MyFishFinder Forum
MFF US Midwest => Indiana => Topic started by: bigr on Dec 19, 2019, 08:44 AM
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With the levels and discharge rates where they are now,good water clarity, great weather forecast for the next 10 days, plenty of open water in the usual places I expect very good fishing. Best time of the year for numbers and size. A bucket and pole. Don't get any easier than that.
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Yep it's about time to make another trip up. Last time out I tipped my jigs with small crappie nibbles. Worked great and didn't have to mess with wet hands from dealing with minnows. Go get 'em.
fish on,
rivereddy
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Great time for a rabbit hunt while your up also.
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Im off for 18 days after tomorrow. I plan to do a lot of fishing. Looks like decent temps too. Going to try to put one more deer in the freezer sat morning and then chase crappie after that.
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Anyone make it out over the past 2 days?
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Went to miss today. Most of the resi is iced over. Found one pool of open water east of red bridge a ways but no fish. Will go back later this week hopefully it will open up more.
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If we don't get to much moisture both resi's should be at a fishable level by weekend. Won't be ideal but with some work a person could connect on some crappie. 105 on sally and red bridge area on missy will be my first choices.
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If they keep the flow up Sally will be at winter pool by weekend 50deg Mon
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I tried sally yesterday. Arrived to find a decent bite on west side of the 105. Steady action for an hour and had put 6 solid fish in the bucket. Then they shut off like a light switch. Nobody could buy a bite after that. Sunny warm day today may be a better day if you can stand the wind.
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There was a very good bite on Saturday but sunday was slow. Switched resi's and did very well on the missy. Fished up in the boat ramp cove to get out of the wind. Nice fish.
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Red Bridge to the ramp looked like the county fair midway this afternoon.
I counted over 50 guys either in boats or visible on the bank
decent bite
fish on
rivereddy
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I had a feeling the fish might have migrated upstream some with the high water we had and my decision to try alittle eddy a few miles upstream from red bridge paid off nicely. All to myself and a fish on every cast. The spring chase has begun.
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The 105 on the sally is giving up some nice fish also. The bite is really on but we may only get another day or two before things quickly change. Rain and snow coming they say. Lets hope we don't get to much.
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Worked a new location last evening for the first time in five or six years. Walk thru the woods was not near as easy as then but was worth it. Got into some very nice fat slabs. Had a seven fish weight of 8lb 8ozs. I got a number to shot for now. Hopes the weather holds. The bigger fish are really starting to show themselves.
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Water levels rising fast and color is very dirty. If we can stay somewhat dry fishing will pick back up in a week or so. Watch the Corp of Eng site for changes in levels and discharge. From what ive heard a few walleye are showing up below the dams but they also will be hard to fish when the discharge rate is up. Don't forget the run up the river for crappie. It's getting close to the time for a push if the water continue to stay up.
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Made a quick trip upstream on the Missy. About a mile upstream from the 13 bridge at Sommerset. Water was running clear and the level was just backed up enough for a nice eddy where I fished. Bite was what you normally find when fishing these small eddies. Lots of fast bites from small fish with a keeper mixed in. Caught maybe 25-30 before bite stopped from either cleaning out the hole or spooking the remaining fish. It's that time of year to chase upstream runners as I call them. The first month or so normally are lots of smaller fish followed by larger fish moving up to spawn. Water color in the Red bridge area was looking real good but there was some skim ice that I'm sure will melt quickly over the next few days. I would expect the Sally to have about the same conditions on it. We look to have a somewhat dry period coming for the next week to ten days so fishing should really pick. Stay tuned for updates.
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Both resi's are quickly approaching winter pool again. Should be there by Sunday if not sooner. Corp will be lowering discharge rates each day. The pull(current) in the 105 and red bridge areas will lessen and fish will stack up again. fishing should really pick up each day from now til the next water change. Water color is good and getting better each day but you may find skim ice especially around the 105. Pirates cove and beach area is less likely to freeze over. Red bridge may also have skim ice but again you should be able to find open water in the area. Sunshine and 40's with alittle wind will open things up fast.
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Good bite both sat and sunday at both lakes. Lots of nice fish. Hope the rain and cold stay away.
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seen some caught at 105 today but were small
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I've fished the 105 the last two days and have done very well on very nice size fish. Super fat healthy fish. You won't get bored catching fish. Lots of small 6 and 7's but plenty in the 11+ range and a few real heavy big fish in the 14+range. Been weighing some of the biggest and they are running lb to lb and a half and have seen some up to the 2lb range. I think we'll see a lot of 2lb fish this spring if conditions get right at the right time.
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Myself and a buddy are going to attempt to make it to 105 this sunday since it will be nice out. Thanks for the update big!
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Sally on the way up again will probably get high when all the snow starts melting
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Lots of people at 105 today. fished from 11 to 3ish and caught one. Lots of people around me catching up limits. Changed colors, size, depth, and got lucky with one.... get um while their hot!
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Lots of people at 105 today. fished from 11 to 3ish and caught one. Lots of people around me catching up limits. Changed colors, size, depth, and got lucky with one.... get um while there hot!
I fished the west side of the bridge yesterday mostly by myself. Bite was very good and size was also good. If you weren't catching fish you may have been in the current that runs under bridge. Think of the area where people fish as a big eddy which it is when the corp is pulling water. If you notice your bobber drifting your in the current and the fish prefer the slack areas. When the corp lowers the discharge the fish will spread out more and you'll be able to catch them about anywhere. As we get warmer days the fish will begin there moving to shallows and upstream as the water hopefully rises slow. A few bright sunny days and the fish will be in the 1 to 3 foot water depth range and right on shore so those long cast won't be needed.
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Thanks for the advice big. 3rd season targeting crappie so any advice is welcome. Waiting on a nice day to bring my kids with me and let them reel some in
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I've learned to use a lot of different tools to increase my chances of catching fish. Understanding what fish do during different times of year. Resi's are totally different than lakes. The Corp of Eng site is probable the site I can get the most useful info from. Saves a lot of visual checking for locations. One thing I did for years was keep a log of my fishing trips. I can just look at past seasons and have a pretty good ideal of what the fish have done in the past and where they should be based on condition similarity.
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Was just watching Salamonie rise yesterday. There's an old plastic bucket on shore on the west side of 105..I went around the bend towards the bridge to fish for a few and came back and the bucket was partly submerged. I knew it wasn't going to be a good after seeing that..lol
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Tenderloins at Bozarths yesterday was better than fishing
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So that's what smelled so good up there!! Stopped in there to buy some plastic goodies..first time in there,that was a cool store and good selection on crappie baits!!
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It was rolling in at Missy as well yesterday, (3/3/'20). Serious wind and some spitting snow too.
The water looked like chocolate milk. The wind blew so hard that I had to chase down a muck boot in the Red Bridge parking lot. I caught the boot - not so lucky with the fish... I wound up spending most of the time scouting above Somerset
fish on,
rivereddy
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As mentioned both resi's are not in good shape right now. My trip around resi's was also a blank for fish but did give me a good ideal as to a time line for fishing to pick up. Based on the current weather predictions, corp of eng discharge rates, levels and color of water, I would expect decent fishing at missy starting this weekend and sally sometime mid next week in the usually locations. Water color won't be great but that doesn't make much difference but will get better each day and pretty fast. With the water warming the fish will be starting a move upstream when ever we get a high water event. I checked a couple locations but current just wasn't right and color was not good at all. Remember to give shallow depths a try. If your using a double rig set-up and your getting a few on the top jig that's a sure indicator they my be in top of the water column.
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Bite is picking back up on both resi's. Watch for rain totals because that's what will change fishing conditions quick. So far I think we're ok.
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I brought home 7 Crappies and a stray White Bass from the west side of 105,lots of sorting today. I also must add I got a visit from 2 game wardens today and they did their usual business but also asked if I know anything about the fish scraps from someone cleaning them on the west side of the road next to the guardrail. They counted about 20 fish and said they're not too happy about it. They will be watching up there now they said. They looked about a day old...
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i drove down there last night for a quick fish. Brought home 8 crappies, caught about that many throwbacks, a random white, bass, a largemouth, and saw one eagle. Nice calm evening to be out,and it sure was fun to fish with a long rod again. Even if my boots did get all muddy. I'm ready for them to bring the water levels up and be able to put a boat in.
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I hit the missy last evening with one pole for crappie and one I just threw out beside me with a pcs of cut up crappie. I had a ball catching big channel cats. Kept three smaller ones for a southern fried catfish dinner Saturday. If you like catfishing this is the time to get them. I cant remember getting bigger channels than I got yesterday. If I had three poles out I might not have been able to tend them all. I think I'm going back Saturday with three poles and some grand kids. And yes I did get a few nice crappie as well.
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Must have been you i seen over on the point bigr. Seen a guy with a nice cat as i was comin down the road. I gave her all i had for the crappie but just couldnt get them to go with any regularity. I may have caught 15 total in the 2 and a half hours i was there. Only one had any size to it. Buddy of mine hammered em the day before. Another buddy killed em yesterday but in a different spot. All about finding the big school i guess. River is up in Marion so lake prolly going to get muddier.
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I fished at Sally on Sunday. Started out at the Dora ramp area, walked around fished without a bite. I thought maybe I could get ahead of the mud, but doesn't appear that was the case. So I headed the other direction up river and fished my way East. Current and mud in all loctions fished, and not a bite. I ended up East of 9 when I finally gave up. I didn't realize that we had gotten that much rain last week... on Wednesday it was in good shape yet. As I drove over the dam they were letting the water out at a good clip. My guess is it may settle back down later this week, but more rain coming so who knows.
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they will be at full pool by Sat with all this rain >:( >:(
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Water levels will be changing daily so the trick will be to guess where the most likely spot to find the fish will be. I'll be chasing them further upstream now and i'll be looking for slack areas and creek mouths first. Fish will likely be very shallow and stacked so even with muddy water if you use dark color jigs they will find it. River and creek mouths will clear first. It's time for the big runs of crappie to happen. I'm looking forward to the chase. Catfishing has been great. I needed a break from the crappie and they were a blast to catch and made for a couple good meals. If your a catfisherman now is the time using cut bait/shrimp.
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Haven't been to missy in 15-20 years, used to fish below the dam never anywhere else. Will have to keep an eye on this thread to know when to go. I am assuming there's no charge to bank fish anywhere you can get to except if you go thru the main gate.
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…...as far as crappie, ill chase other fish while the mud is in. or hit the natural lakes, that don't have as much runoff. this weather is yelling pike/musky fishing to me though!
Yep on the musky. I'll be heading for Bruce Lake for some of that soon after I get the boat ready.
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Not sure but doesn't Frances Slocum, Red Bridge, and other places have a free launch, thought a guy told me that.
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How about if you just park in a parking lot and shore fish, does your car need a sticker. I tried to look it up at the DNR site but didn't see any info, may be in a link I missed.
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Shore fishing does not require the launch permit. If you go in the campground entrance and launch out of that launch you have to pay the entrance fee of 8$.... aside from that any motorized boat has to have the dnr launch sticker once on the water... same for potatoe creek, chain o lakes, etc... if you on one of the resi’s there are a number of free launches...in fact most of them are free.. but once on the water you need the launch permit on your boat. Good for all the state parks and costs around 30$ annually i believe.
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costs around 30$ annually i believe.
$25.00 plus a fee if you use a credit card.
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Tater and Daybreak pretty well nailed it. The only thing to add is that there are two types of
permit. One is for motorized craft, (this includes a battery opperated trolling motor) and costs
$25. The other permit is for nonmotorized boats like canoes, kayaks, and sailboats. It costs
$10
fish on,
rivereddy
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Lakes that require permits
State parks
All lakes at Chain O’Lakes State Park
Cagles Mill (Lieber) Lake
Cecil M. Harden (Raccoon) Lake.
Brookville Lake
Hardy Lake
Kunkel Lake at Ouabache State Park
Lake Lincoln and Weber Lake at Lincoln State Park.
Lakes Shakamak, Lenape and Kickapoo at Shakamak State Park
Mississinewa Lake
Monroe Lake
Ogle and Strahl Lakes at Brown County State
Patoka Lake
Salamonie Lake
Spring Mill Lake at Spring Mill State Park
Summit Lake at Summit Lake State Park
Versailles Lake at Versailles State Park
Whitewater Lake at Whitewater State Park
Worster Lake at Potato Creek State Park
State forests
Clark State Forest
Deam Lake SRA
Ferdinand State Forest
Greene-Sullivan State Forest
Harrison-Crawford State Forest
Jackson-Washington State Forest
Martin State Forest
Morgan-Monroe State Forest
Owen-Putnam State Forest
Pike State Forest
Starve Hollow SRA
Yellowwood State Forest
Division of Outdoor Recreation
Lakes at Interlake State Recreation Area
Lakes at Redbird State Recreation Area
Lakes that do not require a permit
Lakes located in Fish and Wildlife areas operated by the Division of Fish & Wildlife.
Indiana streams and rivers, including the Ohio River.
Natural lakes such as Lake James, Lake Wawasee and Lake Michigan.
Lakes at National Forests and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Refuges.
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Anyone know what the river clarity looks like upstream from missy? Wondering if some fish moved up with this latest high water event. I may try thursday. First week of april last year i was on em up past 13 so not too far off timing wise. Temps have been a little cool lately but warming up tomorrow.
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I plan on being upstream tomorrow also. I expect to find fish based off of previous years. Clarity won't be good but that doesn't matter near as much as locations. I won't be fishing deep and ill be using my usual blk/chartruess tubes. I'll report Thursday morning. Water dropping back down fast and the cold nights don't help but the warm air that's coming in should help. Wish it would be 70s instead of high 50s. Evenings will be better than mornings.
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Yesterdays outing upstream didn't yield any fish but did give an ideal of where we are at in regards to the spring migration. River looked very good as far as color and level goes but I could tell there were no fish active up stream. Just not had a warm enough stretch with high enough water to bring them up and hold them up there. It will happen with one of the next rain events thats expected. Further downstream as you get closer to the backing up area of the resi the water clarity was murky but still decent for fishing. Water level is dropping fast so the fish are moving around. We just need things to happen before it really turns on. Water to stabilize or slowly rises and temps with sunshine to stick around for more than a day. 50's wont turn them on that fast as far as upstream fishing goes. If water continues to clear and level stop dropping so fast the usual areas in main lake will pick up again. Catfishing is still very good about anywhere you want to throw a piece of cut bait out. I didn't put a lot of effort into my outing and could have work the main body of resi and probable caught some fish. I expect the big bite to start anytime. White bass,crappie,bass,gils and anything else that's swims upstream.
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Thanks for report bigr. I went up north yesterday for some coho...only managed one. May go back this afternoon. Was gonna try the miss but will wait after seeeing this report.
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Reference the boat permit question. You do not need a launch permit anymore for the Huntington Res (Roush res). Since the state and the feds swapped the land several years ago the rules have changed. The camp ground is still there but it pit toilets only. They dozed down the modern ones. It pay on the honor system and its pretty cheap compared to the other state campgrounds. It is well keep up and used quite often. To the east of the boat ramp they still kept the fishing pier. Near the ramp is a modern restrooms also.
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River near Marion is way up i see. Hopefully this will bring the fish up river. I fished the resi yesterday for a bit...caught a fair amount but only one keeper sized fish. Water was still a bit murky but better then i had expected. Below the dam has been hot if you dont mind the long walk to get to the other side since they closed the parking lot. Several limits in the last few days. I got there late yesterday and took home a good mess. Im sure there gonna blow it open here soon tho and kill that bite.
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Fishogger, yes the paved ramp on the north side is open. The dirt ramp on the south side west of Simpson Rd is open when the res isn't flooded. The road and parking lot has some normal dirt road holes but there is a lot of trash around the makeshift campfires.
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I saw where the DNR is extending the expiration dates on Hunting Fishing Combos and Trout stamps that were to expire on this Tues. till May 22. But I haven't seen anything on extending the launch permits. Anyone know??
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This is what the Dnr at Missy told me about fishing below dam The property the USACE manages has been closed to public. The fishing area at the tailwaters/spillway/outflow/below the dam is closed to the public at all USACE properties in the Louisville District, including Mississinewa, Salamonie and Roush.
People may fish on the DNR managed / lake side of the dam.
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I'm not up to speed. How is the management of the Huntington (Roush) reservoir property different from
Mississinewa and Salamonie?
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People have been fishing below dam at missy for 2 weeks. They park on the old bait shop side and walk all the way around the tank to get the other side. I went once and that was saturday and there were 8 or 9 people there even with it raining. Im surprised DNR hasnt stopped it if its a big deal. Water is way up there now anyway so likely wont be many people there for a while. Im ready for the run up river myself.
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Army Corp of Engineers control the tailwater areas. They shut it down when the President closed things down. As far as the Huntington res. goes there was a trade of some land with the state and federal govt. The DNR has a little control but the rules have changed on the way its managed. DNR still patrols it. They went from 7 employees to one supervisor and 2 workers. They took out the BSA hiking trail, the BMX Trails, the beach and modern restrooms. They cater to the hunters and don't mow around the lakes anymore on the property site. They do try to keep the road in shape but there is only so much 2 guys can do. The big problem is as everywhere is people dumping trash in the parking lot. Last year someone dumped 3 microwaves in the boxes 150 ft away from the parking lot in the brush. They stacked them up and fired 15 rounds into them. i was going to haul them away but I didn't want to get arrested for driving past the wire gate onto the property.
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Noticed no one has posted a fishing report on Mississinewa on this thread for awhile. Thought I would bring it back to the top. Not sure this lake needs any advertisement on fishing opportunities based on the amount of trailers in the parking lots as well as boats on the lake yesterday. It's easy to tell fewer people are working. Lake was packed. With the lake level still down and a day of beautiful weather, the fish are really bunched up. You still have to catch them tho. Saw many guys that had them dialed in, as they were catching a bunch. Lots of small ones, with an occasional keeper coming to the boat. Kept 15 for the fish dinner the wife has been wanting. Shared half the catch with my brother for his quarantined family. Best day on the water so far this year for me. It was nice to take the hoodie off for a while and get a little sunshine therapy. Did I mention, getting a "thump" felt pretty good too?
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Crappie are staging for the spawn. Up shallow in the back of coves. Perfect conditions continue so with luck this dry weather will continue and a slow rise toward summer pool will really make the spawn bite easy and productive. Don't forget about the gill fishing. They will be getting close to spawn also. If you fish for them you'll be surprise how good the size can be in the resi's.
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I don't know about Missy but I fished SM today. Did some trolling first while mapping and when I finally got around to my spot I caught 3 blk nosed ones 1-11", 2-12" in less than 10 mins. Also a good gill all in 1-1/2fow. Was anchored to close and the gusty wind worked me up by the time I got back out I think I spooked them cause didn't get another bite.
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Catching some really nice crappie on missy right now. Went sunday in that nasty weather and had area all to ourself and me and a buddy brought home 41. 8 of those were 13 inch fish. Went back this evening and fished the same submerged stump and i kept 15 fish including one at 14 inches and 2 more at 13. That being said...i have had to work my tail off to find these fish. It has not been a normal may. The weather and the amount of pressure from so many people fishing everyday has made it more challenging. A lot of my spots that normally hold fish this time of year have produced nothing. I had quite a few unsuccesful outings leading up to this week. Hopefully the weather straightens up and no more 30s and snow and the fishing just gets better.
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The sally is still giving up big fish also. I've seen several photos of 2lb plus. I agree the real easy fishing has slowed but if your willing to put in the effort you will find the biggest fish of the season right now. I think if the weather gets consistent warm the easy fishing for numbers will return for a few weeks. Next week and thru memorial day should be very good.