Loon Pit 4-23-11

[Abrown0920]

Water was 63.5 to 63.9 about everywhere I went on the Lake today. Put in at the North end and fished around the mouth into the cove on the West side a couple hundred yards South of the ramp.

I am really struggling trying to learn to crappie fish. Did even get a bite today, I fished from 2' to about 11'. I was marking fish on my fish finder but I really don't know what I am doing. I fished from about 1:30 to 3:30 between the rain showers. Quite a few boats on Bluegrass and some of the fished through some pretty heavy rain.

I am discouraged with the crappie but just have to keep trying. On a good note though I found the worm farm which is right on my way and has cheap minnows.

I started out the morning going to interlake to try to find some mushrooms. That place is so thick I couldn't hardly walk through it. I didn't find any before I got stormed out.

[bassmanic1]

Glad to see this monsoon isnt keeping everyone indoors ! Having fished Loon for crappie I always put the boat in at the back { southern } ramp and fish the wood in the coves and islands on the eastern side but there are some very shallow spots so be careful . There is or was a big beaver lodge in one of the coves that had loads of small crappie . The thing to remember with crappie is they love wood - and also the deeper side of a weedbed . Always use lively bait . Fish a spot for 10-15 minutes and nothing hits keep moving . Here is a good site for info http://www.in-fisherman.com/panfish#axzz1KPpUq7GX . Personally I will throw out a minnow under a slip bobber than cast a ultra-light with a beetle spin . It will catch anything that swims .

[Moveon]

Very good advise. I should have read this before I made my post LOL

Be careful when you launch from the South End of Loon. The water there is shallower and weedy with a much bottom only 2 ft below the bottom of my john boat.

I backed up and forgot to put the motor up in to shallow drive and I think I sucked up some muck into my water pump. I am taking my boat to the shop to get a new water pump installed this week. Even when the water level in Loon Pit is way up that launch ramp is still shallow. But it's closer to the woody area that Bassmanic talked about. It's also more isolated as you can tell by the Graffiti on the signs in the parking lot.

I saw a kid riding around in a White Pickup truck last fall and he was doing donuts in the parking lots. He's the one responsible for all the ruts in the gravel at the parking lots. He has his little teenage girlfriend in the truck with him. If you see him out there doing donuts in the parking lot try to get his license plate number and turn him in. It would be nice to see him out there with a rack smoothing out the gravel and doing some court ordered community service work.

Glad to see this monsoon isn't keeping everyone indoors ! Having fished Loon for crappie I always put the boat in at the back { southern } ramp and fish the wood in the coves and islands on the eastern side but there are some very shallow spots so be careful . There is or was a big beaver lodge in one of the coves that had loads of small crappie . The thing to remember with crappie is they love wood - and also the deeper side of a weedbed . Always use lively bait . Fish a spot for 10-15 minutes and nothing hits keep moving . Here is a good site for info http://www.in-fisherman.com/panfish#axzz1KPpUq7GX . Personally I will throw out a minnow under a slip bobber than cast a ultra-light with a beetle spin . It will catch anything that swims .

[Moveon]

Well I like your attitude in that you are willing to fish in the rain and all. Don't give up. It took me a few years to start catching crappie on Loon Pit. It's the largest pit of the three big pits at Bluegrass Fish and Wildlife Area and takes a while to learn where the crappie are.

That lagoon on the West side of the Loon Pit's North Parking lot is good for crappie if you fish in the 7 ft water at the back end of the pit. That's the very North end of that little lagoon. There are some stickup back in there that hold crappie. The East side of that Lagoon is deeper than it's Eastern Side so stick to the parking lot side as you work your way back in there. In Oct and November when the water temps get down into the 50's that can be a good spot to catch some big crappie.

Fish the side next to the parking lot too as there are a few stickups that are submerged right below the surface of the water. You can see all these little submerged bushes when the water level is down.

Check out the Southern end of Loon Pit where the trees are submerged in 25 ft of water. There is a island where the Geese nest and they will let you know if you get too close to them. The crappie are hard to find in among all that timber but they are there and you can catch them at times if you fish it a lot. Try fishing the upper levels of the lake. Fish the tops of those submerged trees and find shallow water near the deep water for the most productive spots.

I just ordered a new Rain Suit today and hope it gets here before the crappie spawn is over this year. I need to get a new fangled life jacket too for this season. One that's comfortable and won't inflate if it rains. One that only inflates when it's submerged in water for a few seconds. Hydrostatic is what they call them. I read that the Mustangs are good ones. I want something that's equivalent to a type II or better though. Something that will hold my head out of the water and let me breath if I get knocked out and am unconscious while in the water. Those are hard to find for a good price. They cost more than the regular types but they are suppose to actually work and save your life.

Water was 63.5 to 63.9 about everywhere I went on the Lake today. Put in at the North end and fished around the mouth into the cove on the West side a couple hundred yards South of the ramp.

I am really struggling trying to learn to crappie fish. Did even get a bite today, I fished from 2' to about 11'. I was marking fish on my fish finder but I really don't know what I am doing. I fished from about 1:30 to 3:30 between the rain showers. Quite a few boats on Bluegrass and some of the fished through some pretty heavy rain.

I am discouraged with the crappie but just have to keep trying. On a good note though I found the worm farm which is right on my way and has cheap minnows.

I started out the morning going to interlake to try to find some mushrooms. That place is so thick I couldn't hardly walk through it. I didn't find any before I got stormed out.