I won't take the boat over to any of the Blue Grass F&W area Lakes on a weekend. Maybe if it's cold and raining it might not be so crowded. At least the people who fish Blue Grass Pit have learned to park so that more can get a parking spot. People are all pretty much parking the same way and this allows many more boat trailers to park in the South Blue Grass Pit's parking lot. The one next to New Harmony Road.
Even on weekdays the parking lots can get crowded. People are hearing about Blue Grass and driving here to fish. Hey I got news for those guys/gals. This is not KY Lake and it's only 190 acres in size. Loon Pit is only 210 Acres.
I use to be able to drive over to Otter Pit and fish from the launch ramp around dusk. But the last year and again this year two women stake out the launch ramp and park their lawn chairs on the ramp. The last time I took the boat over to fish Otter pit I got there and say their butts sitting in the middle of the ramp. I swung around and backed up and make them move a little faster than I think they wanted to. That's ok by me. They don't need to be putting obsticals on the launch ramp. Every fall the past three or four years the UE Outdoor Club take over the ramp and the handicapped parking spot next to the ramp. They bring 20 canoes and put them all on the ramp so as to block it so no one else can launch a boat. Usually they do this is September so it's not that busy but still I fish that pit during that time of the year. The last time I took pictures of their canoe trailer which they parked across the launch ramp and then took the keys to the tow vehicle and went out for a ride on the water. So if anyone came there to fish they would have to wait until the idiot with the keys came back to the launch ramp and move the **** trailer. They put tables and cook dinner right where the handicap van parking is located. Now I'm not that disabled that I need to use a wheel chair or a wheel chair assesible van to get around to fish. But one of my neighbors is confined to a wheel chair and I've seen him over at Bluegrass Pit trying to fish. The rocks and gravel are covering the concrete parking pads and that would make it hard to roll a wheel chair over that pavement. I know that when I'm shopping and the wheels on the shopping cart hit some thing on the floor it stops me cold in my tracks and the wheel locks up. So I can try to image that the wheels on a wheel chair could not like loose gravel spread on top of the concrete handicapped pad.
And also they need to get permission to use any of the waters in the Blue Grass F&W area before they put 30 people in there at one time.
Evansville Canoe also use to bring a bunch of canoes to the Bluegrass F&W area and they too would take over the launch ramp for the day. And they are having people pay to use the canoes so it's considered a commercial interprise. So just like people wanting to have a fishing tournament on the lakes there they have to get permission from the Property Manager before they put in all those canoes.
Now add another 300 or more people with kayaks and Bluegrass's Big Pits are getting over used IMHO.
Ever Since the IDNR started to allow big motors to operation on the lakes in the Blue Grass F&W are the number of boats and people have increased. And as word has spread the number of people using the facilities has increased ten fold since when I started going over there to fish for crappie. I've had kayakers cut right by me where I'm fishing the shallow waters near the bank. They paddle right though were I'm fishing. Two girls did that one time to me and I explained about fishing ediquet and how one is not appreciated cutting though a current fishing area . They didn't even know that unwritten rule of the water that most all fishermen of character obey. But bluegrass is getting so crowded on the weekends it hard not to cut though a guys fishing area when traveling through out the lake. Take the entrance to the "H" area at Blue Grass Pit. One boat fishing the mouth of that area can effectively block off the entrance to other boats if they didn't cut though his fishing area. A single boat can park out there in the middle and cast all the way to either bank with todays modern rods and reels and fishing line. So when I go though into the "H" I apologize for cutting though his fishing area or at least try to speak and be friendly.
I stopped fishing Bluegrass Last year as it was just too crowded to fish the way I fish. I could not troll my crank baits like I wanted to with all the other boats in the way. Some were crossing one way and the others were going another way. When you have 30 boat trailers on the South end and 8 to 10 boat trailers on the North end of Blue Grass Pit it's hard to troll along the drop off that curve in and out from the bank. So I'm going back to fishing with minnow and drop shooting for crappie along the drop with wood on them. I know a few good spots that I've caught fish in the past and have them marked on my Humminbird GPS and my Garmin GPS units. But I won't be fishing over there like I did in the past. It's just too crowded. It was nice at first when not many other people know about it and I could fish in solitude and it was so peaceful that once in a while I could observe deer coming down to the edge of the water to drink. And one evening I saw two beavers swimming in the "H" entrance area where the Beaver Lodge is located. That was pretty cool. I've seen evidence of the beavers work but have not seen any of the live Beavers around the past 6 years or so. Too many people for them to show themselves these days. It was getting dark and I was going back to the launch ramp to go home when I saw the two live beavers swimming across the lake.
I've also see White Tail Deer swimming across the main part of the lake. I have seen snakes swimming across the lake one time and most of them are found along the edge of the water. Raccoons also frequent the shorelines out there at night.
Blue Grass Fish and Wildlife Area is being LOVED TO DEATH by too many people trying to use the facility.
And then there are the idiots that go out there and drive off the gravel roads and tear up the ground with their stupid four wheel vehicles. They should drive up to Inter-lake instead and use those designated off road trails up there. That what they are there for. It cost the IDNR a fortune to repair the damage done by a few individuals with no sense of public property respect what so ever. Every sign that's knocked down or every piece of used fishing line and trash make the place worse off. Use Blue Grass and respect it is what I'm saying.
The problem in IN is that we just have too many people and not enough natural resources these days. As compared to the area around KY lake back in the 1940 where it was rural and peaceful back in the day. Today it's not that way anymore and that's a crying shame.
So if you are smart you will try to fish during the middle of the week and stay away from Blue Grass on the Weekend when it's over crowded.