Bluegrass

[psvec]

does any body know when Bluegrass closes for the duck hunting

[Moveon]

Paul:
I don't know the exact date but it's posted on the main parking lots bulletin board. I think it's late November when the duck season starts and the lakes close to fishing.

I'm thinking about going to Patoka Saturday and that may be one of my last fishing trips this year unless it warms back up an stops raining.

You could call Sugar Ridge and ask them if you want to confirm when they close the lakes for sure. I've got their number on my cell phone but don't call them much anymore since they got the new property manager. I don't know him that well. I met the old property manager Nate a few times and he was easy to talk too. But he moved up North and is no longer in this area.

does any body know when Bluegrass closes for the duck hunting

[psvec]

Thanks Greg, im going to try and go this weekend before it closes

[Moveon]

Thanks Greg, im going to try and go this weekend before it closes

Nov 23 and or Nov 26 is when the Duck Season starts in the Southern Zone and the Ohio River Zone. I checked the IDNR F&W Waterfowl site on the web.

But I'm not sure if we are the Ohio River Zone or the Southern Zone.

Good luck. Water temperature is getting down into the 50's by now and fishing for crappie should be picking up.

[psvec]

Nov 23 and or Nov 26 is when the Duck Season starts in the Southern Zone and the Ohio River Zone. I checked the IDNR F&W Waterfowl site on the web.

But I'm not sure if we are the Ohio River Zone or the Southern Zone.

Good luck. Water temperature is getting down into the 50's by now and fishing for crappie should be picking up.

went bass fishing both days, caught a good one sunday,(4lbs) before the all the rain came in, blue closes today 11/21

[Moveon]

went bass fishing both days, caught a good one sunday,(4lbs) before the all the rain came in, blue closes today 11/21

Thanks for that update Paul. I'll miss not being able to fish over there now. I went to Patoka Saturday and had a good time. We didn't catch many but still have fun searching around the lake for brush piles and such. My buddy has an 1198 on his boat and a 985 or something like that at the front with quadrabeam sonar transducer attached to the trolling motor. It was windy at Patoka Saturday and therefore we could not fish the spots that we wanted with our drop shot method. We call it "tight lining" actually. We could not hold the boat over the deep brush piles.

If you go to patoka and take your 898c SI you will see all the different brush piles in that lake's Lick Fork Section. There are some huge logs that the corps cut down from trees and lashed together with wire. They called them Raft Fish Attractors on the early maps of Patoka Lake.

I caught one bass that was about 8" long. LOL. But I caught him on my ultra light St Crouis 5' rod using 2 lb test stren line. My fishing partner caught a couple of small crappie. They were just not biting in the wind protected coves and neither of us wanted to go out and fight the wind that day.

Still it was a nice day with air temps in the lower sixties and the water temperatures in the lower 50's. The sun tried to peek out from behind the clouds a few times which helped to warm things up a little bit. But it was cloudy the entire day. I almost didn't go when I got up and saw all the cloud cover as the clouds over my house looked like dark storm clouds. So I wore my Frogg Toggs Toadz Skin bibs and coat just in case it rained. Those things keep me warm too. They block the wind and all you need to wear under them is some Rockey Long Johns. Now if it gets colder than 55 deg F outside I'd have to wear something heavier and warmer in that really cold weather. But for days when it's raining and above 55 Deg F I'd wear them and stay warm enough.

[Moveon]

Ohio River Zone Goose Season starts on Nov 21st which is today. Waterfowl hunting begins at 1/2 hour before sunrise until noon today at Bluegrass F&W area.

Waterfowl hunting is NOT allowed in the Loon Pit area as that's the waterfowl REFUGE AREA.

I'd love to be able to fish the Loon Pit area but I don't think that's allowed.

I'd like to know if we can hunt coyotes on the land around Loon Pit?

I noticed that IDNR F&W finally updated the Bluegrass Online web site and it now shows that you can use the outboard motors at idle speed as the three large pits. All other pits are still restricted to trolling motor only. I've seen trappers out on Birddog pit running gas motors. I saw my brother-in-law on Loon Pit with a friend running a small gas motor on their boat before it was allowed some years back. He got a lecture by the IDNR people and left the lake early that day. He gave me his left over minnows though so I went out on Loon Pit and caught a few crappie for him.

I'm going to be checking out the area and see if anyone is out there hunting geese this morning.

[Moveon]

Well I drove over to Bluegrass around 10 am and noticed that there were no waterfowl hunters on Bluegrass or Otter Pits. I didn't check any other pits around the area.

Canadian Goose Season starts today but there were not Goose hunters signed in at the Main Parking lot of Bluegrass Pit.

I did notice one guy out on Bluegrass Pit fishing which is not allowed as of today. Perhaps he's not aware that the Water is closed to fishing right now until late Dec of 2011. I just hope the Conservation Officers didn't catch him out there fishing illegally. Not sure what the fine would be for fishing when it's closed to fishing but I would not want to take a chance and get a ticket for doing that. My boat is going to be put away for the winter now.

[psvec]

sounds like you guys had fun. going to try and fish patoka next year

[Moveon]

sounds like you guys had fun. going to try and fish patoka next year

Patoka is just only about a hour and 30 minutes from my house. If I use I-164 to exit 79 on I64 and take 37/64 up to the lake it's a pretty quick trip and the scenery is nice too.

Patoka can be tough fishing at times and it's the type of lake that you need to fish a lot to really learn it well. That's why I don't do well by myself up there. LOL Although I've fished it since it first opened and have learned a lot about the lake over the years I don't fish it enough to really learn it's tricks. But fishing with my friend who fished it since it opened and fishes it year round since then I have learned a bit more about the lake.

I'd like to see Johnson Controls (Humminbird) make a Lakemaster map card for Patoka Lake. It's on their list as I've sent that suggestion to them and they said that it was on the list to be done in the future. I also heard that they are doing some more maps for 2012. If they do any lake maps for IN Patoka Lake would have to be on the list along with Lake Monroe.

I'm sitting here dreaming about doing an internet search on duck boats right now since Waterfowl season is in and fishing is out at bluegrass. Anything to get out of the house and back on the lake. LOL That's why I call it dreaming not doing. I'd probably fall out of a sculling duck boat and that's the only type of boat I can afford right now besides a canoe or a kayak. And I'd fall out of both those and freeze to death if I tried to go duck hunting in either one of them. I need one with outriggers to make it stable so I won't fall out. Not that many ducks down here yet. It's going to have to get colder to push the waterfowl down here from up North. Perhaps I could just paint my aluminum boat a camo color and use it for duck hunting at Bluegrass?