Fishing hole was too crowded Saturday and Sun

[Moveon]

I tried to go launch the boat Sat and decided to just drive over to the launch ramp Sat morning to see if there was anyone there. It was raining slightly and my windshield was wet enough to require the windshield wipers. To my surprise the parking lot at Bluegrass South Launch ramp was packed with all types of cars without any boat trailers.

It was packed with people from Casino Aztar who were practicing rowing for a big racing coming up this summer at the Lake behind the Cracker Barrel. The cars were packed in three deep in some places. And there were two big long canoe type boats that were parked parallel to the grass and taking up 4 parking spots. Other cars were parked every where as well as the regular bike riders who park their cars out by the roadway.

I got some video of the parking lot and the people rowing their big canoe race boat. I also took some still photos to document the confusion at the parking lot. I'm glad that I didn't haul the boat over there or I would have been pissed off as they hogged the launch ramp for a good while just loading all twelve people into the huge long canoe.

It's getting to the point where there are more non fishermen using the launch ramp for other activities than there are fishermen launching boats. That's got to stop folks. This is a fish and wildlife area paid for with hunter and fishermen's money and it's not a public park for people to walk their dogs and swim at the launch ramp.

I wish that IDNR's CO's would do more to control this type of activity. I heard that the IDNR property manager requires people doing these type of activities to get a permit from Sugar Ridge before they bring all their canoes to Bluegrass. If that's true then I wish that the CO's would enforce this rule. The bike riders already take up about 4 or 6 parking lots for hours at a time. And they don't buy fishing lures and pay the tax that fishermen do. Those taxes are where the money came from to buy Bluegrass for the F&W area. There are plenty of other places they can park their cars and go bike riding. This parking lot should be reserved for vehicles with boat trailers on the weekends or at least for people who are trying to hunt or fish and pay for a hunting and fishing license.

All my pictures are still on my camera now and are too large in memory size to post directly from my computer to this site. I have to reduce their size by 70% before they are small enough to post here. So that takes a little work. The movie I will have to upload to my U Tube account and post a link to that.

The people were having fun and if they would being a bus it would have been better instead of everyone driving their car to the Scene. The parking lot is not made to handle 50 personal cars at one time. There may be room for about 20 trucks and boat trailers if everyone parks the right way and doesn't take up 3 parking spots by parking parallel to the grass along the gravel parking lot. Most of the fishermen park their boat trailers back into the grass where they can get more vehicles parked.

Saturday was almost as crowded. I took the boat over to Bluegrass Saturday around 11 am and it was too crowded to even get a parking spot. Again there were several trucks and cars parked the wrong way taking up multiple parking spaces. Some people are just clueless and don't think about anyone else but themselves. One truck with a boat trailer was parked near the information sign and parallel to the grass taking up at least 4 parking spots. The nerve of some people! Gees Louise! How could he not see how everyone else was parking to make more room for others? As this area gets more attention from new people it's going to be hard to find any place to park on the weekends. I'm so glad that I retired and can fish on weekdays now. It's a totally different scene on most week days. But it's still getting more crowded even on the weekdays.

On another note. I wish that IDNR would put something in the water to kill all the slimy algae that's growing along the bank and on the surface. That and cut down some of the vegetation along the shoreline so as to make more room for fishing from the bank. The only clear spots to fish from the banks is at the launch ramps where the launching of boats keep the algae at bay. They you have all these little old ladies fishing form lawn chairs that the park right in the middle of the concrete launch ramp.

Glad I got that off my chest! Sorry for this long rant but it's been bugging me for some time and I had to vent! Too much of a good thing going on these days at Bluegrass F&W area. It was much nicer back in 2004 before everyone else noticed it was here.

[SteveM4A1]

If they are using their canoes/kayaks at bluegrass WITHOUT a DNR permit, then i agree with you. However, if they have the permit on their watercraft, they have every right to be there that we do. They need to put another parking lot in for individuals who aren't hunting/fishing and are just parking and walking around and looking. And I mean a BIG one

Edit: And if you want something done about these things, call the CO and complain a lot, and also email the DNR and complain some more. Make their jobs worse and they will listen.

[psprowler]

Bluegrass is now reaping the publicity that was been sewn over the last 10 years. I remember a while back I kept seeing post after post on Fishin.com and thinking to myself "this place will look like Patoka on July 4th weekend in a few years". Not faulting any one individual but there's way too much access to way too much information for anything to be a secret any more.

The river otter release by the DNR was another fine move where money was spent to satisfy non license/permit paying non- anglers. So while the otters are decimating fish populations in small streams all across Indiana that we pay license money to fish, old Joe Schmoe and his family that doesn't pay a dime can come along once every 5 years and say "hey wow look at that otter kids isn't it cool" and then forget about it 5 minutes later.

[RiverRunt]

Bluegrass is now reaping the publicity that was been sewn over the last 10 years. I remember a while back I kept seeing post after post on Fishin.com and thinking to myself "this place will look like Patoka on July 4th weekend in a few years". Not faulting any one individual but there's way too much access to way too much information for anything to be a secret any more.

The river otter release by the DNR was another fine move where money was spent to satisfy non license/permit paying non- anglers. So while the otters are decimating fish populations in small streams all across Indiana that we pay license money to fish, old Joe Schmoe and his family that doesn't pay a dime can come along once every 5 years and say "hey wow look at that otter kids isn't it cool" and then forget about it 5 minutes later.

Right on!

[bassmanic1]

I was up there that day it was crazy . People everywhere but whats funny is Im fishing Ringneck pit with 4 other boats and Im caught 15 crappie that day while most others blanked . Course I used lively minnows w/ crappie nibbles so that may have helped . As moveon said the big pit was a mess of non fishing people but the 200 very loud harleys roaring through the area twice was also annoying . Fishin.com isnt to blame , Steve Ford is . The C & P writer has pushed Bluegrass alot . Indiana could have bought more land in the area too so more people could enjoy it . My advice to us fishing fools out there ? Go during the week or try Sugar Ridge , Oakland City new lake or Deer creek .

[Moveon]

I guess people had to see the number of cars and people there on Sunday to believe it. That's why I took pictures and made a movie of the cars and people in the parking lot and at the launch ramp. Like I said I just drove over there without my boat as it was misting that day at that time. It had stopped raining by the time I got there.

Hey those crappie nibbles work.

Steve Ford is one of the Evansville Courier and Presses outdoor writers and he has written a few articles about Bluegrass and the fishing over there. Phil Potter also writes for the Courier and Press and I think he may mention Bluegrass once in a while. Also word of mouth gets people in the know about this area.

I only wish that the State had been able to purchase all the land over there. That would have been great. I don't mind the small kayaks and canoes and other little boats as they pay the Pitman Robertson Tax too. I do object to the Evansville Parks Department Canoe Evansville when they park their canoe trailer in front of the launch ramp for hours at a time. The University of Evansville Outdoor Adventure Club visits Otter Pit once or twice a year and they bring about 10 to 20 canoe with them and in the past they have taken over the launch ramp for hours at a time in the evening. Once they parked their canoe trailer right across the front of the launch ramp and took the keys to the vehicle pulling the trailer out on the water with a guy in his kayak. He was gone for over an hour with the trailer and tow vehicle blocking the launch ramp completely. This was in Sept the last time I saw them there. I don't blame the kids as they don't know any better. They are just out there trying to have a good time. But this is not a public park and it's not really a muli use area as far as I know. Parks are a different story than fish and wildlife areas. City and County parks are multi use areas and that's a good thing. I'm not really complaining too much just mentioning the fact that this is going on. The time they blocked the ramp I was not using the ramp myself other than to make a few casts from the bank. And they were not really in my way at all. But others who drive in with their boats in tow took one look around the parking lot and then left in a huff. I felt sorry for those fishermen who may have driven a long way only to find out that they could not launch their boats that day.

Is Sugar Ridge very crowded? What about Oakland City? I went up to Oakland City once to visit the cemetery where my grand parents are buried. There is a small lake near the cemetery and also a camp ground. Is that the lake you are talking about?

I prefer to take the boat over the Bluegrass on the weekdays anyway. Week ends are getting way too crowded to actually fish the bigger pit. I'll fish Otter pit as it has a lot more space to park even though the water is smaller in size. It's only 90 acres while the Bigger Bluegrass Pit is about 190 Acres. If loon's launch ramp had a dock or a landing spot to park the boat in soft soil vs rip rap I'd use Loon's concrete Launch ramp more often. Loon is the largest of all the Pits but it needs a much larger parking lot.

Right now the new Property Manager is working with local farmers to grow crops on the land in some spots. This will help feed the wildlife and give them more habitat. While that's a good thing I wish that they had some more money to work with. They really could use some money to expand the parking lots and to cut down some of the emergent vegetation that Completely surrounds some of the smaller pits on this property. And they could build some more access gravel roads so that people could reach some of the smaller pits. Right now they just put up signs that say "Foot Traffic Only" in the area and expect people with four wheel drive trucks to not go around those signs to reach the water. There is a lot of muddy ruddy areas on the property now where 4 wheeled drive vehicles are plowing though the muddy ground and making huge ruts and permanent mud puddles in the ruts.

Deer Creek is a good Idea. I've been up in Perry County once last year and liked what I saw up there.

I was up there that day it was crazy . People everywhere but whats funny is Im fishing Ringneck pit with 4 other boats and Im caught 15 crappie that day while most others blanked . Course I used lively minnows w/ crappie nibbles so that may have helped . As moveon said the big pit was a mess of non fishing people but the 200 very loud harleys roaring through the area twice was also annoying . Fishin.com isnt to blame , Steve Ford is . The C & P writer has pushed Bluegrass alot . Indiana could have bought more land in the area too so more people could enjoy it . My advice to us fishing fools out there ? Go during the week or try Sugar Ridge , Oakland City new lake or Deer creek .

[SteveM4A1]

I don't think Sugar Ridge get's very crowded, depending on the pit you fish. The pits are really best for john boats IMO. There is a cemetary on the same road as New Lake in Oakland City. You pass the cemetary on your right and keep going a bit and the lake is off to your right as well. Nice lake and plenty fun to fish. Just don't expect it to be the same as Bluegrass. Same goes for Sugar Ridge. The quality of the fisheries are night and day.

[Moveon]

Today I fished Bluegrass pit and to my great surprise it was very organized. Every vehicle was parked with the trailers pointed into the grass which leaves plenty of room for others to park. I mean every single vehicle parked perpendicular to the edge of the parking lot. I was amazed. I've never seen it that organized before.

CO Mike Kellner was on duty today and was in his patrol boat for a short while. He was warning people in boats about having their life jacket in the boat at all times when out on the water. Another CO arrived later today and partrolled from the North End of BlueGrass Pit.

I didn't see too many people going over idle speed today! I was hoping that some guys would try to open it up and get a ticket. But I guess everyone out on the water was quickly aware of the increased patrols.

I caught one small bass trolling crank baits. And then all I caught after that was weeds. Of course all the good points that I know had a boat or two parked on them almost all day long.

Water surface temperature was around 74 Deg F. It was partly sunny and pretty calm.

I tried out a new method of trolling by hooking up a ski harness with a float on one end and a "Y cable with the two legs attacked to the handles on the back of my boat. The harness has a pully like device that allows it to swivel around. I added another short webbing strap with another float on it and then attacked a 5 gallon bucket to the ropes with quick connect snaps. The bucket I found and used a hole saw to drill holes into the bottom of the bucket.

I got my boat speed down to 1.2 mph and that was going with the slight breeze that we have. Going against the breeze I was able to slow down to about 1.0 mph.

Without the bucket dragging behind the boat I can only slow down to about 1.5 mph and that's going into the wind.

Crappie will hit the slower cranks where they may not touch the faster ones. So going slow when trolling is a good thing when going after big crappie in deep water.

However most all the crappie must have been in the shallow as I didn't see any big schools in the 20 and 30 ft depths.

The last time I went out I found a huge school just off a flat and they were suspended near the bottom in about 25 ft of water. I caught six crappie in a row but only when I was driving INTO the WIND. I was going around 1.5 mph that day. I lost one good crappie at the boat when the hooks pulled out of it's mouth as I tried to reel it in. They were all female crappie. I cleaned all six and every one of them were full of eggs.

I spoke to Mike for a bit and found out that the F&W priorty is for Fishermen and Hunters. This is a special use type area that there specifically for fishermen and hunters who buy fishing and hunting license. I kind of new that was how it worked but now I know for sure how the CO's interrupt the rules.

Mike said that the CO's have had a talk with the people who were there last week taking up so much of the parking lot. They won't be back. Some one, Not me, called to complain. Evidently they have a lot of complaints from other fishermen.

You need to have a special permit to have an organized event on these Fish and Wildlife Areas. These are not Public Parks. So that means the those who park in these parking lots are going to have to yield to the Fishermen and Hunters. There are many other areas where the bike riders can park. I drive the area a lot and see people parking along the side of the road half in the road and half out. I see people who drive vehicles into the grass to reach a fishing spot at the South end of Otter Pit. There used to be a sign there that read, Foot Traffic Only. But the sign keeps getting knocked down. I heard from a friend that someone they knew got a ticket for parking and driving though the grass.

I wish that they would catch the four wheelers that are doing the doughnuts in the parking lot. Going over those ruts is teeth shattering.

Perhaps we will have our fishing lake back from not on. There are plenty of fishermen using this facility these days. Going out on a weekend and especially a holiday weekend you will find it even more crowded. I bet there were 25 boats and trailers in the parking lot at Bluegrass today and then there were more at the North end where the gravel ramp is located.

[Bodeen]

way too much information for anything to be a secret any more.

Don't post about your success.

[Moveon]

What's posted in here is nothing to be concerned about IMHO. What's printed in the Sports Section of the Local News Paper and what's shown on TV is of more concern to me when it comes to trying to keep Bluegrass a secret. That's not really possible these days with the internet and the IDNR promoting more use of it's facilities by the general public. Add it word of mouth and you have a crowd at the local fishing hole.

Last night I drove over to the area to see who was fishing. It had been raining all morning in Evansville, IN and the skies had finally cleared up so I figured I'd go check out the fishing hole.

I arrived at Bluegrass's South Concrete Launch ramp around 8 pm. The sun was setting. One guy was working his dog at the ramp. The type with four paws, teeth and hair. Not a jo jo. Anyway I drove over to the Loon North Launch ramp and it was occupied by two cars of bank fishermen. Two or three were fishing right in the middle of the concrete launch ramp. Their vehicle was parked in the "Handicapped Spot for Handicapped Vans for people with wheel chairs". The sign designation this concrete parking pad has long been torn down and the parking lot gravel is spread over the top of the concrete parking pad making it hard to tell what it's intended use is really for. But it makes a good spot to park if you want to park close to the concrete launch ramp and not have to carry your fishing gear too far. And yes they had their lawn chairs parked squarely in the middle of the ramp. The other fishermen also parked their car in the handicapped spot. It's built big enough for one of those wheel chair equipped vans so there is room for two SUV type vehicles to park there.

The second set of fishermen were fishing along the bank where it was absent of weeds, tall grass, tree and cattails. There is an opening in this area since it's another gravel launch ramp.

I then drove over to some of the other smaller pits. They were pretty much deserted last night at 8 pm. One car load of fishermen were fishing Birddog pit and parked along the side of Boonville New Harmony Rd. I didn't check out the North Bluegrass Lauch ramp as it was getting late and I was read to head home.

On the way back home I swung on over to Otter Pit. There was another vehicle which again was parked right on the Handicapped Van parking spot. Actually there were two SUV's park there as well. There were three people all sitting on lawn chairs right in the middle of the concrete launch ramp. There was only one boat trailer in the parking lot and I didn't see the boat that was still out fishing Otter Pit last night.

Oh yea. There was one boat trailer parked in the Bluegrass pit's South Launch ramp last night.

So only two people were fishing all the pits in boats last night at the Bluegrass Fish and Wildlife Area. But remember this is a Monday night and a weekday night. Even on the weekdays this place has a lot of people fishing.

I know a few people that fish it all night long. They fish from sunset to sunrise. Other's use the facility to shoot carp with their bows and arrows. They too fish all night long.

My only wish is that people take care of the area. It belongs to all of us and I get sick when I see empty beer bottles thrown around. Beer cans are not so bad. I can pick them up and recycle them. But the broken beer bottles are the pits. I wish that they would charge a deposit on all bottles and make people recycle them like I did when I was a kid in the early 1950. I use to find empty coke bottles and take them to the store to get the deposit money for them. I was a young entrepreneur at the ripe old age of 3 or 4 yrs old. I'd buy candy cigarette or a ice cream bar with the extra money. Ah the good old days. Back then my father raised earth worms and sold them to the bait shops for extra cash. He kept the worm boxed down in the basement where the coal fired furnace was located. I didn't go down there too often and never without my father with me. Dad would have enjoyed fishing at Bluegrass. He was born in Newburgh, IN and lived his younger years in Elberfeld. Perhaps he fished the Bluegrass Creek back in his younger days before there were empty beer bottles all over the place and before the coal mine stripped all the coal out of the place. You know, back in the good old days.

Don't post about your success.

[JustinM]

CO's need to step their game up at bluegrass.

[Moveon]

Jason: I've seen Mike Kellner at Bluegrass the last two or three times that I've been out there. In fact the last time I drove out there. Two days ago I saw the IDNR CO's SUV parked at on of the smaller pits' parking lot.

Mike and another younger CO ( I've not met him formally nor do I know his name yet) have been out on Bluegrass Pit in their patrol boat checking out all the people in Kayaks making sure that they have a life jacket with them at all times. And they are checking on the fishermen too. Funny when the CO's are there everyone parks property and there is plenty of room to park up to about 20 boat trailers in the Bluegrass Pit's South Launch Ramp parking lot. I took some pictures of this as I've never seen this happen before in the last 5 years that I've been going out there.

And about three weeks ago Mike was there with his boat at the South Launch ramp but had to leave on another call. His younger partner was at the North end of BG pit and lauched the IDNR patrol boat from that gravel launch ramp.

Pretty soon they will be diverted to the Ohio River as the River warms up and more people start water sking and tubing ect on the River.

But they have been out a Bluegrass a lot this spring. I wish that they could be there every day to keep the order but they are just spread way to thin.

I'm pretty happy with the way that IDNR is running the place now. They have allowed us to use our gas engines and before that happened all the smaller lakes in Indiana were restricted to electric trolling motors or gas motors equal to our under 10 HP. The change to allowing gas motors at Idle speed is something that I wanted to happen ever since I bought my boat with the 35 HP motor and found out that I could not use that motor on Dogwood Lake or Hovey's Lake. When they changed the policy to allowing gas motors of any size at Idle speed only it opened up a lot of waters to a lot more people. I guess that's a good thing. Now I can launch and recover my boat much easier using the gas engine but then I have a lot more people using the lake with me. Oh well at least I have a place to fish that's close to the house and don't have to spend ton's of money buying gas to get back and forth to the fishing hole these days. With gas hovering at around $4.00/gallon it's for bluegrass to be so close to me.