Howdy! It happened; the water temperatures have cooled into the mid-70’s and the shad rises are gone until next year. Bass fishing continues to be great. Bluegill fishing is good. Catfish have slowed down and crappie fishing is good if you want to catch a bunch of small fish not worth filleting.

Bass fishing is hot! The other weekend I went fishing with my buddy Jim, Uncle Rich and a new fishing partner Tim. Tim is new to the lake but a veteran when it comes to fishing and hunting. After serving our country with decorated honor in Viet Nam he spent 30 years in Alaska as a guide and outfitter. His life achievements are a story in it’s self! And we caught fish!

Friday evening Jim and I started off chasing bass on the shad rises. We were rewarded with 15 bass and the biggest was 15 inches. We doubled 3 times and tripled once! Jim and I were both surprised the shad were still rising. Typically this all stops September one but the temperatures remained in the 80’s and with higher than normal water levels the fish were still up. I called Tim and told him to meet me at his dock at 6:00 the next morning and just knew we would kill’em!

Saturday morning I met Tim at his dock and we took off for the islands. Jim was already there. Jim reported the fish hadn’t started rising and had caught one by casting and counting down. Tim and I waited and I drank coffee. Eventually we started casting the weed banks and Tim landed a bass. As the morning progressed we noticed some fish were rising. Mostly single fish or very small schools. We got close enough to a few rises and we caught fish. The rises became more frequent and then I smelled smoke! My trolling motor connection was burning-up! Fortunately Uncle Rich’s cabin was close by and we were out of coffee. So I gave Uncle Rich a call and went to his dock so I could fix the problem and fill up the mugs just knowing when we got back the fishing would be as hot as my bad connection.

I fixed the problem, filled the mugs with coffee and thanked Uncle Rich for his early morning hospitality, promising I would take him fishing that evening.

Tim and I returned to our starting point. We no sooner got there and a rise blew-up right in front of me! As I was fumbled to put my coffee down and pick up my rod Tim shouted “I’ll catch that fish”! He made a perfect cast and landed a 15.5 incher! Tim was elated! What fun and you don’t have to flog the water all day long to catch’em. With that, the waters went dead.

We fished for the next hour and didn’t see another fish rise. I should’ve known something was up because shortly after we returned Jim left to go home and cut grass. An hour passed and Tim decided to call it a morning. When we got to the no wake area in front of Tim’s dock the water exploded again! I made a cast and had a small bass on. I lost it a few feet from the boat. That was that.

Saturday evening I picked-up Uncle Rich hoping the evening would be as good as Friday evening. We met Tim, Jim, and Wally (2) in our favorite spot. The hunt was on. Wally (2) had a partner with him by the name of Charlie. When Wally saw the fish weren’t rising he started fishing the weed beds with a rubber worm. As it turns out they did pretty good. The rest of us continued to hunt for the rises and it wasn’t happening. Uncle Rich and I caught a couple by casting and counting down. When all of a sudden Wally buzzed over shouting the biggest rise he had ever seen was on the make and to follow him to it! You don’t have to tell me twice (most of the time) so I followed him to the spot immediately! We got there in short time. Unfortunately the rise had stopped. So we sat there waiting for the big fish to rise again. Wally’s boat partner Charlie proclaimed he had never seen anything like that in his life! And the air was pungent with the smell of shad. Charlie assured us the smell wasn’t him so we sat there and waited a little longer. I got impatient, made a cast counting down to six and caught a 14 incher.

Nothing more happened. Wally moved away. Jim went down the lake. And I hadn’t seen Tim for close to an hour. All of a sudden here comes Tim. Tim shows Uncle Rich and me a 17.5 incher he had just caught off the island fishing the heavy weed bed. Tim had taken a fluke and rigged a worm hook through the head and into the pocket that lies in the front center of the body making it weed-less. He crimped a 1/8th ounce split shot 16 inches ahead of the bait. Tim worked the lure in front of the weeds and into the pockets bouncing it slowly. Besides the fish he showed us, he caught a number more!

Unfortunately I didn’t have enough equipment to replicate Tim’s rig so Uncle Rich and I sat just off Tim’s area still looking for shad to rise. While we were there Uncle Rich caught a small bass and then I heard a hooo, hoooo! Tim was fighting a fish and landed a 20 incher! With a big smile on his face he declared he was calling it a night.

I dropped Uncle Rich off at his dock and I headed down the lake looking for Jim. I found him and he reported he was trolling and did very well catching 4 bass including a 17 incher.

Sunday morning I took my wife out to breakfast and I’ve been working since. This weekend we are expecting rain so I plan on fishing. I’ll be using Tim’s Carolina rigged fluke and trolling when the rig isn’t working!

As a note, Tim was fishing this past Saturday on the peaceful waters of LOE. A bass fishing tournament was launched that very morning from the north end of the lake. Tim was fishing a small cove on the south end of the lake and a bass fisherman settled in along side of him. The casting was close and when Tim asked him for some distance. The fisherman replied he was in a tournament and gave him no slack. That fisherman is not a sportsman and this is the reason why property owners on the lake will push to eliminate tournaments from this great lake. Tournament sponsors should take heed. Heck all fishermen should take heed. Most of you guys are sportsmen. Weed out the bad ones. Amen.

If you want to know more of the details email me at: mikeo@ubetchaoutdoors.com

Fish on!

Go Out There & Get Some! (And be careful!) Mike O.

Mike's 15

Tim's 15

Tim's 17

Tim's 20

Well, the air temperatures have cooled into the upper 70’s and the weather forecasters are predicting below normal air temps thru the weekend. Water temperatures have been stable in the mid 80’s for the past couple of weeks and should slowly fall over the next 5 days. Bass fishing, cat fishing and bluegill fishing is very good! Crappie fishing is slow to good.

The crappies are starting to bite. A neighbor of mine is catching numbers of crappie by dragging a jig in five to 8 feet of water. The fish are small. Eight inches or so. I strongly suggest that anyone fishing for crappie return the majority of the fish you catch even the bigger ones. I am convinced the crappie population is as low as it has ever been. Throw them back so they can make more!

Two weeks ago I laid out a pattern that you could use to catch a limit of fish in a day. In fact you should be able to catch a limit of bass in the morning! But just in case you need more time, we’ll call it a full day. I received emails from my readers who tried the pattern and found it didn’t work for them. The spirit of their email was one in which they were questioning the validity of my advice and whether or not my mother was an honest woman! Well, I’ll not stand for anyone questioning my advice so I spent the past Friday late afternoon, Saturday morning, Saturday evening and Sunday morning using the very pattern (plan) I described 2 weeks ago! The results were phenomenal! Here’s the final tally –

Friday I fished from 4:30 to 7:00 Total Fish 1 Bass and 1 Crappie. That evening I started off fishing with a Zoom Salty Super Fluke Silver Rainbow. I hooked it with a 1/8th ounce chartreuse and redeye jig. The hook was crappie sized and that ended up being a problem. I met my buddies Jim and Dick on the lake at the islands. Jim had netted one bass by bottom bouncing a rubber crawdad bait before I got there. We were looking for bass chasing the shad rises and after an hour passed with out anything significant rising we abandoned the area and started trolling. I was trolling with a silver and black deep diving crank bait (4 inches long including the bill) I found it at my favorite bait shop on sale rack. It runs about 10 feet deep trolling at 1.5 to 2.5 mph with about 50 to 60 feet of 10-pound monofilament line out. I trolled to the east side of the islands and was rewarded with a 13-inch bass and a miss. I met up with Jim and Dick a little further down the lake and Jim suggested we troll up Beaver Bay. I thought that was a good idea and followed him up the lake. Jim up one side but when we made the turn I split off and went up the middle. About halfway back my rod lurched hard and and I put the motor in neutral. The fight wasn’t very long but it was all down. When it was over I netted a 15.5 inch crappie. It is the biggest crappie I caught this season! And yes, I put it back. Jim and Dick finished the evening by worming the main channel flats. They both netted bass with Dick out fishing Jim.

Saturday morning I fished from 6:30 to 9:45. Evening from 5:00 to 6:30. Total fish caught = 16 Bass. I met Jim and Dick at the islands around 6:15. Jim suggested we move up the lake and further into the ski area. We did and I had one of the best and most disappointing mornings bass fishing I ever had. Apparently I took a crappie rig into a bass fight! Remember I rigged my fluke with a 1/8th ounce crappie jig. Well to make it worse I was using 6-pound test on that same rod. The rod is a 9-foot Zander’s walleye-spinning rod. The light tipped tall rod lets me toss a bait a long ways which makes setting the hook difficult. Light line makes the situation worse, it breaks. The bass were rising and chasing shad at the surface. To catch’em you have to cast into what I call the boils because it looks like boiling water. Then after the fluke hits the water you jerk the rod tip with every rotation of the reel. This makes the lure flip and dodge and the bass just can’t ignore it! Often it triggers a strike immediately. More times than not you have to swim it a little before the strike occurs. Sometimes a bass will hit the lure just at the end of your retrieve. On Saturday morning all of this happened and I managed to boat 15 bass. My biggest was 15 inches and the smallest was less than 13 inches. I broke off 2 times and I bet I lost almost twice as many. It was frustrating, but fun, yet still frustrating. Jim and Dick were having similar luck and I met a new friend, Wally who caught a 3.5 pounder using the same method. Jim and Dick left and came back after they had breakfast and found the bite was still on. Now I caught all my fish on the Fluke. Jim and Dick switched over to Kastmasters and continued to catch fish! That evening I caught one bass on the Fluke by doing something I learned that morning. If the bass aren’t rising count the lure down and fish a little deeper.

Saturday afternoon I changed from 6 to 12 pound test line.

Sunday morning I fished from 6:30 to 9:15. Total fish caught = 25 Bass. We went back to the same spot we caught them on Saturday. Jim and Dick were there at 5:30. When I arrived at 6:30 Dick had boated a 17 inch bass. Wally (2) arrived shortly after me. On his first cast he landed a bass. I cast 3 times and had my first! What a morning! The 12 pound test worked great. I still lost fish but not near as many as Saturday. A bigger hook will help solve the problem. I landed 25 bass but it was the last 3 I will remember the most. After Wally (2) caught his first bass he started chasing the boils all the way down and across the lake. I was following him when I looked back and saw fish rising were I started. So I went back and finished the morning there. At 9:00 I remembered my wife wanted to go out for breakfast. The fishing had slowed so I was preparing to leave when Wally (1) showed up with his young son. I told him he missed a great early morning and went up the lake towards Wally (2). I stopped at Wally (2), wished him luck (he had caught a lot of fish), and in motoring up to leave the water in front of me exploded. I shut the motor down and cast right into the middle of the explosion. The lure hit the water, my line tightened, I set the hook and landed a 15.5 incher. Whewee! I told Wally that was my going home fish and the water exploded again. I cast my lure, Wally called me a liar, and I landed a 17.5 incher! The water continued to boil. I shouted, “The wife will have to wait until tomorrow for breakfast”, and landed a 13 incher! With that I remembered Wally (1) and his son. I motored up and found Wally where I left him. I told him of the explosions and before I could finish he was fired up and moving in the right direction. I passed Wally (1) and (2) on my way in and just waved.

Grand total = 41 Bass and 1 big Crappie! All the fish were returned to the water to make more. See the plan works. It works better in the morning than in the evening but it works!

Unfortunately the bass boils will all come to an end when the surface water temperatures average 80 degrees in the morning. That’s when the shad quit coming to the surface. So until then…

Oh, one more thing. I have 4 openings for the pheasant hunt of a lifetime in beautiful South Dakota. The hunt includes:

Private lodging that can only be described as a bed and breakfast for hunters
10,000 acres of prime wild pheasant hunting
The entire hunt is guided
Pheasants are cleaned and packaged
All food (3 squares) and refreshments are provided
Dates: Arrive 10/25/06, hunt 10/26 thru 10/28, depart 10/29

If you’re interested email me at mikeo@ubetchaoutdoors.com

P.S. – I caught 5 more Wednesday morning. The biggest is 15 inches. See it on my home page!

Fish on!

Go Out There & Get Some! (And be careful!) Mike O.

Deep Crank

15.5 Crappie

17.5 Bass

14 Bass

Well, the air temperatures cooled down into the upper 80’s on Friday and Saturday and it’s been in the 90’s since. Water temperatures have been stable. Bass fishing, cat fishing and bluegill fishing is very good! Crappie fishing is very slow.

The talk of the lake still is bass fishing. The bite continues to be on. Catching a limit of fish can be accomplished in just four hours if you know how to hunt. Yep I said hunt them. And the place to hunt them is the main channel from Bethel Bayou to the islands in the ski area with the mouth of Shawnee Bay to Sugar Creek being the best main channel area to find them. The hunt begins in the morning at daylight between 5:30 to 6:00 am. But before you go hunting be sure to charge your trolling motor because it’s going to get a work out!

Like I said get on the lake at daylight make sure you have a limber rod and reel combination that will cast a distance. On that rod tie a spoon or any other bait that is chrome or shad color and that you can work the surface or count it down to 6 feet or so. Have another rod you can troll with and tie on it a chrome or shad colored crank bait you can troll at 8 to 12 feet. On your last rod tie on a purple or neon blue 6 to 8 inch worm rigged Texas. Oh, and bring a thermos of coffee and a cooler filled with ice water.

Start the day smack dab in the middle of the lake with your hand or foot on the trolling motor and in the other hand a cup of coffee. Watch and listen for rising bass chasing and splashing the water as they eat schooling shad. Fire-up the trolling motor as soon as you make out more than one splash. Cast your spoon over the splashes and at first work the lure at the surface. If that doesn’t entice a bite, work the lure deeper until you find the strike zone. Counting your lure down will aid in keeping it in the strike zone. A sinking lure will generally sink at a foot a second. If you have enough patience, water, sunscreen and battery this pattern will last all day and right in the middle of the lake! A lot of fishermen quit fishing this way as soon as the water gets choppy. It is assumed the fish went down but what has really happened is the chop makes it harder to see or hear the rise. When this happens one fish rising could be many and I look for shad in the water. Dead shad floating is a great indication of a feeding frenzy!

Okay so you caught a few fish hunting them down as they busted the surface but your tired of casting and you trolling motor battery is low. Now’s the time to put down your casting rod and coffee and pick-up your trolling rod and ice cold water. Put your deep diving crank bait into the water and let out about 30 feet of line. Then start trolling at a speed of 2 to 5 miles per hour and right in the middle of channel. Be ready for a strike at anytime! But most of your strikes will occur at the mouth of a major bay. So be especially ready when crossing those areas!

So now it’s about 9:30 am, you’ve caught your limit but some of the fish are small and you would like to round out the morning with a big one! Grab your worm rod and with whatever is left in you trolling motor battery, slowly fish the points and flats that are in 8 to 15 feet of water and a long ways from the shoreline. Cast it out there. Let it sink and then pump it back ever so slowly and get ready to get you arm broken by strong set and a vicious strike. I hope you brought the net!

Whew weee! It’s 10:00 am, it’s time to get some breakfast and you’ve caught your limit. See that, hunt’in for fish works and it works that way everyday just some days are better than others!

Oh, one more thing. I know of some acreage for rent for the coming deer season. The tract for rent has running water and would be perfect for camping. Big deer are the norm for the area. It is located in the central west end of Illinois near the town of Macomb, IL Most of the land has since been rented but one tract (101 acres) is still available and the farmer is trying to payoff a new set of teeth so if you’re interested email me at mikeo@ubetchaoutdoors.com

Fish on!

Go Out There & Get Some! (And be careful!) Mike O.

Ever since Friday it has been hot. Air temperatures have been in the upper 90’s with high humidity. Water temperatures have reacted accordingly and are now in the 90’s.Bass fishing is still hot! Crappie fishing is very slow. Bluegill fishing is very good and channel cat fishing continues to be very good.

The big news is about a big fish. Last week Mitch was fishing with his grandfather when he hooked and landed a big bass. The fish officially weighed in at 9 pounds! Mitch caught the fish on 7-28-06. Mitch and his grandfather were casting towards a weed bed located off a rocky point and in 10 to 12 feet of water. Mitch was using a Lucky Craft Live Pointer 95SP. It is a flexible tail jerk bait which has a maximum depth of 3 to 4 feet. No doubt they were fishing the shad blow-ups and using the stuttering shad method I described a couple of weeks ago! Congratulations go out to Mitch and a special thanks to Mitch’s Grandfather for keeping the tradition alive! Oh and thanks goes out to Mitch’s Dad Phil as well for reporting the catch and sending the picture. And don’t anyone complain about the quality of the picture. It was taken with a cell phone and the pixel count on it is extremely low.

Not much to say about the crappie fishing it is slow. If you’re looking for food switch over to bluegill or catfish. The catching is easy. Catfish are being caught on anything from cut bait on jugs to hot dogs on the bottom of the lake. Some hooping and hollering caught my attention while I was working on a lakeside stairway in the Robinswood area. The cause for the excitement was a catfish caught by a couple of youngsters that had the fortune of landing a 20 inch channel catfish. Both of them hooked the same fish at the same time! Their bait of choice was Oscar Meyer hot dogs. They tried Hunter hot dogs but the bite wasn’t quite as good. Oh by the way it was 5:30 pm when they caught the fish and they were fishing from a dock and in about 12 foot of water. When asked if there was anything special they did to entice the bite they reported that all they did was toss it into the water and then they got into a fight over which side of the dock was theirs. During the fight one of them noticed their fishing rod was heading for the water so he picked up. The other one noticed his rod was bouncing and well now they are fighting over which side of the fish is…..well you guessed it. Both fishermen requested I not mention their names because they were suppose to be cleaning the boat when all this happened.

Oh, just one more thing. I know of some acreage for rent for the coming deer season. The tract for rent has running water and would be perfect for camping. Big deer are the norm for the area. It is located in the central west end of Illinois near the town of Macomb, IL. I first advertised this last week. Most of the land has since been rented but a couple of tracts are still available. If you’re interested email me at mikeo@ubetchaoutdoors.com

Fish on!

Go Out There & Get Some! (And be careful!) Mike O.

For the past week the weather has bounced around a bit. We experienced air temperatures in the upper 90’s with like humidity and over the weekend we had daily high air temperatures in the middle 80’s with lower than normal humidity. This had the water temperatures bouncing from a high of 91 degrees to as low as 84 degrees. The affect on the fishing was minimal. The bass fishing is still hot! Crappie fishing is very slow. Bluegill fishing is very good and the channel cat fishing continues to be very good.

With the water temperatures cooling off a bit the shad blow-ups weren’t as frequent and most fishermen returned to bottom bouncing rubber. During my morning outings I’ve been using the stuttering shad method with as much success as those bouncing rubber off the bottom. On the average I catch 6 bass in a 2-hour outing and I’ve not caught a bass over 18 inches in length. That’s about the same as my buddy Jim and Dick did this past weekend and they were mostly bouncing rubber.

Crappie fishing is slow with most of the fish caught using the nightlight bite. This is a method I reported on last year. Once the sun sets you submerge a light about 5 feet under the water with one or two lights floating on top. Then drop a jig tipped with a minnow to the bottom and make 2 cranks of your reel up. Then just sit and wait. You want to be fishing in 15 to 25 feet of water and over a school of fish you’ve located with your depth finder. Brush piles help but a shelf is better this time of year. But the bite is slow and keeping the fish you catch will be counter productive because of the lower than normal crappie population.

Over the past week I’ve run across a lot of jugs that are still in the water at 8:00 am. It is not unusual to see one or two bouncing with a fish on it. So jugging for cats is obviously working well. I just hope its owners are picking up the jugs! If you need instructions on how to rig a jug just email me back with your request.

Over the weekend my wife and I spent some time in the Macomb, IL area at my good friend Rick’s cabin in the country - where I spend some time deer hunting. Another friend Chris, and his family, own most of the land I hunt on. So to repay Chris for some of his hospitality, I dropped a pup German Shorthair Pointer off at his doorstep. In return I got a bushel of sweet corn and a bottle of homemade maple syrup. A good time was had by all and deer season is just a week and 2 months away. Special thanks go out to Chris and Rick.

Oh, just one more thing. Chris has some acreage he would like to rent for the coming deer season. The tract for rent has running water and would be perfect for camping. Big deer are the norm for the area. It is located in the central west end of Illinois. If you’re interested email me at mikeo@ubetchaoutdoors.com.

Fish on!

Go Out There & Get Some! (And be careful!) Mike O.

Over the past week weather was the dominant feature. We received over 3 plus inches of rain and when the rain stopped it turned hot and steamy. The water temperature is now 6 degrees warmer then the past week. The weather was great with air temperatures normal to cooler than normal and the bass fishing is still hot! Crappie fishing is very slow. Bluegill fishing is still very good and the channel cat fishing continues to be very good.

Last week I reported on bass caught by bottom bouncing rubber and spinner baits, and catching them on the shad blow-ups. All of those methods are still working and the shad are busting the surface even more with the warmer water temperatures.

Another pattern I watched and saw it catch a 3 to 4 pound bass I’ll call the stuttering shad. You use a 3 to 4 inch crank-bait. The one I watched was chartreuse and white but I have to believe the closer to a true shad color the better. The crank-bait should be lipped as a medium diver. Cast it towards the shore and in front of the weed beds. Then crank it down 2 cranks hard and fast and make hard half cranks al the way back to the boat. You can add more action by twitching your rod tip from side to side sort of making it walk the dog under the water. When this done properly the crank-bait is 2 feet under the water. The lure is moving in an erratic stop and go stuttering fashion sort of like a sinner in a confessional. This action triggers the predator instinct of the bass and all the rest is just a big gulp and get the net!

Speaking of sinners in a confessional, a member of the possum gang out of Sugar Creek, Steve Junior, reported catching a far amount of cats on jugs in a relatively short period of time. I guess that’s his way of say the cat fishing is good. So go out there and get some!

Fish on!

Go Out There & Get Some! (And be careful!) Mike O.

July 4th came and went. The weather was great with air temperatures normal to cooler than normal and the bass fishing is still hot! Crappie fishing is very slow. Bluegill fishing is still very good and the channel cats are fighting to get on the hook

The crappie fishing is very slow and I am convinced we should all leave the crappie alone. This is based on the rumor that LOE has not had a good crappie spawn for 4 years now. That’s why the fish we catch are big. There are very few little ones. And with every big one we keep gives us one less fish for next years spawn. I’m trying to get this verified with the SIU Fish Biologist, Jim Garvey.

Bluegill are very active. White 1/32 ounce jigs tipped with a mealworm continue to be the best way to catch them. Now your going to catch a lot of small ones but you will catch some that are hand size and bigger. Work the open holes in the weed beds.

Bass fishing continues to be great. Bottom bouncing rubber or spinner baits for that matter are working great all day long. Find points or flats start, shallow and work the bait all the way back to the boat. If you’re working rubber use a purple to neon blue and rig it Texas or Carolina. White is my pick for bottom bouncing spinner baits. Buzz baits are doing well in the shallows early in the morning and late in the evening.

Many bass are being caught on the shad blow-ups. The shad blow-ups occurs when the shad are chased to the surface by hungry schooling fish primarily bass. The feeding frenzy causes the shad to break the surface jumping and darting to get away from the predator. It’s crazy! This is primarily a morning and evening event and it helps if the water is calm. There are a variety of baits being used but casting spoons imitating shad are working the best. Find the areas in the main channel where shad are breaking the surface. Then move your boat as quickly as you can with your trolling motor so you can cast over the breaking shad and make your retrieve. First buzz your bait just under the surface. If that doesn’t entice a strike or if the fish are small let the spoon drop deeper and then buzz the bait back to the boat and great ready for a bone jarring strike! It’s a lot like bone fishing the saltwater flats or hunting. And it all starts as quickly as it stops. The closer you get to the rises, the quicker it stops. So bring a rod that has a good butt and fast tip for the maximum cast and keep your eyes focused on the surface for the next rise.

For the current lake temperatures and a daily picture of the LOE, current forecast and radar image of the area got to: http://www.ubetchaoutdoors.com/.

Fish on!

Go Out There & Get Some! (And be careful!) Mike O.

Memorial weekend came and went. The weather was hot and so was the bass fishing! Here’s a copy of a couple of reports I received on Monday.

Mike,
We had a great weekend at the lake...caught fish all morning on black chatter buzz bait, black/silver zara spook. When the sun got up...changed to main lake point that had wind and used green pumpkin w/chartreuse tail lizards. Texas rigged (light weighted) bite was very soft.....hit and run like crazy...had 9 fish over 18in....

Thanks for your help...lake is in great shape....

Thanks
Duke

From my buddy Jim

We got down about 7 pm Friday. Long drive from Chicago to the house, unload, load and leave for the lake. That is after I got food poisoning Thursday night and spent time in the motel room john.

Before 8 PM 7 bass- 3 under the slot, 3 in it, and 1 over. Saturday AM 4 bass. Saturday evening 6 bass including 2 in the slot and one 18" fish. Sunday AM 3 bass, Sunday night 3 more bass including 1 just over the slot. This AM 1 very nice crappie by accident over the weeds.

Most productive was the Brush Hog in Watermelon, but I did take some on an old 8" worm that Russ gave me and a couple on a Trick Worm. Spent a lot of time pitching the Horny Toad plastic worm. It is a fish machine, but I only hooked 4 on it (plus a goggle eye). I would hate to count how many hit that thing, took it down and were missed on the hook set. It is pretty weed free, but the fish can lose it in a second even though the hook is exposed.

The Crappie came on a Storm Wild Eye. The guy in the deck boat was getting bass on a 3" or 4" version and I was worming by the islands. His bass were suspended right in the middle of the channel. So I took my 2" one and tossed it over the weeds and about the 4th cast the crappie hit.

Also tried one of the new Chatter Bait. While it might have great action, I made about 4 casts with it, ticked the weeds and the chatter came off the bait which is all I retrieved. They get a nasty letter from me about poor quality. It really did seem to have great action, but no lure should just fall apart that easily.

The crappie fishing is very slow and I am convinced we should all leave the crappie alone. This is based on the rumor that LOE has not had a good crappie spawn for 4 years now. That’s why the fish we catch are big. There are very few little ones. And with every big one we keep gives us one less fish for next years spawn. I’m trying to get this verified with the SIU Fish Biologist, Jim Garvey.

Bluegill are in pre-spawn and very active. White 1/32 ounce jigs tipped with a mealworm are working great. Now you're going to catch a lot of small ones but you will catch some that are hand size and bigger. Work the open holes in the weed beds. The fish are bitin just as good in the main channel as they are in the back bays.

For the current lake temperatures and a daily picture of the LOE, current forecast and radar image of the area got to: http://www.ubetchaoutdoors.com/.

Fish on!

Go Out There & Get Some! (And be careful!) Mike O.

The crappie fishing is very slow but fish are big. Fish a jig over weeds on the drop-offs. Most fish are being caught in 8 to 12 foot of water.

Bass fishing is good. Fish have spawned and are chasin spinner baits and crawdad crank baits. Bottom bouncing rubber worms or lizards are producing fish on the flats and points.

Bluegill are in pre-spawn and very active. White 1/32 ounce jigs tipped with a mealworm are working great. Now your going to catch a lot of small ones but you will catch some that are hand size and bigger. Work the open holes in the weed beds. The fish are bitin just as good in the main channel as they are in the back bays. My buddy Chad Hill and his Dad were out there a week ago and caught 14 nice ones in three hours of fishing!

The possum gang out of the Sugar Creek Subdivision reported the channel cat bite is on! Jugging over the past week has been extremely successful. On their best night they caught 11 cats that had a combined weight of 54 pounds!

For the current lake temperatures and a daily picture of the LOE, current forecast and radar image of the area got to: http://www.ubetchaoutdoors.com/.

Fish on!

Go Out There & Get Some! (And be careful!) Mike O.

The bass fishing continues to be good with fish spawning. But the biters are off the shoreline in the 6 to 10 foot range and they are chasin! Crankbaits are working great and by now you know I favor the Rebal Crawdad. The other good rig is a Carolina rigged 6 inch purple worm.

Fish on!

Go Out There & Get Some! (And be careful!)
Mike O.

The crappie fishing is slow but when you catch them they are big! A friend of mine Jim was down last weekend and caught a 16 1/2 incher! Jim was fishing a jig over weeds on the drop-offs. He caught enough crappie to feed him and his wife over the weekend.

I've heard the bass fishing has slowed down but is good with fish spawning. The Rebel Crawdad is still a good choice. Rusty and his group of fishermen rented my cabin last weekend and slayed them using the crawdad. The other good rig is a Carolina rigged 6 inch purple worm. I believe you can still catch them on white spinner baits.

The forecast for the next 10 days is for high temperatures to average 71 degrees. Rain is predicted on 4 of the next 10 days with the biggest rain event to occur this weekend!

Fish on!

Go Out There & Get Some!
Mike O.

I’ve been busy the past 2 weeks with trying to finish a remodel job and last weekend I held my annual crappie fishing contest with family and close fiends. It’s a tradition that started close to 20 years ago. Once again we had a memorable outing. The contest has 2 categories, highest weight of 7 crappie and biggest fish. My brother Charlie won the highest weight, weighing in 4 crappie just under 4 pounds and Dick won biggest crappie with a fish just under 2 pounds. Congratulations to both! It was a tough day with colder than normal temperatures and high winds (Jim and Dick were fishing). Special congratulations to Charlie are in order. Charlie not only had to deal with bad weather conditions. His partner broke the trolling motor the evening before the contest! We won’t mention Rick’s name.

Crappie fishing for some reason I don’t understand continues to be slow. Last Saturday 20 fishermen, most with experience, brought in only 12 fish. They were all good size but normally every fisherman would have 12 or more. This past Wednesday evening my brother-in-law Chuck and I went out for a couple of hours in the evening and Chuck caught 2 crappie weighing in at 1 pound 5 ounces and the other was just under a pound. I got a report that one of the members of the Possum club caught a 2 pounder this past week. Fish are being caught at the 5 to 10 foot mark on jigs, Road Runners and minnows.

Bass fishing continues to be excellent! Fish are being caught in the shallows on almost anything! Guy and his son Alex caught 23 yesterday on a Rebel crawdad. This past Sunday Dick caught a 6 plus pounder! Fish are being caught in the main channel and in the back bays.

The forecast for the next 10 days is for high temperatures to average 74 degrees. Rain is predicted on 4 of the next 10 days. This weekend looks great but Jim and his other buddy Dick are due in the following weekend!

Fish on!

Go Out There & Get Some!
Mike O.

Over the past week air temperatures stabilized but remained unseasonably cold. We were supposed to have more normal temperatures this past weekend but Jim showed up with his brother-in-law Dave. The temperatures remained cold and it even snowed, a little. Since Jim started fishing this season we went from a draught to flood conditions! Now our rainfall total for the year is where it should be or slightly above. And the local farmers are asking Jim to stay home so the peach blossoms won’t freeze off and make into a crop.

Crappie fishing continues to be slow but fish are being caught. I even caught one! Between Jim, Dave and members of the Sugar Creek Possum Club I know of 11 crappie that came to the boat on Saturday. The smallest fish was 11 inches and the biggest was 13. Jim and Dave caught 5 more on Sunday morning and Dave caught 2 on Friday afternoon. Overall I believe Dave was the champion fisherman. The fish were caught from 15 feet to 7 feet deep around or near brush piles on tubes or minnows. With warming temperatures coming the bite will improve. The next 4 weeks will be fun!

Bass fishing continues to be good. The cold snap backed the bite off a bit but fish are being caught in the shallows on spinner baits and the bite will get better with the warmer temperatures. The best time to fish will be during the week. The weekends will be crowded!

The forecast for the next 10 days is for high temperatures to average 65 degrees. Rain is predicted on 3 of the next 10 days. This weekend looks great! And in support of good weather Jim won’t be down this weekend!

Fish on!

Go Out There & Get Some!
Mike O.

Over the past week air temperatures fell and the lake temperatures followed. Monday and Tuesday I didn’t see a boat on the lake. The water is clearing up but it is still muddier than normal.

Crappie fishing continues to be slow at best. I will be out there this evening and all day Saturday. I will probably fish a Road Runner fishing it up against the bank and then slow rolling the drop-offs. Of course I have jigging spots and I’ll be in those as well.

Bass fishing has been down graded to good. With the current cold snap the fish have backed off the shoreline but are still being caught in 5 to 10 feet of water. Concentrate on the points and in particular the flats. The bait of choice should be jigs and worms with some fish being caught on spinner baits and cranks.

The forecast for the next 10 days is for daytime highs averaging in the lower 50’s and there are only 2 days which rain is in the forecast! This weekend should be dry. Saturday we’re expecting highs in the upper 40’s and on Sunday the high should be in the mid-50s. That’s not to bad considering Jim is going to be on the lake!

Fish on!

Go Out There & Get Some!
Mike O.

Over the past week the weather dominated the talk of the town. We received 8 inches of rain, high winds, many thunderstorms and luckily no tornados. The lake was as high as 2 feet over normal pool. A lot of silt and mud washed into the lake causing extremely muddy conditions with the water visibility dropping to near zero. The lake temperatures climbed 5 to 8 degrees overnight!

Crappie fishing is bad. Crappies are largely sight biters zero visibility is a bad thing. I’ve tried everything to get them to bite with no success. This will change as the water clears up. Look for the crappie bite to turn on quickly. The temperatures are right!

Bass fishing continues to be great all across the lake with fish being caught in 1 to 5 feet on spinner baits and anything else you can toss up against the bank. Last weekend there was a bass tournament on the lake and the winner caught 21+ ponds! Second place was 20 pounds! Both boats reported catching their fish up against the bank in areas where there was clear water running into the lake. For more information go to the LOE Tournament Report featured on www.midamericaoutddors.com. Yesterday evening I was fishing the shoreline with an 1/8th ounce Road Runner and hooked into a knee shaker. It took me all around the boat and got off as I looked for a net that I didn’t have in the boat!

We were having above normal temperatures but now the forecast for next week is for below normal temperatures and a chance for showers. Hmmmm!? Fish on!

Go Out There & Get Some!
Mike O.

Crappie fishing is good. The water has warmed-up and the crappie are coming up as well. Fish are being caught from the north end through the midsections of the lake on minnows or jigs. Concentrate on structure 8 to 12 feet deep vertically jigging or using slip bobbers. In shallower water fish the weedy flats and points retrieving your bait about 18 inches deep.

Bass fishing continues to be great all across the lake with fish being caught in 1 to 5 feet on spinner baits and crank baits. Or if you want to get your arm broken go to the flats and points 8 to 10 foot deep and work your favorite worms or jigs.

We are having above normal temperatures and this trend should continue for the rest of the week. The warm windy days are providing some of the best fishing. The forecast for the next 10 days is for the average high to be 59 degrees. The daily high range is forecasted to be 70 to 48. Rain is in the forecast for 7 of the 10 days warming the water even quicker. It will pay to buy some good rain gear and fish in it!

Uncle Rich still has that talking frog in his pocket! Uncle Rich has a handicapped parking sticker and is used to primo parking. Now he can move to the front of any line or when at the movies, clear out the seats next to him. He taught the frog to buurrrrrrp and say, excuse me does that stink!

Fish on!

Go Out There & Get Some!
Mike O.

Crappie fishing is good. Crappie are being caught in the north end of the lake on minnows or jigs in 8 to 12 feet of water off weedy points or flats and on jigs floated 18 inches deep.

Bass fishing is great with fish being caught in 1 to 5 feet of water. Most fishermen are catching them on worms, jigs, and spinner baits.

We are having above normal temperatures and this trend should continue for the rest of the week. The warm windy days are providing some of the best fishing. The forecast for the next 2 weeks is for the temperatures to have an average high of 50 degrees. The maximum daily high will be 70 and the minimum daily high will be 43. The prediction for rain is spotty at best.

Uncle Rich and I went fishing off his dock yesterday evening. We landed one bass on a minnow tipped jig floated 3 foot deep and lost a dandy! More importantly Uncle Rich found a talking frog! He was sitting on his dock when he heard a voice say, "Pick me up." He looked around and couldn't see any one. He thought he was dreaming when he heard the voice say again, "Pick me up." He looked in the water and there, floating on the top, was the frog.

Uncle Rich said, "Are you talking to me?" The frog said, "Yes, I'm talking to you. Pick me up. Then, kiss me and I'll turn into the most beautiful woman you have ever seen.

Uncle Rich looked at the frog for a short time, reached over, picked it up carefully, and placed it in his front breast pocket. Then the frog said, "What, are you nuts? Didn't you hear what I said? I said kiss me and I will be the most beautiful woman you've ever seen.

Uncle Rich opened his pocket, looked at the frog and said, "Nahhhhhhh....., at my age I'd rather have a talking frog.

Fish on!

Go Out There & Get Some!
Mike O.