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  1. #1
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    Low Water Levels in Lakes causing trouble at ramps

    The extreme drought conditions in Southern Indiana have caused the water levels in the Blue Grass Area's lakes to drop to very low levels.

    The concrete ramps at the South End of Blue Grass Pit and at the North end of Loon Pit are being exposed more and more. The ends of these two concrete ramps are getting closer and closer to the shoreline.

    Vehicles launching trailers have been seen with the back trailer wheels dropping off the end of the ramp by a few inches.

    Large boats with bigger motors are using the larger motor to power the boat onto the trailer. With more and more boats using this procedure there could be more and more erosion of the dirt/mud at the end of these ramps during low water periods.

    There is still some algae on the concrete at the Blue Grass launch ramp. I waded out into the water at the top edge of the ramp and found it getting slippery. It's not nearly as bad as the concrete ramp at Lynville though.

    Now I was wearing those flip flop type beach shoes and that may be why it was slippery. The North side of the ramp has more algae on it as I saw it. I normally use the South side of the ramp and launch closer to the Handicap pier thing so that I can tie my boat off to the rails when I am parking my vehicle. Most people will park their boat on the North Side along the bank where there is some dirt and no big rocks.

    Yesterday the Waterfowl USA guys and DNR held a youth hunt for the kids. Yesterday was the first day of Dove hunting season in IN. The parking lot at Blue Grass Pit's South launch ramp was filled with vehicles and everyone was wearing camo. I took one picture of the group as the DNR guy, Mike Kelner CO, gave a safety speech to the kids.

    I asked the Sugar Ridge/Blue Grass F&W Areas DNR property manager a question about fishing and when it ended so that waterfowl season could begin. Nate was very kind to give me a few minutes of his time. I appreciated that. I asked him the question because someone told me that when the nuisance goose season started that fishing would be closed and I wondered if that was correct. So that's why I addressed this question to the property manager. If anyone knows the rules its the guy that runs the property for DNR. He said that fishing will close when the REGULAR WATERFOWL SEASON OPENS UP. I guess that's in Dec sometime but I am not sure. I'll have to look that up in the fishing/hunting pamphlets that are given out free at Walmart. Fishing would then resume back in March after the waterfowl season is over.

    I don't know the results of the Dove hunt as I have not read about it yet. Maybe Steve Ford or Phil Potter will do an article on it in today's Sunday Courier and Press. I have not read the sports section yet. But I think that all the 70+ kids and their parents had a great time. It sure got hot out there yesterday at around 1 pm. Not as hot as two weeks ago but still pretty warm. I drove by some of the fields checking to see if anyone else was fishing and noticed how they conducted the hunt. They had the parties spread out pretty well. Looks like they have a safe hunt and a lot of fun. The kids got to play around the water at the launch ramp after they all had a nice meal and before the hunt started.

    Blue grass F&W area is a great asset for the Evansville Area Community. We are very lucky to have this place to fish and hunt.

    BTW I found out that the Waterfowl USA guys helped the DNR to put in the extra Sunflower plots to help attract the birds. But the farmers in the area are already harvesting their dried up corn crop so that's going to compete with the sunflower seeds for the birds attentions. There will be a lot of corn on the ground to attract mice and the birds. I have noticed a few more birds of prey in the area. They were very scare this past month. ... We sure could use more rain...

    I also had the opportunity to meet and talk with the Assistant property manager of Hovey Lake. I asked him about the crappie fishing and the about the drain. I thought that they installed the drain to help maintain the lakes level when the river fell. But the main problem at Hovey is not the silting in of the lake. Each passing year the silt fills in the lake more and more. This occurs with most old oxbow lakes over time. The process is called Eutrophication. Anyway I was told that the DRAIN at HOVEY now is opened up to allow water flow though the drain in and out of the lake. The crappie can now enter the drain and go in and out of the lake. The concrete structure is still there in place but it's gates are keep open. He said this was opened and been open for the last three years. No wonder the the DNR fish studies at Hovey Lake show the fish getting bigger and growing faster than any other lake in IN.

    Give Hovey's Lake a trial for crappie and catfish. I was told that the lake was good for catfish too.

  2. #2
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    Re: Low Water Levels in Lakes causing trouble at ramps

    I guess another article about the elk and bison at LBL is more important than what people are doing to get our youths involved in the outdoors. Isn't that two weeks in a row that the C&P ran an article on that subject?

    I haven't did much fishing at Bluegrass, but do some waterfowl hunting around the edges of it. Season will start about mid-Novemeber and run till around the end of Jan. Haven't checked the exact dates yet, but I know it will be some cold fishing when it is over.

  3. #3
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    Re: Low Water Levels in Lakes causing trouble at ramps

    Last year I talked with Gary Gatewood who managed the Northwind Hunting Preserve for Tom Newmaster. Gary told me that I could not fish during waterfowl season. This was around the 1 st of Dec last year. Or the same weekend that waterfowl season started in the Ohio River Zone.
    He was right so I had to stop fishing during Dec and Jan. It's pretty cold that time of the year anyway. That got me to thinking about getting back into hunting again. It's been years since I hunted. I sold my shotgun and only have a 22 and a long rifle left. That and some pellet guns for keeping the neighbors dogs out of my yard LOL I get tired of picking up the neighbor's dog do do out of my yard. They leave these fertilizer bombs in my yard and then I get little green spots where the rest of the yard is not as green. Right now without any rain it's no big deal. All the grass is brown this time of the year!

    I also was talking to one of the guys that trains retriever for waterfowl hunting. He said something about last weekend being the start of the nuisance goose hunting. I talked with the property manager for Sugar Ridge F&W and Blue Grass F&W areas last weekend and he said that when regular waterfowl season starts that we can't fish there until that's over. But he said that we should all just get along too during the special hunting times. I think that regular waterfowl hunting starts in the Ohio River Zone sometime in Dec but you can call (877) 463-6367 to find out the exact dates that the season starts. I could not find the dates listed in the 2007-2008 Indiana Hunting and Trapping guide book.

    If I were to hunt at Blue grass I would setup at the North End of Otter Pit next to the Loon pit's sanctuary. That way any geese resting in the South End of Loon pit may fly over Kansas road and into range. Right now I know of several flocks of Canada Geese that are using the area up on the top of the hill by St. John's road heading toward Elberfeld. They are landing in the open field that belongs to New Master. The area by where the old AMEX coal Digging Shovel was located. There are a lot of deer feeding in that open field along the hillside too. I have seen lots of deer at 5 am on that hillside. By 6: 30 am they all head up hill and cross St. John's road and head into the low scrub brush trees. I guess they hide in that area until dark. I have watched them feeding from 5 am to 6 am on several occasions in early Sept. I take my binoculars up there and sit inside the truck and watch for the wildlife to move around and show themselves. The deer don't seem to mind me being there. They will stay about 200 yards away though. I took my new RX II Leupold range finder up there to get an idea on how far away the different land marks are. So that's how I know how far away these deer are from me.

    The local farmers are harvesting their corn crop now around Otter Pit along Euler Road and up on Ayshire Road. The corn is so dry that they had to start harvesting it early. I heard it was vulnerable to a hard rain and strong winds. Evidently if they had a strong wind with rain the corn stalks would have been blown over making it difficult to harvest it.

    I have also been seeing a lot of hawks. I saw one hawk sitting on the ground not more than 10 yards from the gravel road that leads to the North Launch Ramp at Blue Grass Pit. He just sat on the ground watching me drive by slowly. If I stopped he would have flown off. I watched this same bird last week eating a mouse that he had caught. I was about 25 yards from him sitting in my truck and watching him through my binoculars. I could see him standing on top of the mouse and tearing it apart with his beak and then gulping down parts. Where you find lots of field mice and or voles you will find rap tors hunting them. You may also find some foxes or coyotes as they will hunt mice and voles also. I use to see some coyotes up on that hill side at dusk but in the last two months they have not been there. There were several coyotes hunting in the wheat fields on that hillside at dusk every evening in early June. They were hunting hard to feed their growing pups. Coyote pups are born in the spring and by Oct are hunting on their own. Maybe they got run off from the area by some one or got hit by a car. Car's go by this area pretty fast. These coyotes used to do a group howl every night right after sunset. About 8:45 pm they would start howling and get ready to go out for the night's hunt. I would see white tail deer in the same area and the coyotes just seemed to ignore the deer. But I have read that a yote will go after a fawn if they get the chance. But the healthy larger deer are not too worried about the coyotes. But they do look around to see what's in their area.

    There are a lot of Canada Geese in this area this time of the year.

    I have seen several flocks of 15 birds all landing in the same area in the early morning hours between 6 am an 7 am.

    But after last weekend those same birds may move to safer pastures. Although I have not seen anyone hunting them. I did hear lots of guns going off in the distance though.



    Quote Originally Posted by fishNnut View Post
    I guess another article about the elk and bison at LBL is more important than what people are doing to get our youths involved in the outdoors. Isn't that two weeks in a row that the C&P ran an article on that subject?

    I haven't did much fishing at Bluegrass, but do some waterfowl hunting around the edges of it. Season will start about mid-November and run till around the end of Jan. Haven't checked the exact dates yet, but I know it will be some cold fishing when it is over.

  4. #4
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    Re: Low Water Levels in Lakes causing trouble at ramps

    Last year I got ready to do some cold water fishing. I went out and got some outerwear that was insulated with thinsulate. Then I got a new propane catalytic heater for my boat. But I never really got to use it but for a few times before duck hunting season started. I had one of them plastic file crates to set the 20 lb propane cylinder into so that it would not tip over. The catylatic heater attaches to the top of the propane tank and has a metal reflector that directs the heat towards you. I tried it one time and it put out some nice heat. About 10,000 BTU's. But if it's windy you have to put it close to you to stay warm. I found it really nice to just warm up my cold hands from time to time. The insulated outerwear kept everything else warm. Insulated boots kept my feet warm. But man if I were ever too fall out of the boat into that cold water wearing those heavy boots it would be nearly impossible to swim in them. And to get them off would take a while. I tried swimming once in some dress pants and a suit coat. We put on a clown diving exhibition at this swimming lake one time and back then I swam a mile every day during my 30 minute break in between life guarding duty. I was in excellent shape back then. I found it very hard to swim 50 yard in that clothing. Today at 56 years old and out of shape I would drown for sure in the cold water. And the wind can easily blow the boat out of reach. Even wearing a life jacket and sandles it's tough to swim and catch the boat wearing a life jacket, T shirt and shorts. Swimming after a boat in any clothing is going to be tough. So don't fall out of the boat when the water's cold. It's bad enough when the waters warm as bath tub water.

    It was not really cold enough to try the heater before late Nov last year. Fishing is pretty good in Nov actually. The fish are all congregating in certain spots and if you hit that spot you can catch a boat load of crappie. Sept and Oct can be excellent fishing times too. Fish are feeding heavily getting ready for the upcoming winter and trying to lay on some fat. Even in Sept the fish (crappie) are filling up with eggs for next spring. So they not only need to eat to fatten up but to support those growing eggs inside them. By April those eggs will be ripe and they will be spawning. I was catching crappie this June with eggs still inside them. Evidently some of the crappie were spawning very late this year. Buy Late July most of the crappie I caught were not carrying any eggs.

    With the water being clear at Blue grass pit this summer due to the lack of rainfall the fish are going pretty deep. 18 ft for the bass in not uncommon.

    But, the crappie are hiding in the 7 ft depths in the weeds. All these pits are full of Eurasian Millfoil which gives the fish protection from the sunlight (shade) and a hiding place to ambush minnows and plenty of critters to feed on including their favorite minnows. Plus the weeds give off lots of dissolved oxygen during the middle part of the day with the sun is shinning brightest. Still these fish are present in the shallow water areas even when the sun is setting. I am catching more crappie in the shallow waters this year than in the 20 ft deep water. Last year I caught them in 20 ft deep water suspended about 10 to 12 ft below the surface.

    I talked to one fisherman last week who was fishing brush piles in 19 ft of water but they tops of the brush came up to about 10 ft below the surface. He said he caught a few crappie from this spot. About a week later I saw the same guy fishing in deeper water out in the middle of the mouth of one of the bays on Blue grass pit. He was fishing pretty close to the drop off which is out in the middle of the second bay (going South to North) and that area drops off form 10 ft deep to 55 to 60 ft deep in steps. I have caught more 12", 13" and 14" bass in this area than crappie this summer.

  5. #5
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    Re: Low Water Levels in Lakes causing trouble at ramps

    I have been seeing lots of geese in the area. Also a few ducks are flying too.

    Do you have your own decoys?

    Id bet that a guy with a good decoy spread and a ground blind would be able to take a few of them Canadian Geese.

    They are suppose to have a nuisance geese season but I can't tell where to read about it.

    I saw Mike Kellner on TV the other night. Channel 25 did a story on how busy the Indiana Conservation Officers (CO's) are at this time of the year. With the fishermen still fishing and the dove hunting season in now the CO's are pretty busy.

    I have noticed a lot of deer out in the Blue Grass F&W area. Heck I saw two young deer running though my back yard the other day. And the deer are eating my parents tomato plants on the west side. I was out at the parents house last week and could see the deer tracks in her small garden area.

    This year the deer will have to run a bit faster to avoid the hunters as IDNR is allowing rifles with low power cartridges to be used for Deer hunting. I think I'll stay out of the woods this year if at all possible.

    Once I saw a guy across the lake on Otter Pit pointing his rifle at me so that he could look at me though his rifle scope. I would have rather he used a pair of binoculars instead. I was watching him walk though the field at the edge of the lake as he was wearing bright orange and stuck out like a sore thumb. I don't know what he was hunting. Just didn't like him pointing his rifle at me!



    Quote Originally Posted by fishNnut View Post
    I guess another article about the elk and bison at LBL is more important than what people are doing to get our youths involved in the outdoors. Isn't that two weeks in a row that the C&P ran an article on that subject?

    I haven't did much fishing at Bluegrass, but do some waterfowl hunting around the edges of it. Season will start about mid-November and run till around the end of Jan. Haven't checked the exact dates yet, but I know it will be some cold fishing when it is over.

  6. #6
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    Re: Low Water Levels in Lakes causing trouble at ramps

    Quote Originally Posted by Moose1am View Post
    The extreme drought conditions in Southern Indiana have caused the water levels in the Blue Grass Area's lakes to drop to very low levels.

    The concrete ramps at the South End of Blue Grass Pit and at the North end of Loon Pit are being exposed more and more. The ends of these two concrete ramps are getting closer and closer to the shoreline.

    Vehicles launching trailers have been seen with the back trailer wheels dropping off the end of the ramp by a few inches.

    Large boats with bigger motors are using the larger motor to power the boat onto the trailer. With more and more boats using this procedure there could be more and more erosion of the dirt/mud at the end of these ramps during low water periods.

    There is still some algae on the concrete at the Blue Grass launch ramp. I waded out into the water at the top edge of the ramp and found it getting slippery. It's not nearly as bad as the concrete ramp at Lynville though.

    Now I was wearing those flip flop type beach shoes and that may be why it was slippery. The North side of the ramp has more algae on it as I saw it. I normally use the South side of the ramp and launch closer to the Handicap pier thing so that I can tie my boat off to the rails when I am parking my vehicle. Most people will park their boat on the North Side along the bank where there is some dirt and no big rocks.

    Moose ,
    You are right about the ramps , my trailer dropped off the end of Otter pits ramp and I had to power break my truck in low to get it out . I had to get the boat off the trailer by hand and stepped into the hole , sank up to my chest . The hole is 2-4 ft deep and your tire will drop off into it so be careful ! As for the fishing , the crappie were small { 6" } but caught 7-8 in a couple of hours at the beaver lodge in the cove acroos from the ramp . Some small bluegill and a 12" bass from the area in front of the drain under the road . The wind was very bad in the afternoon so I called it a day . Have been on vacation this week and fished as much as possible , seems the smaller bass { 12" - 16" } are feeding more and had a 2lb plus crappie break my line on a private lake Wed. Caught 2 more - one was 13" , the other was 14" . Several nice pound gill also on minnows . Crappie were in some wood rangeing from 6" - 4' with most 2 foot range . Water temp was 81 dg , wind out of the north { oh well } , sunny skys . The wood in the water was also in the shade until 11:00 AM . Water temp at Otter Pit was 77 dg at most spots , water clarity is what I would cal " stained " . The pit is down but so is most every lake I have fished this month .

  7. #7
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    Re: Low Water Levels in Lakes causing trouble at ramps

    This big hole at the end of the ramp is going to become a nagging problem and may make the property manager do away with us using big motors on the lake. I would hate to see that. I wish that everyone could power their boats onto their trailers like I do. I back my trailer in far enough (when the waters up and my trailer tires don't drop into that hole) so that I can run my boat up onto the trailer without having to stop before it hits the trailer's stop thing. That way I don't have to use much thrust to power up the trailer. But then there are times when I misjudge the trailer and have to back up because I get the boat on crooked and it's leaning to one side. That I hate doing. But my trailer allows me to get on easily. Other boats don't have that luxury.

    I have watched a lot of guys running their boats up onto their trailer so that they could get the wench rope to latch onto the front hook on their boats.

    Maybe if they (IDNR) drop some big rip rap into that hole at the end of the ramp it would help. Either than or add some length to the ramps by lower the water levels some more to where they can add another leg of concrete at the end of the ramp. That way even if the water levels get low as they are now there will still be more ramp to play with. I doubt that they will have the money to do that. So it's just a wish on my part.

    We did get some rain these last two weeks so maybe that will start raising the water levels.

    I don't have four wheel drive and I worry a lot about getting stuck on the ramps. I already got stuck once at the South End of Blue grass on that slick concrete ramp. Otter pit's ramp is slick also. From time to time I will go over there and sweep off the algae with a big broom. I bought that stiff broom just for that purpose. When the algae gets growing the ramp is quite dangerous to walk on. I have seen a lot of the older fishermen trying to launch boats and falling on the slick concrete.

    If you have ever launched at Lynville Park's ramp you know what slick as Snot is all about. That ramp is very slippery.

    My little truck doesn't have the weight in the back end when the boat comes off so I have a lot more trouble pulling up off the ramp after launching the boat. With the boat on the trailer it's much easier for me to pull out.

    One trick that I could use before calling for a tow truck if I get stuck again is to let some air out of the rear tire to give it more traction. I have an air pump with me and a DC/AC 100 Watt Converter that will allow me to run a AC air Compressor.

    What I need to carry with me is a "come-along" That way a guy could pull their truck out if they get into the slick algae. I also figured out that I can throw some small rocks onto the ramp by my back tires and that gives me the traction I need to get going and pull the trailer out of the water.

    Once I got stuck so bad that the truck kept going farther back into the water with each try to get out. I ended up having to stop the truck, put the parking brake on and asking for help to get pulled out that day. It's been a concern of mine ever since that day. I was lucky that someone was there or I would have been stuck with my truck and empty trailer blocking the ramp for a while. I keep a good thick tow belt in the truck these days just in case I need someone to pull me out again.

    I'll bet that I am not the only one that wishes the ramps were not so slippery.

    Thanks for the fishing report. Last time I fished Otter pit the surface water temps were in the 90's. These cool nights have been dropping the water temps. That's good. It will put more dissolved oxygen into the surface waters. I like the fishing when the water temps get into the 50's. The fish seem to come alive and bite good when the water cools down.




    Quote Originally Posted by bassmanic1 View Post
    Moose ,
    You are right about the ramps , my trailer dropped off the end of Otter pits ramp and I had to power break my truck in low to get it out . I had to get the boat off the trailer by hand and stepped into the hole , sank up to my chest . The hole is 2-4 ft deep and your tire will drop off into it so be careful ! As for the fishing , the crappie were small { 6" } but caught 7-8 in a couple of hours at the beaver lodge in the cove across from the ramp . Some small bluegill and a 12" bass from the area in front of the drain under the road . The wind was very bad in the afternoon so I called it a day . Have been on vacation this week and fished as much as possible , seems the smaller bass { 12" - 16" } are feeding more and had a 2lb plus crappie break my line on a private lake Wed. Caught 2 more - one was 13" , the other was 14" . Several nice pound gill also on minnows . Crappie were in some wood ranging from 6" - 4' with most 2 foot range . Water temp was 81 dg , wind out of the north { oh well } , sunny skys . The wood in the water was also in the shade until 11:00 AM . Water temp at Otter Pit was 77 dg at most spots , water clarity is what I would cal " stained " . The pit is down but so is most every lake I have fished this month .

  8. #8
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    Re: Low Water Levels in Lakes causing trouble at ramps

    I managed to get out for a few hours on Sunday afternoon and caught some really nice crappie at Otter Pit.

    Water surface temperatures dropped down into the low 70's on Sunday.

    Winds were very light with gusts up to 7 mph or so. Guessing on this speed. LOL

    Skies were slightly cloudy to sunny. I got sunburned if that tells you anything.

    Air temperatures were very pleasant. In fact in the morning it was downright cold and I ended up putting on a long sleeve shirt for that morning while hooking up the boat. I ended up wearing a short sleeve shirt later on.

    The fish were not biting right away but around 3:30 pm they really turned on. I caught my first fish and threw out a marker buoy. After that I started to catch some nice slabs. I caught more slabs Sunday than ever before in my entire fishing at the Blue Grass Pits. I ended up with about 10 really nice slab crappie and caught at least 25 or more in total that were smaller. I threw a lot of fish back and I remember counting at least 8 fish that I just threw back into the water.

    I cleaned a lot of fish Sunday night for sure.

    I had Fish for dinner Monday and Tuesday.

    Took some pictures with my el Cheapo Cell Phone Camera. The camera is the cheap part. The Cell phone itself was not cheap. LOL

    But the cell phone camera is only about 1 mega pixel and it's best resolution is only 640 x 480. This makes all the pictures pixelated.

    By the time I was able to take a picture it was already dark. The only light I had was a bright security light on my back porch and it was at the wrong angle to give me a good outdoors picture with my camera. So I took the cleaning board and the fish inside to take a better picture. LOL. That didn't work either.

    So I have a few pictures of several of the biggest fish arranged on my cleaning board. I put a coke can in the picture for size comparison. I tried using a yard stick but found that the picture quality would not allow the numbers on the yard stick to show up on the photos. Man the other day while shopping at Circuit City I saw a nice 12 mega pixel Cannon Camera that was selling for $3700. Wish I had that camera to fool around with.

    I have to pay ten cents for each picture that I send to the Verizon Pix-Place. That's the only way I can get the pictures out of my camera and onto my computer. ***** not having a way to hook up directly to my computer with a usb cable but that's the way that Verizon set this cell phone thing up for doing pictures.

    I need to break down and just buy a good digital camera someday. Or get my Pentax LX camera body repaired so that I can use my film camera. The mirror got stuck and it screwed up the shutter somehow when the mirror stuck in the up position while I was trying to take a picture. The mirror finally worked loose but the shutter release thing is in need of major repairs. Not really worth spending more money on this old technology but I hate having to throw away a nice camera body that was worth $1000 brand new. I still have many good Pentax lenses for this camera that are worth a lot more money.

    But digital is the way to go and I know that.

    I'll try to send some of the better pictures of my fish to my pix place tonight and then download them into my computer. I'll see what I can do with them in Paint Shop Pro 9. Maybe I can make the pictures better.

    Oh. I was catching these fish on the top of the shelf near a big drop off. I had 15 feet deep water only about 10 ft from 6 ft deep water where there is some submerged brush.

    Find a spot like this and fish it for a while. If you don't get any hits find another spot like this. Keep moving around until you find them.

    I think that when they are not actively feeding that they will be found suspended out over the deep water at the same level as the top of the shelf. IE from 6ft down to 10 ft down depending on how deep the top of the shelf is.

    Note: Otter pit is much more turbid that Blue Grass Pit. There is a lot of sediment in the water. If your boat goes though the submergent vegetation you can see the dirt coming off the plants and making the water more dirty or turbid. I think this is why the fish are much shallower this summer.

    I caught fish in the same spot during July when the surface water temps were in the 90's. The key is the deeper water right next to the shallow water feeding shelf.

    I was fishing with minnows. And I at first was bitching to myself that I got tiny minnows. I normally get medium chubs which are normally about 1.5" to 2" long. These minnows that I got Sunday were only about 1" long and some were not that long. I thought they would not catch many fish. But boy was I wrong. The big crappie seemed to really eat them up.

    Did I say that I caught about 6 crappie that were all 12" long and that the rest were from 10" to 11" in the pictures? All the others that I cleaned were 8" and 9" fish with the smallest ones around 7". I threw the 7" fish and smaller back in the lake.




    Quote Originally Posted by bassmanic1 View Post
    Moose ,
    You are right about the ramps , my trailer dropped off the end of Otter pits ramp and I had to power break my truck in low to get it out . I had to get the boat off the trailer by hand and stepped into the hole , sank up to my chest . The hole is 2-4 ft deep and your tire will drop off into it so be careful ! As for the fishing , the crappie were small { 6" } but caught 7-8 in a couple of hours at the beaver lodge in the cove across from the ramp . Some small bluegill and a 12" bass from the area in front of the drain under the road . The wind was very bad in the afternoon so I called it a day . Have been on vacation this week and fished as much as possible , seems the smaller bass { 12" - 16" } are feeding more and had a 2lb plus crappie break my line on a private lake Wed. Caught 2 more - one was 13" , the other was 14" . Several nice pound gill also on minnows . Crappie were in some wood ranging from 6" - 4' with most 2 foot range . Water temp was 81 dg , wind out of the north { oh well } , sunny skys . The wood in the water was also in the shade until 11:00 AM . Water temp at Otter Pit was 77 dg at most spots , water clarity is what I would cal " stained " . The pit is down but so is most every lake I have fished this month .

  9. #9
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    Re: Low Water Levels in Lakes causing trouble at ramps

    Check out the photo page on fishin.com for my photo.

  10. #10
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    Unhappy Re: Low Water Levels in Lakes causing trouble at ramps

    As far as water levels being low goes, I have been fishin east of Elberfeld in the old Peabody pits and I've seen 2 smaller pits completely dry up. I even drove my truck out on what was a lake bed. Granted they weren't very deep to begin with maybe only 4 - 7 ft deep but still, I wouldn't have thought they would have dried up this fast, guess I was wrong. You can do the Google Earth program and follow Stanley Rd. east and there are photos of all the pits, 2 are gone now, that's pretty sad to me. I always say it doesn't matter how much folks talk about they need rain cause their grass is brown, they need to look at the lakes and see that they are extremely low. One pit I've been fishin, I have been parking where water should be, that is depressing.

    Just my 2 cents

    God 1st, Family 2nd and everyone else get in line . . .
    A bad day of fishin is better than a good day at work . . .
    NFC

  11. #11
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    Re: Low Water Levels in Lakes causing trouble at ramps

    Quote Originally Posted by Moose1am View Post
    Check out the photo page on fishin.com for my photo.
    Moose ,
    Which one is yours ?

  12. #12
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    Re: Low Water Levels in Lakes causing trouble at ramps

    The one with the two columns of crappie each about five crappie deep. The one with the crappie laying on the bottom of my boat and the one with the crappie next to the ruler.

    The only place we can post any pictures on this forum is in the photos forum.

    I'll have to check and figure out exactly where I put them. LOL

    Quote Originally Posted by bassmanic1 View Post
    Moose ,
    Which one is yours ?

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