What Is Ohio’s Silver Bullet Fishery?

Ohio’s Silver Bullet Fishery

By Kevin Kayle, Fish Biology Supervisor, Fairport Harbor Fisheries Research Station
from The Fishing Wire

Steelhead are called silver bullet fish

Most anglers think about putting away their fishing gear for another year as we move into autumn. Now, many anglers are getting into a fantastic fishing opportunity for large, hard-fighting fish in Ohio’s streams and the nearshore areas of Lake Erie’s central basin that lasts from the fall through the spring. The ODNR Division of Wildlife has developed a world-class steelhead (trout) fishery in the central basin from Vermilion to the Pennsylvania border. It has become part of the renowned “Steelhead Alley” that brings in anglers from all across the country to fish for these silvery beauts from west of Cleveland to Buffalo.

Ohio’s steelhead program is maintained by annual stockings of Little Manistee strain steelhead yearlings reared at the division’s Castalia State Fish Hatchery. Each year 400,000 steelhead are stocked: 55,000 in the Vermilion River, 90,000 each in the Rocky, Chagrin, and Grand rivers, and 75,000 in Conneaut Creek. These juvenile fish spend less than a month in the rivers before migrating out into Lake Erie, where they eat and grow. Fish will begin to return in the fall after a good summer’s growth spurt and some cooler rains. The average steelhead caught by an angler has spent two or three summers out in Lake Erie and averages 24-25 inches and 4-5 pounds. About 10 percent of the steelhead caught by anglers exceeds 30 inches and 10 pounds.

The fall fishery blossoms first on piers, breakwalls, beaches, and harbors. Popular places include access locations at Conneaut’s west harbor, Ashtabula’s Walnut Beach breakwall, Geneva State Park breakwall, Arcola Creek beach, Fairport Harbor short pier, Mentor Headlands breakwall, the CEI breakwall in Eastlake, Cleveland’s E 55th Street breakwall, Huntington Reservation beach, and Bradstreet Landing pier by the Rocky River.

Anglers throw spoons, spinners, small crankbaits, and jigs tipped with maggots to entice the wandering steelies. Long fishing rods and fluorocarbon line help turn and land these powerful fighters. Keeping the drag loose and preparing for a fast, tough fight are helpful in keeping a moving and leaping steelhead on your line.

As the water and air temperatures cool and we move closer to winter, steelhead will migrate up our five stocked streams and adjacent streams, too. Anglers commonly switch over to trout or salmon eggs, small jigs, or a wide variety of fly fishing patterns to catch steelhead in the rivers and creeks. Steelhead fishing peaks in the streams from November through April.

The ODNR Division of Wildlife maintains a Steelhead Fishing Report webpage seasonally. We have the latest fishing conditions and hot bites, along with links to other basic and advanced steelhead fishing resources that are available from the ODNR Division of Wildlife and other government sources. Maps of stream access for the primary Lake Erie tributaries can be found here. Another good link is the US Geological Survey real-time stream data for Ohio gauging stations. This resource will help you evaluate river conditions before you go. They also have a similar mobile app available for your smartphone.

So don’t think of putting that fishing gear away just yet. The opportunity to hook and land a chrome freight train is waiting for you right on Lake Erie’s doorstep.

What Are Some Tips for Catching Muskie

Michigan DNR Offers Muskie Tips
from The Fishing Wire

Catch trophy muskie

Catching a big muskie will put a smile on your face.

Lures to catch muskie

Catch a big muskie

Michigan is home to two strains of muskellunge – the Great Lakes muskellunge and the northern muskellunge. Naturally-reproducing populations of northern muskellunge are located primarily in the western Upper Peninsula, but they have been stocked in numerous lakes statewide. Northern strain muskellunge were the primary strain stocked in Michigan until 2011 when the State shifted to raising only Great Lakes strain muskellunge. Still, northern strain fish are occasionally stocked through cooperative arrangements with other states and muskellunge organizations. Photo of boy holding muskie Naturally-reproducing populations of Great Lakes muskellunge exist in the Great Lakes and various connected waters, and they are also stocked into inland lakes and rivers where they do not naturally reproduce Tiger muskellunge, a hybrid between northern pike and muskellunge, were once stocked in Michigan, but no longer are raised in state fish hatcheries. Naturally-produced tiger muskellunge are rarely caught, though they are more prevalent in lakes with high abundance of northern pike.

Michigan’s Great Lakes muskellunge are most common in Lake St. Clair and the Detroit River, which feature world-class fisheries for the large, toothy predators. Lake St. Clair has a fairly large fleet of charter boats that target muskellunge by trolling, and a growing contingent of small boat anglers that cast or jig for them as well. Because the St. Clair system is fed by cold, Great Lakes water, the muskellunge season does not open until the first Saturday of June and runs through Dec. 15. Photo of muskie lures This season is being considered in other locations where muskellunge spawning occurs in May and June. Elsewhere, the fishing seasons mimic walleye seasons.

Often called “the fish of a thousand casts,” muskellunges are hard to come by; they are slow to mature and take many years to reach the minimum legal size of 42 inches. Legal-sized muskellunge are rarely caught by anglers who are not fishing specifically for them; Man with muskybecause of their large size and sharp teeth, they often break lines. Usually found with shallow weedy lakes and rivers with log jams and fallen timber, muskellunge retreat into deeper water during the heat of the summer. They can be caught by casting or trolling with very large plugs, spoons and spinners — usually behind a wire leader — that are retrieved or trolled at a fast rate or by bait anglers using large suckers. Though primarily fish eaters, muskellunge will take waterfowl or rodents when available.

While muskellunge can be taken by hook and line or spearing, there are special regulations on a number of inland lakes. Lake Hudson in Lenawee County, Thornapple Lake in Barry County, and Big Bear Lake in Otsego County are the state’s brood stock lakes and are closed to spearing.

For details on Michigan muskellunge, visit http://www.michigan.gov/documents/dnr/Muskellunge_-_A_Michigan_Resource_-_May_2012_386501_7.pdf.

Eating Strange Wild Critters

Tree Rats

Fried squirrel. Squirrel stew. BBQ squirrel. Squirrel and dumplings. Baked squirrel. Squirrel enchiladas. Squirrel chill. Squirrel cacciatore. Squirrel fricassee. Just how many ways are there to cook tree rats?

All the above recipes can be found on the internet, and I have tried many of them. But the best squirrel I ever ate was way back in the woods by Germany Creek. Joe and I had been camping for four days and had been eating nothing but the C-rations he brought and some loaf bread and peanut butter and jelly I supplied.

I had my .22 along for snake control and decided to shoot a squirrel one afternoon. We boiled that critter in my mess kit pot in creek water. No salt, no seasoning, no nothing added. But the meat was the first solid meat we had had, and when that juice was sopped up with the bread it was fantastic.

I was 16 at he time and had been eating squirrel all my life. Back in the late 1950s and early 60s when I was growing up, it was a rite of passage for boys to go squirrel hunting. From the time I was eight years old I was roaming the fall woods looking for targets in the trees for my .22 or .410. And I killed a bunch of them.
It was an unbreakable rule we ate everything we killed back then, so I had to skin and gut the squirrels when I got home and mom would cook them up the next day, after soaking them overnight in saltwater in the refrigerator. And she could cook them in several ways.

One of my favorite meals was fried squirrel with gravy, served over hot homemade biscuits.
She cooked chicken the same way and both were good. And the whole family ate the squirrels, with no complaining. We were just happy to have lots to eat.

I still kill a lot of squirrels and eat them each fall and winter. They gnawed into my attic so I keep a 12 gauge shotgun loaded with #6 shot by the door and shoot every one I see. I would rather shoot them with my .22 but there are just too many houses around for it.

Recently I smoked a squirrel and it was delicious! I put it in the smoker with lots of hickory for a couple of hours and the smoky flavor was great. I ate it as a snack rather than a meal because it was so good I ate the whole thing when “sampling” it!

I don’t really like cleaning them but it is pretty easy. When I was a kid pulling the skin off was a chore, and as I get older it seems to be getting harder again. But so far it is not too much trouble to be worth it.

One critter I ate was very good, but I will never try to skin one again. I shot a beaver in one of my ponds several years ago and decided to eat it. I didn’t think I would ever get it skinned. I had to cut off every tiny bit of the skin, there was no pulling it off. Starting at the lower legs I slowly trimmed between the meat and skin until I got the back half done. At that point I decided the front part didn’t have enough meat to mess with.

That was the reddest meat I have ever seen. I boiled it first, then floured and sautéed it in olive oil. Then I put it in a pan with potatoes, onions and carrots and baked it. It tasted just like a beef pot roast to me. From now own, since I can say I ate a beaver, I will buy a beef pot roast!

Gar also are tasty but very hard to skin. You can’t scale them, their scales are like armor plating. I was shown how to use tin snips and cut up the back, then peel the skin and scales to the side and cut out the meat down the backbone. It is tedious, hard work.

The meat sautéed in butter tastes like Florida lobster to me, kinds of chewy a little with some slight smoky fish flavor. But I found an easier way to cook them. I cut one gar into foot long chunks with a hack saw after gutting it then put it on the grill.

When it was cooked the skin and scales peeled off easily and the meat was even better! From now on, that is how I will cook them. If you run trotlines, jugs or bank hooks with live bait you will catch a bunch of them and you can also shoot them with a bow!

Give some unusual critter a try. You might find it tasty!

Why Are Life Jacket Codes Going Away?

Life Jacket Type Code Labels Go Away
from The Fishing Wire

Step Toward Eliminating Confusion and Introduction of New Designs

Life Jacket Code

In an effort to be more consumer friendly and spur innovation, the US Coast Guard is dropping its Type I-V labeling system.

ANNAPOLIS, MD. — In a move that’s expected to benefit recreational boaters, on Oct. 22 the US Coast Guard will drop the current life jacket type code scheme — Type I, II, III, IV and V — that has been used for years to label and differentiate the types of life jackets and their specific use. Chris Edmonston, BoatUS Foundation for Boating Safety President and Chairman of the National Safe Boating Council, said, “The boating safety community believes this move by the Coast Guard will help lead the way toward more comfortable and innovative life jacket designs, help boaters stay on the right side of the law, lower costs, and save lives.”

Explains Edmonston, “This is positive news is that we will no longer see a Type I, II, III, IV or V label on a new life jacket label after Oct. 22. This type coding was unique to the United States, tended to confuse boaters, limited choice and increased the cost of life jackets.” He says removing the type coding is a first step towards the adoption of new standards that will eventually simplify life jacket requirements for recreational boaters.

“This move is expected to lead to the introduction of new life jacket designs, especially those made in other countries as US standards will be more ‘harmonized,’ initially Canada and eventually the European Union,” said Edmonston. “Along with a wider variety, aligning our standards with those to our neighbor to the north and across the Atlantic will help reduce prices as manufacturers won’t have to make products unique to the US market.”

Inflatable Life Jacket

Inflatable PFD’s have become very popular in recent years thanks to their comfort and ease of stowage.

However, Edmonston cautions boaters must still abide by the current standards when using older life jackets marked with the Type I-V labeling, as they will remain legal for use. “We must continue to have a properly fitted life jacket for all aboard, and as always, you’ll need to follow the label’s instructions regardless of when it was made. Simply put, if you follow the label, you’re following the law.” A full list of the current life jacket types and descriptions can be found at BoatUS.org/life-jackets, and any update on new life jacket types and styles will be posted here when available.

In additional effort to help change the mindset of what a life jacket must look like, The BoatUS Foundation, the Personal Floatation Device Manufacturers Association (PFDMA) and the National Marine Manufacturers Association (NMMA), recently kicked off a “Innovations in Life Jacket Design Competition” to seek out the newest technologies and design ideas. Running through April 15, 2015, the contest seeks entries from groups or individuals, including collegiate design programs, armchair inventors or even boat and fishing clubs. Entries may be as simple as hand-drawn theoretical designs to working prototypes and will be judged based on four criteria: wearability, reliability, cost and innovation. For more, go to BoatUS.org/design.

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About the BoatUS Foundation:

The BoatUS Foundation for Boating Safety and Clean Water is a national leader promoting safe, clean and responsible boating. Funded primarily by donations from over half-million members of BoatUS, it provides innovative educational outreach directly to boaters and anglers with the aim of reducing accidents and fatalities, increasing stewardship of America’s waterways and keeping boating safe for all. A range of boating safety courses – including 33 free state courses – can be found at BoatUS.org/courses.

Who Tracks Smalltooth Sawfish?

FFWCC Continues Sawfish Research

Today’s feature on smalltooth sawfish, comes to us from the Florida Fish & Wildlife Commission. Though sawfish are scarce these days in most parts of Florida, there’s a small continuing population along the southwest coast, with the muddy creeks of the lower Everglades often a good spot to see one of these unique creatures. They’re also found in the lower Caloosahatchee and Peace Rivers and in Charlotte Harbor.
from The Fishing Wire

Studying Sawfish

The endangered smalltooth sawfish is the only sawfish species found in Florida waters. It is a type of ray.

Researchers are studying the ecology and life history of the endangered smalltooth sawfish to aid recovery efforts.

Considered by some to be a symbol of strength and spirituality, the sawfish is culturally important to many tribal societies around the world. Belonging to the family Pristidae, derived from a Greek term meaning saw, sawfish possess a characteristic long, flattened, toothed rostrum, often referred to as the “saw,” which is used for feeding and defense against sharks, their only known predators. There are five species of sawfish worldwide.

The only species found in Florida waters is the smalltooth sawfish (Pristis pectinata). It is part of a group of fishes called elasmobranchs that includes all other rays and sharks. This protected species is listed federally under the Endangered Species Act because its population experienced significant decline and range reduction over the last century due to unintentional overfishing and its limited reproductive potential.

To learn more about the ecology and life history of the smalltooth sawfish and monitor its recovery, staff from the Fish and Wildlife Research Institute’s Charlotte Harbor Field Laboratory have spent over a decade monitoring and sampling juveniles in the estuaries of the Caloosahatchee River, Peace River and Charlotte Harbor. The project, led by biologist Dr. Gregg Poulakis, began with researchers compiling reports of angler encounters (which is still ongoing) and has evolved into a sampling program that addresses many of the priorities identified in NOAA’s Smalltooth Sawfish Recovery Plan icon_pdf.gif.

Smalltooth sawfish

Though most sawfish seen today are small ones, the species is known to exceed 15 feet including their lengthy bill or saw, at full maturity.

Researchers tag each sawfish, which allows them to document the fish’s movements and determine which habitats they use. Researchers also collect a fin clip from each sawfish captured. These small samples have the potential to help scientists answer a variety of questions about the biology and ecology of the smalltooth sawfish. Researchers have already gathered information from these samples on population health, stability, habitat use and feeding biology.

Public participation is an important component of this research project, as reports of sawfish encounters provide a primary data source for determining the historic and current distribution of the population. For example, data provided by the public were instrumental in designating official critical habitat areas for juvenile sawfish – an important step in the recovery process. Members of the public are encouraged to report sawfish captures or sightings by email at Sawfish@MyFWC.com or phone at 941-255-7403. It is important to note that captures or sightings of even one sawfish are useful to the research team.

Through their work so far, Dr. Poulakis and his team have discovered some interesting facts about smalltooth sawfish. They determined that juveniles double in size during their first year, growing from a birth length of 2.5 feet up to 5 feet, and continue to grow relatively fast in their second year. Researchers also determined that sawfish are affected by marine debris, such as discarded fishing line, but can heal quickly if freed from the debris. Data also show that juveniles sometimes occur near specific locations for months, are found in natural creeks and man-made canals, and respond to large increases in river flow by moving downriver.

Dr. Poulakis and his team receive funding from the National Marine Fisheries Service to conduct this research, which addresses the ongoing management needs of multiple agencies and stakeholder groups

Who Tracks Baby Tarpon In Florida?

BTT Tracks Baby Tarpon in Southwest Florida
from The Fishing Wire

Checking baby tarpon

The Bonefish & Tarpon Trust continues their efforts at improving Florida’s flats fisheries with efforts to map the nursery areas used by juvenile tarpon on Florida’s southwest coast.

Last week, scientists at Bonefish and Tarpon Trust broke ground at their newest Juvenile Tarpon Habitat Restoration site by setting up antenna arrays that will be used to track juvenile tarpon movements within a series of canals. This project, being done in conjunction with the Southwest Florida Water Management District, Charlotte Harbor National Estuary Program, Florida Department of Environmental Protection Charlotte Harbor Buffer Preserve, and the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, will turn what are now old canals from a long-abandoned development into juvenile tarpon habitats. The crew made their way into the new site early Tuesday morning and were able to assemble 4 antenna arrays at a number of strategic locations. “The first step is to see how the fish currently use the canal system,” said JoEllen Wilson, BTT’s Juvenile Tarpon Habitat Program Manager. “Then once the restoration is complete, we will continue to sample to see if the tarpon prefer one type of habitat over another.”

BTT scientists will return later this year to begin the sampling. Sampling includes capturing juvenile tarpon with cast nets and seine nets, taking measurements, and then tagging the individual fish with PIT tags. When a tagged fish passes through one of the antenna arrays the antenna will log the date, time, and the unique tag number.

Juvenile tarpon depend upon shallow, backwater habitats for at least the first 2 to 3 years of their lives. Common characteristics include:

Mangrove or other fringing vegetation that provides structure and protection from bird predators;
A mixture of depths – primarily shallow with some deeper pools for fish to congregate when water levels decrease;
Tidal exchange through narrow, shallow passages that keeps predatory fish away;
Freshwater inflow;
Calm backwaters.

As coastal human populations continue to increase, coastal ecosystems and the fisheries they support are becoming increasingly stressed due to factors such as habitat loss and degradation. Therefore, there is an
urgent need to protect and restore these critically important habitats.

BTT thanks its collaborators the Southwest Florida Water Management District, Charlotte Harbor National Estuary Program, Florida Department of Environmental Protection Charlotte Harbor Buffer Preserve (especially Mr. Jay Garner), and the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.

For more info on the Juvenile Tarpon Habitat Initiative, or to help out this initiative by becoming a member, please visit www.btt.org

Does Georgia Power Help Fishermen and the Environment?

I enjoyed fishing at Lake Juliette with Jack “Zero” Ridgeway last Sunday. We were checking out spots for a November Georgia Outdoor News article and caught a lot of bass. The biggest one hooked, a five pounder, jumped a couple of times then got Zero’s line around the trolling motor and broke off.

While we were fishing I kept looking at the smokestacks and cooling towers at the Georgia Power Plant Scherer on the shore. It is a huge facility, the fifth biggest coal fired power plant in the US. It provides electricity for many homes and businesses around here through the Georgia Power Company, Municipal Elect5ric Authority of Georgia, (MEAG) Oglethorpe Power and others.

When we think of Georgia Power we think of power. But when we flip a switch to turn on a light, do a load of clothes or warm food in the microwave it is automatic and we only notice when the power goes out and we don’t have this incredible resource that makes our lives so much easier.

Georgia Power is so much more than just a power company, though. Without them, Lake Juliette, Jackson Lake, Lake Sinclair, Lake Oconee and many others in our area and state would not exist. If you fish or hunt on and around those lakes you can thank Georgia Power.

Many of the boat ramps, picnic areas and campgrounds on Georgia Power lakes are either fully run by Georgia Power or are supported by them with money and facilities. Hunting areas are usually funded by a combination of funds from Georgia Power and the Georgia DNR. And many water fowl projects are a combined effort with Ducks, Unlimited and Georgia Power.

While Zero and I were fishing we heard several quick shotgun blasts early in the morning. Zero said someone must be hunting ducks and I responded there was an early teal season and also goose hunting was open.

All around Lake Juliette there are special waterfowl areas supported by Georgia Power where fields are planted with food ducks and geese like. With the lake right there it is excellent habitat for both. And some of the fields on Rum Creek WMA are managed for doves and are open to the public for shooting at those gray rockets.

Wildlife Management Areas around many lakes are open to the public for deer hunting and many of them are on Georgia Power land. Without them, a lot of deer hunters would have a tough time finding a place to hunt. And they are open small game hunting, too, and managed for all kinds of wildlife. Georgia Power helps fund these areas and provides the land for them.

Fishing is good on Georgia Power lakes and the shoreline on most is owned by the company. Folks with cabins and houses lease many of their lots from the company. Not only do these leases provide great places for the homeowner, the docks they build are great cover for bass, crappie and bream.
Other than the docks, Georgia Power works with the DNR to build fish habitat in the lakes from putting out marked brush piles to planting different kinds of native grasses around the lake. Water quality is monitored by Georgia Power, too.

Lake Sinclair is special to many area bass fishermen in the winter. The warm water discharged from Plant Branch, the coal fired power plant there, warms the lake a little and makes fish bite better in the winter. Due to Environmental Protection Agency regulations, the federal government seems to be trying to shut down such power plants.

Plant Branch is being closed to meet EPA regulations, at a great cost to the company, its employees and its customers. If the current federal government had it way all coal fired power plants would be shut down, and they don’t care how much doing that would raise power costs or the fact electricity might become less reliable due to lowered generating ability.

Some folks complain companies don’t pay enough taxes. They don’t pay any taxes. Their customers and stock owners pay them. So increasing taxes on companies just raise taxes on people like you and me. And you can own some of Georgia Power and get your share of their profits by buying stock. At less than $30 a share right now, it is a good way to build equity and get decent return on your investment.

Everyone complains about their power bill, and Georgia Power offers many ways to conserve electricity and keep it lower. But think what you get for your payment. Could you live around here without an air conditioner in August? Could you do without a refrigerator, microwave, TV, clothes washer or any of the other things you depend on daily?

When you flip a switch to light up a dark room, hunt on a Georgia Power facility or fish on one of their lakes, think about what the company does to make those things happen!

Can I Catch Muskie In Kentucky In the Fall?

Kentucky Afield Outdoors: Muskellunge fishing heats up in fall

By Kevin Kelly
from The Fishing Wire

This is the first installment of a series of articles titled “Fall Fishing Festival” profiling the productive fishing on Kentucky’s lakes, rivers and streams in fall.

FRANKFORT, Ky. – The angler’s whoop traveled fast and loud over the water from the back of Buck Creek on Cave Run Lake.

Bringing a trophy muskellunge to the boat after a spirited fight uncorks raw emotions and provides a unique sense of satisfaction. In this instance, the 45-inch torpedo of a fish was a new personal best and the fourth muskellunge the angler had caught on this cool, calm, overcast Friday in mid-September.

The fall muskellunge bite was turning on, and word traveled quickly. A parking lot that held only a handful of boat trailers on Friday was full Saturday.

The shorter days, brisk nights and cooler water temperatures of early fall trigger the start of some of the finest muskellunge fishing of the year. Cave Run, Green River and Buckhorn lakes are the state’s top destinations as they have been proven to produce trophy fish.

Sarah Terry’s state record came from Cave Run Lake in November 2008 and was caught on a silver Double Cowgirl in-line spinner. It measured 54 inches and 47 pounds.

In recent weeks, muskellunge at Cave Run Lake have been caught in the backs of creeks – many of them loaded with weed beds and standing timber – in 8 feet of water or less. Weed beds near submerged channels and across the main lake flats aren’t to be overlooked either.

“They’re looking for one thing: food to get them through the winter,” said Tom Timmermann, northeastern fisheries district program coordinator with the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources. “Bass go through a heavy feeding period in the fall, and muskellunge do the same thing.”

Smaller lures such as a 4-inch balsa wood crankbait in silver and black, a ½-ounce dressed in-line spinner or a ¼-ounce skirted buzz bait can be effective in early fall. As the water cools, consider upsizing to rubber and hard-bodied jerkbaits, and single and double-bladed in-line spinners and spinnerbaits.

“Don’t overlook those smaller baits,” Timmermann said. “If you’ve never fished Cave Run before, you can throw some of those larger bass crankbaits, especially in black and white colors, and do pretty well.”

Buckhorn Lake in Leslie and Perry counties is rated good for muskellunge and holds ample numbers of fish in the 36 to 40-inch range.

In early fall, target the back of creeks and shallower areas that have weed beds. The best fishing once the lake level has reached winter pool is on the lower end of the lake by the dam, said Kevin Frey, eastern fisheries district program coordinator with Kentucky Fish and Wildlife.

Crank baits, jerk baits and bucktail spinners are proven producers. Generally, orange and sucker-imitating colors work well in the creeks while silver, purple or chartreuse are go-to colors for the main lake.

“There are several good spawns of shad throughout the year,” Frey said. “There will be a lot of smaller shad, so there could be an opportunity to try some muskie-sized baits and some bass-sized baits.”

Leatherwood Creek, Otter Creek and Meetinghouse Branch are a few of the best spots for fall muskie on Buckhorn Lake. The tailwaters can be excellent for muskellunge as well.

“There’s lots of bank access,” Frey said. “There’s also a small creek that comes into the tailwater. Over the years, that’s been popular with local anglers.”

Fisheries biologists routinely see muskellunge exceeding 45 inches on Green River Lake, which is rated excellent for the species.

“It certainly still has big fish potential,” said Eric Cummins, southwestern fisheries district program coordinator with Kentucky Fish and Wildlife.

While a lot of the standing timber is gone, Russell Branch is one notable exception. Try the slides on main lake bluffs and the edges of flats. Robinson Creek features expansive flats with some isolated brush piles and flooded timber.

The upper reaches of creek arms often will hold muskellunge.

“It’s just a little cooler than the main lake itself,” Cummins said, “and they can find whatever they’re eating.”

Where there are shad, muskellunge probably aren’t far away. Give a shad-imitating crankbait a try. Jerkbaits also produce on Green River Lake.

Kentucky Fish and Wildlife maintains these fisheries and others around the state by stocking them with 13-inch long muskellunge reared at Minor E. Clark Fish Hatchery in Morehead.

Cave Run, Buckhorn and Green River lakes received stockings of the sub-adult fish this week. On average, it takes five to six years for a muskellunge to reach 36 inches, the minimum size limit in these impoundments.

Lake level and outflow information for Cave Run, Buckhorn and Green River lakes can be found online via the Louisville District of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ webpage at www.lrl.usace.army.mil.

Kevin Kelly is a staff writer for Kentucky Afield magazine, the official publication of the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources. Get the latest from Kevin and the entire Kentucky Afield staff by following them on Twitter: @kyafield.

Should I Fish A Spinnerbait Around Grass In Lake Sinclair In December?

I was taught a lesson about fishing a spinnerbait in grass beds on Lake Sinlair one December. Charles Redding allowed me to fish with him at Sinclair to get information for a Georgia Outdoor News article. We caught nine nice keeper bass on a pattern I would not have fished.

It was in the early 1970’s that I first heard Charles’ name. He pretty much invented spoon jigging at Lanier. Over the years I got to know him as one of the best spinnerbait fishermen in Georgia. He was a member of the South Cobb Bass Club, the club that won 9 Top Six tournaments in a row! He now fishes team tournaments many weekends and usually is in the top fishermen.

Sinclair has lots of grass beds. In the spring, you can cast a spinnerbait into them and expect to catch bass. I do not think of that as a December pattern, but that is what we did. Although the water was dropping and that always makes shallow water fishing less productive, Charles showed me bass can be caught shallow even under unusual conditions.

Water temperature ranged from 58 to 63 degrees in the areas we fish, and we tried grass beds from Nancy Creek all the way up into Rooty Creek. Charles kept the boat close to the grass, making short, quick cast and then moving on. He said he expected to find feeding fish somewhere during the day while fishing like that. His success in tournaments proves him correct.

If you try Sinclair during the winter, Charles says fish hit all winter long on the grass bed pattern. Just don’t give up on it.

Is the Smallmouth Bass Fishing Good On Bays de Noc In Michigan?

Bays de Noc Smallmouth Bass Fishery Shines on National Stage
from The Fishing Wire

Big smallmouth

ESCANABA, Mich. – Mention Lake Michigan’s Bays de Noc to most anglers and they’ll immediately start talking about fishing for walleye.

But in the wake of September’s high-profile Bassmaster Angler of the Year Championship – which brought 50 of America’s top anglers to Escanaba to ply the waters of Big and Little Bays de Noc – what was once seemingly relegated to “also-ran” status is now national news: The Bays are loaded with trophy bass, too.

“The fishery has always been kind of walleye-centric,” said Department of Natural Resources fisheries biologist Darren Kramer. “Bass is kind of an up-and-coming, emerging fishery. Every year we see more and more bass boats, and more out of state anglers, taking advantage of the fishery. There’s a lot of traffic out on Big Bay de Noc after the bass opener. That fishery’s really taken off in the last five or six years.

“Our creel data indicates there’s increasing angler effort and we think that’s attributable to bass,” Kramer continued. “Bass harvest has stayed the same, but use of the resource is going up along with angler success, which implies we’re recruiting more catch-and-release bass anglers to the area.”

The Bassmaster Angler-of-the-Year Championship started with a bang: On the first day, 12 competitors brought in five-fish limits with a total weight in excess of 20 pounds.

Catching bass that weigh more than four pounds each isn’t often accomplished in tournaments, even on some of America’s best big-bass lakes.

Although the tournament hit a minor snag, with high winds causing delays that shortened the event to two days rather than three, the weather couldn’t dampen the enthusiasm of the competing pro anglers who described the fishery as “awesome,” “incredible,” “unbelievable” and “amazing.”

Paul Elias, a Laurel, Mississippi, resident who won the BASS Classic in 1982, was effusive in his praise.

“It’s as good as, or better than, any smallmouth fishery we fish,” he said. And Elias’ comments were echoed by virtually all the competitors.

Fayetteville, Tennessee, bass pro Brandon Lester, who brought in the biggest bass of the first day’s competition – a six-pound, four-ounce smallmouth, said, “I’ve never seen so many big smallmouths in my life. They’re not everywhere, but when you find one, you’ll find a group of them. When you get around them, you can light them up real quick.”

Said Skeet Reese, a top angler from Auburn, California, at the weigh-in: “That’s the best day of smallmouth fishing I’ve ever had in my life. This is an incredible fishery.”

While many of the anglers were surprised by the quality of the fishery, Kevin Short of Mayflower, Arkansas, said the results were just what he expected.

Short first fished the waters off Escanaba in 2008 when he recognized that the area would undoubtedly host a future tournament, and has come back every year since just to fish for fun.

“If there’s any place in the whole country we would move to for nine months of the year, this would be it,” Short said. “The first couple of trips we really didn’t catch that many, but once we figured it out, holy smokes. It’s a really special place. I’d drive 18 hours just to come up here and fish a few days.”

Bass anglers familiar with the fishery had predicted an outstanding tournament.

Scott Cormier, a 42-year-old recreational vehicle salesman and lifelong bass angler from Gladstone, said the tournament was “going to open up a lot of eyes” across the country.

“There’s a big deep-water fishery out there that nobody’s really fishing,” Cormier said. “There are fish out there in 40 feet of water that have never seen a lure before.”

Indeed, most of the anglers were fishing shallow water during the tournament, concentrating on the rocky shoals that were only a few feet deep on the top or on the weedy flats adjoining drop-offs.

Dan Anderson, a 48-year-old maintenance supervisor from Fond Du Lac, Wisconsin, who fishes Bays de Noc regularly and was on hand to take photographers out on the lake during the tournament, said the fishery is capable of yielding 100-bass days at any time.

“They’re biting good by opening day,” he said. “You can catch them by May 1st and fish right up to deer season.”

That such an outstanding bass fishery flew under the radar for so long is just a matter of the Upper Peninsula fishing culture, Kramer said.

“Many anglers in the U.P. are typically looking for panfish or walleye,” Kramer said. “A lot of the bass fishermen we see are from downstate or out of state. But I predict that might begin to change.”

Added Jessica Mistak, the DNR’s fisheries management supervisor for northern Lake Michigan: “We think this is a world-class fishery that’s really been overshadowed by the walleye fishery. Now that anglers see that there are fish to catch other than walleyes in the Bays, they’ll be eager to come here and try it.”

Although invasive species are typically talked about in a negative light, Mistak said water clarity changes – brought on by zebra and quagga mussels – and new prey species, such as gobies, may have helped the smallmouth population.

Certainly, the smallmouths are thriving, a fact that is not so secret any more.

“This place is unbelievable,” said Jacob Powroznik of Port Haywood, Virginia, who brought in a limit weighing 24-pounds and one-ounce, good for third place after the first day of competition. “I hope we come back real soon.”

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