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Thread: Loon Pit

  1. #1
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    Loon Pit

    Would you guys feel safe launching a fiberglass boat in Loon pit? If so, which ramp would you use. I'm just worried I won't be able to get it up with 2WD or there will be a hole at the bottom of it. I've been fishing Bluegrass and catching some good quality bass (catch and release) but would like to learn Loon a little bit to mix it up. Any suggestions or how to navigate the lake would be much appreciated.

  2. #2
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    The South end ramp is still open at Loon Pit

    The gravel/dirt launch ramp at the South end of Loon Pit is still open. It's off Kansas road near the North end of Euler road.

    But the water is very shallow in this area and there are weeds around the launch ramp. There is also a lot of coal dust or black muck in this very shallow water. This ramp is probably best suited for launching a canoe or kayak than a boat.

    The last time I launched my 15'11 1/2" long boat at this ramp I pulled in too much black goo into my water cooling system and almost ruined my motor. I had to have the water pump impeller replaced and the entire water cooling system flush out. It was not pretty.

    But if you keep your motor up and can launch there and get out into deeper water it's possible to launch a smaller boat from this ramp.

    I say this now 7/18/16 because the other day when I last went to check out Bluegrass F&W area I noticed that the North End of Loon Pit had the concrete launch ramp blocked off by IDNR. This is where the ramp drops off into a hole at the end of the concrete. So IDNR workers blocked it off with baracades making it off limits to launch at this end of the lake.

    I was able to launch my boat at the South end a while back ( about three years ago) with only 2 wheel drive. I was able to get my boat to float off the boat trailer before my back wheels got to deep in the water. And I guess someone put some gravel on top of the mud when they made this small back woods type launch ramp. It does not have any concrete at the South end of Loon. Only the North End of Loon pit has a concrete launch ramp.

    All the launch ramps at Blue grass are slippery these days if they are made out of concrete. Nothing has been done out there to control the growth of algae on the concrete ramps from what I've seen. And some of the lakes have more weeds that water. The lakes IMHO look bad this years. Something in the water or soil is causing the algae or water weed to grow out of control all around the edge of some of the pits out there. I'm not sure what's in the water that causes that overgrowth.

    Years past the IDNR would treat the water to keep a portion of the weeds in the water. There use to be some water lilies at Bird Dog Pit but I think that when they treated the water to try to kill some of the submergent vegetation they also killed all the water lilies too. I've not seem them growing in that spot at Bird Dog Pit for about 4 or 5 years ago.

  3. #3
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    Thank you!

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    Your welcome man.

    Quote Originally Posted by jkelley1487 View Post
    Thank you!
    I'd fish the Southern end of Loon pit where the trees are flooded. You can see the trees above the water from Kansas Road. That forest of flooded timber has some nice fish in there among the trees. I see people fishing the deeper sections of those trees all the time. As in the last ten years or longer. There is always a boat out there fishing the deep end of those submerged trees. I've caught some nice big crappie in my secret spot among those trees. There is one spot where the water is only a few feet deep and within 15 ft. away the water is over 20 ft. deep. So the crappie spawn on the top of that shallow area. I'm not sure how large the shallow area is but it was a hot spot. I found it by accident while slow trolling though the area with a live minnow from the front of my boat. I caught a fish and threw a marker buoy out and then inspected the area around the buoy with my sonar. It's hard fishing among all those trees. So you have to be careful if you fish tight line with a minnow on a hook. As it's very snaggy. I figure that casting a weed less bait like a Crappie Slider might be better to fish among all those submerged limbs and trees.

    As time goes on the limbs on the submerged trees will rot and fall off to the bottom of the lake and only the trunks will remain. But that may take some time to happen. Crappie and bass will suspend in and among the submerged trees but are hard to fish out of that mess.

  5. #5
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    Your welcome man.

    Quote Originally Posted by jkelley1487 View Post
    Thank you!
    I'd fish the Southern end of Loon pit where the trees are flooded. You can see the trees above the water from Kansas Road. That forest of flooded timber has some nice fish in there among the trees. I see people fishing the deeper sections of those trees all the time. As in the last ten years or longer. There is always a boat out there fishing the deep end of those submerged trees. I've caught some nice big crappie in my secret spot among those trees. There is one spot where the water is only a few feet deep and within 15 ft. away the water is over 20 ft. deep. So the crappie spawn on the top of that shallow area. I'm not sure how large the shallow area is but it was a hot spot. I found it by accident while slow trolling though the area with a live minnow from the front of my boat. I caught a fish and threw a marker buoy out and then inspected the area around the buoy with my sonar. It's hard fishing among all those trees. So you have to be careful if you fish tight line with a minnow on a hook. As it's very snaggy. I figure that casting a weed less bait like a Crappie Slider might be better to fish among all those submerged limbs and trees.

    As time goes on the limbs on the submerged trees will rot and fall off to the bottom of the lake and only the trunks will remain. But that may take some time to happen. Crappie and bass will suspend in and among the submerged trees but are hard to fish out of that mess.

    And Loon has the least amount of space for parking boat trailers as compared to Bluegrass and Otter Pit. And the smaller pits have even less parking lot space. Still you can park about 10 trucks with boat trailers at Loon if everyone would park the right way. Parking parallel to the roadway limits how many truck and boat trailers can be parked in the Loon Parking lot or along the roadway into Loon Pit's launch ramp.

    But right now the North Launch ramp is close. IDNR has a trailer with a blade on the back of the trailer that can push gravel into the hole at the end of the concrete slab on the loon pit launch ramp. But it may be a while before the Property Manager of Sugar Ridge/BlueGrass F&W area can get the funding to do that job. Hopefully he will get that launch ramp hole fixed sooner rather than later. There is just way too many big motors using that launch ramp and washing out the dirt at the end of the concrete when they recover their boats back on the boat trailer. If they could just get the boat lined up straight and power up on the trailer the first time they would not have to use that big motor and wash out the end of the ramp trying to get their boats on their boat trailers. I've spent hours watching people with these big boats trying to power up on the trailer to get the boat up the last 6" so that they could hook up the boat to the wench rope or safety chains. Everyone that fishes this area should watch others trying to recover their boats on their trailers. They will push their boat up onto the trailer and be off six inches to the left or right and have to try to back up and redo it again and again. And I would say that about 90% of the people I watched trying to recover their boats on to their boat trailers fail and have to redo it again and again due to the design of the boat and trailer. If My boat is off a few inches I keep it on the trailer and pull up and into the parking lot and push my boat back on the trailer while it's on the parking lot. I can recover my boat with little times if things go right. And I very seldom have to power my motor up to get the boat up on the trailer all the way. But I have a smaller boat and they are easier to recover than the bigger boats. And my trailer has 12' long 2"X4" boards spaced about 3 ft apart and sitting on edge on my trailer. So my boat glides onto the top edge of these boards very easily and the boat only stops when it it's all the way up on the trailer. I can launch my boat easily within two minutes and that includes getting the boat off the boat trailer and my truck parked out of the way. In less than three minutes I'm back in my boat and out of the way of others about 95 % of the time. I don't park on the ramp and prep my boat for launching. Instead I prep my boat while still in the parking lot and clear of the ramp. When I back down the ramp it's only to quickly launch the boat and get off the ramp so that another boat can launch and recover. I use a 75 ft long rope on my boat and have quick clips on each end of the rope to make launching the boat easier and faster. I learned this launching technique from one of the older and now retired Conservation Officers. He gave me the idea and I adopted it and use it to this day. Not at time things can go wrong and it may screw up my launching system but that only happens once in a blue moon.

  6. #6
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    Quote Originally Posted by Moveon View Post
    I'd fish the Southern end of Loon pit where the trees are flooded. You can see the trees above the water from Kansas Road. That forest of flooded timber has some nice fish in there among the trees. I see people fishing the deeper sections of those trees all the time. As in the last ten years or longer. There is always a boat out there fishing the deep end of those submerged trees. I've caught some nice big crappie in my secret spot among those trees. There is one spot where the water is only a few feet deep and within 15 ft. away the water is over 20 ft. deep. So the crappie spawn on the top of that shallow area. I'm not sure how large the shallow area is but it was a hot spot. I found it by accident while slow trolling though the area with a live minnow from the front of my boat. I caught a fish and threw a marker buoy out and then inspected the area around the buoy with my sonar. It's hard fishing among all those trees. So you have to be careful if you fish tight line with a minnow on a hook. As it's very snaggy. I figure that casting a weed less bait like a Crappie Slider might be better to fish among all those submerged limbs and trees.

    As time goes on the limbs on the submerged trees will rot and fall off to the bottom of the lake and only the trunks will remain. But that may take some time to happen. Crappie and bass will suspend in and among the submerged trees but are hard to fish out of that mess.
    Thanks for the advice Moveon.

  7. #7
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    Quote Originally Posted by Moveon View Post
    The gravel/dirt launch ramp at the South end of Loon Pit is still open. It's off Kansas road near the North end of Euler road.

    But the water is very shallow in this area and there are weeds around the launch ramp. There is also a lot of coal dust or black muck in this very shallow water. This ramp is probably best suited for launching a canoe or kayak than a boat.

    The last time I launched my 15'11 1/2" long boat at this ramp I pulled in too much black goo into my water cooling system and almost ruined my motor. I had to have the water pump impeller replaced and the entire water cooling system flush out. It was not pretty.

    But if you keep your motor up and can launch there and get out into deeper water it's possible to launch a smaller boat from this ramp.

    I say this now 7/18/16 because the other day when I last went to check out Bluegrass F&W area I noticed that the North End of Loon Pit had the concrete launch ramp blocked off by IDNR. This is where the ramp drops off into a hole at the end of the concrete. So IDNR workers blocked it off with baracades making it off limits to launch at this end of the lake.

    I was able to launch my boat at the South end a while back ( about three years ago) with only 2 wheel drive. I was able to get my boat to float off the boat trailer before my back wheels got to deep in the water. And I guess someone put some gravel on top of the mud when they made this small back woods type launch ramp. It does not have any concrete at the South end of Loon. Only the North End of Loon pit has a concrete launch ramp.

    All the launch ramps at Blue grass are slippery these days if they are made out of concrete. Nothing has been done out there to control the growth of algae on the concrete ramps from what I've seen. And some of the lakes have more weeds that water. The lakes IMHO look bad this years. Something in the water or soil is causing the algae or water weed to grow out of control all around the edge of some of the pits out there. I'm not sure what's in the water that causes that overgrowth.

    Years past the IDNR would treat the water to keep a portion of the weeds in the water. There use to be some water lilies at Bird Dog Pit but I think that when they treated the water to try to kill some of the submergent vegetation they also killed all the water lilies too. I've not seem them growing in that spot at Bird Dog Pit for about 4 or 5 years ago.
    Why would you even fish a hole like that.

    Sucking in so much black goo that it ruined your water system....holy WOW.

    I'd probably never, in a god zillion years fish such water......to each his own though.

    later,

    Geo

  8. #8
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    thousands fish this lake

    Quote Originally Posted by GeoFisher View Post
    Why would you even fish a hole like that.

    Sucking in so much black goo that it ruined your water system....holy WOW.

    I'd probably never, in a god zillion years fish such water......to each his own though.

    later,

    Geo
    Thousands of people fish these lakes. When the price of gas jumped up to $4/gal many guys started fishing these local Fish and Wildllife area instead of driving all the way to KY lake and Canada. I started fishing these pits (26 of them) back around 2003. Back then it was trolling motor only and my boat is perfect for that type of environment. And there is a lot of wildlife that frequents the area. Beavers, Deer, Coyote, and Bald Eagles fly over the area. Thousands of people in this area frequent this Fish and Wildlife Area from the Evansville and other surrounding areas.

    Also these lakes have huge black bass in them as well as Muskie. They have a good population of white crappie. many bass over 18" long are being caught and released in these water.

    And the time I launched at the South end of Loon Pit was my first time launching in that poor launch area. It's basically a shallow launch area with gravel on top but no real concrete launch ramp or facilities. But it's closer to the fishing area at this pit. You see this pit is 210 acres in size and has the most diverse structure of all the 26 different bodies of water in Blue Grass Fish and Wildlife Area. When I launched at the South end I was not aware of the black goo in the lake bottom and how shallow it was at the launch ramp. It's not really a launch ramp per se. But I was able to get my boat to float off the trailer without having to back down into the water very far. So it had a drop off that would allow the boat to float off the trailer before the back wheels of my two wheel drive truck got into the water. As I said it was closer to the areas I wanted to fish. And the lake or pit is a very long strip pit. It's over a mile from one end to the other. And back then it was trolling motor only so it took a long time to launch from the North end and troll all the way down to the South end to fish. Then I had to troll all the way back with the electric trolling motor. Which took up valuable fishing time for me. So I tried to launch from the South end instead so that I would be closer to the actually fishing area. The south end has submerged trees in the water and better fishing than the North End. But the North end has the concrete ramp. And today that concrete ramp at the North end is block off (CLOSED) by IDNR as it's too dangerous to launch from right now. IDNR doesn't have the money to fix it in a timely manner evidently as it's been closed for a week or more now.

    I fished it a total of about 6 times over the last ten years. I fish the other pits in this area more as they have better facilities and launch ramps.

    And I fished this area because it was only about 10 minutes from my house. I could spend more time fishing and less time and money traveling to and from the lake.

    And why do you even care where I fished? Do you fish this area? Do you ever intend to fish down here? You never fished nor will you ever fish these area. So what's your interest in this pit? Seriously GEO. Why do you care where I fish at? And I normally don't fish this pit anymore for various reasons including the poor launch ramp conditions on both ends of the lake. The South end is too shallow and undeveloped and the North end ramp is washed out at the end of the concrete which can cause trailer wheels to fall off the end of the concrete into big hole in the dirt.

  9. #9
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    Quote Originally Posted by Moveon View Post
    Thousands of people fish these lakes. When the price of gas jumped up to $4/gal many guys started fishing these local Fish and Wildllife area instead of driving all the way to KY lake and Canada. I started fishing these pits (26 of them) back around 2003. Back then it was trolling motor only and my boat is perfect for that type of environment. And there is a lot of wildlife that frequents the area. Beavers, Deer, Coyote, and Bald Eagles fly over the area. Thousands of people in this area frequent this Fish and Wildlife Area from the Evansville and other surrounding areas.

    Also these lakes have huge black bass in them as well as Muskie. They have a good population of white crappie. many bass over 18" long are being caught and released in these water.

    And the time I launched at the South end of Loon Pit was my first time launching in that poor launch area. It's basically a shallow launch area with gravel on top but no real concrete launch ramp or facilities. But it's closer to the fishing area at this pit. You see this pit is 210 acres in size and has the most diverse structure of all the 26 different bodies of water in Blue Grass Fish and Wildlife Area. When I launched at the South end I was not aware of the black goo in the lake bottom and how shallow it was at the launch ramp. It's not really a launch ramp per se. But I was able to get my boat to float off the trailer without having to back down into the water very far. So it had a drop off that would allow the boat to float off the trailer before the back wheels of my two wheel drive truck got into the water. As I said it was closer to the areas I wanted to fish. And the lake or pit is a very long strip pit. It's over a mile from one end to the other. And back then it was trolling motor only so it took a long time to launch from the North end and troll all the way down to the South end to fish. Then I had to troll all the way back with the electric trolling motor. Which took up valuable fishing time for me. So I tried to launch from the South end instead so that I would be closer to the actually fishing area. The south end has submerged trees in the water and better fishing than the North End. But the North end has the concrete ramp. And today that concrete ramp at the North end is block off (CLOSED) by IDNR as it's too dangerous to launch from right now. IDNR doesn't have the money to fix it in a timely manner evidently as it's been closed for a week or more now.

    I fished it a total of about 6 times over the last ten years. I fish the other pits in this area more as they have better facilities and launch ramps.

    And I fished this area because it was only about 10 minutes from my house. I could spend more time fishing and less time and money traveling to and from the lake.

    And why do you even care where I fished? Do you fish this area? Do you ever intend to fish down here? You never fished nor will you ever fish these area. So what's your interest in this pit? Seriously GEO. Why do you care where I fish at? And I normally don't fish this pit anymore for various reasons including the poor launch ramp conditions on both ends of the lake. The South end is too shallow and undeveloped and the North end ramp is washed out at the end of the concrete which can cause trailer wheels to fall off the end of the concrete into big hole in the dirt.
    Easy......I was only asking a question.

    If the water was so contaminated that the goo would be all over and in your boat...I actually thought you were talking that there was a film or something on the water. Re reading, I'm taking you stirred up the goo, and that was the issue.

    And I've fished a few of those in the past, but only because they were close to a buddy that wanted to fish.

    I prefer to fish bigger water.

    Sorry I asked.

  10. #10
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    Quote Originally Posted by GeoFisher View Post
    Easy......I was only asking a question.

    If the water was so contaminated that the goo would be all over and in your boat...I actually thought you were talking that there was a film or something on the water. Re reading, I'm taking you stirred up the goo, and that was the issue.

    And I've fished a few of those in the past, but only because they were close to a buddy that wanted to fish.

    I prefer to fish bigger water.

    Sorry I asked.
    The black goo is coal dust that's on the bottom of the lake. And in the shallow areas if your motor is not trimmed up it can **** up the coal dust into the water intake cooling system. The water at the South end launch ramp is only about 2ft or 3ft deep and when the water level is low it's even more shallower. There is no black goo floating in the water unless you stir it up from the bottom in the very shallow water. Most all the other areas of this pit are 50 ft deep or so. It probably averages 20 ft deep as there is a lot of shallow areas in the pit. It's a total of 210 acres in size. It not very wide across but it's very long and narrow.

    If I had a boat with a different front end I would also prefer more open water and larger bodies of water. But my alumnuim boat is like a John Boat and the front is is square and doesn't take to big water with huge waves. The front end of my boat won't slice thought he waves and I get pounded when I hit a big wave at the wrong angle. I made a mistake when I bought my boat back in 1978. But it's great for places like Bluegrass where the water is calm.

    I could not fish Bluegrass when it was first opened up as I don't have a four wheel drive vehicle and could not launch my boat on the gravel ramps. But the IDNR improved the ramps and now there are five concrete ramps on four different bodies of water there. The concrete launch ramps are not very steep and if the water level is up high I can't launch my boat there. Sort of like trying to launch a boat at Patoka's Fisherman's Campground Launch ramp when the water level at Patoka Lake is high and up to the top of the ramp and in the lower part of the parking lot. Your vehicle would have to be in the water before the boat will float off the trailer when the ramp is not steep enough and the water level is up high. Now if they had made the launch ramps at a steeper angle it would be nice but they didn't do it that way.

  11. #11
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    IDNR CO's arrest meth users at Loon Pit Launch ramp

    I just read on another facebook page that the IDNR Conservation Officers found and arrested a couple people for using meth at the launch ramp at Loon Pit in the Bluegrass Fish and Wildlife Area. Hey guy's It's NOT that kind of Wild Life that is suppose to be used for. Wildlife like in ducks, deer, turkeys and eagles. Not wild drunken and drug parties like these guys were having.

    I carry a weapon when I got to Bluegrass Fish and Wildlife Area after it gets dark. You never know what's going on over there after it gets dark. Sometimes it may not be exactly safe during the day. If I see a car parked over there and someone is not fishing I'm always suspect as to what they are up to. They could be out hunting on foot or they could be a couple of teens in the back seat making out or worse. So I avoid them and move on. I drive by the area a lot but have not been fishing out there much due to my health and so many people using the facility.

    When I first went out there back in 2003 there were not nearly the number of people using the fish and wildlife area. It was relatively uninhabited and wild back then. No boats with gas motors were allowed on the waters out there back then. But the IDNR revised the rules and started allowing gas motors at Idle Speed only out there on the waters. I've noticed that Idle Speed is a relative term to some people out there. So think that Idel Speed is 10 mph or faster. To me Idle Speed is 2 mph or less. IE the lowest setting on the gas throttle on my small gas engine. But I have a 35 HP gas engine on my boat. Others' have larger engines. And a 250 HP Mercury can't idle down as much as I can in my little boat. And some boat drivers just either don't know about the speed limit or more likely than not JUST DON'T CARE about the rules. I wish that IDNR CO's would fine them once in a while to make them obey the rules as we are suppose to. But the CO's can't be out there all the time. But if the CO's are out there in their boat everyone seems to suddenly start obeying the rules. Funny how that works.

    I'm glad that the CO's are out there patrolling the place and keeping order out there. Two guys were arrested for using meth out there and hopefully won't be back anytime soon.

    Mean while I keep some defensive Flex type 9mm bullets in my carry gun and keep a couple extra magazines of ammo on me when I'm out and about.

    I fished the area from around 2003 until about 2015 (went fishing out there one time last year) and have never really had any problems with other people while out there. Well once I had a problem with a big dog that didn't want me launching my boat on the North End of Loon Pit. A Huge Great Dane was playing fetch with his care keeper that day and attacked me when I approached the launch ramp on foot. I wish that I had my 9mm that day sometimes. But the bite was not threatening other than bacterial infection possibility. He drew blood though on my right elbow. He sneaked up behind me and bit me one the right elbow from behind. After that the lady and guy taking the dogs for a swim put them in their SUV and locked them up. I should not have to wait for people and dogs paying fetch on the ramp before I can launch my boat out there. But so many people take their pet dogs out there to play with them and some do it right on the concrete launch ramps. Those ramps are there for the boat owners to use to launch their boats as a 1st priority IMHO. They are not there to park your car on the ramp and fish off the tail gate for hours at a time either.

    There have been many times when I was out there just driving around that I've seen people's trucks/vans parked on the concrete launch ramp right in the way so that no one could launch a boat at the ramp without having to get them to move their vehicle. I'm sure I'm not the only boat owner that's irritated when people monopolize the boat launch ramps. Most people launch their boats there and then move their boat trailer and vehicle off the concrete launch ramp and go park it in the parking lot.

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