# CJ Brown Help Needed



## Sluggo (Aug 30, 2004)

My family and I are headed to CJ Brown Res. this weekend to camp and fish. I live near Akron but my brother lives in Springfield. We are going to camp at CJB so our families can get together for some quality time before winter. I will be fishing in between with my boat. I have never fished this lake but would like to catch some walleyes. I heard it is good for wally's, so ANY help would be appreciated. Please let me know what to try, what depth, where to fish, etc. I only have 2 days to fish there so I can't learn the lake in that time without your help. You can PM me if you want, or post a reply here. Again, please respond with help to make this trip memorable. Thanks ahead of time to all who reply!

Sluggo


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## Crappie/Eyes (Mar 10, 2007)

If the walleye are not biting, take along your crappie gear. It is my understanding that they can be caught near the marina or near the fish attractors at this time of year. It might be worth your while to trying under the docks in the marina as well.


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## NorthSouthOhioFisherman (May 7, 2007)

the walleyes prolly arent biting like normall lol. But if anything get a map and jig the midlake humps or troll any deep areas with a bottom bouncer. sometimes cranks can be good a ceratin dephs(look at ur finder). lots a cats i caught 1 crappie today there so good luck!


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## GETTIN' THERE (Apr 17, 2007)

Hate to burst your bubble, but the walleye fishing at CJ has been horrible this year..in fact the last two. Look for postings by Blueboat 98, he knows
the lake very well, but you will notice there have not been many postings
this year. Catfish have been doing well. Good luck.


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## BlueBoat98 (Nov 5, 2004)

Yeah, I've been pretty much AWOL for a couple of months. I guess I picked a good year to have a bunch of other obligations that kept me off the water. Last Spring the biologists were afraid that a whole generation of those 15 - 20 inch Walleyes were missing and it looks like they were right. We did catch some very nice fish in the Spring and a bundle of spikes but those prime fryers were mostly a no-show compared to past years.

I did take a look at the Corps data from a couple of weeks ago. http://www.lrl.usace.army.mil/wc/wq/cbr.html
This shows that whatever thermocline there may have been this year is already gone and the O2 content is adequate, though not ideal, throughout the water column. Translation - THOSE FISH COULD BE ANYWHERE!

Trolling out there is not really my thing but that's what I would try if I had a couple of days, the right gear and enough gas. Try some spinners, worm harnesses, and cranks like Hot 'n Tot, Wally Diver, etc. Stuff that looks like Shad or Perch. Try various depths and watch for the fish and pods of bait. If you hit fish note the depth and the location, then go back over them. Hopefully you have a GPS. It will make your life a lot easier.

Good luck.

MC


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## david11959 (Apr 22, 2004)

i have some trolling stuff for sale if anyone wants to buy


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## cjbrown (May 22, 2007)

What do you have?


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## lurer (Oct 25, 2006)

I have caught them, early in the morning, trolling (lines in right away) from the boat ramp to the first marina on the right (direct line; keeping an eye out for any small irregularities to drift) using medium and deeper cranks to cover all depths, or worm harnesses (weighted) for a slow troll. 

The weekdays, or nights are the best because of boat traffic. If you are set on the morning weekends....go early.....the earlier the better.

Good luck and let us know how you did.


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## Sluggo (Aug 30, 2004)

Thanks to everyone for their help! One of you mentioned crappie. How is the crappie fishing now? Any size? Think I should focus on crappie instead?


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## bumblebee (Mar 14, 2007)

I caught 48 on Sunday morning. I did not messure but I would say most of the fish were in the 7-9 inch range. I caught them around the rocks with minnows. Good Luck


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## cajun willie (Jun 2, 2007)

good stuff bee, i might take the kid after school today. We got into'em in the spring and he had a ball, we usualy catch ours on jigs. Any idea has the fall white bass bite started yet?? He likes catching them on his ultra light. Dad likes it too.


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## Sluggo (Aug 30, 2004)

Well it seems as though I am going to focus on crappie then. I LOVE crappie fishing, so this won't be a problem. Can I use minnows on CJB? Where could I buy some nearest the campground?


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## wader (Dec 9, 2004)

I don't mean to call bumblebee a liar, I believe that he caught 48 crappies, I just don't believe they were 7"-9". CJ is full of crappies that are about 6". I've seem maybe a half dozen crappie 9" long come out of that hole in the last 5 years. In the spring and fall you can't keep them off of your hook if you are using a spinner, or a cicada. I used to fish that lake a lot, but got tired of getting skunked while fishing for walleyes, and catching hundreds of 6" crappies, and 12" catfish. Its a great place to take kids fishing, but if you're looking for a quality experience, there are better holes.


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## lurer (Oct 25, 2006)

Deer Creek is a decent hole. It's good for crappie and sauger/eye.


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## fshman_165 (May 26, 2004)

Sluggo, 

Check for my pm. Plenty of 10, 11 and 12 inch fish to be had. Just gotta know where to look.


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## BlueBoat98 (Nov 5, 2004)

Fshman is correct. Although I don't target them there have been times when you can't get a jig to the bottom without hooking a 12 - 14 inch Crappie. I've had several F.O. Crappies on a jig and worm. I don't keep them so I've always thrown them back for you guys to catch.

Oh, yeah. There are bait stores on both of the main routes into C.J. and a couple along Rt. 4. You should be able to find minnows.

MC


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## Flathead King 06 (Feb 26, 2006)

wader said:


> I don't mean to call bumblebee a liar, I believe that he caught 48 crappies, I just don't believe they were 7"-9". CJ is full of crappies that are about 6". I've seem maybe a half dozen crappie 9" long come out of that hole in the last 5 years. In the spring and fall you can't keep them off of your hook if you are using a spinner, or a cicada. I used to fish that lake a lot, but got tired of getting skunked while fishing for walleyes, and catching hundreds of 6" crappies, and 12" catfish. Its a great place to take kids fishing, but if you're looking for a quality experience, there are better holes.


TRUE!!!!! but I tend to disagree on the fact that the crappie are all 6".... everything else you nailed... I am only 19 and I have put my time in on that lake and can tell you from experience that the average crappie for CJ Brown is between 7-9 inches...thats almost everywhere you catch them on the lake, but there are a bunch on fish in the 10-15" range....just got to put some time and effort in to find them.....we went out this past may and caught around 300 crappie on the lake in one afternoon...granted 99.9% of them were in the 6-9" range...we managed 15 that were keepers....the biggest one was 17".....believe me or not--- but during the WB run in buck creek...we were catching crappie up to 13" on rapalas and roadrunners.....

now catching them on the rocks....eh....maybe, depends on which set of rocks he was talking about  ...just messing....if I am correct I know exactly where he was catching them...and thats pretty much their wintering area(s)---(keep up the good work bumblebee) 

as far as the WB bite? I havent heard anything about it yet...it should be picking up soon if its not already going strong.....but I dont know


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## Sluggo (Aug 30, 2004)

I just wanted to thank all of you who offered me help by posting your suggestions and those who sent private messages. It ended up that I only got about 2 hours of fishing in on the lake! My brother who lives in Springfield brought his 2 boys over (ages 6 and 4) to go on the boat with my two children (ages 5 and 3) for each day we were there. For those of you who have kids you probably understand that not much serious fishing got done . . .. tangled rods and reels, snags on the carpet of the boat, etc. Nevertheless, we had a blast and I loved the lake. I plan on going back soon to fish it seriously. On Sunday afternoon I did see someone tied up at the first set of pilings by the boat ramp catching quite a few crappies. They were there when we got there and when we left that day. Anyway, thanks to all of you.


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