Caesar Creek Lake: Saugeyes are still being caught, but not as many from the flats. Go to deeper water and troll with crankbaits, including Shad Raps, Bomber Model-A’s, Bagley KBIIIs and No. 300 or 400 Bandits. Use steel leaders. For crappies, try to find deep structure 20-22 feet down and fish with jigs tipped with large minnows. For bass, work the banks with crankbaits.
C.J. Brown Reservoir: A 10-pound walleye was caught off of the bank in the middle of the night recently, near the visitor center. Anglers are also trolling with Hot-N-Tots, crawler harnesses and Erie Dearies tipped with pieces of nightcrawler. Crappies are deep and some have been caught around the marina. Crappies and white bass have been caught on minnows in the spillway.
Acton Lake: Bluegills have turned on and are hitting redworms and waxworms close to the banks. Catfish are biting all over on nightcrawlers. Trolling has been the best method of catching saugeyes. Use a Broken Shad-Rap, Hot-N-Tot or silver Rapala. Bass are also going after crankbaits and hitting topwater baits early in the morning.
Grand Lake St. Marys: Look for shady spots — under docks and pontoons and flip in a minnow or a jig to catch crappies. For bluegills, use waxworms or redworms and fish deep. Catfish have been biting on shrimp, cut shad and nightcrawlers. Bass fishing has been slow.
Indian Lake: You can still catch crappies and bluegills, but you will have to look for deep water. The water temperature at the surface was 82 earlier this week. That usually sends fish to the deep holes. A few saugeyes are still being caught by trolling a Hot-N-Tot near Dream Bridge and around the Moose Lodge. Catfish, including shovelheads, have been hitting all over the lake on nightcrawlers, shrimp, chicken liver and softcraws.
Paint Creek Lake: Fish the channels and look for wood to catch crappies. Deep water — 15 feet or more — has been the best area. For bass, work the points and bluffs. Green/pumpkin Bush Hogs seem to work best. For catfish, fish the flats with cut shad. Small saugeyes have been caught from the spillway.
Rocky Fork Lake: Anglers are still catching saugeyes, but working a little harder to find them. The best spots have been around the island and on the west side of the south beach. Most are trolling leadhead jigs with chartreuse/red fleck tails at about 8-12 feet deep. Crappies are very deep. Look for structure in holes 20-22 feet deep. The area around the old restaurant has been the best. Bluegills are in the coves in shallow water. For white bass, look for jumps. Bass fishing has been slow.
Cowan Lake: Check out fallen trees and fish as deep as possible with waxworms and redworms to catch large bluegills. Crappies are deep, too. Try the old creek channel and around the island with minnows. For saugeyes, troll with a Shad-Rap, Hot-N-Tot or Bomber. The best time to catch catfish has been at night with stinkbaits and nightcrawlers.
Lake Erie: Walleyes can still be caught, but anglers have really had to work for them. The annual mayfly hatch has slowed fishing. And with the heat, walleyes have headed for the deeper water of the Central Basin. “We got our limit yesterday, but we had to troll almost to Vermilion,” said captain Eric Waldron a few days ago.
Perch fishing has picked up east of Kelleys and northeast of the Marblehead lighthouse. A few perch have been caught near Niagara Reef.
For Lake Erie information, call (888) HOOK-FISH or visit wildohio.com. To view the predicted weather forecast for Lake Erie, visit weather.noaa.gov.
Contact this reporter at (937) 225-2409 or jmorris@DaytonDailyNews.com.
