Oliver Lake

[staubsaugen]

Anyone been this past week?  curious if the cooler temps, wind, and rain have turnover in process and if the trout have shut down for the time being before they start showing up shallow. Planning to head there tomorrow morn, unless i switch gears and go after bluegill elsewhere. any updates/reports would be appreciated. haven't been there for a month or more and miss the feel of a rainbow on the line.

[staubsaugen]

well I struck out on the trout trolling, drifting, and under bobbers.  caught a small bass,a bluegill, and a perch. saw some other guys pull in a couple rainbows while chumming. marked fish all over the water column. surface water temp was 62-63.

[taxid]

well I struck out on the trout trolling, drifting, and under bobbers.  caught a small bass,a bluegill, and a perch. saw some other guys pull in a couple rainbows while chumming. marked fish all over the water column. surface water temp was 62-63.

Wow it's cooled off that much eh? That would bust up the thermocline.

[staubsaugen]

Took my 3 year old today and got blown off the main lake, but fished a sheltered spot on a whim and caught a nice mess of thick bluegills in 5-7fow.  Surface water temp 59. was hoping to troll for trout, but that will have to wait until the weekend...

[ftwwalleye]

I've been wanting to go but working. If temps are getting down like I hear then trolling higher in the water column could be possible. So much more fun not using those planers and dipsy divers

[staubsaugen]

Exactly! That's what I had hoped to try today, but with my little guy I didn't feel like fighting the wind... turned out to be a good trip anyway.

[ftwwalleye]

Exactly! That's what I had hoped to try today, but with my little guy I didn't feel like fighting the wind... turned out to be a good trip anyway.
[/quote
Trout are up taking shallow lures and flies. Got some on the fly rod. It's that time!

[staubsaugen]

Made it out today, but my buddy's motor didn't want to cooperate.  We managed some perch, bluegill, and 3 nice rainbows fishing shallow--5-7 FOW. Great day to be out there!

[staubsaugen]

58 on Sunday morn. Trout are everywhere in the water column including shallow.

[taxid]

Made it out today, but my buddy's motor didn't want to cooperate.  We managed some perch, bluegill, and 3 nice rainbows fishing shallow--5-7 FOW. Great day to be out there!

What do you consider "nice?" Anything over 20 inches?

Sure miss fishing for them in Clear. There were some really tackle busters in Clear. My personal best was 7 lbs. Caught lots of 4's and 5's. Never caught anything near that big in the Oliver Lake chain. I think my biggest bow in Oliver was about 4 lbs. and biggest brown in Oliver was close to 5 lbs. Too bad the lake trout wiped out the smelt and cisco for forage. Zooplankton and invertebrates doesn't cut it for really big trout.

[staubsaugen]

What do you consider "nice?" Anything over 20 inches?

Ha! I wish.  No, by nice I mean in good flesh and real pretty.  These were clearly stocked this spring and had put on 3-5 inches since then.  My buddy and I did manage several at 18" this year, and he landed one over 20", but in general most I see are 12-16". Hoping to find some more soon and maybe a big one!

[kesdadddy7597]

The Clear Lake trout fishery is about done for. They have decided to stop stocking it due to the fish not surviving.  Apparently the brood stock that produced the strain that held over well was released.  The new strain doesn't seem to survive too long past release.  I was told they couldn't hardly find any when shocking the lake.

[taxid]

The Clear Lake trout fishery is about done for. They have decided to stop stocking it due to the fish not surviving.  Apparently the brood stock that produced the strain that held over well was released.  The new strain doesn't seem to survive too long past release.  I was told they couldn't hardly find any when shocking the lake.

IF it has something to do with the trout themselves, it's most likely the fact they are now triploids vs. diploids -- not the strain. According to some research larger and fewer red blood cells in triploids make it more difficult for them to survive in marginal oxygen conditions. Last I knew the INDNR gets sterile triploid eggs from these guys to cut costs and labor as in they don't have to keep brood stock.

http://www.troutlodge.com/index.cfm?pageID=7AD69550-3048-7B4D-A96A3E339B98CCC9

That said, if conditions got too severe oxygen wise in later summer, for holdover in Clear Lake, of cold water fish, it wouldn't matter if they are triploids or normal diploids, although the diploids may be hardier. The fact that they seem to be holding over well in the Oliver Lake Chain may indicate it's all about poorer oxygen conditions on Clear in late summer or a little of both.  

I do wonder if the poor survival coincided with they hellacious summer we had a few years ago where temps got up to 100 F. for days on end. I think that was 2013? As summer progresses the layer trout can survive in gets more and more narrow. That kind of heat may have hastened it possibly?

Most likely Clear Lake has reached a eutrophic state all lakes eventually do, and is no longer conducive to trout survival in late summer.  Or something manmade in the watershed is speeding up eutrophication. Or there is an abundance of large predator fish that is one of several factors. I do know there seems to be a fair number of northern pike in the lake. I just had someone on this board bring me a 38 inch fish he caught while casting for smallmouth bass. He said he released several other smaller ones. I've mounted several northern from Clear Lake that exceeded 40 inches. The lake is so clear it's tough to get a good sample with gills nets of the population dynamics.

It's possible brown trout might make it in Clear lake if conditions are marginal.

I do wonder about one thing: A cisco was found dead a few years back during a walleye brood fish collection on Clear. Could it be there is some pressure from someone in the INDNR to stop planting the trout like what  happened on Crooked in Whitley county? Maybe the lower survival rate of the rainbows was the coup de grace and justification from higher up the food chain?  I do know, at least in the past, someone up the food chain would have been more than happy to discontinue the trout program.

Keep in mind my comments are just conjecture and I am in no way trying to say anything negative about the INDNR.