustard on a bun and eaten one (probably two) of those dogs and bratts  -- after a double helping of filets and tater salad)
Sure looks like Good eats, Great fun and another Great trip!
Good luck and good fishing !


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## dave7631

Went after some Crappie last night around the marina, but all I ended up with was this monster lol! Wasn't prepared to land this guy on a crappie rig, but it was worth it!


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## 9Left

well today was our last day so we got an early start… We were on the water at 7 AM armed to the teeth to catch crappies… I guess I still don't understand them… Lol… We caught a total of three fish from 7 AM to 1 PM. Thought for sure today's temps would've turned things on but we tried our butts off and just couldn't make it happen… Headed back at 1 PM, packed up camp and I am now home… I'll be back after them next week! Thanks everyone for following my campout post and I'll be sure to keep the thread alive with some trips next week in the boat or on foot.


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## Saugeyefisher

Thanks for the pics and stories it sounds like you had about as much fun as you possibly could the last couple weeks with hunting and fishing! And the kid will never forget these trips! Great job!!! 
Your first camping report got me all excited to hit Hoover in Columbus. Very similar to Caesar's but a but over all shallower. Lots of steep drop off banks where I put my kayak in. Had to find some flatter banks where when the sun poked out it was pounding the bank warming up faster then surrounding areas. Happened to be the calm side to with no wind. Which helped heat it up. It's funny you mentioned yesterday you couldn't get them to eat a swimmed jig. Same here. But at the same time out of 60+ fish only a handful where up tight to cover. I had to set my jig fairly deep below a small float,cast out and as slow as I could stand it swim the bobber back(I think of the way zaraspook talks about the way he swims his jigs under a float,but maybe slower without seeing him do it). The bobber would creep left to right and they just barely sucked it in and hung on. If I let the bobber set,no bites,if I twitched it back like I normally do very few bites.
Most bites came 15-20' out in 8-10fow. They was visibly chasing shad. Only one of my fish from wood was colored up. But at the same time I seen some fry popping around super shallow as well🤷. Typical crazy Ohio springs has them all mixed up. But should make for a good long shallow bite late into the season as long as it don't start getting scorching hot to soon.


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## 9Left

Yeah I love catching Crappies on a 1/16 ounce retrieved chartreuse jig… Jig n bobber is also my favorite way to catch them.... For us, at least my cousin and I… The best bobber bite was twitch twitch, pause three or four seconds… Twitch twitch, pause three or four seconds. pretty much every fish hit it on the pause… And it was an extremely subtle hit… I mean, the bobber just barely bounced once, didn't even go all the way underwater… Like someone just barely flicked it or something... if he didn't set the hook you just missed the fish. The bite on the retrieved jig was good the first two days which surprised me because it was very overcast and kind of chilly air temps… But again it was very subtle… The rod just kind of got heavy and you just felt a little bit of abnormal weight .
it wasn't that beautiful "tick" you feel at the end of the rod tip when a crappy sucks it in. Anyways, I'll be headed out again on Tuesday on foot because I have the next few days off, tomorrow is dedicated to try to finish building my daughters dresser… and I will be out 2 to 3 times per week after that on foot or in my boat solo... I think the next three weeks are gonna be pretty good for a shallow bite


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## Thinkum Hooked

dave7631 said:


> Went after some Crappie last night around the marina, but all I ended up with was this monster lol! Wasn't prepared to land this guy on a crappie rig, but it was worth it!
> View attachment 487664


How big was that dude?


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## dave7631

Thinkum Hooked said:


> How big was that dude?


Well, I am 6'0 and the catfish's tail was at my shins when fully stretched. Didn't get a weight on him, didn't have a tape measure...I obviously wasn't prepared to catch him...I was going for Crappie lol!


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## 9Left

dave7631 said:


> Went after some Crappie last night around the marina, but all I ended up with was this monster lol! Wasn't prepared to land this guy on a crappie rig, but it was worth it!
> View attachment 487664


nice flatty!!!! For the life of me I can't figure out where on Caesars Creek there is a stone pier that looks like that .. Let alone anywhere near the marina that you could see that many headlights and other lights on the opposite shore...?


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## dave7631

9Left said:


> nice flatty!!!! For the life of me I can't figure out where on Caesars Creek there is a stone pier that looks like that .. Let alone anywhere near the marina that you could see that many headlights and other lights on the opposite shore...?


Thanks! There are a few stone step areas to the left of the marina when you are facing it. Pretty much a little cove area right before the docks.


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## Thinkum Hooked

9Left said:


> nice flatty!!!! For the life of me I can't figure out where on Caesars Creek there is a stone pier that looks like that .. Let alone anywhere near the marina that you could see that many headlights and other lights on the opposite shore...?


You got a good point there 9Left, me too?


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## Thinkum Hooked

Back to crappie fishing?


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## Thinkum Hooked




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## 9Left

very nice ! whats the scoop on your method? I spent all day yesterday building that darn dresser. I saw that by noon the water temperature was at 62°. It was killing me not to run back out there… Lol


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## Ravbuck

Two of us kept 11out of 13 crappie last evening 10"+ fishing from the bank in 3 hours. All were caught in about 4 -6 feet of water 1.5 feet below a slip bobber using minnows. Could not get them to take the jig and bobber. 9Left- I love fishing that way also but could not make it happen last night. I am also with you that we do not keep anything under 10". It was a fun evening.


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## Thinkum Hooked

9Left, I do not have a major scoop on my method. I don't have a boat & it seems about when & where I can reach them. Yesterday, I fished for 5 hours & the fish were very scattered. I got a couple shallow pretty quick & then nothing in the 1st 30 minutes. Both fish were less than 10". I moved to another area & the same thing, 2 fish quick & then nothing for the next 30 minutes. 1 of the crappie was over 10" & 1 keeper on the stringer after an hour. That kind of describes the remaining 4 hours & had to move around a lot. I would catch a couple here & there, but never found any concentrations of more than 2 fish. After 5 hours, I had 8 10" or better crappie & threw back 5 that were in 9-10" range. I caught the saugeye along the way. I used a straight jig tied to the line & worked various depths, but almost all fish were caught @ 3-6ft when I could find them.


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## 9Left

Screw the rain... it was worth it… Kept 17… And every single one chased a retrieved jig this afternoon in a few feet of water. finally found what I was looking for…









aaaaannndd... On a rising temperature


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## Thinkum Hooked

Glad you got what you wanted on retrieved jig! I'm curious, what was your white crappie/black crappie mix today & what was length of biggest crappie? For whatever reason, I have mainly been catching white crappie (6 to 1, best guess) so far this year which is not the norm. It is usually more like 50/50 & have yet to catch a 12" or bigger this year of either type...3 males (white) & 1 female (black) that made 11.5?


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## 9Left

... pretty much a mix… Half-and-half… Mostly Big whites females hit the retrieved jig in deeper water (6-8ft). The big blacks males were much shallower in 2 to 5 feet...


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## 9Left

.... And just like that… All is right in the world again…









..... There's always somebody waiting for the eggs… Lol…


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## 9Left

so on another note… I noticed while cleaning… The eggs are still fairly well kept together in clumps… When I squeeze the fish… The eggs did not come out… I always do this every spring to give myself a reference point of where we are at in the spawn... i'm pretty sure with next week being in the mid to high 80s… The girls are going to drop next week(at least at CEASARS CREEK anyways)… Which gives us a few more weeks of fish hanging around and some good shallow fishing!









behold the beauty… This is seriously my favorite time of year guys… I'm a diehard crappy guy....


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## Thinkum Hooked

Guess I need a longer measuring board? Last mark is 24.5” & to very tip is a bit under 24.75”?


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## 9Left

dang! nice saug!!!


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## Thinkum Hooked

Any thoughts on high water & effect on spawn? I did catch some crappie too on Thursday, more females & some were about to bust?


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## 9Left

don't think it'll hurt a thing… I've seen it in years past… now if this water level sustained for a couple weeks things would be different. 
I went to some of my favorite spots yesterday to check them out… That lake is almost 7 feet high! this weekend should be wonderful again and next week is gonna be on fire for a shallow bite.


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## Rooster

I was planning on taking a sick day on Thursday. Was going to take the kayak to CC, but since it is up 7 feet, I might be better off sticking with Cowan or Acton?


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## 9Left

definitely rooster! cowan being a spillway , And 10 HP limit… Would definitely be the more kayak friendly option


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## Thinkum Hooked

Cowan was very muddy on Monday, but should have cleared up some since then.


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## CCD

buddy of mine at work was at cowan yesterday caught only 5 in 5 hours.


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## JohnnyE

CCD said:


> buddy of mine at work was at cowan yesterday caught only 5 in 5 hours.


i caught about 25 this morning at cowan, but all small!!! Where are the big ones!!!


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## 9Left

JohnnyE said:


> i caught about 25 this morning at cowan, but all small!!! Where are the big ones!!!


I guess they're at CEASARS… Took a beautiful evening hike… Just getting back , the lake is still 3 feet high but the water clarity is perfect…








... Kept 24 nice fish… Everyone of them Chased a chartreuse 1/16 ounce jig up against the bank... .... God this is my favorite times of year!!


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## Rooster

They got bigger for me in the afternoon. A lot of runts, but caught some big girls ready to bust when the sun started to hit the water. Better fish can DEEP in cover in about 1 FOW.









Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk


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## 9Left

Well my dad, my brother-in-law, and myself launched this morning at 7 AM from the north pool ramp… It sure was shaping up to be an absolutely beautiful day… But I'll tell you what, those fish made us work for it! lol.... three guys, eight hours… We left the lake at 4 PM with 30 keepers (10"+ ). Certainly no monsters today, I think the biggest fish was 11.5 "....and I was surprised, today was the first day I had to actually pick through small fish... Seemed like we'd roll up on a spot… Bang out four or five keepers and then catch nothing but 8 and 9 inch dinks. I think the whole day we only spent 20 minutes tops in each spot. we didn't have to buy any minnows though, so that was great… Everything chased a jig, I pulled a few on a jig n bobber just for funsies. however every fish we caught was consistently within 3 feet of the bank.
got home to my house just about an hour and a half ago… my dad already had his fillet knife with him so I properly served up two cold ones and we got to work...









I also met a couple fellow OGF'rs today… Fishdealer was out there and we talked for a bit… I think he fared better than I did… (But he had Minnows)… Lol. If you get the chance look up "chubby fish" charters… Brian knows what he's doing on the big pond and he definitely knows what he's doing on the smaller ponds… Lol... always good to see you out there Brian! 
another guy that said he recognized me and I for the life of me can't remember his name now I hope he chimes in and says hi… Super nice guy and I hope you did well today! 
Another note, half the fish were females, half were males… The eggs were still fairly firm inside the fish… So I think we still got at least a couple weeks of good fishing for a shallow bite! Good luck and good fishing everybody! I will be posting again in the next few days


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## crappie4me

ditto...i wait 11 months for this


9Left said:


> God this is my favorite times of year!!


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## Ravbuck

9left that was me that spoke with you yesterday. It is interesting that I identified you by your boat and father sitting in the front seat from all of your picks. 
We had a tough day too. We caught ours shallow , in 6 feet of water , and trolling in 10 feet of water. Larger fish actually came from trolling. We casted jigs, used jigs under bobber and minnows. Ended up with 20 keepers in 8 hours of fishing. I marked a ton of fish in 10 feet of water. On my Panoptics. Half of ours had eggs too and all were firm. Hope to see you out there again. Would love to share stories sometime. 
Most important, Thank- You for your Service and great posts, 😀


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## 9Left

Ravbuck said:


> 9left that was me that spoke with you yesterday. It is interesting that I identified you by your boat and father sitting in the front seat from all of your picks.
> We had a tough day too. We caught ours shallow , in 6 feet of water , and trolling in 10 feet of water. Larger fish actually came from trolling. We casted jigs, used jigs under bobber and minnows. Ended up with 20 keepers in 8 hours of fishing. I marked a ton of fish in 10 feet of water. On my Panoptics. Half of ours had eggs too and all were firm. Hope to see you out there again. Would love to share stories sometime.
> Most important, Thank- You for your Service and great posts, 😀


ravbuck! that was it! lol..... our boats were a good 60 yards apart and we were having to talk pretty loudly to hear each other… I just couldn't quite make out the name.... it was very nice to meet you out there sir! i'm actually kind of glad to hear that you had a tough time also… Lol… I thought it was going to be nonstop on fire action all day and it just wasn't... 
anyways it was great to meet you and hopefully I'll be out on the lake several times next week either in boat or on foot.


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## Rooster

I was expecting it to be great fishing yesterday. But, I struggled (Cowan) for over 8 hours to just catch 10 @ 10" for a fish fry. Best fish came super shallow while combat fishing in the brush. Caught a couple 12"ers, but i have a self imposed slot limit.

I had a lot of "trouble" keeping these guys off my jig when I tried fishing near rather than in cover...and they almost jointed the grease when it wasn't looking good on getting enough 10" crappie.









Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk


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## fishdealer04

9Left said:


> Well my dad, my brother-in-law, and myself launched this morning at 7 AM from the north pool ramp… It sure was shaping up to be an absolutely beautiful day… But I'll tell you what, those fish made us work for it! lol.... three guys, eight hours… We left the lake at 4 PM with 30 keepers (10"+ ). Certainly no monsters today, I think the biggest fish was 11.5 "....and I was surprised, today was the first day I had to actually pick through small fish... Seemed like we'd roll up on a spot… Bang out four or five keepers and then catch nothing but 8 and 9 inch dinks. I think the whole day we only spent 20 minutes tops in each spot. we didn't have to buy any minnows though, so that was great… Everything chased a jig, I pulled a few on a jig n bobber just for funsies. however every fish we caught was consistently within 3 feet of the bank.
> got home to my house just about an hour and a half ago… my dad already had his fillet knife with him so I properly served up two cold ones and we got to work...
> View attachment 488370
> 
> 
> I also met a couple fellow OGF'rs today… Fishdealer was out there and we talked for a bit… I think he fared better than I did… (But he had Minnows)… Lol. If you get the chance look up "chubby fish" charters… Brian knows what he's doing on the big pond and he definitely knows what he's doing on the smaller ponds… Lol... always good to see you out there Brian!
> another guy that said he recognized me and I for the life of me can't remember his name now I hope he chimes in and says hi… Super nice guy and I hope you did well today!
> Another note, half the fish were females, half were males… The eggs were still fairly firm inside the fish… So I think we still got at least a couple weeks of good fishing for a shallow bite! Good luck and good fishing everybody! I will be posting again in the next few days


Yep we did ok with minnows Saturday, 30 keepers and 2 nice bluegills, plus probably 40 small crappie and bass in 3 hours. I thought Saturday was going to be the day they were on fire but it wasn’t the case. That weather last week really screwed the lake up. Thursday was pretty good for us with a nice box of crappie and a bonus saugeye. Friday we did well also. We caught a decent amount of fish casting jugs, but minnows werethe key for us. We would get on a spot cast jigs and catch 4-6 fish and then nothing. Toss some minnows out and get another 6-10 fish. Friday there was a boat fishing opposite of us in a cove. They worked the bank pretty good catching 15-20 keepers and then they moved on after not catching any fish for 10 minutes. We worked our way around and didn’t have any luck on jigs there. Threw minnows out and got 20 keepers off that same bank that had already been beaten by the previous boat. Great weekend with a friend In town, my dad, and my 2.5 year old son joined us Saturday.



































































Ravbuck said:


> 9left that was me that spoke with you yesterday. It is interesting that I identified you by your boat and father sitting in the front seat from all of your picks.
> We had a tough day too. We caught ours shallow , in 6 feet of water , and trolling in 10 feet of water. Larger fish actually came from trolling. We casted jigs, used jigs under bobber and minnows. Ended up with 20 keepers in 8 hours of fishing. I marked a ton of fish in 10 feet of water. On my Panoptics. Half of ours had eggs too and all were firm. Hope to see you out there again. Would love to share stories sometime.
> Most important, Thank- You for your Service and great posts, 😀


Ravbuck- I was in the Starcraft next to Carl when you were talking to him. Good to put boats to members here on OGF.


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## fishdealer04

Also in terms of eggs in them. Thursday the eggs were really soft and ready to drop in the fish we caught. Friday we fished a different part of the lake and those fish had firmer eggs. Saturday we went back to the cove that we fished on Thursday and half of the females we caught had no eggs left in them, and the rest looked like they were going to fall out at any moment. Thursday and Friday our ratio of shorts to keepers was 4 to 1. Saturday it was 1 to 3 with a lot more small fish moving in as well as probably 8-10 4"-7" LM bass.


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## Bob Owens

Where is the closest bait shop to get minnows around Caesers Creek. I have bought them at tackle town in the past but it looks like they are closed. 
Thank you


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## Harry1959

Spillway Party Supply ….also the store/gas station at Harveysburg sells minnows again. It’s At the corner of st rt 73 and Oregonia rd. Both are less than 5 minutes from the lake


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## Bob Owens

Thank you


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## sjwano

Took home 10 tonight in the 9-12” range with bonus keeper saugeye and white bass. Fishing 100 yards off the Haines ramp in the lower creek. Water was up a couple feet and cloudy green. Caught most fish on a white 2.75 inch joshy swim bait close to cover near drop offs to the creek channel. Only threw back a few smaller fish. Got several on a small jig and bobber too up tight to shore cover. They seemed to take it immediately or not at all on the jig. Super aggressive bites on the swim bait. Nice evening overall. Two Yahoos on jet skis ran through the shallow stump field sll the way up the creek. I yelled and they kept going, besides being no wake (I think) they were extremely lucky to make it through in one piece. Somebody finally stopped them. Hard to get away from the crazies no matter what night or where you fish on that lake!!


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## 9Left

Another beautiful evening for a hike through the woods… Caught way more than I could ever keep… I was just looking to put 10 good ones the stringer... Fish are still chasing jigs in about 3 to 5 feet of water..... Think I might just take the boat out tomorrow…


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## ruffhunter

sjwano said:


> Took home 10 tonight in the 9-12” range with bonus keeper saugeye and white bass. Fishing 100 yards off the Haines ramp in the lower creek. Water was up a couple feet and cloudy green. Caught most fish on a white 2.75 inch joshy swim bait close to cover near drop offs to the creek channel. Only threw back a few smaller fish. Got several on a small jig and bobber too up tight to shore cover. They seemed to take it immediately or not at all on the jig. Super aggressive bites on the swim bait. Nice evening overall. Two Yahoos on jet skis ran through the shallow stump field sll the way up the creek. I yelled and they kept going, besides being no wake (I think) they were extremely lucky to make it through in one piece. Somebody finally stopped them. Hard to get away from the crazies no matter what night or where you fish on that lake!!



were the yahoo's in their teens/20's blue/white life jacket and jet ski. Him and his buddy were doing non-stop donuts in front of me while i was the bank. Yelling at them only made them do more to antagonize me. Talking about want to send a load of rubber buckshot. Was on the rock bank between the hickory and oak campgrounds two years again fishing, when one of those 25/27ft solid yellow pleasure boats came all the way to within 50yds at high speed and made a turn trying to splash me with a huge wave. They gave me the finger and flew off.

Sunday-north end Got a small stringer of crappie. Lost a few too. 2ft deep
Monday-north end mid-day till evening, only one bite. Windy. Had some guys that said they were there (same spot) all morning. One said he got over 20 including a guy on a boat that stopped there too. Sounded like a flurry for all of them. They only caught one. Father and son on boat came back, happened to be the same boater from the morning and they had over 30.
Tuesday-went to south end. Water still about a foot or two high, compared to Sunday checking it out. Caught the same big bass from 2 weeks ago imo at the same cork landing spot, a really nice white bass, 2 short saugeyes, short crappie. Got one keeper crappie and stringer of thick gills. 4/5ft deep and 40yds out was the ticket. Not a bite anywhere near or at the banks. There was an older couple and another woman packing up when i got there. They had a full stringer of crappie. Dont know why they didnt bite for me.


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## 9Left

launched this morning at 6:15 AM with my dad from the campground ramp… It was an unfair slaughter… LOL. We stopped at 50 because we didn't wanna clean anymore than that… and no, there is no ice in that 5 gallon bucket...lol. Fish were chasing jigs on every single cast all day… Just got home, got a lot of cleaning to do!


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## sjwano

I


ruffhunter said:


> were the yahoo's in their teens/20's blue/white life jacket and jet ski. Him and his buddy were doing non-stop donuts in front of me while i was the bank. Yelling at them only made them do more to antagonize me. Talking about want to send a load of rubber buckshot. Was on the rock bank between the hickory and oak campgrounds two years again fishing, when one of those 25/27ft solid yellow pleasure boats came all the way to within 50yds at high speed and made a turn trying to splash me with a huge wave. They gave me the finger and flew off.
> 
> Sunday-north end Got a small stringer of crappie. Lost a few too. 2ft deep
> Monday-north end mid-day till evening, only one bite. Windy. Had some guys that said they were there (same spot) all morning. One said he got over 20 including a guy on a boat that stopped there too. Sounded like a flurry for all of them. They only caught one. Father and son on boat came back, happened to be the same boater from the morning and they had over 30.
> Tuesday-went to south end. Water still about a foot or two high, compared to Sunday checking it out. Caught the same big bass from 2 weeks ago imo at the same cork landing spot, a really nice white bass, 2 short saugeyes, short crappie. Got one keeper crappie and stringer of thick gills. 4/5ft deep and 40yds out was the ticket. Not a bite anywhere near or at the banks. There was an older couple and another woman packing up when i got there. They had a full stringer of crappie. Dont know why they didnt bite for me.


im sure it was the same two.


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## 9Left

ok fellas... this is how you do up delicious crappy tacos…

1) start with a tortilla… Warm it up in the microwave for 20 seconds









2) start with a base layer of baby spinach








3) Break up the crappy in pieces and add








4) add your favorite pico de gallo









5) grated Parmesan cheese








6) you're hot sauce of choice… I'm hooked on this stuff








ENJoY!! Fish tacos are my new thing… I absolutely love 'em.
Good luck and good fishing everybody… The fish are still up shallow and chasing jigs… Go get them!


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## Saugeye Tom

ruffhunter said:


> were the yahoo's in their teens/20's blue/white life jacket and jet ski. Him and his buddy were doing non-stop donuts in front of me while i was the bank. Yelling at them only made them do more to antagonize me. Talking about want to send a load of rubber buckshot. Was on the rock bank between the hickory and oak campgrounds two years again fishing, when one of those 25/27ft solid yellow pleasure boats came all the way to within 50yds at high speed and made a turn trying to splash me with a huge wave. They gave me the finger and flew off.
> 
> Sunday-north end Got a small stringer of crappie. Lost a few too. 2ft deep
> Monday-north end mid-day till evening, only one bite. Windy. Had some guys that said they were there (same spot) all morning. One said he got over 20 including a guy on a boat that stopped there too. Sounded like a flurry for all of them. They only caught one. Father and son on boat came back, happened to be the same boater from the morning and they had over 30.
> Tuesday-went to south end. Water still about a foot or two high, compared to Sunday checking it out. Caught the same big bass from 2 weeks ago imo at the same cork landing spot, a really nice white bass, 2 short saugeyes, short crappie. Got one keeper crappie and stringer of thick gills. 4/5ft deep and 40yds out was the ticket. Not a bite anywhere near or at the banks. There was an older couple and another woman packing up when i got there. They had a full stringer of crappie. Dont know why they didnt bite for me.


sling shot


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## Ol' Whiskers

with ice cubes


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## Howland 937

9Left said:


> ok fellas... this is how you do up delicious crappy tacos…
> 
> 1) start with a tortilla… Warm it up in the microwave for 20 seconds
> View attachment 488672
> 
> 
> 2) start with a base layer of baby spinach
> View attachment 488673
> 
> 3) Break up the crappy in pieces and add
> View attachment 488674
> 
> 4) add your favorite pico de gallo
> View attachment 488676
> 
> 
> 5) grated Parmesan cheese
> View attachment 488677
> 
> 6) you're hot sauce of choice… I'm hooked on this stuff
> View attachment 488678
> 
> ENJoY!! Fish tacos are my new thing… I absolutely love 'em.
> Good luck and good fishing everybody… The fish are still up shallow and chasing jigs… Go get them!


I'll agree with you on fish tacos being incredibly under-appreciated and I'm with you up until the hot sauce. I've come to enjoy them more with a a cilantro and lemon aioli. I do add a little heat to the fry mix though.


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## 9Left

Howland 937 said:


> I'll agree with you on fish tacos being incredibly under-appreciated and I'm with you up until the hot sauce. I've come to enjoy them more with a a cilantro and lemon aioli. I do add a little heat to the fry mix though.


Sounds delicious!


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## Harry1959

We went Sunday and did pretty good, caught about 30, kept 17 in a cove, mostly in one shady spot. Went back Wednesday, expecting to kill ‘em and only brought home two. Left me kinda dumbfounded.


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## Ravbuck

Going to be interesting to see what last nights rain does to the lake and fishing. I received 3" of rain at my house last night in Springboro. May jump it up to extra high levels like it did two weeks ago.


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## Bronson

That rain was unreal


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## fishdealer04

Ravbuck said:


> Going to be interesting to see what last nights rain does to the lake and fishing. I received 3" of rain at my house last night in Springboro. May jump it up to extra high levels like it did two weeks ago.


Same here down in Liberty Twp. I knew we were going to get a storm but wasn't expecting all that. Can't seem to catch a break this spring.


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## Lil Crappy

Been out twice last week. Kept 17 and 19. Hate to clean that many? But a month or two from now, I’ll wish I kept more? Mostly minnows 4’ do away from bank. Jigged some also. Mostly slip bobber.


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## Bronson

Lil Crappy said:


> Been out twice last week. Kept 17 and 19. Hate to clean that many? But a month or two from now, I’ll wish I kept more? Mostly minnows 4’ do away from bank. Jigged some also. Mostly slip bobber.


Did you go down this morning?


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## Lil Crappy

Bronson said:


> Did you go down this morning?


No ! You???


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## Bronson

Lil Crappy said:


> No ! You???


I wanted to but the weather report scared me! I’m going to try tomorrow after church


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## 9Left

hit 'em good this morning! not crappies but honestly i LOVE eating gills! ... a few cats in the mix too!!


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## Lil Crappy

9Left said:


> hit 'em good this morning! not crappies but honestly i LOVE eating gills! ... a few cats in the mix too!!
> View attachment 488758


Congratulations! What a haul! How do you carry all that on your boat? Coolers? I’d need a bigger boat!


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## 9Left

Lil Crappy said:


> Congratulations! What a haul! How do you carry all that on your boat? Coolers? I’d need a bigger boat!


all in the livewell... great morning of 'gill fishing!


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## Thinkum Hooked

That is a nice haul of bluegills & do see 1 crappie in there! I went Saturday from 5-9pm & did get rained on off & on. It wasn’t stellar, but did catch about 20 crappie, but only 6 were over 10” & biggest was only 11”.


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## Thinkum Hooked

Last year I mentioned some odd looking bass I have caught at Caesar Creek & there was some discussion of “meanmouth”. I caught a 14” last night while seeking crappie & then about 11” later. I examined them very closely & guess they are oddly patterned spotted bass as had a toothy patch on the tongue, jaw did not extend past eye & dorsal fin was not right for largemouth. They are just weird as black line from gill plate to tail is missing to very faint & have vertical bars like a smallmouth. They really resemble a smallmouth with bronze/brown removed & replaced with green color hues. They do have vertical rows of dark spots on lower body like a spotted bass should.


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## Bronson

There are definitely spots in there. I have caught several


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## Thinkum Hooked

I just brought up as the ones I have caught have had a relatively consistent look, but do not look like spots I have caught in other places? I do wonder if there is smallmouth in their gene pool, just odd looking & maybe a strain unique to Caesar Creek?


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## gwill1451

Anyone plan on going out today? I'm headed out later after work. The lake temp dropped, so I doubt they will be in shallow water. Your thoughts?


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## Rooster

Nice haul on the gills!

A lot of cleaning. Do you fillet them or fry them whole?


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## 9Left

Rooster said:


> Nice haul on the gills!
> 
> A lot of cleaning. Do you fillet them or fry them whole?


mostly fillets... I saved a dozen of them though ....scaled, gutted, heads off… my dad likes 'gills that way... Personally the skin really gives a lot of good flavor to the fish.... and the tail is the crispy potato chip at the end!


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## Thinkum Hooked

gwill1451 said:


> Anyone plan on going out today? I'm headed out later after work. The lake temp dropped, so I doubt they will be in shallow water. Your thoughts?


The lake temp didn’t drop. It is just that temp gauge gets very inaccurate when they open up the dam & the flow is high as it sits in the tailwater. The water was 64-66 at 3ft in places where I went. I think the crappie spawn is pretty much done. All I got were scattered males guarding their nest & most of the males have moved off the nests. Got about 14 crappie in 3.5 hours & only 4 were bigger than 10” & 2 made 11”. I’m done chasing the 2022 crappie spawn.


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## Lil Crappy

9Left said:


> mostly fillets... I saved a dozen of them though ....scaled, gutted, heads off… my dad likes 'gills that way... Personally the skin really gives a lot of good flavor to the fish.... and the tail is the crispy potato chip at the end!


Have you ever grilled them with skin on? Just sounds good?


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## 9Left

Lil Crappy said:


> Have you ever grilled them with skin on? Just sounds good?


yes i have... I originally started grilling walleye that way.... absolutely delicious! I have done bluegills that way but be warned… They don't take long to be done!

the few bluegills there i scaled, gutted, and took the heads off… They are just washed in egg better, breaded, and fried whole… My mom and dad love them that way


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## Lil Crappy

9Left said:


> yes i have... I originally started grilling walleye that way.... absolutely delicious! I have done bluegills that way but be warned… They don't take long to be done!
> 
> the few bluegills there i scaled, gutted, and took the heads off… They are just washed in egg better, breaded, and fried whole… My mom and dad love them that way


Been decades since I scaled a fish!


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## AJE213

I'll be staying at the CC campground next weekend. I've never been to CC before. Our spot is close to the campground boat ramp and I plan on fishing from my kayak. 

I normally fish for bass but I'd be happy to give crappie a try. Any tips for a first timer at CC?


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