# Central OH Fishing



## sixtyminutes

I want to begin a new thread about what is working here in our area. No need to give away your hot spots. Just identify the body of water and the general description of the situation that day and explain how you caught fish. Any species. I will start by telling about my recent trip to Alum Creek lake. It is 12-24-19. The last few days, the air temps were in the 40s with almost no wind. I had to see if I could catch a few. I did. I will attempt to post the pics. I usually don't take fish pics, but I hope this might stimulate some participation in the thread. Photos are from 12-22-19. Searching with the Hummers revealed that the best concentrations of fish were all in 30 -35 feet of water. I found a couple of spots that were in what I call drains. That is the mouth of a cove. Where does the fish have to go if the water drains out of it? They were also close to natural sharp breaks into deep water, with shallows close by. Maybe to feed at night? I tried blade baits. Jigging Raps worked best. Orange and Gold was my best colour. The best action was snapping it up a couple of feet and letting it hit bottom. Then, holding it still really close to the bottom. Maybe even letting it lay on the bottom. The fish would grab it while it was barely moving most time. Water temps on the surface were 37 to 39 degrees. Ice was covering a couple of spots I would have liked to fish. The main lake was open. A portion of the middle section north of Cheshire was still covered with ice about a 1/4" thick. It was an absolute pleasure in the afternoon. Moths were hatching somewhere. Tiny moths were on the surface as it got towards evening. The gulls were all over them. I did not fish unless I saw fish and bait nearby. I caught Saugeyes and Smallmouth with a few crappies and white bass mixed in. I think the baitfish in the area I did best in were White Bass. I caught five inches on a chrome sonar. There must be other ways to see them when facing those conditions.
What is working for you?


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## sixtyminutes

Ok. I tried to post the fish pictures but it did not work. Operator error. Maybe someone can help?


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## Bohanan66

Great thread! Also, I'd like to know what everyone's top three saugeye lakes are in central Ohio.
I've been checking on opinions of Indian Lake and found a lot of disappointment this fall.


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## sixtyminutes

Trying to upload photos. Hope this works.


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## sixtyminutes

Alum has been good in 2019. Hoover is coming back strong for Saugeyes. Buckeye and Indian are always good but I have not seen any posts about Buckeye in some time.


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## Snyd

Normally you don’t see post for some until well after the bite is over.


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## sixtyminutes

Another attempt to load photos.


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## river..rat

Bohanan66 said:


> Great thread! Also, I'd like to know what everyone's top three saugeye lakes are in central Ohio.
> I've been checking on opinions of Indian Lake and found a lot of disappointment this fall.


Alum Indian and Hoover are my picks,,,could anybody tell me if Hoover is froze over or open?


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## sixtyminutes

Hoover is open in the south pool. Everything north has enough ice to make boating a challenge unless you have an ice breaker. The ice is thin but it would be difficult to fish. Water level is as low as I can remember. Perhaps the warmer days will get rid of the ice. If you want to launch a boat Red Bank and Walnut St. ramps are the only ones that are deep enough. All of the other ramps the concrete runs out before you get to the water.


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## crappietime

Very nice fish. Are the fish hanging out under big schools of shad? I fish caesar creek and have been catching some real nice crappie using blades,jigging spoons and jigging raps fished under big schools of shad. Those smallies sure look like alot of fun.Hope the weather stays nice .


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## Snookhunter52

With Hoover you get quanity but larger fish are few and far between. The other central ohio lakes have better numbers of larger fish. Hoover is probably another year away.


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## sixtyminutes

crappietime said:


> Very nice fish. Are the fish hanging out under big schools of shad? I fish caesar creek and have been catching some real nice crappie using blades,jigging spoons and jigging raps fished under big schools of shad. Those smallies sure look like a lot of fun.Hope the weather stays nice .


There were baitfish in the areas I was jigging. I caught a small white bass while jigging in a bait ball. I am guessing that is what they were, young of year white bass.


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## toboso

I was also at Alum on Sunday 12/22 with a buddy. Fished mainly 25-30 fow where we found decent marks. We were using jigging spoons, jigs, blade baits, Jigging Rapala and basically ice fishing. Caught a few different species in morning. Finally got a few saugeye at dusk. They were on bottom lock. Bite lasted 15 minutes then it was over.


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## sixtyminutes

toboso said:


> I was also at Alum on Sunday 12/22 with a buddy. Fished mainly 25-30 fow where we found decent marks. We were using jigging spoons, jigs, blade baits, Jigging Rapala and basically ice fishing. Caught a few different species in morning. Finally got a few saugeye at dusk. They were on bottom lock. Bite lasted 15 minutes then it was over.


30 feet has been the depth where the most fish have been the last few days at Alum. I have not figured out how to get them to bite consistently. I have caught fish each day but it is a grind. Lots of looking with the electronics. Losing baits to snags. That kind of thing. The warmer night helped get rid of more ice. There is still ice in the coves. The surface temp got almost to 40 today and then it got cloudy and windy. 7/8 oz. Jigging Raps are still working best for me. Bright colors.
I am getting better at the photo thing. Here's today's catch.


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## sixtyminutes

With the warmer weather there should be someone fishing Buckeye, Indian Lakes and other Central Ohio waters. Any reports ? Driving over the County Line bridge I could see that a lot of ice has left Hoover. A couple more days of warmer weather to go.


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## 3DFishing

Nice work! Caught these in 4 FOW off a rip rap today with a Joshy's. Surprised to find them in Alum! Marked some in 20-30 FOW but no takers jigging a vibe. Still - can't believe it's December! Anyone find any bass?


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## 1basshunter

Snyd said:


> Normally you don’t see post for some until well after the bite is over.


I wonder why that is


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## river..rat

3DFishing said:


> Nice work! Caught these in 4 FOW off a rip rap today with a Joshy's. Surprised to find them in Alum! Marked some in 20-30 FOW but no takers jigging a vibe. Still - can't believe it's December! Anyone find any bass?
> 
> View attachment 335099
> View attachment 335101
> View attachment 335103


That's a surprise for sure!


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## Snookhunter52

3DFishing said:


> Nice work! Caught these in 4 FOW off a rip rap today with a Joshy's. Surprised to find them in Alum! Marked some in 20-30 FOW but no takers jigging a vibe. Still - can't believe it's December! Anyone find any bass?
> 
> View attachment 335099
> View attachment 335101
> View attachment 335103


What color joshy were you using?


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## Saugeyefisher

sixtyminutes said:


> With the warmer weather there should be someone fishing Buckeye, Indian Lakes and other Central Ohio waters. Any reports ? Driving over the County Line bridge I could see that a lot of ice has left Hoover. A couple more days of warmer weather to go.


I have not been to buckeye in a while,but thinking about hitting it saterday nite after potentially chasing smallies. 
It should be ice free for the most part. But it is extremely low again. It seems the new winter pool is the same it has been the last few years with the dam repair. I was excited back in lateNovember. Tgey dropped it just a couple feet and stopped. But then the forcast called for some heavy rain we never really seen,an they dropped it another foot or two. Oh well,is what it is,gonna try an find some soon! Goid reports and thread,great to see nice fish coming from alum.


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## sixtyminutes

Saugeyefisher said:


> I have not been to buckeye in a while,but thinking about hitting it saterday nite after potentially chasing smallies.
> It should be ice free for the most part. But it is extremely low again. It seems the new winter pool is the same it has been the last few years with the dam repair. I was excited back in lateNovember. Tgey dropped it just a couple feet and stopped. But then the forcast called for some heavy rain we never really seen,an they dropped it another foot or two. Oh well,is what it is,gonna try an find some soon! Goid reports and thread,great to see nice fish coming from alum.


Let us know how you do if you are able to get out!


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## sixtyminutes

3DFishing said:


> Nice work! Caught these in 4 FOW off a rip rap today with a Joshy's. Surprised to find them in Alum! Marked some in 20-30 FOW but no takers jigging a vibe. Still - can't believe it's December! Anyone find any bass?
> 
> View attachment 335099
> View attachment 335101
> View attachment 335103


Sweet Perch. I always wondered why they never have done well in Alum. They have been in there for decades now. Good weed beds. Plenty of stuff to lay eggs on. Although the winter draw downs probably don't help with the spawn. I love Perch. By the way. Smallmouth are down at 30 ft also. Caught most of mine the last few days on a 7/8 oz. Jigging Rap. orange and gold. They might think that is one of those baby perch. Going to try drop shot and maybe a bottom bouncer today.


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## Fish4Dale

Worked nights last night so I was sleeping when you posted this morning.
Drove North shore on my way through Monday eve. Was iced up then.
Didn't check it out to close. But at some point looked like a boat launched and went out.
So by now could be some open areas ?
Good Luck !


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## sixtyminutes

Fish4Dale said:


> Worked nights last night so I was sleeping when you posted this morning.
> Drove North shore on my way through Monday eve. Was iced up then.
> Didn't check it out to close. But at some point looked like a boat launched and went out.
> So by now could be some open areas ?
> Good Luck !


I spoke with a fisherman today at the ramp at Alum that lives out that way and fishes Buckeye. He said it was still iced up for the most part. He caught a perch trolling today at Alum. I caught a perch on a jigging rap also.


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## sixtyminutes

It was a slow day for me at Alum today. I spent most of the day trying to find new spots and trying different presentations. I spent way to much time drop shotting today. Not even a nibble. Really good looking fish on the Humminbirds. Fish were on the bottom in the center pool at Alum. Plenty of bait too. Just a few fish scattered in water as shallow as 15ft. marks were few though. Lots of fish in the deepest water. I also fished Jigging Raps, Blade baits, Swimbaits and Jigs. One interesting note today about the presentations I tried today. Since it was slow I decided to use slow, subtle lure movements. As I was jigging a rigging rap near a roadbed I had a fish come over a few feet off the bottom. I decided to pop that jig up into their face and see if I could get a reaction. Well, I caught a catfish. It happened again. Maybe I should have been more aggressive and tried to trigger them into hitting that Jig. By then it was late and I had to go home. In the south pool the majority of fish were at 30 ft or so. Spent most of the day north of Cheshire. Caught perch and catfish. Not exactly what I was fishing for. Marked lots of interesting stuff on the side scan. Those way points will be handy next year. So nice to just drive around and scan stuff without dodging skiers or boaters. I think I am going to Hoover tomorrow. Water level must be down over 15 ft from full pool. Ice is finally gone. I want to photograph some of that structure while it is out of the water.


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## Clevelandtocolumbus

sixtyminutes said:


> Sweet Perch. I always wondered why they never have done well in Alum. They have been in there for decades now. Good weed beds. Plenty of stuff to lay eggs on. Although the winter draw downs probably don't help with the spawn. I love Perch. By the way. Smallmouth are down at 30 ft also. Caught most of mine the last few days on a 7/8 oz. Jigging Rap. orange and gold. They might think that is one of those baby perch. Going to try drop shot and maybe a bottom bouncer today.


Saugeye SMASH them...must be the walleye in em.


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## Snookhunter52

Clevelandtocolumbus said:


> Saugeye SMASH them...must be the walleye in em.


Yes I spent 3 hours fishing for perch along the dam today and didn't get a single hit. I knew that once I found a school of them I could wait till dark. Then try fishing for hog mama saugeye with a chartreuse j5. I'm going to try again tomorrow to see if I can find them.


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## 1basshunter

Fished buckeye today for little while


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## ristorap

Is Buckeye all open water ?


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## 1basshunter

ristorap said:


> Is Buckeye all open water ?


Yes


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## ristorap

Thank you


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## sixtyminutes

Finally. Some Buckeye Lake fisherman check in. I think we may have open water in Central OH for a few weeks now. Seasonal temps are forecast. Keep posting on your results whether it is a lake or a stream. No need to give away your spots. Just let us know what presentation is working and the general location. Something like: I fished a rocky shore near deep water. Caught em on swimbaits and jerkbaits. By the way, the rumor is that Div. of Wildlife caught lots of 15-18" Eyes in their test nets recently at Hoover. Heard that today. Perhaps someone knows the details on that?


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## 1basshunter

sixtyminutes said:


> Finally. Some Buckeye Lake fisherman check in. I think we may have open water in Central OH for a few weeks now. Seasonal temps are forecast. Keep posting on your results whether it is a lake or a stream. No need to give away your spots. Just let us know what presentation is working and the general location. Something like: I fished a rocky shore near deep water. Caught em on swimbaits and jerkbaits. By the way, the rumor is that Div. of Wildlife caught lots of 15-18" Eyes in their test nets recently at Hoover. Heard that today. Perhaps someone knows the details on that?


been doing good on the lake shore for a couple days Early morning seem to be the best at least so far for me


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## Saugeyefisher

I didnt make it to buckeye,fished a couple creek spots close to home again. Could of prolly caught all the 13-16" saugeye I could handle,bit kept hole hopping looking for better ones. Ended up dropping 2,one about 22" the other pushing 25" , both on 2.75 clear chartruese bogjoshys. Also caught fish on full size rouge,twister tails,and xraps both 8 and 10. They wanted the pause tonight. All in deeper slack water holes with tons of wood in them....


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## toboso

Alum 12/28. Surface temp up 2 deg. to 40 F. Focused on searching north of Cheshire--where the bait & fish marks are concentrated. One white bass. Spent most of day up there since south has been so slow.

Went back south and found school of perch inside cove.

Finished by dam on 30' break. Managed a handful of smaller eyes at dusk. They were bottom locked and not real aggressive. Combination of spoons, blade baits, jigging raps all day.


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## sixtyminutes

Here is what I have been doing at Alum the last few days. The fish were generally holding at 30 ft depth. I started looking for concentrations of fish. The places worth dropping a way point on were structural elements such as the flats right at the edge of a sharp break. The fish also seemed to be located near points and drains that had 30 ft of water at the base of the drop off. Or, in a couple of situations I found road beds and bridge abutments that concentrated the fish. I also caught Eyes and Smallies away from any obvious structure but they were always near that 30 FOW. I used blade baits ( Heddon Sonars and Vib E's.) Swimbaits, Drop shot and Jigging Raps.
The 7/8 oz. #9 Jigging Rap was the best bait every day for me. Is that because it was used most often? I spent hours rotating through different colored blade baits. I spent almost a whole day drop shotting North of Cheshire. Great looking fish on the electronics but I could not get bit on a drop shot. A few weeks earlier in some of the same spots I caught fish all day on a silver chrome sonar. I caught perch on Friday by accident. Snagging them while jigging it. I tried different colors. When, after hours of catching nothing I gave in and picked up the Jigging Rap is when I finally caught larger fish. Go figure. When fishing deep water it is a lot like what Toboso said. It's like ice fishing. You can sit over them and try to get them to bite. I think the action of the Jigging Rap triggers them into hitting even if they are not in the mood to eat. The orange and yellow Rap must have looked something like a wounded Perch. Thinking about it now I wish I would have tried some heavy bucktail jigs too. Popping those off the bottom works much like the Jigging Raps. A rainy day is good for thinking about fishing. Any other reports or thoughts about how to fish in those conditions?


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## 1basshunter

Fished buckeye today it was slow


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## skywayvett

You need to leave them alone nice one


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## Saugeyefisher

sixtyminutes said:


> Here is what I have been doing at Alum the last few days. The fish were generally holding at 30 ft depth. I started looking for concentrations of fish. The places worth dropping a way point on were structural elements such as the flats right at the edge of a sharp break. The fish also seemed to be located near points and drains that had 30 ft of water at the base of the drop off. Or, in a couple of situations I found road beds and bridge abutments that concentrated the fish. I also caught Eyes and Smallies away from any obvious structure but they were always near that 30 FOW. I used blade baits ( Heddon Sonars and Vib E's.) Swimbaits, Drop shot and Jigging Raps.
> The 7/8 oz. #9 Jigging Rap was the best bait every day for me. Is that because it was used most often? I spent hours rotating through different colored blade baits. I spent almost a whole day drop shotting North of Cheshire. Great looking fish on the electronics but I could not get bit on a drop shot. A few weeks earlier in some of the same spots I caught fish all day on a silver chrome sonar. I caught perch on Friday by accident. Snagging them while jigging it. I tried different colors. When, after hours of catching nothing I gave in and picked up the Jigging Rap is when I finally caught larger fish. Go figure. When fishing deep water it is a lot like what Toboso said. It's like ice fishing. You can sit over them and try to get them to bite. I think the action of the Jigging Rap triggers them into hitting even if they are not in the mood to eat. The orange and yellow Rap must have looked something like a wounded Perch. Thinking about it now I wish I would have tried some heavy bucktail jigs too. Popping those off the bottom works much like the Jigging Raps. A rainy day is good for thinking about fishing. Any other reports or thoughts about how to fish in those conditions?



I really appreciate you sharing your deep water saugeye tactics with us. It's one thing I have not gotten good at. But your posts really points us in the right direction for what to look for....


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## Athens_Smallmouth

A busy travel schedule for work this summer and early fall left me little time to get out and fish. 

Luckily I have been able to make up for lost time this late fall/early winter by hitting the flows and central OH lakes pretty hard. 

I have mainly been chasing saugeye with more luck than previous years. Forcing myself to use a jerkbait the majority of the time has really helped me out, tuning baits and using long pauses. Nothing huge, but fairly consistent catch rates.

I recently took a kayak trip down the Scioto in search of Musky and Wipers. No musky, but I did land a nice 24” Wiper using a rattle trap with a yo-yo retrieve. He choked the bait deep and fought hard! I have also stumbled into a couple bonus catfish and bass.

Not a bad end to the year for me. Looking forward to 2020.























































Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## Snookhunter52

Athens_Smallmouth said:


> A busy travel schedule for work this summer and early fall left me little time to get out and fish.
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> Luckily I have been able to make up for lost time this late fall/early winter by hitting the flows and central OH lakes pretty hard.
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> I have mainly been chasing saugeye with more luck than previous years. Forcing myself to use a jerkbait the majority of the time has really helped me out, tuning baits and using long pauses. Nothing huge, but fairly consistent catch rates.
> 
> I recently took a kayak trip down the Scioto in search of Musky and Wipers. No musky, but I did land a nice 24” Wiper using a rattle trap with a yo-yo retrieve. He choked the bait deep and fought hard! I have also stumbled into a couple bonus catfish and bass.
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I have been trying to catch wipers with my blue chrome rat-l-trap with the same retrieve for several months with only one hit. What color did you use?


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## 1basshunter

Fished Hoover today using a vibe just hopping it back slowly the Saugeye I got is a bad picture I was trying to use my phone tape measure for the first time I apologize about the picture


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## sixtyminutes

Nice catch and nice photos. I am still trying to work out how I can take better photos by myself. So bad at it that I don't bother with pics usually. I'll bet that wiper pulled hard.


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## sixtyminutes

1basshunter,
If you were fishing today you must be a serious fisherman. Weather sucks today but sometimes the wind turns on the fish.


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## Athens_Smallmouth

Snookhunter52 said:


> I have been trying to catch wipers with my blue chrome rat-l-trap with the same retrieve for several months with only one hit. What color did you use?


I was using a blue and chrome trap too. Finding the active fish can be tough. I was fishing a spot that I have known for years holds fish this time year so it was a little bit easier to be confident when pulling it out of the box. That fish absolutely choked the bait too. I knew it was a wiper the moment it sucked the bait in.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## Athens_Smallmouth

sixtyminutes said:


> Nice catch and nice photos. I am still trying to work out how I can take better photos by myself. So bad at it that I don't bother with pics usually. I'll bet that wiper pulled hard.


I use the timer function on my phones camera to get better pictures when I am by myself. 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## 1basshunter

Just got back from Cleveland today after fishing Hoover Earlier today I was using a little Cleo spoon casting it out letting it flutter down and lifting up quickly then letting flutter back down


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## 1basshunter

sixtyminutes said:


> 1basshunter,
> If you were fishing today you must be a serious fisherman. Weather sucks today but sometimes the wind turns on the fish.


I love the fish this type of weather just dress for it and you’re fine


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## sixtyminutes

I could be wrong but those don't look like Saugeyes. I am a member of Youth Anglers of Oh./ Ohio Brotherhood of the Junglecock. At our big event each year we put about 300 of those in a pond and let our members and kids fish for them. We sometimes have golden trout in the mix also. The purpose is to introduce more kids to fishing and the outdoors. Each year fewer fishing and hunting licenses are sold.


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## skywayvett

You went all the way to Kroger's in Cleveland ? Nice job lol


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## 1basshunter

skywayvett said:


> You went all the way to Kroger's in Cleveland ? Nice job lol


Sometimes you just to that you have to do  
Thanks John


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## BarnyardMonkey

Managed to get out this past Sunday night for a few hours in the rain. and rain it did, ALL night long. didn't start fishing till nightfall, shallow lake.

Caught around 10 eyes total, and tossed back a few 15's, and smaller ones. kept the 3 showing. most were on jerkbaits, but a couple on joshy's. lost a few as well.

They were hitting like trucks, nothing subtle at all.
from the bank.


Good Luck.


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## Jim white

Nice fish Barnyard monkey what lake was you fishing


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## Snookhunter52

Athens_Smallmouth said:


> I was using a blue and chrome trap too. Finding the active fish can be tough. I was fishing a spot that I have known for years holds fish this time year so it was a little bit easier to be confident when pulling it out of the box. That fish absolutely choked the bait too. I knew it was a wiper the moment it sucked the bait in.
> 
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> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


Thanks for letting me know that i'm on the right track. Those fish are addicting. There's nothing that compares to their fighting ability in freshwater pound for pound. I've been trying to expand my wiper arsenal the last couple months. Hopefully trying new tactics will payoff.


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## sixtyminutes

Barnyard,
Nice catch! Those are fatties. They have been eating well. It seems to me that the shallow lakes are so much more consistent in winter and especially for fishing from the bank. The fish I saw, and caught, in 30 fow at Alum are not going to be shallow the same day or night. They can't change depth to that degree without suffering trauma from change in pressure. Just like scuba divers will get the bends if they ascend from deep water (30 feet or more) too quickly, fish suffer from something similar. So the fish we catch from the bank at night are spending the day in relatively shallow water. They are likely not too far away from where we catch them at night.


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## 1basshunter

Snookhunter52 said:


> Thanks for letting me know that i'm on the right track. Those fish are addicting. There's nothing that compares to their fighting ability in freshwater pound for pound. I've been trying to expand my wiper arsenal the last couple months. Hopefully trying new tactics will payoff.


If you’re really serious about wiper fishing you should give Ackac7 a pm in my opinion he is the most Consistent at getting them I’m really sure he will probably help you out


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## Snookhunter52

Yes acklac7 has already helped me out a lot, but it's also nice to hear from other sources haha. He definitely knows his saugeye and wipers. I went to buckeye today and it was slow. Only caught 1 saugeye and only saw one other guy catch a fish. Got it on an original suspending smithwick clown worked sssslllloooooowwww.


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## Fuzzygrub

Hit a wind blown point on a deep reservoir tonight. It’s been a tough bite the last 10 days or so, after a month of the hottest bite of the year. Went 5-13, should have limited easily but the bite was super soft tonight. All caught on perfectly tuned purple clown HJ12, on 15-20 second pause.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## 1basshunter

One so far and slamming it using a Chartreuse and orange tight line UV twister tail

Just hopping off the bottom with a long pause in between hops


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## skywayvett

Enough you got me thinking about uncover the boat and hitting the lake lol keep it up 
enjoy the pictures. I'm sitting at home buying tackle for spring .It would be cheaper to go fishing.


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## 1basshunter

It turned out to be a halfway decent night all fish were caught with a Chartreuse and orange UV twister tail on a 1/8 oz jig head 

just hoping it back. 

John you should stay home fishing is no fun this time of the year


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## BarnyardMonkey

sixtyminutes said:


> Barnyard,
> Nice catch! Those are fatties. They have been eating well. It seems to me that the shallow lakes are so much more consistent in winter and especially for fishing from the bank. The fish I saw, and caught, in 30 fow at Alum are not going to be shallow the same day or night. They can't change depth to that degree without suffering trauma from change in pressure. Just like scuba divers will get the bends if they ascend from deep water (30 feet or more) too quickly, fish suffer from something similar. So the fish we catch from the bank at night are spending the day in relatively shallow water. They are likely not too far away from where we catch them at night.


I agree. I usually tend to stick to the shallow lakes or rivers/dams in the winter.
bit tougher for me in the deeper lakes this time of year. Managed a few from Alum recently, but was tough. smaller fish as well.

FuzzyGrub, Nice mess of fish!. the HJ12 has been the ticket for me lately as well. though quite a bit slower tonight, only managed a couple.


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## Fuzzygrub

Thanks barnyard. The HJ’s have always been my go to, at least the stick I’m most comfortable with. I’ve messed around with rogues, super rouges, and p-10’s (mostly on LE piers), but always go back to my HJ’s. It takes way more time to tune a rouge out of the box also, none of them are ever the same, even identical colors.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## sixtyminutes

Isn't that the truth. It's snowing right now in New Albany. I was just thinking about adding to the lure inventory for the spring. It would save money if I would just go fishing. 
Love the photos and the reports!


skywayvett said:


> Enough you got me thinking about uncover the boat and hitting the lake lol keep it up
> enjoy the pictures. I'm sitting at home buying tackle for spring .It would be cheaper to go fishing.


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## Saugeyefisher

Fished yuckeye yesterday with a couple friends. Ended up finding fish on a rocky point. But was being finicky. In a hour my buddy missed 4 good bites an dropped one half way in,I had 3 bites,missed one,caught one,an the other came off after a couple seconds,felt heavy...
One I caught was 20 inches. Kicking my self for not being able to stay after dark....


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## Walleyekingjr

Saugeyefisher said:


> Fished yuckeye yesterday with a couple friends. Ended up finding fish on a rocky point. But was being finicky. In a hour my buddy missed 4 good bites an dropped one half way in,I had 3 bites,missed one,caught one,an the other came off after a couple seconds,felt heavy...
> One I caught was 20 inches. Kicking my self for not being able to stay after dark....





Saugeyefisher said:


> Fished yuckeye yesterday with a couple friends. Ended up finding fish on a rocky point. But was being finicky. In a hour my buddy missed 4 good bites an dropped one half way in,I had 3 bites,missed one,caught one,an the other came off after a couple seconds,felt heavy...
> One I caught was 20 inches. Kicking my self for not being able to stay after dark....


Thinking about trying late tonight myself!!! What was the bait of choice?


----------



## Saugeyefisher

Walleyekingjr said:


> Thinking about trying late tonight myself!!! What was the bait of choice?


3.25 joshy in ghost fire on a 1/16 oz yellow head


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## Fuzzygrub

Fished a deep CO lake tonight and went 2/2 or 3/3, if you count a mud puppy. One eye on clown rouge, one eye on purple clown HJ 12, and mud puppy on a Joshy. Little disappointed about the bite, conditions were pretty good. Hopefully wind and rain the next two nights, will fire them up.


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## kleared42

anyone going out tomorrow on a boat and needs to fill a seat? willing to chip in. looking for crappie or eyes.


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## Saugeyefisher

Of coarse we have 70 degree rainy day with squalls of wind an rain the week I'm layed up with with a 1-1/2" deep x 3" wide hole in my tailbone area.... 
Doc said I can resume normal activities when I feel up to it. When that will be I'm not sure.


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## kleared42

ouch!

I'd have preferred to go out in the warmer but slightly damp weather, but schedules. =/

Sent from my Pixel 2 XL using Tapatalk


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## WLAngler

I need to get some HJ 12's from what I can see on this thread. I have every kind of suspending jerkbait you can think of, but no Rapala Husky Jerks.


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## WLAngler

I went out last night 1-13-20 & no bites. I was at Moundwood for awhile. Also tried Oldfield Beach, nothing. I think it had to do with the water being really muddy or maybe it has to do with not owning any Husky Jerks...lol


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## acklac7

WLAngler said:


> I need to get some HJ 12's from what I can see on this thread. I have every kind of suspending jerkbait you can think of, but no Rapala Husky Jerks.


My "Main" Stickbait box. All of which are perfectly tuned...


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## Saugeyefisher

WLAngler said:


> I went out last night 1-13-20 & no bites. I was at Moundwood for awhile. Also tried Oldfield Beach, nothing. I think it had to do with the water being really muddy or maybe it has to do with not owing any Husky Jerks...lol


I'd say more dirty water then not having huskie jerks. Smithwicks have proven them selfs over and over. And any other bait you can get to suspend


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## Brahmabull71

WLAngler said:


> I went out last night 1-13-20 & no bites. I was at Moundwood for awhile. Also tried Oldfield Beach, nothing. I think it had to do with the water being really muddy or maybe it has to do with not owing any Husky Jerks...lol


In my experience, muddy water at Indian means it’s a daytime bite this time of year...often times mid-day. If the water is muddy, I don’t waste time fishing at night.

HJ’s have worked at Alum lately. Just not last night


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## Fuzzygrub

Brahmabull71 said:


> In my experience, muddy water at Indian means it’s a daytime bite this time of year...often times mid-day. If the water is muddy, I don’t waste time fishing at night.
> 
> HJ’s have worked at Alum lately. Just not last night


I hear you. Last night was the first time in a while that I left without even a tap 



Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## WLAngler

Brahmabull71 said:


> In my experience, muddy water at Indian means it’s a daytime bite this time of year...often times mid-day. If the water is muddy, I don’t waste time fishing at night.
> 
> HJ’s have worked at Alum lately. Just not last night



I was there for maybe two hours of daylight & stayed until 9:00


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## WLAngler

Saugeyefisher said:


> I'd say more dirty water then not having huskie jerks. Smithwicks have proven them selfs over and over. And any other bait you can get to suspend


I tried Smithwicks of different colors & I also tried some KVD 300 jerkbaits. I caught snageyes, but no saugeyes.


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## WLAngler

acklac7 said:


> My "Main" Stickbait box. All of which are perfectly tuned...
> 
> View attachment 337723


Nice!


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## Fuzzygrub

Went 2-3 tonight. Perfectly tuned pink clown HJ-12 with 30 second pause. 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## 1basshunter

Getting ready for tomorrow night


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## NewbreedFishing

WOW, those are a trip 1BH! Like a illuminated bobber....just wait for it to disappear!


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## sixtyminutes

We need a follow up report on how those baits work. They sure look good to me.


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## 1basshunter

sixtyminutes said:


> We need a follow up report on how those baits work. They sure look good to me.


They are killer
The glow red are my new favorite go to


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## Drew0889

I’ve gotten tired of fishing shoulder to shoulder on Indian and only catching dinks. I started fishing a different central Ohio lake and getting off the beaten path. A tuned UV pink tiger HJ14 has been my go to bait all fall and early winter. I recently started fishing with a couple great anglers on their boats and had a tough bite on Saturday. Wound up pulling six between the two of us and missing several boat side bites. It seemed like the eyes we’re waiting for you to pull the bait out of the water. We focused our jigging in the 26-30 fow range and moved to really shallow points after dark. The eyes were really fired up for about 20 minutes and preferred a lemon lime crush P10 with a stop and go retrieve. Moral of my story besides the report is fish with as many people as you can and learn from everyone.


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## Morrowtucky Mike

Drew0889 said:


> I’ve gotten tired of fishing shoulder to shoulder on Indian and only catching dinks. I started fishing a different central Ohio lake and getting off the beaten path. A tuned UV pink tiger HJ14 has been my go to bait all fall and early winter. I recently started fishing with a couple great anglers on their boats and had a tough bite on Saturday. Wound up pulling six between the two of us and missing several boat side bites. It seemed like the eyes we’re waiting for you to pull the bait out of the water. We focused our jigging in the 26-30 fow range and moved to really shallow points after dark. The eyes were really fired up for about 20 minutes and preferred a lemon lime crush P10 with a stop and go retrieve. Moral of my story besides the report is fish with as many people as you can and learn from everyone.


I rarely see anyone else at Indian at night when I saugeye fish there. Unless of course I swing by Moundwood.


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## Saugeyefisher

Morrowtucky Mike said:


> I rarely see anyone else at Indian at night when I saugeye fish there. Unless of course I swing by Moundwood.


Lol right... I fished it pretty hard a couple years. It seems like most of the local lakes,a few areas get crowded during the hot bites. Leaving tons of other less pressured areas for guys to find....


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## sixtyminutes

Based on your recommendation basshunter I ordered some of those glowing swim baits. They are not easy to find but the internet is a wonderful thing sometimes. I plan to use them while snap jigging. Triggering presentations are remarkable. It has completely changed how I fish most days. How do you use them and in what kind of situations?


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## Drew0889

sixtyminutes said:


> Based on your recommendation basshunter I ordered some of those glowing swim baits. They are not easy to find but the internet is a wonderful thing sometimes. I plan to use them while snap jigging. Triggering presentations are remarkable. It has completely changed how I fish most days. How do you use them and in what kind of situations?


When it comes to snap jigging, what weight are you using and are you using a vertical jig, casting or both?


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## 1basshunter

This is a Berkeley Snap jig They were great with twister tails and also 3 and 4 inch Gulp minnows


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## 1basshunter

Sorry I forgot to tell you where I got them at I hope this helps
I am not saying it is a magical But they are something that should be in your arsenal just my opinion


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## Saugeyefisher

Drew0889 said:


> When it comes to snap jigging, what weight are you using and are you using a vertical jig, casting or both?


Not sure how the op does it,but in my mind you can snap jig both vertical and casting. Its a type of jigging is all. A description. I catch a fish on a jig an a buddy ask me about my retreive. I'll say I was snap jigging,or slow hopping it,or slow rolling it,etc.etc. 
Rob uve never used that brand,but I've caught alot of saugeye an wipers with a twister tail swimbait body like that... dont take any weight or speed to get those tails thumping!


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## sixtyminutes

That Berkeley snap jig is one of the jigs that I use for snap jigging. 3/8 oz. I understand they have now made them in 3/4 oz. I will be looking for those. We have always been told to use the lightest jig you can based upon the depth also. Well, snap jigging blows that away. Heavier is better. It can be done at all depths. The heavier weights help make the bait fall quickly and allow you to work it erratically. Popping the jig off the bottom and letting it fall. Sometimes popping it several times before it gets to the bottom during the retrieve. The fish must think the jig is a wounded fish or a craw. Jigging Rap style baits work the same way. Blade baits and jigging spoons do this also. Single hook jigs can do this in the shallows without snagging quite as much as a jigging rap. The key thing is that you are triggering the fish to strike the bait. They don't get long to make a decision they hit out of instinct and they just react. It does not work in every situation but it can turn negative fish into feeding fish. It is my go to presentation in warmer water when I find concentrations of fish that don't hit my horizontal presentations. Mark the fish with a way point and go back and make them hit something. Ice fishermen are starting to realize you can do this through ice with rattle baits. So maybe this works in cold water also? I plan on using snap jigs in shallow water this spring. Casting and working them back aggressively on points and flats. Heavy hair jigs are great for this too. You don't need a trailer with those.


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## Saugeyefisher

sixtyminutes said:


> That Berkeley snap jig is one of the jigs that I use for snap jigging. 3/8 oz. I understand they have now made them in 3/4 oz. I will be looking for those. We have always been told to use the lightest jig you can based upon the depth also. Well, snap jigging blows that away. Heavier is better. It can be done at all depths. The heavier weights help make the bait fall quickly and allow you to work it erratically. Popping the jig off the bottom and letting it fall. Sometimes popping it several times before it gets to the bottom during the retrieve. The fish must think the jig is a wounded fish or a craw. Jigging Rap style baits work the same way. Blade baits and jigging spoons do this also. Single hook jigs can do this in the shallows without snagging quite as much as a jigging rap. The key thing is that you are triggering the fish to strike the bait. They don't get long to make a decision they hit out of instinct and they just react. It does not work in every situation but it can turn negative fish into feeding fish. It is my go to presentation in warmer water when I find concentrations of fish that don't hit my horizontal presentations. Mark the fish with a way point and go back and make them hit something. Ice fishermen are starting to realize you can do this through ice with rattle baits. So maybe this works in cold water also? I plan on using snap jigs in shallow water this spring. Casting and working them back aggressively on points and flats. Heavy hair jigs are great for this too. You don't need a trailer with those.


Good description! I imagine a heavier jig stirs up the bottom more,helping to trigger bites. 
Like you mentioned jigging spoons come to mind also for snap jigging. And I've been hereing more and more about guys using the jigging raps casting and snapjigging in open water. I've always wanted to learn jigging spoons but have not had the chance yet,just seems like a really fun way to fish...


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## sixtyminutes

The strike you get when fishing reaction baits is amazing. The jigs are usually barely visible as you bring the fish into the boat. Strikes are very aggressive. With blades and spoons you occasionally hook some fish in the chin or outside the mouth. You have to use different cadences in the way you work each bait until you find what works at that time. With blades a pause is important IMO. With jigging raps I like to let it hit bottom. Hitting bottom with some snaggy bottoms is not a good thing for anyone other than the tackle shop so in that case you must time the fall and pump the bait before it hits, never letting it hit bottom. One trick with jigging raps is to remove the nose hook. It will snag less when casting and retrieving. I leave it when vertical jigging.
Alum is rather clean around most main lake breaks and so I love to let the baits stir up the mud.
Hoover is clean also except some old stumps on the breaks and near the old creek channels. Found Saugeyes in the fall a few years back concentrated near a roadbed and schools of baby crappies. I caught and released 19 while a friend fished in his boat right beside me. He was using live minnows. I left a bit early so he could fish the exact same spot. He never caught a fish. I offered him a couple of baits but he was sure they would start eating those fatheads. The fish puked up baby crappies all over my boat. I went back the next day and it was the same program. Triggering fish is really effective and fun when you find the fish concentrated. When they are scattered on flats then some horizontal presentations like trolling are more efficient.


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## sixtyminutes

So how do you guys fish shallow water in Central OH reservoirs? It looks like some of you are swim bait and jerk bait experts. What presentations work for you and in what situations?


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## Saugeyefisher

sixtyminutes said:


> So how do you guys fish shallow water in Central OH reservoirs? It looks like some of you are swim bait and jerk bait experts. What presentations work for you and in what situations?


Pretty much the same way I fish alum and Hoover except swallower.... late Feb. Early march I'll start fishing mainlake areas with harder bottom. Swimbaits,stickbaits at night,and traps/blade baits both vertical and casted. As it warms more the number of big fish go down but over all numbers come up. As the Jack's start piling in to spawn. At this time if you can find a hungry school anything will gettem... after the spawn come mid april thru June I'll start casting shad raps and jigs covering water looking for saugeyes taking advantage of everything else spawning. Come summer I lay off the shallow lakes an fish more rivers and alum. But they can still be had at the shallow lakes. In the dawg days look for current×boat traffic×shad hatches= saugeye willing to bite most anything,but a swim or tail tipped with a worm is hard to beat. 
Come September I'll start venturing to the shallow lakes again repeating everything done in spring except in opposite order. 
I'm fishing from the bank or a kayak,so I dont troll cranks or harnesses but if I had a boat i would also incorporate that into my mid spring thru mid fall arsenal....
This is a quick simple rundown...


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## sixtyminutes

I'm doing the same things at those times of the year except the switching to rivers part. Your comment about the post spawn period is right on with my experience. Saugeyes will be shallow trying to take advantage of the other fish spawning. I fish for saugeyes in the early spring like some guys fish for bass. Jerkbaits up real shallow. A Shad Rap or Flicker Shad out to about 10ft. Mix in Swimbaits and Jigs to cover the bottom. I look for active fish. Usually hopping from point to point and hitting any area that has spawning fish. Saugeyes will always be near the food unless they are looking for love.


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## Saugeyefisher

sixtyminutes said:


> I'm doing the same things at those times of the year except the switching to rivers part. Your comment about the post spawn period is right on with my experience. Saugeyes will be shallow trying to take advantage of the other fish spawning. I fish for saugeyes in the early spring like some guys fish for bass. Jerkbaits up real shallow. A Shad Rap or Flicker Shad out to about 10ft. Mix in Swimbaits and Jigs to cover the bottom. I look for active fish. Usually hopping from point to point and hitting any area that has spawning fish. Saugeyes will always be near the food unless they are looking for love.


It sure is a fun time of year,I've come to enjoy it as much as I do the fall bite. Especially on a lake like alum with all the different species. We usually dip for crappies until the sun gets high and hot or until the wind starts ripping in the afternoon then start casting for saugeyes. Picking up bonus bass,whitebass,muskie,catfish.


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## sixtyminutes

1basshunter said:


> View attachment 338915
> View attachment 338917
> Sorry I forgot to tell you where I got them at I hope this helps
> I am not saying it is a magical But they are something that should be in your arsenal just my opinion


So the package with the AM Fishing Lures comes in the mail today. I opened the mailing envelope and immediately I smell garlic bread. The image flashed to mind and I even looked around the kitchen expecting to see some italian food cooking. I forgot all about the garlic scent. The most realistic garlic scent ever. I can't wait to use these. Thanks 1basshunter!


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## 1basshunter

sixtyminutes said:


> So the package with the AM Fishing Lures comes in the mail today. I opened the mailing envelope and immediately I smell garlic bread. The image flashed to mind and I even looked around the kitchen expecting to see some italian food cooking. I forgot all about the garlic scent. The most realistic garlic scent ever. I can't wait to use these. Thanks 1basshunter!


Just put me in your will  
And don’t tell everyone about them it will be are Secret


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## sixtyminutes

I just had these installed to help me deal with the skiers on Alum.


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## polebender

You’ll need a bigger boat!


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## Southernsaug

Hey when you clean Alum can I hire you for a weekend at Rocky Fork......you won't need any bigger guns you'll be cleaning out Jet Skis


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## sixtyminutes

If any of you OGFers are going to attend the Columbus Fishing Expo this weekend stop by the Kids Casting Contest. I will be helping the Youth Anglers of Ohio run the contest. If you have kids they could win a new rod and reel. It would be great to meet the folks that comment here.


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## sixtyminutes

So went to Alum Sat. 3-7-20. The high air temp for Sat was about 40 but the wind was mild. Surface water temps were 38 in the main lake. The warmest water I found was 41 and muddy back in the back of a large cove. I did a lot of looking for fish as I really wanted to get a sense for the locations holding fish in the winter. The majority of the fish, baitfish and larger fish, were deep. 30 feet and deeper. I did see some large fish suspended at 18 to 25 ft. over 30 to 40 feet of water. They were rare. The best concentrations of fish were holding near a sharp break. Right at the base of a sharp drop off where a shallow point or flat drops into the main lake was a key holding spot for both bait and larger fish. I saw almost no fish shallow but they could be laying in the old milfoil that is in the shallows on Alum. The only way I could get bit was by vertical jigging. Only caught a few. Very slow. It won't be long and fish will make a move to warmer shallow water. I only saw three other boats. I could get used to that.


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## sixtyminutes

I will be hitting Alum this Sunday 3-15-20. Our Church canceled services for the next couple of weeks so, weather permitting, I will be fishing on Sundays a bit earlier in the day than usual. It is snowing now in New Albany. Sure hope it's dry at least tomorrow. Cold fronts in winter make the fish group up so it could be a good day if it's not too windy. Guessing they will still be deep. We will see.


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## sixtyminutes

If anyone is getting out this weekend it would be good to hear some reports from Central Oh lakes and streams. It's a little too quiet.


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## J.H.

sixtyminutes said:


> If anyone is getting out this weekend it would be good to hear some reports from Central Oh lakes and streams. It's a little too quiet.


I’m pretty new to OGF, and I’ve learned a lot from reading the generous advice offered by experience fishermen here. In fact, everything I know about saugeye fishing has come from this site. I’m also new to saugeye fishing, so I’m no expert. However, yesterday evening (3/14) I headed out for a bit and landed a 20.5” and a 15” (Alum creek - the creek, not the lake). Both came on a HJ 12 (clown) slow rolled.


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## sixtyminutes

J.H. said:


> I’m pretty new to OGF, and I’ve learned a lot from reading the generous advice offered by experience fishermen here. In fact, everything I know about saugeye fishing has come from this site. I’m also new to saugeye fishing, so I’m no expert. However, yesterday evening (3/14) I headed out for a bit and landed a 20.5” and a 15” (Alum creek - the creek, not the lake). Both came on a HJ 12 (clown) slow rolled.


Nice. Good to know they were willing to eat. They should be staging in streams near areas where they can pretend to spawn or barriers that stop their travel upstream like dams. A few more weeks and they will do the same in the lakes.


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## ShoreFshrman

Got these gills at Alum, night crawler/ slip bobber setup about 3.5 to 4 ft.on the 12th They were slow to take it but once on fought pretty good. I believe I had a bass(definite non gill) on, only only saw the underside of a tail for a split second before he spit the hook. Still a better day than I had expected, made for a nice fish fry on friday


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## 1basshunter

I was fishing yesterday night and the big girls where out got 4 and some perch also all on a Swimbait slow rolling back 3.25 green glow perch!!!


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## sixtyminutes

It's always good to get on the water. The south pool is close to 42 now. I hit some 44 degree water up in the center pool near the mouth of Big Run. The wind made it hard to fish and made it brutally cold. Running down the lake can only be described as "refreshing" when there is snow on the ground. I found bait and lots of larger fish. I struggled though to get them to eat anything I was trying to feed them. The fish are now suspending over deep water and in the coves. I could not find anything shallow on the side scan or by fishing. I caught a couple a big crappies and a bunch of white bass vertical jigging. Not being able to feel your fingers is the worst part of winter fishing. If anyone has found gloves that really work well even when wet let me know. Check out the crappie with a 1/2oz sonar sideways in his mouth. He had the right kind of attitude. Saw a few of these 4 inch shad floating on the surface. That could have been some of the bait I marked in that area. Big bait balls in a couple deep coves and in Big Run.


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## crappietime

sixtyminutes said:


> It's always good to get on the water. The south pool is close to 42 now. I hit some 44 degree water up in the center pool near the mouth of Big Run. The wind made it hard to fish and made it brutally cold. Running down the lake can only be described as "refreshing" when there is snow on the ground. I found bait and lots of larger fish. I struggled though to get them to eat anything I was trying to feed them. The fish are now suspending over deep water and in the coves. I could not find anything shallow on the side scan or by fishing. I caught a couple a big crappies and a bunch of white bass vertical jigging. Not being able to feel your fingers is the worst part of winter fishing. If anyone has found gloves that really work well even when wet let me know. Check out the crappie with a 1/2oz sonar sideways in his mouth. He had the right kind of attitude. Saw a few of these 4 inch shad floating on the surface. That could have been some of the bait I marked in that area. Big bait balls in a couple deep coves and in Big Run.


Nice crappies. Are you still catching them 30 ft deep and near the bottom? I'm fishing caesar creek today and I'm prepared to fish 3ft to 30ft. I find that this time of year can be difficult because they can be at any depth.


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## sixtyminutes

crappietime said:


> Nice crappies. Are you still catching them 30 ft deep and near the bottom? I'm fishing caesar creek today and I'm prepared to fish 3ft to 30ft. I find that this time of year can be difficult because they can be at any depth.


The crappies in those photos came from an area that had 25 feet of water with a roadbed that tops out at 17 at the current water level. There was a large school of 3-4 inch white bass near also. Crappie are a fish that I can sometimes, not always , ID on the Hummers. Mega imaging is amazing. If I were targeting crappie this early I would look for fish in water from 15' to 30' deep near the spawning spots. I think they will be staging very soon for the spawn. They will concentrate on the first major break into deep water near the bedding areas. Those crappies were both over 14". Never had one choke a 1/2 oz. sonar until Sunday. A crappie needs a pretty big mouth to do that. It was interesting that fish were starting to suspend in Alum. If I had another day to fish I would have tried trolling to see if I could get those high fish to eat. Still plenty of fish in deep water too. Because the wind was so bitter cold I tried to find fish in sheltered areas rather than fishing the best spots. But it's supposed to be fun right?


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## Snookhunter52

I caught some crappie in the gravel pits in newark last Thursday using a standard float and 1/16 crappie jigs. It was the first time catching crappie that way and it was more fun than I anticipated. Caught about a dozen but only 2 were above 9 inches.


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## sixtyminutes

Hit Alum Sunday 3-22-20. The main lake temp was 42 and we found some muddy 44, almost 45 degree water, in the coves and in Big Run. We could not get bit in the mud. Lot's of fish and plenty of bait but whatever they were they were not willing to take a swing at the stuff we offered. We did catch saugeyes and smallies in the clear water in the south pool. I caught mine on a 3/8 oz. white,yellow, and orange bucktail jig. My fishing partner caught his on a 1/2 oz. sonar in fire tiger. We caught them in water that ranged from 17 feet to 40 feet deep. Best spots were at the base of steep drop offs near flats at the mouth of a cove. The saugeyes all came from 30 feet plus. A couple smallies came from the breaks into deeper water. There was bait on visible on the Hummers. Lot's of suspended fish on Sunday. I plan to troll for them and hopefully, see what they are as soon as I can get back out. Sunday it was cold and damp out on the water. The east wind was blowing into every place I wanted to fish. Fishing the main lake was brutal when you can't feel your fingers. Still, it was way better than riding the couch all day. I drove over Hoover on the way to Alum. It looked muddy in the south and middle pools. Hoover should be really good this year based on the fishing from last spring. I hope they put the docks in early.


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## sixtyminutes

Alum Sat.3-28-20. Main lake surface temps were 47. Found warmer but muddy water as warm as the low 50's. I was out to test some new gear rather than seriously fish. Got new Cisco rod holders and I put Sam's Pro Release line clips on my planer boards. I needed to make sure that all worked as expected. The quick release for the planer boards is pretty slick. It neutralizes the water resistance of the planer board as you reel in a fish so that you don't have to fight the fish and the planer. When you pop the line release the board goes right back and you can reel it up the center behind the other boards. I learned a few things so it was time well spent. I did look for fish with the electronics and fished briefly just in case they were snapping. They were not. It was interesting that the concentrations of fish in the deep (30ft plus) water had moved. There were a lot of fish suspended from 10 to 20 ft. Just a few fish on bottom in specific spots. I could not resist trolling for the suspended fish. Caught none. I got off the lake before the heavy rain hit.


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## sixtyminutes

Fished Hoover today. 4-25-20. Surface Water Temps are in the Mid 50's all over now. Water is still muddy but with about 12" visibility in the middle pool. More color in the north pool. The fish are not as shallow as I thought they would be. Marked almost every fish 15 ft and deeper. Water is a couple feet over full pool. Lots of flooded cover but I could not get bit shallow. At Hoover, I fish for saugeyes in this cold water like I fish for bass. Slow presentations. They like tubes and crawdad looking baits as much as the usual jerkbaits and crankbaits. The bass are healthy based upon this fat girl.


----------



## Dovans

That looks like the guy who hunts Alligators..


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## sixtyminutes

I'm much better looking than that guy. But gator is good food. Tastes like chicken.
Speaking of Gators. I am about ready to go "gator" hunting on Erie. Wallygators. Is anyone from Central Ohio interested in joining me? Send me a PM. We can trade phone numbers. My fishing buddy is recovering from a hip replacement.


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## sixtyminutes

Hoover is clearing up. If the wind slows down it might approach almost normal color by Sat. Crappies should be staging near the spawning areas. It's time for tiny jigs and slip bobbers with minnows on the first major break near the beds. It is going to be a good year for crappies. The saugeyes should be done pretending to spawn. They gotta be looking for a good meal on that same break.


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## sixtyminutes

sixtyminutes said:


> Hoover is clearing up. If the wind slows down it might approach almost normal color by Sat. Crappies should be staging near the spawning areas. It's time for tiny jigs and slip bobbers with minnows on the first major break near the beds. It is going to be a good year for crappies. The saugeyes should be done pretending to spawn. They gotta be looking for a good meal on that same break.


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## sixtyminutes

Hoover hit a high of 54 this afternoon. The water is still a bit muddy but clearing. The fish were still largely deeper than 15 ft. The shallows had few fish that I could see on the side scan. I spoke with a couple of bass fisherman that did catch a few small bank runners in the brush on a jig. I did manage to catch a few crappies on a minnow and a slip bobber. The bite was very slow, as in the bobber just kinda sinks under the water really slowly. Nice concentrations of fish but they weren't impressed with my little jigs at all. Hopefully they will eat tomorrow. The deeper fish were nice quality though.


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## sixtyminutes

Hoover on Sat. Water was still in the 53-54 degree range. The weatherman completely missed the wind forecast. It was really hard to fish in the spots holding the crappies. We managed to catch a few. The females were full of eggs. Nice size just a really slow bite. We found large concentrations of fish in the main lake near shore but in 15 to 20 FOW. They were in the windiest spot in the north end of the lake. We tried trolling for them and picked up a few. We did see some fish coming shallower back in coves, as the day progressed. The best way to catch those chilly crappies in 15 feet was to soak minnows on slip bobbers but the wind made that a challenge. I have not taken the spider rigging plunge but the technique of forward trolling minnows and jigs with long rods with heavy weights, would have likely been the best presentation. Turned out to be a good day for a sunburn.


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## Saugeyefisher

sixtyminutes said:


> Hoover on Sat. Water was still in the 53-54 degree range. The weatherman completely missed the wind forecast. It was really hard to fish in the spots holding the crappies. We managed to catch a few. The females were full of eggs. Nice size just a really slow bite. We found large concentrations of fish in the main lake near shore but in 15 to 20 FOW. They were in the windiest spot in the north end of the lake. We tried trolling for them and picked up a few. We did see some fish coming shallower back in coves, as the day progressed. The best way to catch those chilly crappies in 15 feet was to soak minnows on slip bobbers but the wind made that a challenge. I have not taken the spider rigging plunge but the technique of forward trolling minnows and jigs with long rods with heavy weights, would have likely been the best presentation. Turned out to be a good day for a sunburn.


Ya the wind was brutal saterday,we found some saugeyes on wind blown rocks with flicker shads.
Tgen sunday I took my daughter to Hoover for her first kayak trip. We fished the middle section. We caught alot of crappie on steep banks with wood on crappie jigs under a float. The females were back off a little suspending over deeper water. I had to help her alot so didnt fish a hole lot.
What a fun lake!


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## sixtyminutes

Hoover is pretty sweet for kayaks. No skiers and wake boarding. If sailboats were banned if would be a little slice of heaven. I'm kidding of course. We should have switched to saugeyes and started fishing the windy shores. We committed to crappies and it's just not warm enough. Perhaps the weather this week will allow the lakes to warm up a bit. So glad your daughter likes to fish. Appreciate that you took the time to let other central oh fishermen know what worked for you, or not. It all helps to solve the puzzle of fishing.


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## sixtyminutes

Alum 5-16-20. Surface temps were 58 this morning. Still pretty cold for mid May. At least the wind was mild today. Temps went as high as 62 in the middle pool. A bit cooler in the south. Fish were largely deep in the south. Lots of marks at 20-25 feet. Few shallower. Now you know some fish are shallow but the schools are still deep. Lots of bait visible on the side and down scan. Fish in the middle section were higher and more active. The water was stained from the winds and the ski boats today. Caught a bunch of Saugeyes. Most small. A handful of keepers if I were keeping them but a don't usually. Good day to work on the sunburn.


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## sixtyminutes

Almost forgot. I saw one of those deadly Hornets recently. I don't think this one is from Asia.


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## sixtyminutes

There were a lot of folks fishing today. Let's hear some reports.


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## ristorap

sixtyminutes those are some nice saugeyes that you caught.


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## Morrowtucky Mike

Crappie on fire


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## 6pack

Nice catch sixtyminuts. I stayed in the south pool were the fish were practicing social distancing. I ended up with only one white bass and lost a very small eye at the boat. I fished from 7:30 -2:00. Marked a lot of fish deep 25' and at the top of drop offs. Water temp was 58 and got up to 60 at 2:00 when the non fishermen ran me off the lake. Even if I new how to ski. The water is a little to cold for me to jump in or maybe I'm just getting old. I talked to a few bass fishermen that did better in the middle pool. Not sure what the rain in the next few days is going to do to the lake. If I don't make it to Lake Erie next weekend I may hit Alum again.


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## 1basshunter

Fished buckeye yesterday with my wife and my drunk ( A ) brother with his girl friend .

Fishing was decent lots of willing dinks eyes out and playing and the bass where on Fire!!!! Did not se much of Anything else being Caught. For the eyes big Joshy in the orange soda pop and Solar flare in the 2.75 for the bass that we caught I was using a cheap Wal-Mart square bill Fire tiger


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## sixtyminutes

Nice to hear about Buckeye. It should be happening there with this warmer weather. Good report.


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## sixtyminutes

Went back to Alum this morning. Surface temps were 62 and I found 68 way up in Big Run. Same program on Saugeye. I used #7 Flicker Shads and trolled them at 14-15 ft deep. I can get them that deep on 10 lb braid. Caught lots of dinks. The future looks good. I crappie fished for a couple hours also. The jig bite was slow for me. I watched a couple guys catch a dozen or so while I caught 4. They were using minnows real shallow. Right up against the bank but near wood. The bank in that area has plenty of wood tight to the shore. Anyway, I caught a few good ones but lost a ton of jigs. I don't like monkeying around with bait. Saugeyes were more cooperative for me.


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## ristorap

1basshunter I like the cheap walmart cranks it does not hurt so bad when I lose them.


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## 1basshunter

ristorap said:


> 1basshunter I like the cheap walmart cranks it does not hurt so bad when I lose them.


That’s for sure!


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## Morrowtucky Mike

ristorap said:


> 1basshunter I like the cheap walmart cranks it does not hurt so bad when I lose them.


Watch sales. I seldom spend more than $2-3 on flicker shads


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## sixtyminutes

I'm like Mike. I buy Flickers on sales. They get cheap sometimes during the winter months. I saw a great idea for retrieving snagged lures. Attach a Hound Dog lure retriever, available at Bass Pro, to a retractable dog lease. Get the longest one you can buy. I just saw a you tube video by a bass pro. I can't remember his name. I can't locate the vid either for some reason.


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## lacdown

sixtyminutes said:


> Went back to Alum this morning. Surface temps were 62 and I found 68 way up in Big Run. Same program on Saugeye. I used #7 Flicker Shads and trolled them at 14-15 ft deep. I can get them that deep on 10 lb braid. Caught lots of dinks. The future looks good. I crappie fished for a couple hours also. The jig bite was slow for me. I watched a couple guys catch a dozen or so while I caught 4. They were using minnows real shallow. Right up against the bank but near wood. The bank in that area has plenty of wood tight to the shore. Anyway, I caught a few good ones but lost a ton of jigs. I don't like monkeying around with bait. Saugeyes were more cooperative for me.


Great job! I usually use 12 lb fireline with jointed rapala shad raps. Was wondering what speed and distance back from boat you use to get them down to 15 foot deep? I believe I usually only get them down to less than 10 feet at 3 mph about 30 yards back. Thanks in advance. 

Sent from my SM-G973U1 using Tapatalk


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## Morrowtucky Mike

lacdown said:


> Great job! I usually use 12 lb fireline with jointed rapala shad raps. Was wondering what speed and distance back from boat you use to get them down to 15 foot deep? I believe I usually only get them down to less than 10 feet at 3 mph about 30 yards back. Thanks in advance.
> 
> Sent from my SM-G973U1 using Tapatalk


Takes around 140’ of line to get 15’ down. Usually if I’m fishing that deep I switch to flicker minnows. About 75’ back will get you 15’ down with them. I’m usually running 2.5-3 mph.


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## ristorap

I just looked up the Rapala jointed shad rap it will dive 15 ft with 90 ft of line out. That is on braid.


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## Morrowtucky Mike

ristorap said:


> I just looked up the Rapala jointed shad rap it will dive 15 ft with 90 ft of line out. That is on braid.


I can’t afford to lose 30-40 Rapala’s a year


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## sixtyminutes

Ok. With the floods of the rivers and local lakes you may not be fishing lately. I wanted to mention an app that I have been using to determine trolling depths for crankbaits. Most folks are maybe familiar with the Precision Trolling App. It's fantastic but it is over $100.00 now for the lifetime subscription. This is an alternative. It's called Troll Master Depth Calculator. It only costs $19.99 for a lifetime subscription. You can see the details on You Tube. There's a video for everything these days. A few months of experience tell me that it is very accurate if you put in all the variables. I want to really put it to the test this summer when trolling becomes my go to way to search for fish on our local lakes. This calculator adjusts for different lines and in-line weights. You can calculate how deep your worm harnesses are running. They keep adding new baits to the data base all the time. This is very cool technology.


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## Andrew$

Hit the scioto river on Monday late in the afternoon trying to catch some smb/lmb and only managed to catch two smb, and a bunch of saugeyes. I was using big joshy swimbaits (the two smb on the grey color and the saugeyes with the small, pink swimbaits for crappy and smb). 
Question: Any other rivers, streams, or lakes close to Columbus where I can find some largemouth? Don’t get me wrong, I love catching saugeye but I’m kinda new to freshwater and want to target other species. After catching a 10lb largemouth somewhere on my drive to Canada, I really want to target them more.


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## Dovans

sixtyminutes said:


> Ok. With the floods of the rivers and local lakes you may not be fishing lately. I wanted to mention an app that I have been using to determine trolling depths for crankbaits. Most folks are maybe familiar with the Precision Trolling App. It's fantastic but it is over $100.00 now for the lifetime subscription. This is an alternative. It's called Troll Master Depth Calculator. It only costs $19.99 for a lifetime subscription. You can see the details on You Tube. There's a video for everything these days. A few months of experience tell me that it is very accurate if you put in all the variables. I want to really put it to the test this summer when trolling becomes my go to way to search for fish on our local lakes. This calculator adjusts for different lines and in-line weights. You can calculate how deep your worm harnesses are running. They keep adding new baits to the data base all the time. This is very cool technology.


Tried the free version.... Tried one lure, put in the data, then it said I had to upgrade to the paid version to see the results. Phfft


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## sixtyminutes

Lacdown- Sorry I missed your question until now. With 10# Braid have to put out 157 ft of line out to reach 15 feet deep. To get a #7 Flicker Shad Speed much deeper than 15 or 16 it is easier to just add an in line weight. The line length gets close to 200 ft to hit 18. Speed is around 2 mph. I will speed up and slow down a bit. I use the 9.9 kicker to push and the Minnkota to steer and vary the speed. As you troll, you can find out just how deep the lure really is as you touch bottom at known depths.


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## sixtyminutes

Dovans said:


> Tried the free version.... Tried one lure, put in the data, then it said I had to upgrade to the paid version to see the results. Phfft


If you want to test it let me know. I imagine we fish the same water fairly often. I can't justify the Precision Trolling cost and the fact that it is tied for life to the device ID number. I thought 20 bucks was worth the risk based upon the reviews. I'm happy with the results so far. In warmer water seasons I troll a lot.


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## Lil Crappie

I troll flicker#7s with 6lbs. mono at 2.5 mph, and only touch down at 11’ with 150 ft out? But catch fish in 15’ of water. Saugeyes look up.


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## sixtyminutes

I sure hope Saugeyes look up. An often repeated rule for open water trolling for Walleyes is to never run your baits below the fish. I have heard that they will not go deeper to hit a bait but they will rise up to eat a bait. That rule applies to Walleyes. Then some folks say to fish right down on the bottom when Saugeye fishing. My own experience is a mix of those rules. I have caught Saugeyes that were obviously suspended in open water. And some days the best way to trigger strikes was to bounce a crankbait off the bottom. So I suspect the real answer is that fish sometimes surprise us. In Central OH reservoirs the main forage is Shad. If a Saugeye wants to eat regularly it needs to be able to chase down shad and that means foraging in open water. It does seem best to always run your bait right at the depth the fish are at or just above them. Never below them.


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## lacdown

I've seen them come up on floating jerkbaits before ...

Sent from my SM-G973U1 using Tapatalk


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## BrandonMiller526

Went to Alum looking for saugeye, not a one. Got 6 smallmouth, 2 largemouth, a channel, and 10+ rock bass. Large mouth were both at 15 inches, not much size to smallies.


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## sixtyminutes

Weekend fishing report. I went to Alum Sat morning. Surface Temp was 72. Muddy in the middle pool with much better clarity in the south. Lots of fish and bait out in the main lake now. The white bass were all over my crankbaits. I was targeting 13-15 FOW. Using #7 Flicker Shads mostly. Caught a handful of Saugeyes. Lots of crappies and dozens of white bass. At least the white bass were nice sized. Had to leave though around noon. The skiers and jet skies made fishing main lake points really difficult. I am puzzled by the irresistable need to ski close to shore. The ramps were a zoo when I left.


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## sixtyminutes

Sunday at Hoover. Water was not too muddy but there was lots of wood floating from the high water. Same as Alum. Hoover is never clear, it has a dark green tint always. Surface temps at 72. Lots of fish out on the main lake points and the flats. I started with Flicker Shads and caught one yellow perch during my first trolling run despite being in lots of fish. I switched over to 200 Rip Shads. They are a much smaller profile but still get down around the 15 FOW that had the best marks. I caught Saugeye within minutes of making the switch. And crappie. Holy moly. Lots of 10 to 12 inch crappies. Must have caught 40. Best colors were Chartreuse and white. And Silver with a black back. White caught three of the Saugeye. The catfish were out on the flats too. I caught only Blues for some reason. There had to be plenty of Channels in those same spots. My carpet is covered with dried slime. I fished until 2:00. It was a real pleasant day compared to the Alum goat roping festival. Except for the slime and the torn up crankbaits. I need to replace some hooks. Those cats are tough on them. All C&R.


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## Athens_Smallmouth

sixtyminutes said:


> Sunday at Hoover. Water was not too muddy but there was lots of wood floating from the high water. Same as Alum. Hoover is never clear, it has a dark green tint always. Surface temps at 72. Lots of fish out on the main lake points and the flats. I started with Flicker Shads and caught one yellow perch during my first trolling run despite being in lots of fish. I switched over to 200 Rip Shads. They are a much smaller profile but still get down around the 15 FOW that had the best marks. I caught Saugeye within minutes of making the switch. And crappie. Holy moly. Lots of 10 to 12 inch crappies. Must have caught 40. Best colors were Chartreuse and white. And Silver with a black back. White caught three of the Saugeye. The catfish were out on the flats too. I caught only Blues for some reason. There had to be plenty of Channels in those same spots. My carpet is covered with dried slime. I fished until 2:00. It was a real pleasant day compared to the Alum goat roping festival. Except for the slime and the torn up crankbaits. I need to replace some hooks. Those cats are tough on them. All C&R.


Nice work. I fished Hoover over the weekend as well Saturday and Sunday from my kayak. I spent most of my time casting at points with twister tails and Joshy's. Picked up a limit of good eater saugeyes on Saturday as well as some largemouth, one 18", but the rest dinks. Also got some crappie and white bass to hit. Sunday was slower for me. First cast curse must be real, because I got a nice saugeye on my first cast and nothing after that casting. Had to switch to trolling and picked up some nice crappie and white bass and then called it quits. I recently put a trolling motor on my kayak, so I plan to dial in my trolling this year.


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## Saugeyefisher

Athens_Smallmouth said:


> Nice work. I fished Hoover over the weekend as well Saturday and Sunday from my kayak. I spent most of my time casting at points with twister tails and Joshy's. Picked up a limit of good eater saugeyes on Saturday as well as some largemouth, one 18", but the rest dinks. Also got some crappie and white bass to hit. Sunday was slower for me. First cast curse must be real, because I got a nice saugeye on my first cast and nothing after that casting. Had to switch to trolling and picked up some nice crappie and white bass and then called it quits. I recently put a trolling motor on my kayak, so I plan to dial in my trolling this year.


The bite also slowed for me from saterday to Sunday.... but I fully expected it to slow a little with that change in weather conditions. Saterday was hot and muggy. Sunday was a little cooler an way less humidity a summer time cold front. I dont think it's the change in water temps,because they didnt change that drastically, at least at the depth the fish hang out at. But rather the pressure. This time of year there is something about the hot,more muggy days with saugeye fishing. 
I imagine there will be a great feeding window tomarrow why I'm at work.

On another note,its great to here of good saugeye catches from hoover,considering how tuff the saugeye fishing was just 2-3 years ago at hoover.


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## sixtyminutes

Took a few days vacation and went to Lake Erie. I had Tue off after we got home so I went to Hoover. It's not Erie. Still, it was a pleasant day. Hoovers surface temp was 72 early. Water was kinda clear for Hoover. Although there was an algae bloom and cottonwood seed issue. The water at the ramp was bright green but it did clear up later in the day as the wind blew it into the western shore. There was no end to the cottonwood seeds. I went through a progression of crank baits as the majority of good marks were around the 15 to 20 ft depths. The best baits for me were 200 Reef Runner Rip Shads. Running near 15 feet. Best colors were orange with a chrome gold belly and Glow. A bait that is close in color to Fire Tiger caught fish also. I guess they wanted bright colors. I caught 4 keeper sized Saugeye and 3 dinks, but I was not keeping fish. 7 cats. 4 blues and 3 channels. Lot of Crappies. Crappie fisherman must be happy this year. For you trollers who would like to keep cottonwood seeds from fouling your lures, I put a large bead on my main line right above the snap swivel that I attach my leader to. It catches all the junk while your lure action is unaffected. So while the fishing was not the same as Erie, the waves were a lot milder on Hoover. Those of you who tried to fish Erie on Sunday know what I am talking about. By the way we limited in about 4 hrs each day. Bandits north of Kellys.


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## Vin

Fished Killbuck Marsh for a few hours, caught some LMB and a handful bowfin. Had a nice northern pike bite me off







. Used live minnows (mosquitofish and golden shiners) and small spinnerbaits


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## sixtyminutes

Fished Hoover Sat. Started at first light. It was a warm one today. Surface temp was 77 by noon. The algae bloom is still a thing. The water was pretty clear for Hoover otherwise. I started trolling with Reef Runner 200 Rip Shads. I caught fish all day long. Orange back with gold chrome was hot today. I was running them at 15 ft. it took 165ft of braid to get that deep. The larger fish on the hummin birds were moving a bit deeper than they were Tue. If they start hanging out any deeper I will need to add some weight or switch cranks. I tried fishing shallower but could not catch anything but crappies. I was targeting eyes and ended up catching 7 keepers and 6 hammer handles. All C&R. Crappies were hammering the Rip Shads. Must have caught 40. Only caught 3 cats before a major location change and then caught none, which is a blessing IMO. Those big cats tear up my baits and leaders. I found it interesting that I caught all my keeper eyes during late morning and mid day. I did not expect that. I could have slept in if I had have known that. I also noticed the bait forming large schools around that time. I rarely leave biting fish but the heat and sun talked me into it today. The summer peak is here.


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## Shad Rap

sixtyminutes said:


> Fished Hoover Sat. Started at first light. It was a warm one today. Surface temp was 77 by noon. The algae bloom is still a thing. The water was pretty clear for Hoover otherwise. I started trolling with Reef Runner 200 Rip Shads. I caught fish all day long. Orange back with gold chrome was hot today. I was running them at 15 ft. it took 165ft of braid to get that deep. The larger fish on the hummin birds were moving a bit deeper than they were Tue. If they start hanging out any deeper I will need to add some weight or switch cranks. I tried fishing shallower but could not catch anything but crappies. I was targeting eyes and ended up catching 7 keepers and 6 hammer handles. All C&R. Crappies were hammering the Rip Shads. Must have caught 40. Only caught 3 cats before a major location change and then caught none, which is a blessing IMO. Those big cats tear up my baits and leaders. I found it interesting that I caught all my keeper eyes during late morning and mid day. I did not expect that. I could have slept in if I had have known that. I also noticed the bait forming large schools around that time. I rarely leave biting fish but the heat and sun talked me into it today. The summer peak is here.


Pics or it didn't happen...j/k...sounds like a fun day!


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## ristorap

The reef runner rip shad 400 will get deeper.


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## sixtyminutes

Alum this morning. 7-11-20. Got started early. Kinda nice launching with no waiting. I wanted to try trolling cranks in near shore to see if I could get in on any early shallow feeding. Started with #7 Flicker Shads and they worked so I stuck with them. Changed colors from time to time just to see if it mattered. The water was a bit stained maybe due to the recent rain. We got a 1/2 inch of rain in New Albany. I caught fish on natural colors (Shad) and on Firetiger. Everything worked. The crappie did show a preference for a jointed fire tail Flicker Shad. It's kind of a Perch color with a bright orange tail. Caught three crappie over 13 inches on it. Two Dink Saugeye and one keeper on it also. Not that I kept fish. All C&R. Caught 4 eyes over 15" and 4 hammer handles. Lots of crapppies, 3 cats and one white bass. I was trolling 9-12 ft of water connected to shore. I started trolling by using the electric only since I was shallow. The wind picked up however after the first couple of hours and the kicker had to be deployed. The bite slowed way down around noon so I pulled in the rods and ran down to the beach for a swim. Water is mid 80's. Bath water. Nice day on Alum.


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## sixtyminutes

Fished Alum Friday 7-17 early. My buddy and I caught a bit of everything except Musky and Carp. We started trolling a mix of #7 Flicker Shads and 3/8 oz. Hot n Tots. Trying to keep the 4 lines separated by dive curves. It almost worked until the end of the fishing day we had a big white bass get into his other line and we had a tangle to behold. Had to give up and cut it. One notable fish was a 3lb largemouth. A nice surprise. Came out of 15 fow. We caught a lot of nice crappies and saugeyes but the bite stopped around midday. Just as well. The boat traffic was making it hard to troll. Early we caught fish in 10 - 12 fow. By late morning we were doing better 12-16 ft.
The best Flicker colors were a fire-tiger jointed Fire Tail. We both ended up using it. The hot n tot with chartreuse/ chrome and fire tiger were best. Should have taken some photos.


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## sixtyminutes

Fished Sat. 7-18. Caught a bunch of smaller saugeyes in a different part of the lake. A few crappies. Great marks on the electronics but they were not eating my baits. I caught two saugeyes on a Shiver Minnow which is like a jigging rap. Very different day with different results. The beach was great however. Water is 83. Got off the lake around 1:00. It gets too crazy for me on a weekend by mid day.


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## sixtyminutes

Alum Sat. Morning.


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## sixtyminutes

Hoover Sunday 7-19 early. Started trolling #7 Flicker Shads in 9-12 FOW on the flats and points. Caught a Walleye. Since Walleyes are new to Hoover I thought I would take a photo. Plus, I need to occasionally put a photo or 2 in these reports for that guy that always replies " pics or it didn't happen". I don't really care to go to the trouble most days. I would rather just make sure the fish is healthy and released in good condition. Anyway, I did not photograph them all. I am just too lazy for that. The wind was strong after the sun came up. It made trolling a bit of a challenge and gave the batteries a good work out. I use the Minn Kota to steer while the kicker pushes. Still tough going into a 20 MPH wind.


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## float4fish

That’s a very nice 3 year old walleye!


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## Morrowtucky Mike

Didn’t they just start stocking walleye last year at Hoover?


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## cornfedboy3

Morrowtucky Mike said:


> Didn’t they just start stocking walleye last year at Hoover?


There have been walleye in Hoover ever since I was a kid, but we would see them caught below the dam in the pool and a half mile down in Walnut Creek!I caught my first there about 1978 on a silver rapala and was totally surprised!


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## float4fish

You sir are correct. I thought we were in year 3 for some reason.


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## night vision

The last time Hoover was stocked with walleye was in 1987, saugeye was introduced in 1988. The walleye stock will be evaluated after three years to decide how to move forward. The saugeye /walleye stocking info is available on the Hoover Fishing Report.


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## float4fish

So........not a walleye? I know the shad population is pretty big in Hoover, but is there any way a fingerling could get that size in just one year? That fish looks to be close to 18-20”.


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## Snookhunter52

Yes I was thinking they are likely saugeye. I've kept saugeye that are bronze like walleye when they're freshly caught. Then I notice they get darker and their saddles get more pronounced the longer they are on my stringer. I could still see some faint dark saddle splotches and there's spots on their dorsal fins in his pictures. Sometimes it gets tough to tell. The walleye there would be 10 to 14 inches at the largest.


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## sixtyminutes

I was not keeping score and not keeping fish. I did not measure them but I do measure a lot of Saugeye since there is a length limit on most central Oh lakes. (Not Hoover for some reason)
I caught 3 Walleye. More Saugeye. I included a photo of one Saugeye caught in the exact same area and depth. They don't look alike at all. Not even a little bit. The Walleye had no spots on the dorsal fins. Clear of spots. Not a Saugeye. I was shocked at the size which is why I took photos. I don't take many photos. Too lazy and taking photos in the bright sun is really tough. Hard to see if the photo shows the fish or my big behind. All of these Walleye were longer than 15" if I had to guess. Perhaps all that fertilizer run off from those big houses grows Walleyes really fast? That or the leaking septic tanks.


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## Dovans

Alum Creek was pretty slow today... So was the fishing.. 

Left lake at 12:30 and three fourths of the parking lot was empty..


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## sixtyminutes

I like it like that. Not the fishing but the boat traffic.


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## GC_Angler

Hey folks, new member here. I spend more time reading and gaining insight than posting. Little Walnut Creek action in the Fairfield/southeastern Franklin County areas has been pretty decent. I also have another Smallmouth honey hole that I'm sworn to secrecy on though, just a small and overlooked creek. If you blink when you drive over it, you'll miss it. Here's a few catches from over the weekend.


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## sixtyminutes

Wet wading small creeks is high quality fun IMO. An ultralight rod and reel and every fish is a blast. Thanks for taking the time to post GC.


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## sixtyminutes

Fished Hoover over the weekend. Folks have already mentioned the fish kill. Almost exclusively White Bass. It's summer. Hot water. This had to be some kind of White Bass plague. ODNR Fisheries personnel believe it was just that. It was gross and sad. The catfish were crushing my crankbaits as I fished for eyes. Those cats are tough on my baits and leaders. They pull hard though.


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## sixtyminutes

Fished Alum and Hoover this weekend. Tough fishing is my summary. Maybe it was the cold fronts and storms. Maybe operator error. If the goal was to catch enough catfish to wreck my crankbaits and slime my boats carpet, well, I excelled in surpassing that milestone. That was not my plan though. I did manage to catch a few eyes but I have never trolled and jigged through so many fish for so few bites. Is anyone catching them? Mine have all come during a narrow window of time. It's like they feed briefly and then digest most of the day. Even the old aggressive jigging to trigger them is having limited success. What is working guys? Help a brother out.
View attachment 371851


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## bassin mickey

Just got back from Hoover myself. Aug,17...pm....I must have been in your boat. Exactly the same results. No eyes and a lot of marks on the screen. Only two other boats that I saw all morning. Might tell us something.


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## sixtyminutes

Weather is not helpful either. I got off the lake Sunday before that rain came through. Probably missed the evening bite. There were informal bass tournaments going on. Anyone know the results?


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## polebender

Deerfarmer and myself fished Hoover on Saturday and ended up with 55 crappies. Took us all day to get those. Slowtrolled through some very large schools and they were just not very active. So many shad! This has been a strange summer for Hoover. Normally going through schools like that we would’ve caught 3 times as many. We did catch some really nice ones though.


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## CHOPIQ

Three of us bass fished alum Friday morning. We started on the south pool east side points. Had a few swing and misses on top water but no catches. We then tried the whole bank along the dam and not one bite. Then tried a couple more points and still nothing. Lastly we tried the north side of Cheshire road bank and I finally caught a fish. It was a 15” saugeye. Caught him on a tube. We tried everywhere from 5-20 feet and every bait we could think of. Top water, cranks, spinnerbaits, tubes and plastic worms but nothing. September can’t get here soon enough. Water color was good and about 80-82 everywhere we went.we did mark a lot of fish off the points in about 15’ of water. They looked like crappies.


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## Dovans

My wife wants to go fishing so I am taking her to Alum in the Morning. hopefully she will change my luck.


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## Workingman

I put my crappie stuff back in my work van today in anticipation of the fall bite.
Stopped at alum early morning 6:30ish.
I was pleasantly surprised to catch 4 crappie and 2 baby saugeye in about 30- 40 min. It should only get better from here! Love the fall! I used a small jig, half fish came on Bobby Garland baby shad, half on crappie magnet tipped with a nibble


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## Dovans

I was out yesterday and was quite surprised at how many dead fish there were. Saugeye mostly.


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## Snookhunter52

Dovans said:


> I was out yesterday and was quite surprised at how many dead fish there were. Saugeye mostly.


Alum? I would have expected that to happen at hoover but not alum.


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## Dovans

Snookhunter52 said:


> Alum? I would have expected that to happen at hoover but not alum.


Yup Alum... I was surprised myself. Water was not that hot.. (82f) Bunch of Buzzards on the banks as wwell.


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## Snookhunter52

Dovans said:


> Yup Alum... I was surprised myself. Water was not that hot.. (82f) Bunch of Buzzards on the banks as wwell.


Buzzards have to eat too I guess. I have a feeling it was due to lake turnover. It might come up in the news and ODNR might give a better explanation of what happened. It's a shame all those saugeye lake. It's a good lake to fish from October to March for that reason alone.


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## joel_fishes

Dovans said:


> I was out yesterday and was quite surprised at how many dead fish there were. Saugeye mostly.


Was out yesterday in the middle pool. We only saw dead white bass at both locations we fished.


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## Saugeyefisher

Snookhunter52 said:


> Buzzards have to eat too I guess. I have a feeling it was due to lake turnover. It might come up in the news and ODNR might give a better explanation of what happened. It's a shame all those saugeye lake. It's a good lake to fish from October to March for that reason alone.


I dont think lake turnover starts until the waters in the mid 50's when it becomes dense enuff to drop to the bottom. 

Prolly just low oxygen levels due to the heat this summer.


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## crittergitter

Yeah, we're no where near turnover! Is there an algae bloom? Could be adversely affecting the oxygen??


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## Jim white

I'm your the high water temp aren't helpin any plus more boater on the waters


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## Snookhunter52

Saugeyefisher said:


> I dont think lake turnover starts until the waters in the mid 50's when it becomes dense enuff to drop to the bottom.
> 
> Prolly just low oxygen levels due to the heat this summer.


I apologize I didn't really explain. Sudden torrential downpours during summer when oxygen levels are depleted due to warm water that is heavily stratified can cause a fish kill. During summer the thermocline is well pronounced and most fish stay at this thermocline because the water is cool and well oxygenated. When a heavy downpour occurs this punches through the thermocline scattering the oxygen. This causes a very localized abrupt turnover. The fish become disoriented trying to find the thermocline then stress out and die due to suffocation. I was working in sunbury and there was a heavy downpour. I work for a lake management company and have heard of this happening. We often tell customers that a bottom based aerator will keep a random fish kill from occurring.


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## bassin mickey

Damn!!! that explains what happened to me at OSU.


----------



## Hoover 4 Me

It was a suspected virus that only affected white bass that caused the white bass kill on Hoover...perhaps it was transmitted over to Alum by boats that both lakes?


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## sixtyminutes

At Hoover Sunday. The usual mixed bag of fish catches. Most came from trolling cranks in 15 to 18 feet. The fish were concentrated near that depth with a few exceptions. The crappies averaged larger than they have for a couple of weeks. The cats tore up my tackle. I caught just enough of Saugeye to keep me fishing. The water level is low now and that concentrates the fish and the fishermen. Kinda crowded at some spots. So, that's my fishing summary. I did notice one thing that I wanted to mention in this forum. There was a red pool noodle surrounding a 3ft piece of PVC pipe with a glowstick on top and a very large catfish on the end of the fishing line in the middle pool. Just east of the Red Bank ramp. It is a modern version of jug fishing I guess. It did have an address written on the PVC pipe. I could not read it and did not want to mess with someones fish catch. I really hope that the owner of said "Jug" harvests the fish. It would be a shame if that fish ends up as turtle chow. Jug fishing is legal and it looks like someone put some thought and time into it. The cat was big enough to easily pull the jug under. I hope the owner of the jug finds it.


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## skywayvett

I was also on the water Sunday ,mixed bag also got everything but a bass.


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## sixtyminutes

skywayvett said:


> I was also on the water Sunday ,mixed bag also got everything but a bass.


I assume you were bass fishing? The offshore spots that hold bass seemed to have boats on them Sunday. It's tough fishing with all the food in the lake. Same thing with Saugeyes. Tough to trigger those bites. The cats are always willing to play.


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## Saugeyefisher

Was going to wake up early today and fish a river,but about 1130 last nite it started coming down in buckets. 
So I turned off my alarm slept in till 7 an headed to buckeye lake with a couple spinning rods,hooks,and a fine mesh dip net to scoop up some shad. In case you havnt noticed the bait is EVERYWHERE! At every lake. Find a little current or some wind blown rocks an you'll find enuff to use for bait if you want. 
I found out fast they wanted it lively, and if it sat to long and lost its original color it took longer to get bit. I had 3 bites on a dead line with a sinker,and caught 20 on my rod with just a hook no weight. And I would catch fresh shad every 5 minutes(it was rediculously easy,or I would of just used half dead shad). They def wanted the real deal.Which makes since given the amount of shad right now. 
It was a ball,I only target channel cats 1,2,maybe 3 times a year. And have a blast every time! I had a bite every 3 or 4 minutes,tons of tangled line and slime. 
They averaged 15-20" with a couple better ones in between. No monsters though,just a numbers thing.


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## AKlo

Awesome day it sounds like. I haven't had a day like that in 3 years.....though I can't go very often.


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## Saugeyefisher

Did a quick buckeye trip. Shooting pontoons with a 1/32 oz bladed jighead with a silver sparkle bobby Garland baby shad. No bobber. Caught 19 channel cats 14-18",8 crappies 7-11", and lost count of bluegills. With about 12 gills being big "keepers". Tosses everything back knowing I got all fall to stock up!


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## sixtyminutes

Really late post from last weekend. I got distracted with a family cookout on Labor Day. Family get togethers are the best. Right up until the tornado comes through. Anyway, I went to Alum and Hoover during the long weekend. Results were kinda the same from both Lakes. 

Fishing for these. 








Catching these instead.













The fishing will get much better as soon as the water cools down a bit. I did think that the water levels at Hoover would rise since they had tons of rain North of Hoover Sunday night. Nope. It did not make much of a difference.


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## Workingman

Fall crappie are now available from shore! It's only gonna a get better from here! These are from hoover.
Bobby Garland baby shad tipped with a nibble


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## sixtyminutes

Hoover 10-3. Water temps were 64 and warmed up to 67 with the sun and almost no breeze today. Once the clouds left this morning it was nice and warm. I really need to put some screen shots on here. Un-believable marks. Still tons of bait. It was obvious that the water temps are equalizing throughout the depths as fish were everywhere. Fish in the deep basins and bait up high. The majority of the marks were in the 15ft to 20 ft zone. The larger fish were deep. 20 to 30 ft. Crappies are consolidating into bigger schools and stacking up on the drops. Fish were reluctant to hit in the morning. It picked up a bit as the sunshine got stronger. The highlight of the day was a 34"channel cat on a 1/2 oz. chrome Sonar. They pull hard. It's almost worth the slimey leader and broken baits. The other thing worth noting is that shad were dying. 3" long, perfectly healthy looking shad. The gulls were loving it. Does anyone know why shad would be dying in 60 degree water? I expect to see dying shad in the cold water of winter. I was in the middle pool. This is a bit of a mystery. Anyway, it won't be long with this cooler weather. Some of the best fishing happens this time of year as soon as the surface temps hit 60.


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## float4fish

Shad could be dying as the lake turns over and the oxygen levels change at the depths they are holding.


----------



## Southernsaug

shad are pretty sensitive to temperature shock and environmental changes. I think it's pretty normal to see them dying this time of year, especially the small ones.


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## sixtyminutes

Alum 10-24. Surface temp 60. Air temps in the 40's and that breeze was stiff today. Gave the trolling motor a work out today. Almost no boats. No skiers. It was chilly. Went looking for fish. Side scan showed almost no life shallower than 7ft. All the bait and gamefish were concentrated around 15 to 25 ft. There were fish deeper but I could not get them to play today. Caught a bit of everything. Crappies, bluegills, 21 saugeyes. All C&R. The carp was 26 inches. I thought that was a muskie. The largemouth was 22" long. A bit over 6 lbs. That came out of 23ft. I saw some bass fishermen beating the shallows. Did anyone catch anything up high? A fun day. Even with that wind. What a blessing anchor mode is on the Minnkota. Vertical jigging was what worked best. Blade baits and jigging raps. The best, by far today was a Rapala Flat Jig. It is a version of the jigging rap that has a flat main body. It is heavy. Must be 1.25oz. Tried to use spinning gear to fish them and it was brutal. Wore me out. Ended up using medium action 7 ft casting rod with 20 lb braid and a 20lb - 15" flouro leader.
Much easier on the wrist and arm. Got a lot of hits by bouncing the bait off the bottom and holding just above the bottom for a couple of seconds before ripping it again. Believe it or not. A big rip and letting the baits fall on a slack line is critical this time of year. They really react to that fast fall. It is funny how cold fronts do not bother fish in the fall and winter. Just the opposite of summer. Almost forgot the perch. Biggest was 11". Caught a handful of them. 
On a different subject. I am looking for a fishing partner from Central Oh for the occasional Lake Erie trip. PM me if interested.


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## Morrowtucky Mike

Awesome job!!


----------



## sixtyminutes

The grass needs mowed. The leaves need blowed and mulched. I got to Alum today around 2:00 this afternoon. Same program. There were still plenty of fish in the same spots as Sat. I can't say that I did much exploring today though. Pretty much have the lake to myself. Sailboaters and marina dock renters were taking their boats out for the season.They all have to run around the lake one last time so there were some nasty wakes from the tuna schooners. I fished a large main lake point and the area nearby. Fish were around 20 to 30 ft. The jigging rap was just as good as the flat jig today. Lost two flat jigs to snags. I hate that. Usually these heavy baits kind of act as their own plug knocker. But not always. The first fish today was a bluegill. Caught 14 Saugeyes and 4 yellow perch. This was fun even if it was brief. I enjoy catching fish on a jig. Especially if there is no live bait involved. I could not get hit on blade baits in the same area but the action was steady on the jigging raps. I usually do well with blades so that was interesting. Both orange and chartreuse worked.


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## Morrowtucky Mike

sixtyminutes said:


> The grass needs mowed. The leaves need blowed and mulched. I got to Alum today around 2:00 this afternoon. Same program. There were still plenty of fish in the same spots as Sat. I can't say that I did much exploring today though. Pretty much have the lake to myself. Sailboaters and marina dock renters were taking their boats out for the season.They all have to run around the lake one last time so there were some nasty wakes from the tuna schooners. I fished a large main lake point and the area nearby. Fish were around 20 to 30 ft. The jigging rap was just as good as the flat jig today. Lost two flat jigs to snags. I hate that. Usually these heavy baits kind of act as their own plug knocker. But not always. The first fish today was a bluegill. Caught 14 Saugeyes and 4 yellow perch. This was fun even if it was brief. I enjoy catching fish on a jig. Especially if there is no live bait involved. I could not get hit on blade baits in the same area but the action was steady on the jigging raps. I usually do well with blades so that was interesting. Both orange and chartreuse worked.


I’m going to order a handful of jigging raps and flat raps for saugeye. What sizes are recommended?


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## TClark

sixtyminutes said:


> I'm like Mike. I buy Flickers on sales. They get cheap sometimes during the winter months. I saw a great idea for retrieving snagged lures. Attach a Hound Dog lure retriever, available at Bass Pro, to a retractable dog lease. Get the longest one you can buy. I just saw a you tube video by a bass pro. I can't remember his name. I can't locate the vid either for some reason.


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## sixtyminutes

With Jigging Raps I use the #9, the largest which is 7/8 oz., the most. When shallower I sometimes use the #7 which is 5/8oz. 
The Flat Jig is heavier and it only comes in a #4 which is 9/16oz. And the #6 which is 1 3/16 oz. I use them both. Acme has their version called the Hyper Rattle. It has a rattle feature and it is very natural looking. I am going to buy a few when I can find them in stock somewhere. Ice fishing baits. Blades and spoons work too when the fish go deep. I believe I could catch a few on a plain jig and a big minnow if they are scattered on structure. What I was doing last weekend was finding a pod of fish and dropping a jigging rap on their head if I could. Usually caught fish quickly. I use spot lock to stay on top of them. But they would move and so would I. I'll be at Alum this Sat. God willing and if the weather permits. I expect to find the fish still deep. When the surface temps hit the low 50's some fish will come back shallow. Not many though. The predators will follow the bait. Baitfish like the temperature stability of deep water in winter. I hope the ramps don't freeze.


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## sixtyminutes

TClark, Awesome. You found it! It seems like a good idea. With the price of baits it should pay for itself quickly. I have something similar that I bought 25 yrs ago. I use it often.


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## TClark

Thanks for that tip!! It is a pain to use regular lure retrievers cause of the string. LOVE this idea!!


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## sixtyminutes

It's been awhile since I posted. Fishing Alum mostly since the docks got pulled at Hoover. It has been a mix of tough fishing and a few successful days. Since the water cooled down into the lower 40's it has been a grind to get the fish to bite. The majority of the biomass/ life in the south end of Alum has moved deep. Catching fish real deep can become a catch and keep deal and I am not a fan of that. I usually like to catch and release. So I have been exploring and mapping areas I don't fish regularly. Auto Chart Live is very cool. Learning a lot. Learning more and more about my side imaging. It's very cool too. You can't believe how many fish you drive by 2D sonar and never see. The main thing is that at this time or, maybe these water temps, I should have been fishing in a different portion of Alum. Not the south end. I will do my best to take a few screen shots to illustrate why. The other thing that becomes apparent when fishing in the winter is that it is difficult to dress warm enough. You can't move enough in a boat to get the blood circulating. If you see someone doing jumping jacks in his boat that might be me.😁


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## sixtyminutes

Here are some screen shots of what the Hummers are showing me.
I tried to show what the downscan looks like compared to the 2D sonar image. You can also see what the Auto Chart Live is recording. The locations are not really important. I could have shown you images like this all over that section of Alum. My theory is that the baitfish are in this area because the plankton. The water is "dirtier" than the south end. The larger fish are here because the bait is here. I hope to get out while I am on vacation around the holidays and fish if the weather will allow it. It is a real good time to map. I think I saw 2 boats all day. No wonder. It was cold and the wind was unpleasant. Figuring out how to get the data in my Helix units into my PC has been challenging too. I don't find this stuff to be intuitive.


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## jholbrook

That's really interesting. Did you chart the south pool at all?

You're right, for the fishermen I know, keepers have been few and far between in the south pool.


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## sixtyminutes

I did a lot of searching in the south pool. After going north it was clear that the majority of the fish, bait fish and predators, have left the south. I don't think I have seen this before. The wind , rain and low temps have kept me off the water lately. The Christmas cold snap is for real. I could deal with the cold but wind and cold is a little too much. Last year I did well in the south while the lake north of Big Run was iced up. I did not see fish concentrations like this near the ice. I thought it was interesting and I am curious if other anglers have seen this in the past. I am focusing primarily on Auto Chart Live for now. Just down loaded a software update and new Humminbird base map data that goes with the update. Maps are a huge download. It's recommended to go back to the default settings prior to loading the new software. So I might as well play around with all my settings and see if I can get them optimized. I also way point a lot of stumps and other structural features while there is no traffic. Jigging raps and blade baits are pretty snaggy. It helps to know that a spot has wood or other things that eat lures before I start vertical jigging. 

Not to change the subject too much but. What is going on with the Cheshire boat ramp? Right at the water line at this moment ( down 4 ft) they dumped big limestone gravel. Was the ramp washed out? I was wondering if ODNR was going to rebuild the ramp and parking lot? Uncle Sam has grant money available this year for new ramps and fishing access.
I am hoping someone knows something.


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## sixtyminutes

sixtyminutes said:


> I did a lot of searching in the south pool. After going north it was clear that the majority of the fish, bait fish and predators, have left the south. I don't think I have seen this before. The wind , rain and low temps have kept me off the water lately. The Christmas cold snap is for real. I could deal with the cold but wind and cold is a little too much. Last year I did well in the south while the lake north of Big Run was iced up. I did not see fish concentrations like this near the ice. I thought it was interesting and I am curious if other anglers have seen this in the past. I am focusing primarily on Auto Chart Live for now. Just down loaded a software update and new Humminbird base map data that goes with the update. Maps are a huge download. It's recommended to go back to the default settings prior to loading the new software. So I might as well play around with all my settings and see if I can get them optimized. I also way point a lot of stumps and other structural features while there is no traffic. Jigging raps and blade baits are pretty snaggy. It helps to know that a spot has wood or other things that eat lures before I start vertical jigging.
> 
> Not to change the subject too much but. What is going on with the Cheshire boat ramp? Right at the water line at this moment ( down 4 ft) they dumped big limestone gravel. Was the ramp washed out? I was wondering if ODNR was going to rebuild the ramp and parking lot? Uncle Sam has grant money available this year for new ramps and fishing access.
> I am hoping someone knows something.



Went and did some more mapping at Alum with Auto Chart yesterday since the winds were mild. The coves had ice as did the eastern shore in most spots. Thin ice but the Pro V is not an ice breaker so I tried to avoid it. That meant that some spots were not fully mapped. Nice thing about Auto Chart you can just leave it on while you fish and fill in any un-mapped spots. Water temps were 36 on the surface. With todays wind and rain I imagine all the ice is gone now. Sorry for you ice fisherman hoping for colder weather. Maybe in Jan. Spent all day in the south pool. Not many fish showed up to have their picture taken, but then I was not really trying to find fish. Only other boats were duck hunters. Those guys need to kill about 4 million of the local geese. I wish them luck. With Canada banning American hunters the migrating ducks and geese should be un- educated by the time they get here. For the shore fisherman. There is a very respectable volume of baitfish that seems to live in the marina cove. Some of the best bait that I side scanned in the south end. Lots of bait at the ramp cove also. Maybe I can get the maps done and fish if the weather behaves.


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## Dovans

Gees, I was thinking after you left, man that guy needs a Bimini with sides.. You ever think of putting one on your Lund?


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## sixtyminutes

On those hot summer days I think about it a lot. My next boat will have a bimini top at least. The sides would be great for cold water. Does anyone in central ohio do Bimini tops with sides?


----------



## Dovans

sixtyminutes said:


> On those hot summer days I think about it a lot. My next boat will have a bimini top at least. The sides would be great for cold water. Does anyone in central ohio do Bimini tops with sides?


My only saving grace with buying a new boat was having a Bimini top put on. Otherwise my wife would have chopped me into fine pieces for the coyotes. I asked about sides when mine was installed and the guy who did mine didnt think it was possible. I didnt look into it any further though.


----------



## sixtyminutes

Dovans said:


> My only saving grace with buying a new boat was having a Bimini top put on. Otherwise my wife would have chopped me into fine pieces for the coyotes. I asked about sides when mine was installed and the guy who did mine didnt think it was possible. I didnt look into it any further though.


I imagine the boat top shops up near Lake Erie could make sides for a bimini. I believe I have seen 18 -20 ft boats with a full canvas top. I think I saw an Alumacraft for sale that had a full vinyl enclosure. Something like that would be nice for running in cold weather. Might be hard to do much fishing without a lot of bother to get the canvas out of the way unless, you were exclusively trolling.


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## allbraid

Marriott Upholstery in Newark is a very good canvas/ boat cover shop. Might be worth a phone call


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## sixtyminutes

Thanks Allbraid.


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## sixtyminutes

On Sunday 3-14-21 Alum south pool was 41 and clear. Middle pool was 44 and stained but not muddy. Crappies are staging for the move to the shallows so look for them around 15 FOW or more but near the places they want to spawn. A minnow held above their heads is a good start right now. The wind had a nasty bite to it. Glad I overdressed for the cold. We need a couple of warm nights to make them move up. Wish that global warming would get here.


----------



## Dovans

sixtyminutes said:


> On Sunday 3-14-21 Alum south pool was 41 and clear. Middle pool was 44 and stained but not muddy. Crappies are staging for the move to the shallows so look for them around 15 FOW or more but near the places they want to spawn. A minnow held above their heads is a good start right now. The wind had a nasty bite to it. Glad I overdressed for the cold. We need a couple of warm nights to make them move up. Wish that global warming would get here.


Its here just ask them in Colorado or Wyoming 😁 😁


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## 1basshunter

At buckeye they are just off the rip raps maybe a foot or so off them using a bobber and a small jig 6 to 8 inches down and the bluegills are there also


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## Morrowtucky Mike

Got them from shore Saturday at Delaware. 8fow in their typical staging areas if you know Delaware at all. Been catching them there in March for years. Plenty of company lol. Double tube rig 12 and 18” under a float. Typical colors, red/white, blue/white and black/chartreuse. Jig jig jig, pause.....


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## Morrowtucky Mike

Nice mess this evening from Delaware lake. Same as my last post with a couple exceptions. White/red was best till about the last half hour of daylight, then blue/white was king till I couldn’t see my bobber anymore. Second was it was a slow bite first 2 hours. They wouldn’t hit while jiggin. 15-30 second pauses then the bobber would slowly go under. Probably threw 30 shorts back (anything under 10”). Missed more than I caught just barely hitting it. Had to cast out as far as I could today. Nothing within 15 yards of shore. Probably be awhile before can get back after them with the rain coming.


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## sixtyminutes

Perfect eaters Mike. Great report. Makes me hungry. Thanks for the details. Today, (Thursday) the heavy rain and wind will make for an interesting weekend on the water. Muddy but maybe warmer water. I wonder if they will let Alum come up to full pool. Hoover is over full. All the docks have been stored at Walnut St. ramp and the ramp is closed. No docks in that I know of on Hoover. Alum has a short dock in at Africa Rd. the Marina and Cheshire. It's going to be muddy up north.


----------



## rogerb65

Killer haul and what if you don't know delaware, Just moved south of Cardington and drove around delaware last year . But couldn't find anywhere to really fish, saw some spots off of Cole rd possibly?


----------



## Morrowtucky Mike

rogerb65 said:


> Killer haul and what if you don't know delaware, Just moved south of Cardington and drove around delaware last year . But couldn't find anywhere to really fish, saw some spots off of Cole rd possibly?


Well I’m not really sure if there’s ANYWHERE along Delaware that you can’t fish. It’s probably gotta be one of the easiest bank accessible lakes around. There’s trails from every parking lot through the woods to bank spots. And as of before the rain yesterday with the water being 5’ lower than summer pool it was even easier. I can think of atleast 10 places you can literally park at the waters edge and fish. And yes there are some good spots off Cole road.


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## Morrowtucky Mike

sixtyminutes said:


> Perfect eaters Mike. Great report. Makes me hungry. Thanks for the details. Today, (Thursday) the heavy rain and wind will make for an interesting weekend on the water. Muddy but maybe warmer water. I wonder if they will let Alum come up to full pool. Hoover is over full. All the docks have been stored at Walnut St. ramp and the ramp is closed. No docks in that I know of on Hoover. Alum has a short dock in at Africa Rd. the Marina and Cheshire. It's going to be muddy up north.


Looks like they opened the dam today. Water came up a foot but doesn’t look like they are ready to let her fill up yet.


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## Athens_Smallmouth

Good stuff about deep lake fishing in this thread! But we need more flow reports! 

I’ll start by saying this is my favorite time to fish the creeks and rivers. Numbers are not the best, but quality and diversity are king right now. Throwing a reaction bait like vibes, cranks and jerkbaits can put some awesome fish on the bank. I don’t even fish for a specific species this time of year, I just throw these types of baits into “fishy” areas and hold on tight. Smallmouth, saugeye and the occasional musky are typically what I run into.

Here’s a pic of 19” smallie caught this week on a vibe. This fish was not in a spot i would call “winter territory”. It was pushed into shallower water just outside of current. Power fishing will be coming soon. 











Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## sixtyminutes

Alum 4-10-21. Surface temps were 55-56. The lake level is down about 2 1/2 to 3 feet from full pool. Down just enough to make you pay attention in spots. I finally finished the Auto Chart maps in a couple of new spots. I did stop today and fish a bit since I was marking fish that sure looked like saugeyes on the sonar. I think I found someones crappie hole. I scanned a bunch of things that looked a lot like Christmas trees all stuffed onto a nice point. There were in fact, crappies in the area. Along with a few saugeyes that were willing to take a swing at a jig and plastic. Those crappies were not targeted. They all hit a jig with a five inch Jerk Shad on it. The big news is that the docks are finally in. I am not sure who puts the docks back in the lake that but if I could I would buy them a beer. Docks are really handy things. It sure would be nice if the docks could be installed over at Hoover soon. Today I found baitfish and some fish that were likely trying to eat those baitfish, in 12 -17 feet of water. That is where I caught all my fish today but I did not fish very long. I am sure there were plenty of fish doing other things in other parts of Alum. There are fish deeper still but it was pretty obvious that the shallower fish were more active. There was a Fisher of Men bass tournament that went out of the Hollenback ramp. It looked as though they caught some fish. I didn't stay to watch the results. My weather app and the wind forecast convinced me to get off the lake earlier than I wanted to. The grass needs to be cut before that rain gets here.


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## Workingman

Caught this one today at o'Shay during a break between appointments. 
Small jig and 1"gulp 2' under a float. Slow pull, twitch twitch


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## sixtyminutes

Nice fish and a great photo. It is really amazing to me the quality of the photos we get with cell phones. I suck at taking photos of fish which is why I don't take many photos of fish. The cold nights is going to keep the water cold. It will likely stay in the 50's for another week or more. The wind is not helpful either. Still, if you can get your baits in front of the fish some will eat. I gotta get the projects around the house done so that I can focus on fishing.


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## Workingman

Local upground is waking up! 4 last night and 3 tonight. And I'm a crappy bass fisherman! Haha!


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## Silver Fox 23

Saw some guys fishing off of the Oshay dam the past couple of nights. Not sure if they are catching any. I thought it was illegal to fish from the dam itself, but could be wrong. That area right above the dam usually isn't very good at all for some reason so I'm guessing they aren't catching much. Below the dam is usually better I think. I did manage a saugeye in the spillway a couple of weeks ago and a hybrid up by Home Road the other night.


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## sixtyminutes

Big News. The ramps are finally in at Hoover! Surface temps from 52 to almost 60 in the coves. The bait and fish are still deep today. 15 ft and deeper for almost everything that I caught or saw on the Hummers. I did not speak to anyone who was catching them shallow but I did not talk with everyone of course. Hardly anyone out fishing today. The cold nights are not helping that water warm up.


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## sixtyminutes

Alum Sat. 5-1-21. Water level is about 2 ft lower than full pool. It looks like it came up a bit. Surface temps 57 in the south section and 60 north of 37. The north had some color from the rains. The north also held the largest concentration of bait and fish. The depth for active fish was from about 5 ft down to 20 ft. I was crappie fishing. I caught nothing up shallow but did well near drop offs that are close to the coves and shallows were they will spawn when the water warms a bit. Largest crappie was 13". She was nice and healthy but pre spawn. She was 10 ft deep in a cove that has plenty of shallower water with a firm bottom. None of the males were colored like they were spawning. I had minnows but they were eating a jig so why bother with bait. The best color was black body with chartreuse tail. It was a crappie swimbait or paddle tail made by Mr. Crappie. The bite was slow as I rotated through different colors and styles of plastic tails. Once I switched to this color the bite was steady. They were swallowing the jig. When that happens, you know you have the right color. Fun day. Too much wind. The wind makes jig fishing more challenging. The frosty night is not helping warm the water. There was a bass tournament and the guys I spoke to were catching bass. They were catching them on square bills cranks and spinnerbaits. Best success was near deeper water around cover. They were beating the banks so I had a lot of bass fishermen around me all day.


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## Workingman

My daughter and I caught some stickers from the local reservoir this morning! All on rooster tail. Her's was pink of course!


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## Snookhunter52

Last week was my first time ever for me to put on the waders for spring crappie. I started doing pretty good finding crappies in areas where the boat anglers couldn't reach and less pressured shore areas. A lot of the crappie are pretty shallow now. Best so far was a 13.5" black crappie along with some other quality fish. All came off of jig and float rigs. Best colors are white heads with white crappie maxx tubes. Even caught a largemouth while crappie fishing. Also managed to cook some of them into fish sandwiches already.


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## sixtyminutes

Why does this fishing report make me hungry? Fished Hoover.
Fished 5-8-21. Early and cold start. Is it May? Well the Crappie are trying to spawn. I fished the south end. Surface temps were 58 or 59. No warming even in the coves. Crappies are still near deep water. I don't think I caught a fish shallower than 5 feet. Most came from 10 to 13 feet of water. The best concentrations were near spawning spots but I did not get bit shallow. I caught a few on minnows under a slip bobber. My first fish came that way. Bobber set at 8 ft. I caught way more on a jig and plastic. Color did not seem important but I had more confidence if it had some chartreuse in it since the water was muddied from wind and waves. Water was as clear as I have seen Hoover in the open waters. Light jig and plastic body. Beaver tails worked as expected and so did almost everything I tried today. Steady bite but not hot. Largest was 13". All C&R. Some fish had their tuxedos on and some were fat with eggs. Next couple of weeks no matter what they will spawn.


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## Snookhunter52

Fished Hoover again today. I fished North pool first which was high and turbid. Wading was tough with all the new stuff that drifted in from the last storm. Caught one crappie but lost it as I was putting it on the stringer  I then caught this behemoth. As soon as I set the hook I knew it wasn't a çrappie because it immediately went down instead of going up haha. It took 45 minutes to bring in on 6lbs line. It was 34 inches and estimated to be about 19 pounds. Let her go to get bigger.

I moved to south pool looking for clearer water but I found lots of pressure and that most of the spots have been picked clean. Managed 2 legal crappie to bring home to stock the freezer.


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## Buckeye_Sam

Got into the blues yesterday at Hoover. Caught and released 19 including this big girl.


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## Snookhunter52

They sure are fun to catch on light tackle. How big was that cat?


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## Muddy

Nice blues.


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## Buckeye_Sam

42 inches. I couldn't get enough leverage from sitting down in the yak to accurately weigh it. One of the tournament guys told me it would weigh in the mid 30's.



Snookhunter52 said:


> They sure are fun to catch on light tackle. How big was that cat?


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## Morrowtucky Mike

Hit Alum today. Started on saugeye around 7am. Put 40+ in the boat and not a single keeper. Any wind blown point was good but very little wind. Some flats were hot as well as a few coves with mud flats. Most fish came in 12”-6’ of water. Road runners/twister tails tipped with a pinch of crawler is all we used. A buddy with 2 other guys boated 91 with the same technique today. Switched to crappie around 9:30 and was dink city. Mostly blacks painted up nicely. Brought home half a limit 10-13” and 3 very large rock bass. Fished a shallow rocky flat in the south pool for saugeye and tore the smallies up. Nothing huge but still a blast. 1-4 fow and very clear. Usually could see them come out of nowhere and smash the twisters. Lots of guys out prefishing for the tournaments this weekend. Sounded like crappie were mostly in the deeper water. We marked a bunch in deeper water but wasn’t rigged for fishing it. Oh, every single crappie I cleaned today was full of only crawfish if that means anything to anyone. Good luck.....


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## Muddy

Morrowtucky Mike said:


> Hit Alum today. Started on saugeye around 7am. Put 40+ in the boat and not a single keeper. Any wind blown point was good but very little wind. Some flats were hot as well as a few coves with mud flats. Most fish came in 12”-6’ of water. Road runners/twister tails tipped with a pinch of crawler is all we used. A buddy with 2 other guys boated 91 with the same technique today. Switched to crappie around 9:30 and was dink city. Mostly blacks painted up nicely. Brought home half a limit 10-13” and 3 very large rock bass. Fished a shallow rocky flat in the south pool for saugeye and tore the smallies up. Nothing huge but still a blast. 1-4 fow and very clear. Usually could see them come out of nowhere and smash the twisters. Lots of guys out prefishing for the tournaments this weekend. Sounded like crappie were mostly in the deeper water. We marked a bunch in deeper water but wasn’t rigged for fishing it. Oh, every single crappie I cleaned today was full of only crawfish if that means anything to anyone. Good luck.....


Sounds like you were busy! How many 15” plus saugeye did your buddy get out of the 91?


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## Morrowtucky Mike

Muddy said:


> Sounds like you were busy! How many 15” plus saugeye did your buddy get out of the 91?


8


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## codger

Fished the north pool at Alum again yesterday (Friday). Got a late start and didn't get in the canoe til 4PM. My plan was to go after crappie til about dusk, then try for saugeye from bank. Pulled a handful of 11-13" crappie (and a bunch of dinks) out of the blowdowns and next to stickups with a minnow 3-5' below a bobber. Didn't get back to the bank as early as planned, so it was 10PM by the time I had the canoe back on top of the truck. The batteries for my aerator had died by then and I still had a couple dozen minnows, so I decided to forego the saugeye attempt and get the minnows home to the aquarium.
Was good to see the wardens out checking fishing licenses and instead of ticketing ticketing those without, they were allowing them to get the app and buy a license. Saw them catch 3 people I think it was.
I think I'll try bank fishing and target saugeye sometime this coming week. Maybe I'll finally catch one. Some of you guys make it look and sound so easy I should have caught one by accident by now.


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## Morrowtucky Mike

codger said:


> Fished the north pool at Alum again yesterday (Friday). Got a late start and didn't get in the canoe til 4PM. My plan was to go after crappie til about dusk, then try for saugeye from bank. Pulled a handful of 11-13" crappie (and a bunch of dinks) out of the blowdowns and next to stickups with a minnow 3-5' below a bobber. Didn't get back to the bank as early as planned, so it was 10PM by the time I had the canoe back on top of the truck. The batteries for my aerator had died by then and I still had a couple dozen minnows, so I decided to forego the saugeye attempt and get the minnows home to the aquarium.
> Was good to see the wardens out checking fishing licenses and instead of ticketing ticketing those without, they were allowing them to get the app and buy a license. Saw them catch 3 people I think it was.
> I think I'll try bank fishing and target saugeye sometime this coming week. Maybe I'll finally catch one. Some of you guys make it look and sound so easy I should have caught one by accident by now.


Imo you need to hit the middle pool for saugeye right now. I’ve caught plenty in the north end but if I’m targeting them it’s usually the south or middle pools. Using a canoe I can understand the reason for fishing the north end tho. Caught quite a few yesterday targeting crappie using 1/16 red roadrunner and black/green Bobby Garland slab slayers. Literally within 6” of the bank. If I were to target them right now in the north pool I would try the boat swim area on the west side preferably the north end of it where the bouys start.


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## codger

Thanks MM. I'll surely give that a shot or three. My plan Friday was, after loading the canoe back on he truck, to head down to the Cheshire ramp area or the bike trail lot area for bank fishing. Might have had some luck there. I've fished Big Run area once and plan give it a few more shots this year also. My main reason for wanting to catch saugeye is DW likes walleye and I figure the taste/texture should be quite similar. In the mean time, I'm glad she's decided she also likes crappie.


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## fishless

codger said:


> Thanks MM. I'll surely give that a shot or three. My plan Friday was, after loading the canoe back on he truck, to head down to the Cheshire ramp area or the bike trail lot area for bank fishing. Might have had some luck there. I've fished Big Run area once and plan give it a few more shots this year also. My main reason for wanting to catch saugeye is DW likes walleye and I figure the taste/texture should be quite similar. In the mean time, I'm glad she's decided she also likes crappie.


IMO she will love Saugeye .I think for me they are better eating than walleye


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## Morrowtucky Mike

I eat a ton of both and honestly can’t tell the difference


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## Saugeyefisher

I've been fishing buckeye a lot so changed it up today an went to alum. Forgot there was a saugeye tournament going on. I didn't get there till 1130 so I started crappie fishing shallow with jig/bobber. Every spot I hit had fish only 2 had decent sized fish 11/12 males colored up. Hit about a dozen of the nicer ones an headed out to work the area I wanted to saugeye fish. Haha should of know. 4 saugeye boats on it. So I paddled past them to a bank I like to crappie fish and started hitting dinks with a nice one ever now an then. Kept seeing bait fish being worked so started casting my jig. The next hour I catch 20 saugeyes from 13-16" an a few more crappies. Work that area over by then tourney was done boats gone. So made my way back to a shallow flat an hit another 15 eyes same size. Most eyes came one thumper jig an twister. With about 10 casting a flicker. Decided to head back an fish one more crappie spot before leaving and trolled a flicker on my way. 5 minutes in a muskie decides to take me for a 7-8 minute ride jumping 3 times and letting me touch it's tail before pulling free. Prolly 32--34" fish. 
Get to my last crappie spot an catch another dozen really nice males tight to a brushy bank. All crappies came on a white/chartreuse brush pile jig under a float 18". Between the catfish a couple bass,bluegills,eyes and all the crappies I caught well over 70 fish today. 7 of the saugeyes would of kept out of the 35 caught. 
I love late spring!


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## codger

Sounds like you had one of those days I've only dreamed of. A few weeks ago, fishing a cove, something took me for a tour lasting maybe 2-3 mins. before getting off but I never got to see it. I was crappie fishing with a minnow 7-8 ft below a bobber. Using a #2 (?) circle hook. It was able to strip line from my reel at will and moved way too fast to be a turtle. Fun time to be sure.


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## sixtyminutes

Buckeye_Sam said:


> Got into the blues yesterday at Hoover. Caught and released 19 including this big girl.
> View attachment 470156


That is not a crappie. Great fish. With a harness you wouldn't need to paddle anymore.


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## Morrowtucky Mike

Hit Alum after work today for a few hours. Caught a bunch of crappie with only 1 over 10” (my personal minimum size). Put around 25 saugeye in the boat with only 2 over 15”. Everything was caught on 1/8oz. red roadrunner and twister tail. Crappie were caught in 6-10 fow and the saugeye all came along shorelines out to about 8 fow.
Codger, was that you on the west side of the north pool? Saw someone inside the swim area in a red canoe. If so did you have any luck?


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## codger

It was me. When I got there, there were already 2 boats anchored out about about where I figured the water started getting deeper and younguns playing in the water. Not wanting to disturb them, I went over next to the bank and tossed in a minnow with slip bobber while throwing joshys and road runners at the bank and trees. I kept 6 crappies, 2 about 10.5" and the rest 13-13.5", C&R'd 3 channels, the largest about 25". Also hooked into something that broke my line, hate when that happens. Everything I caught was on minnows. Had a few good strikes on the joshys, but wasn't able to close the deal. Still no saugeye in the canoe, but had a great time. Once again, by the time I had everything loaded back up, decided not to hit the Cheshire area. Maybe this weekend I'll just go there and bank fish for an evening and not put the barge in the water.


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## Morrowtucky Mike

codger said:


> It was me. When I got there, there were already 2 boats anchored out about about where I figured the water started getting deeper and younguns playing in the water. Not wanting to disturb them, I went over next to the bank and tossed in a minnow with slip bobber while throwing joshys and road runners at the bank and trees. I kept 6 crappies, 2 about 10.5" and the rest 13-13.5", C&R'd 3 channels, the largest about 25". Also hooked into something that broke my line, hate when that happens. Everything I caught was on minnows. Had a few good strikes on the joshys, but wasn't able to close the deal. Still no saugeye in the canoe, but had a great time. Once again, by the time I had everything loaded back up, decided not to hit the Cheshire area. Maybe this weekend I'll just go there and bank fish for an evening and not put the barge in the water.


Definitely not advisable to be anywhere south of 36/37 in a canoe this weekend lol


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## Saugeyefisher

Might be alright with the forecast for tomorrow. But ya I agree. I'm pretty ballsy in my kayak. Last year we was on buckeye this weekend fishing the mouth of a cove just next to ski zone. Took a few waves to the face that day!! But they was eating good...

What's everyone's thoughts on tomorrow s end of spring cold front? 
I'm gonna give it a shot just because. 
Prolly just slow roll jigs for both crappies an eyes an hope for the best!


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## codger

Morrowtucky Mike said:


> Definitely not advisable to be anywhere south of 36/37 in a canoe this weekend lol


Or any weekend, or weekday. Heck, last week at Howard Rd, while chatting with a kayaker, I watched a yahoo in a bass boat run at what looked to be full throttle toward 36/37. Some people either don't know or don't care about no wake zones, but what are you gonna do? I just try to stay aware and not be caught by surprise. I am getting more confident in the barge though, it seems really stable. Of course. waves over the bow are a whole nother story. I just wish it had built in flotation.



Saugeyefisher said:


> What's everyone's thoughts on tomorrow s end of spring cold front?
> I'm gonna give it a shot just because.
> Prolly just slow roll jigs for both crappies an eyes an hope for the best!


Might slow the bite some, never know if you don't try.


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## Saugeyefisher

codger said:


> Or any weekend, or weekday. Heck, last week at Howard Rd, while chatting with a kayaker, I watched a yahoo in a bass boat run at what looked to be full throttle toward 36/37. Some people either don't know or don't care about no wake zones, but what are you gonna do? I just try to stay aware and not be caught by surprise. I am getting more confident in the barge though, it seems really stable. Of course. waves over the bow are a whole nother story. I just wish it had built in flotation.
> 
> 
> 
> Might slow the bite some, never know if you don't try.


That's my thought process. I 100% will not catch them at home. We're gonna give Hoover a couple hours in the morning. Then might shoot over to alum . Sometimes these spring cold fronts turn the eyes on. Sometimes they don't. We shall see. Set aside some time Monday as well just in case.


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## Isaac_02

This spring cold front should be the end of the shallow crappie right? Been taking out my younger brothers and having fun with numbers, but guessing today probably sent them back deeper again?


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## dhf125

Saugeyefisher said:


> That's my thought process. I 100% will not catch them at home. We're gonna give Hoover a couple hours in the morning. Then might shoot over to alum . Sometimes these spring cold fronts turn the eyes on. Sometimes they don't. We shall see. Set aside some time Monday as well just in case.


I would imagine the cold front will slow the bite down. The bite on Thursday was slower after the front came through on Wednesday. If you can get out early you are usually good for several hours south of 36/37. After 11:00 on the weekends you take a big risk with the pleasure boaters. The ski boats are the worst in my opinion with producing the biggest wake.


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## Workingman

They were biting good at Cheshire area today at lunchtime, but the temps were still dropping then. 32nd oz. jig and Bobby Garland baby shad around 3' under a float. Pull, twitch twitch!


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## Saugeyefisher

Workingman said:


> They were biting good at Cheshire area today at lunchtime, but the temps were still dropping then. 32nd oz. jig and Bobby Garland baby shad around 3' under a float. Pull, twitch twitch!


Ya if you can find males gaurding areas they'll eat through any weather. That's what I'm hoping to find at Hoover tomorrow. 
And like I said,I've had some good days in this type of weather in the past. So fingers crossed....


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## lacdown

Dang, I had a pretty good day Thurs so now I'm jealous I missed earlier in the week! I cleaned 8 crappie earlier from yesterday ranging from 10 to 14 inches and every one of them still had eggs. Caught in 12 foot of water close to brush but not all up in it using minnows. 

Trolling for saugeye was good using glass shad raps in less than 10 ft of water. Many doubles including one muskie that got unbuttoned at the boat, two largemouth and a nice smallie.

Tried the roadrunner in the shallows but no takers except for the occasional bluegill.

Sent from my SM-G973U1 using Tapatalk


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## Isaac_02

lacdown said:


> Dang, I had a pretty good day Thurs so now I'm jealous I missed earlier in the week! I cleaned 8 crappie earlier from yesterday ranging from 10 to 14 inches and every one of them still had eggs. Caught in 12 foot of water close to brush but not all up in it using minnows.


Been after a 14" crappie for the last month or so and just can't seem to break 12.5. I must need to stop going so far back into the bays


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## Saugeyefisher

Isaac_02 said:


> Been after a 14" crappie for the last month or so and just can't seem to break 12.5. I must need to stop going so far back into the bays


They will hold in the back of bays(big crappie). You probably have another week or two at a solid chance at a big one shallow. After the females drop there eggs they typically go back deep. But they will come back shallow at times to eat. And the males will hang around and gaurd fry for a few days. I've caught a few charged up males up to 14" gaurding fry before. This far into spring I'd start tossing 1/16 oz roadrunners with small plastics or a minnow. Cast it in 3-8 fow outside of spawning areas. As it warms up move out further/deeper.


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## Saugeyefisher

Well the cold front did not hurt the crappie fishing. And I found a couple eyes in the mix as well. Caught all I could handle on a roadrunner and small soft plastic a guy I know pours. The eyes came on the same bait. But came off of small secondary point deep in a cove that had wind blowing over it.
Had quite a few females with eggs still. 
Gotta good game plan for when I get back out Monday afternoon.


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## Isaac_02

Thanks for the update! Sounds like time to load up the kayak.


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## crittergitter

I got out today and caught a few. Seemed like I had the whole north pool to myself!! Only saw about 4 or 5 other boats and they all looked to be bass fishing. Saugeye love nasty weather!! Best part, not 1 single jet ski! So nice!!!!!


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## codger

I normally only go on weekdays and rarely see jet skis. Are they a problem on weekends? My father and I used to go in nasty weather, he always said 'the fish aren't going to get any wetter'. I considered going today, but with no keel my canoe is just too much of a handful to handle in the wind. I mean, it handles like a barge in calm weather, so I decided to stay home and let DW remember why she doesn't mind me going fishing


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## sixtyminutes

I fished Hoover early Monday, 5-31-21. Surface temps were 63 after the cold nights. Water was clear for Hoover with just a touch of duck wort and a very mild algae bloom. Goose poop on the docks was as thick as I have seen in years. Baitfish was high and the larger fish seemed to be concentrated around 10 to 15 ft deep. There were decent concentrations of fish deeper but on Hoover, I assume that they are not very active and I don't spend time fishing for them. Been there done that. I decided to troll after seeing very few larger fish that were still shallow. Crank baits worked right off. I ended up rotating through a lot of crankbaits. The best for a while was red, almost purple, chrome Hot N Tot. Fire Tiger caught a few. Black and Silver caught some later in the day. I caught 8 accidental catfish. It would be great if I was fishing for them. On Saugeye tackle I end up loosing gear and getting slimy carpet. The largest was a 35" Blue which ruined the hooks on a Flicker Shad. Caught dozens of Crappies. The largest was 12 1/2". Big schools of Crappies are out in the main lake now. I Caught 4 Saugeye. The largest 18". All were C&R. I fished shallow early and caught a few fish. In the afternoon I caught nothing up shallow even though I could see fish on the side scan. They were probably full by then. Fun day. Super weather.


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## Snookhunter52

Went to Alum last night and had a lot of fun. Caught about a dozen or so short saugeye. Also caught tons of dink crappie. Did manage to catch one legal crappie and a nice bull gill. Caught a little muskie and I let him go after taking a quick picture. All the fish were caught on a white 1/8 roadrunner and a 2.3 lemon shad big joshy. All the fish were caught in a cove and shallow flat feeding on shore minnows.


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## John Garwood

Sounds like you had fun!


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## Schooleylewis

Saugeyefisher said:


> Well the cold front did not hurt the crappie fishing. And I found a couple eyes in the mix as well. Caught all I could handle on a roadrunner and small soft plastic a guy I know pours. The eyes came on the same bait. But came off of small secondary point deep in a cove that had wind blowing over it.
> Had quite a few females with eggs still.
> Gotta good game plan for when I get back out Monday afternoon.


Are you tipping RR/plastics with minnows? Sounds like you are having a good start to season! Kudos


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## Saugeyefisher

Schooleylewis said:


> Are you tipping RR/plastics with minnows? Sounds like you are having a good start to season! Kudos


No I was not. Just a small 1-1/2 inch or so boot tail swim... Little tip-crappie love to hit the jig on the fall. So as I'm slowly realing I'll pause on a tite-line a lot and let it drop.


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## FishThis

I fished a few coves at Alum Creek today in the south pool and could not keep the channel cats of the 3' berkley gulp minnow. I lost track at how many i caught, probably landed 10-12 and broke of 3-4. They were in shallow feeding top water on all the cicada's! Awesome site and an awesome day on the water.


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## HappySnag

sixtyminutes said:


> I fished Hoover early Monday, 5-31-21. Surface temps were 63 after the cold nights. Water was clear for Hoover with just a touch of duck wort and a very mild algae bloom. Goose poop on the docks was as thick as I have seen in years. Baitfish was high and the larger fish seemed to be concentrated around 10 to 15 ft deep. There were decent concentrations of fish deeper but on Hoover, I assume that they are not very active and I don't spend time fishing for them. Been there done that. I decided to troll after seeing very few larger fish that were still shallow. Crank baits worked right off. I ended up rotating through a lot of crankbaits. The best for a while was red, almost purple, chrome Hot N Tot. Fire Tiger caught a few. Black and Silver caught some later in the day. I caught 8 accidental catfish. It would be great if I was fishing for them. On Saugeye tackle I end up loosing gear and getting slimy carpet. The largest was a 35" Blue which ruined the hooks on a Flicker Shad. Caught dozens of Crappies. The largest was 12 1/2". Big schools of Crappies are out in the main lake now. I Caught 4 Saugeye. The largest 18". All were C&R. I fished shallow early and caught a few fish. In the afternoon I caught nothing up shallow even though I could see fish on the side scan. They were probably full by then. Fun day. Super weather.


The largest was a 35" Blue which ruined the hooks on a Flicker Shad.
get yourself inline hooks 2/0,3/0,4/0,i change treble hooks on stick bait ,i put single hooks point down and biger hook on end,they hook fish good and when i hit big fish,the hooks are not demiged,and much easier in the net.when you try that and start catching fish,you will not go back to trebles.


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## Morrowtucky Mike

HappySnag said:


> The largest was a 35" Blue which ruined the hooks on a Flicker Shad.
> get yourself inline hooks 2/0,3/0,4/0,i change treble hooks on stick bait ,i put single hooks point down and biger hook on end,they hook fish good and when i hit big fish,the hooks are not demiged,and much easier in the net.when you try that and start catching fish,you will not go back to trebles.


It would be ok if targeting cats but your not gonna hook very many crappie trolling a crank with 4/0 hooks.


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## HappySnag

Morrowtucky Mike said:


> It would be ok if targeting cats but your not gonna hook very many crappie trolling a crank with 4/0 hooks.


i am hooking 11" eyes with 4/0 inline hooks,on HJ#14,if you put 3/0 on back you will hook 9" crapie with out problem.i am talking from practise not from teory.


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## Morrowtucky Mike

Trolled cranks today at Alum from 5:45-11:00am. Started off targeting crappie in north pool. Never seen so much debris floating around out there. The fog made it hard to navigate around it all. Caught an absolute ton of crappie but they were probably the smallest crappie I’ve caught this year. Maybe averaging 5” with the only keeper being 12 1/2”. Decided to hit middle pool around 8:30. Trolled for saugeye and was dink city then slid up big run and trolled for both species. Only managed a few small saugeye and one dink crappie up there. Musta been a bass tournament going on which made trolling shorelines next to impossible. Probably had atleast half dozen boats fly in and stop within 30 yards in front of my boat and stop. Pretty obvious what we were doing and waiting another minute could of just slid in behind me. The weeds are worse up big run than I think I’ve ever seen. Had a couple jet skis going full bore up and down big run also. When you yell at them they would let you know that your #1, lol. Bad thing is both guys looked to be late 50’s early 60’s. Only real excitement on an otherwise boring morning was when we snagged a #10 carp on the top fin trolling. Made quite the mess with all rods but was still fun watching my buddy try to reel it in.


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## Brahmabull71

Morrowtucky Mike said:


> Trolled cranks today at Alum from 5:45-11:00am. Started off targeting crappie in north pool. Never seen so much debris floating around out there. The fog made it hard to navigate around it all. Caught an absolute ton of crappie but they were probably the smallest crappie I’ve caught this year. Maybe averaging 5” with the only keeper being 12 1/2”. Decided to hit middle pool around 8:30. Trolled for saugeye and was dink city then slid up big run and trolled for both species. Only managed a few small saugeye and one dink crappie up there. Musta been a bass tournament going on which made trolling shorelines next to impossible. Probably had atleast half dozen boats fly in and stop within 30 yards in front of my boat and stop. Pretty obvious what we were doing and waiting another minute could of just slid in behind me. The weeds are worse up big run than I think I’ve ever seen. Had a couple jet skis going full bore up and down big run also. When you yell at them they would let you know that your #1, lol. Bad thing is both guys looked to be late 50’s early 60’s. Only real excitement on an otherwise boring morning was when we snagged a #10 carp on the top fin trolling. Made quite the mess with all rods but was still fun watching my buddy try to reel it in.
> View attachment 471246


I thought I taught you better than that


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## Morrowtucky Mike

Brahmabull71 said:


> I thought I taught you better than that


🤷‍♂️


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## Isaac_02

Anybody running into schooling white bass action on any of the waters around here?


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## sixtyminutes

Fished Hoover Sat. 6-26. Early start and a nice sunrise. I had an old friend along who wanted to crappie fish. We fished the middle pool. Both east and west sides. The wind made casting tough so we decided to troll. The electronics showed fish concentrated at 17 to 20 FOW. Very few larger fish shallower than that. Surface temps were 74. It looked a lot like a thermocline was setting up or, there was some kind of an insect hatch happening in the deeper water. Had to adjust the Humminbirds to tune out the clutter and see the fish. We caught a few on Flicker Shads, Rapala Trolls to 15's but the best crankbaits were 3/16 oz. Hot N Tots.Dark colors like red and crawfish caught the best fish. They wanted them right down on the bottom also. Bottom bouncers with single spinner rigs would have probably worked well but I had no live bait in the boat and I was not desperate enough to break out the Gulp crawlers. We caught a lot of smalls. My friend took home 10 or so nice crappies for dinner. Caught only one channel cat, one blue and 1 largemouth. The wind must have kept most folks off the lake. Hoover was not crowded. It really slowed trolling down as we could not troll into the wind but we had to run up wind and troll down wind all day. " Running" is not the proper term to describe the speed of my Pro V with a 9.9 doing the pushing. Lots of fish out in the main lake. Plenty of bait too.


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## sixtyminutes

Saturday- Fished the middle pool. Both east and west sides of Hoover. Fishing for Eyes.
Caught no walleyes. Caught lots of Crappies early. Crappies came on Bagley Balsa Crankbaits that run about 13 to 17 feet deep. Crappies were caught early. Then I targeted Eyes in deeper water. Caught 7 Saugeyes. Three from 22 to 24 1/2". Four were around 15 to 17". Here are pics of a couple. All C&R. All of the saugeyes came on a home made smile blade spinner with a crawler. They were in 24 to 27 FOW. All came near deeper water. There was a bug hatch happening. I could see it on my electronics but could not tell if it was bait, plankton or bugs. When I pulled the boat out of the water the boat had bug bodies on the transom. I did not see any bugs coming to the surface though. This hatch was still going on Monday. The bugs and lots of fish were in 17 to 24 FOW. The best spots for finding active fish were right on the edge near a sharp drop off.

Monday- I had a friend with me today who really likes to eat crappies. I like catching crappies so this was a pretty good fit. We trolled deeper flats in the middle pool at Hoover. We kept 24 nice fish. Threw back a lot of crappies and a few cats. Trolling Flicker Shads in Silver and Black and Purple Chrome. Color did not matter much. The cranks were running around 13 feet deep. We caught a lot of fish that were suspended over deeper water during turns.The bouncers were very near bottom.We caught many crappies on spinner rigs with crawlers behind bottom bouncers. We used Smile Blades and #3 colorado spinners. Single hook spinners were best. We were trying to appeal to fish that we figured were eating bug larvae. Or, they could have been eating small fish that were eating the bugs. Depth was 14 to 22 FOW. Steady pick all morning. By 11:00 we had enough sun and we headed for the ramp. What a nice day. You could not ask for better weather.


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## sixtyminutes

Nice day on Hoover Sat.


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## Morrowtucky Mike

sixtyminutes said:


> Nice day on Hoover Sat.


How was the fishing


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## sixtyminutes

Morrowtucky Mike said:


> How was the fishing


The fish were most active in 10 to 15 FOW. Especially the Crappie. Cats are done spawning and they are back chasing shad on the flats.Not as many Saugeye as Alum but there are some good fish to be had deeper. I was experimenting and going for some really deep fish. My experiments failed. I sure would like to know what those fish are. Switched to trolling cranks and caught fish.


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## sixtyminutes

It was great weather and a mixed bag on Hoover this weekend. All fish C&R. Trolling bottom bouncers and crawler harnesses caught cats and crappies. I was hoping for Saugeyes. I did get a White Bass. I have not caught one all summer. A couple LM, lots of Crappies and 7 Saugeyes on Crankbaits. Often, fish feed during short periods and then seem to stop at Hoover. I seldom do well around mid -day. I was lucky to be doing the right thing when the Saugeye decided to eat. Caught 2 on Rapala TT 15. Four that ranged in size from 20 to 24 inches ate #7 Flicker Shads. The largest eyes all came right near a sharp drop off but the fish all hit those cranks while they were in 20-24 FOW. They were suspended or they came up and hit those cranks. Flickers run about 13 to 15 feet deep with the length of line I had out and my set up. I don't know which is correct. I had a chrome silver and a chrome purple crank on when they decided to eat. I doubt the color was important. The first eye I caught earlier in the day hit a orange chrome 200 Rip Shad. The larger fish seemed to be holding around 20 FOW early in the day. Then they seemed to rise up to around 15 feet, around 10:30 and that is when they started to eat.


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## AnglinAddict

I need a 9.9. That’s more big fish than my whole season at Alum!


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## sixtyminutes

No Skiers either.


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## BrandonMiller526

Fish are fired up in this heat🔥 alum


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## codger

Really nice bag there Brandon. Sure don't envy you having to clean all those though🙂. I fished the north pool in the heat of the day on Tuesday. Mostly trolling with a few stops to toss minnows at good looking spots which produced good numbers of smaller crappies. Did much better trolling, not numbers wise but size wise. Kept a smaller (9 1/4") one because it swallowed the hook. Also caught a couple channels, one around 24" and a small LM, all of which were released. Only kept what I wanted to clean🙄. I love the fishing, catching, and eating, but cleaning not so much.


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## BrandonMiller526

codger said:


> Really nice bag there Brandon. Sure don't envy you having to clean all those though🙂. I fished the north pool in the heat of the day on Tuesday. Mostly trolling with a few stops to toss minnows at good looking spots which produced good numbers of smaller crappies. Did much better trolling, not numbers wise but size wise. Kept a smaller (9 1/4") one because it swallowed the hook. Also caught a couple channels, one around 24" and a small LM, all of which were released. Only kept what I wanted to clean🙄. I love the fishing, catching, and eating, but cleaning not so much.
> View attachment 474914


Think someone could make bank$$$ on a fish cleaning business between alum and Hoover.


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## AnglinAddict

Some nice looking fish from both of you. I fished alum Sunday night. Hit north pool first and got a few crappie then trolled middle pool. 3 eyes all 15-16” and a 30” musky. He was a bad boat guest. Thrashed all around and spit up shad all over my boat. I really think he was trying to bite me!


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## BrandonMiller526

Limit on Alum. Rain had them 🔥


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## AnglinAddict

Brandon was that you in the boat with the green lights? Did you guys fish through the storm? I hid in a cove. No eyes for me but the bass were hungry.


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## BrandonMiller526

AnglinAddict said:


> Brandon was that you in the boat with the green lights? Did you guys fish through the storm? I hid in a cove. No eyes for me but the bass were hungry.


Nope I was from shore.


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## Workingman

Not very glamorous but I found a good school of gills at alum on my way home tonight. Was literally catching one every other cast. Threw them all back, may bring a couple home for a fish taco later in the week if they're still around. Gulp minnows under a float


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## codger

Gills are a blast to catch. They fight so much bigger than they actually are, and one of the better tasting fresh water fish, IMHO. What's your favorite color Gulp minnow?


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## Snookhunter52

Ya alum has a good population of nice bluegill. I ran into them when I was saugeye fishing this past June. I caught a few 8-9" bluegill on a roadrunner and a 2.3 joshy. There was so many it made difficult keep them from ripping the tails off my swimbaits.


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## Workingman

As far as gulp color, use the dark grey and white "smelt" in clear water, chartreuse and white in dirtier.


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## lacdown

3 lake report from labor day weekend...
Thurs at Alum: 15 keeper size crappie (most over 10") with many throw backs... in coves they were closer to bottom around 20 ft deep. In open water they were suspended 10 to 20 ft in 30 ft depths. Also got 3 catfish. All on minnows.
Friday at Hoover: no luck trolling shad raps in 10 to 20 ft contours except for a couple crappie. Channel cats were biting shrimp and cut shad. Two blues on cut shad. Got around 7 total with most around 18 inches in depths from 18 to 25 ft.
Sunday at Oshay: mostly trolled and only had a few small white bass and small largemouth to show for it. Much better the previous time out. Wife dropped her new phone in at the ramp so I jumped in to see if I could retrieve it to no avail. 

Really wish we'd get some white bass back at Alum and Hoover as they were always good for extra action. Wipers stocked there would be even better. May try to go up to Charles Mill to try for some wipers soon.

Sent from my SM-G973U1 using Tapatalk


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## BrandonMiller526

lacdown said:


> 3 lake report from labor day weekend...
> Thurs at Alum: 15 keeper size crappie (most over 10") with many throw backs... in coves they were closer to bottom around 20 ft deep. In open water they were suspended 10 to 20 ft in 30 ft depths. Also got 3 catfish. All on minnows.
> Friday at Hoover: no luck trolling shad raps in 10 to 20 ft contours except for a couple crappie. Channel cats were biting shrimp and cut shad. Two blues on cut shad. Got around 7 total with most around 18 inches in depths from 18 to 25 ft.
> Sunday at Oshay: mostly trolled and only had a few small white bass and small largemouth to show for it. Much better the previous time out. Wife dropped her new phone in at the ramp so I jumped in to see if I could retrieve it to no avail.
> 
> Really wish we'd get some white bass back at Alum and Hoover as they were always good for extra action. Wipers stocked there would be even better. May try to go up to Charles Mill to try for some wipers soon.
> 
> Sent from my SM-G973U1 using Tapatalk


White bass are fun in moderation, have had many day of saugeye fishing at Indian ruined by white bass every cast😂


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## lacdown

BrandonMiller526 said:


> White bass are fun in moderation, have had many day of saugeye fishing at Indian ruined by white bass every cast


Yeah I haven't had that issue before. 

Sent from my SM-G973U1 using Tapatalk


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## codger

Spent about 3 1/2 hours on Alum north pool Friday. Started out trolling with only one really small crappie to show for it. So I stopped at some downed timbers and tossed minnows for a while. Boated quite a few 9-10" crappie fishing 5-9 ft deep in 12-15 ft of water. Had planned on tossing a few lures while the minnows soaked but the crappie wouldn't leave the minnows alone long enough for me to try. They were eating the minnows before the bobber stop hit the bobber. Love the fast action, but was after fish a bit larger than 10". Tried moving farther away from the structure to no avail. 
Good time fishing and didn't have to clean any when I got home = great evening.


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## AnglinAddict

I fished Alum on Monday. Caught a lot of crappie, catfish, perch and bluegill. A nice sm and a 17 1/2 eye. Great mixed bag day. Been having a hard time the last few weeks with the eyes. They aren't on the same spots in the central pool. I think they're in the weeds, and I hate fishing weeds. I'd rather be taking crappie and gills off my hook than weeds.


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## skunked88

AnglinAddict said:


> I fished Alum on Monday. Caught a lot of crappie, catfish, perch and bluegill. A nice sm and a 17 1/2 eye. Great mixed bag day. Been having a hard time the last few weeks with the eyes. They aren't on the same spots in the central pool. I think they're in the weeds, and I hate fishing weeds. I'd rather be taking crappie and gills off my hook than weeds.


i was trolling 15-20 ft today. the two eyes that i did get were when i accidently went up to 10ft which was about where the weeds were starting. i preemptively started reeling in, took the snap weight off, and had a fish too. Both were 14in, but one had another fish follow it up that was bigger.


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## Isaac_02

While we’re on the subject, are there not weedbeds in Hoover? Been trying to keep my eye out for them when I’m on the lake and I’ve never found any, does the lake fluctuate too much for them to grow?


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## Buckeye_Sam

The water temp dropped about 8 degrees in the last week at Hoover. It seemed to trigger the cats. Got four nice sized blues, biggest pushing 20lbs. And too many slot channel cats to count. Most fish were caught drifting cut crappie in 15-20 feet of water.


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## Snookhunter52

Went out fishing today for the first time since I broke my ankle. Fished the south pool at alum from 6 to 9 pm. I managed to catch several perch with a couple over 6 inches. I also caught about a 17" largemouth. I managed to hook something big but only for a few seconds (likely a large catfish or muskie) but it quickly came unpinned. All of them were caught on 2.3 joshy rigged onto a roadrunner. Weeds were everywhere but still managed to fish around them.


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## sixtyminutes

Isaac_02 said:


> While we’re on the subject, are there not weedbeds in Hoover? Been trying to keep my eye out for them when I’m on the lake and I’ve never found any, does the lake fluctuate too much for them to grow?



The large water level changes and the poor water clarity limits weed growth. There is a large weed bed on the NE side of the county line causeway. It's tucked up near the rip rap. I am also amazed that Hoover does not have zebra mussels considering the number of zebs in Alum.


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## sixtyminutes

BrandonMiller526 said:


> Fish are fired up in this heat🔥 alum
> View attachment 474863
> View attachment 474864



Let's go Brandon!!! Let's go Brandon!!!!


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## sixtyminutes

Hoover 10-23-21. Surface temp was 65. I thought it would have cooled off with the cold nights and cooler days. When it hits 60 and below the fish generally start acting like it's fall. One of the best things about fall fishing is that cold fronts don't seem to bother the fish like they do during the summer. There was a lot of bait fish out in the main lake and on the flats but not much life in the shallows. I do think there are fish coming shallow around and after dark though. Good time for shore fishing. I circled some of the larger fish that showed up on the side scan on the flats. I dropped way points on them, went back and spent a couple of hours casting to them and other fish. No bites. I used jig and minnows, swim baits, crankbaits. I tried trolling through them. Nothing. Decided I needed to find larger fish near but not covered up in bait. I started vertical jigging with a Heddon Sonar. I ended up catching five good eyes.It was a bit unusual in I caught a fish and then I would have to move to catch another. I'm guessing they were scattered or perhaps I managed to trigger one now and then. There were plenty of good marks but I ran out of time. One of the photos shows my bait and the shad that fish were feeding on. I am surprised the shad are so small. Lots of larger shad no doubt in Hoover. 

Is anyone having any luck lately?


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## Southernsaug

Sixtyminutes, I have had the same experience. My theory is that most of those fish are feeding at will and in any given spot and time one maybe two are cative feeders. Those are the ones you catch. I have returned 1-2 hrs later and repeated the scenario. I have abuddy who will just park on top of them and stay for hrs. He usually gets several fish, but man that is boring. So I do a lot of spot hopping when these conditions exist


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## Workingman

So far, my fall crappie shore spots at hoover have not produced. I feel like we are at least 2 weeks behind


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## Snookhunter52

Agreed, I feel that I usually don't start catching crappie and saugeye until November in years past. Every year I make the same mistake of fishing Hoover too early. I then see that the docks are still in and I remind myself that I only start catching fish until after the docks are pulled (not a direct relationship but a visual cue that now is the time to fish).


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## sixtyminutes

Southernsaug said:


> Sixtyminutes, I have had the same experience. My theory is that most of those fish are feeding at will and in any given spot and time one maybe two are cative feeders. Those are the ones you catch. I have returned 1-2 hrs later and repeated the scenario. I have abuddy who will just park on top of them and stay for hrs. He usually gets several fish, but man that is boring. So I do a lot of spot hopping when these conditions exist


Thank you for the insight. That seems to be confirmed by my experience. Spot hopping at Hoover is tougher with the HP restrictions. I don't know that I have ever seen this much bait at the end of Oct. There are going to be some fat fish. No wonder those Blue Cats are growing so big. Maybe we can get fisheries division to cross Blue Cats with Walleyes.


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## sixtyminutes

Workingman said:


> So far, my fall crappie shore spots at hoover have not produced. I feel like we are at least 2 weeks behind


It won't be long. 60 degree surface temps and the shorter days will change behavior of the fish. They know they need to fatten up before winter. We are also used to Hoover water levels being low by now. They have more options.


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## FishThis

Has anybody been to Delaware in the past day or two? Curious what the lake looks like, clarity/visibility wise.


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## Snookhunter52

It looks like they're drawing it down now. It's about half a foot below summer pool.


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## Snookhunter52

Went out to alum and Hoover today. Managed to catch 5 crappie (4 keepers), 3 small bass and 4 saugeye (2 keepers). Crappie were caught on 2.75 slush and clearwater big joshies and I caught the saugeye with a 3.25 clown big joshies.


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## fishless

Snookhunter52 said:


> Went out to alum and Hoover today. Managed to catch 5 crappie (4 keepers), 3 small bass and 4 saugeye (2 keepers). Crappie were caught on 2.75 slush and clearwater big joshies and I caught the saugeye with a 3.25 clown big joshies.
> 
> View attachment 478756


How deep if you don't mind ?


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## Snookhunter52

I was bank fishing. I was fishing in a pretty deep spot for the crappie (maybe 25'). I caught some of them right along the bottom while others were suspended chasing shad. The saugeye were pretty shallow and were right up against the rocks. I caught them casting parallel to the shore and slowly reeling it in (ticking the rocks).


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## fishless

Snookhunter52 said:


> I was bank fishing. I was fishing in a pretty deep spot for the crappie (maybe 25'). I caught some of them right along the bottom while others were suspended chasing shad. The saugeye were pretty shallow and were right up against the rocks. I caught them casting parallel to the shore and slowly reeling it in (ticking the rocks).


Thank you,I've been struggling on the Saugeye even though they should be on fire


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## Workingman

Love seeing fish caught from shore! Gives me hope! Haha. Nice job


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## Isaac_02

Are we to the time of year yet where it would work to throw blade baits from the shore of Hoover and Alum? I did that once on thanksgiving with success but have very little fall fishing experience.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## 1basshunter

Isaac_02 said:


> Are we to the time of year yet where it would work to throw blade baits from the shore of Hoover and Alum? I did that once on thanksgiving with success but have very little fall fishing experience.
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


 It’s been time for some time now


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## Aidan Kirkpatrick

Bohanan66 said:


> Great thread! Also, I'd like to know what everyone's top three saugeye lakes are in central Ohio.
> I've been checking on opinions of Indian Lake and found a lot of disappointment this fall.


Hoover and alum I’ve heard that buckeye is really good especially if your on the bank if you want to drive that far


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## Snookhunter52

Went out to Hoover for a couple hours. Caught about 15 crappie, only kept 4. Most of the fish were 9" or smaller. Was only wanting a few decent fish (10-12") to bring home. Caught them using a 2.75" Clearwater shad joshy. Was throwing it as far out I as I could then letting it sink all the way to the bottom and was barely creeping it along. Fish were not thumping the bait they had previous years and I blame the big cool down that we had. I also managed to catch a nice 17" smallmouth which was a lot of fun on crappie gear.


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