Thread: Cover basics learned since 2007

Just a few points that we have seen and figured out since the cover projects were started in our home lake, after IKE in 2007.
CJ is a 2200+ acre, deeper man made flood control reservoir in SW Ohio...it is rocky with minimal natural structure and hardy any cover...fishing was a second thought when it was built in the early 70's.
The lake is Very Fertile, has plenty of wetlands, and no residential or commercial areas close.
The lake is broke up in 1/3's...the inlet North third is mainly 3 ft to 15 fow....the middle third is 10 to 30 fow...and the Dam draining, Southern third is mainly 20-45 feet deep.
The lake has 5 creek channels, 3 road beds, humps, uneven bottom, and Massive amounts of rocks....it had good vegetation until the new boat ramp and Marina was built and IT ALL DIED.
It has always been a decent place to fish...mainly due to the HUGE schools of shad...we have no had a massive shad kill since 2001...fishing suffers after a shad kill and we started the projects to protect from this.
All the major species were stunted except for the Walleye and the occasional trophy.
This is how the lake was turned around by a dedicated group of fishermen....!
First we had to have the blessing of the Army Corp of Engineers, then the ODNR fish biologists, and the ODNR Park Management.
The first 3 years, the lake was loaded with THOUSANDS of Christmas trees and Wood....they were set in concrete or tied to blocks with coated steel cable and clamps as laydowns...this gave the lake breeding habitat and a place for small fish and minnows to hide and grow....we soon found that these became "Little Ecosystems"...When the wood started decaying and grew algae, it attracted microorganisms, baitfish, freshwater lobster, and shad also.
We then started the next phase of permanent covering these same areas and we saw the lake explode. Smaller and medium size fish used the pvc vertical cover, porcupine balls/trees, plastic pallets, etc.
We have seen the crappie size increase from 7-8 inch average when we began to about 9 inches at this phase...this is also when the State helped by increasing creel limits to 30 and minimum size of 9 inches.
The past 2 drops have been combos of pvc and long lasting hardwood cover together and redoing areas of Christmas trees with hardwood laydowns. We are also getting vegetation started in critical areas again.
We know that the average Crappie size is now OVER 10 inches...when Crappie reach about 13 inches they leave all cover and move around the lake with other large fish and the schools of shad.
What the cover has done at CJ, is increase the TOTAL fish holding capability of the lake...laydowns, Christmas Trees, and stake beds allow for good spawns, fry survival, and life starting ecosystems, and hunting grounds for larger fish.
Larger cover, pvc, hardwood 2x4's, plastic barrels, plastic pallets, plastic pipe, hardwood trees/limbs, all provide cover for small and medium fish to grow.
Once they are large and secure enough...they roam the lake feeding on the shad...they sometimes use the BIG cover to rest but most are caught on a single piece of cover in barren areas.
One of the extra benefits....is that we have also increased the natural baitfish population and put more pressure on the shad...now, if we have a shad kill, the predator population can remain stable until the next shad spawn. We have built a strong and stabilized fishery.

You started it...it's all your fault....see what you've done!

Just so everyone knows, this is ALOT easier than it sounds...once you get fishermen working toward a goal that will benefit them also...these projects pretty much run themselves.
Once you get the permission to do this...we just set a time and date for a "meet and greet"...at the meeting we normally invite everyone possible who is interested in helping or who wants to meet members.
We normally have the fish biologist, that we work with, and a member of the COE, and Park Management, for people to talk to and ask questions.
We'll then fill out maps with proposed cover each person will built and where they want to put it...the fish biologist will OK the areas or WE ALL will work to find others, if WE ALL agree it's best for the lake. The fish biologist has never yet turned down any of our proposed areas...we also know that cover is used all year, except in extremely deep water during the thermocline in summer and winter!
The lake and the fish are the number 1 concern...it has to benefit them first.
Then we'll set a date, and a rain date....everyone then builds cover at their own pace or helps others...it can be brought to the lake and stored in areas that park Management has provided for us or you can bring it the day of the drop....at the day of the drop, you all just don't understand how smoothly things run...fishermen are VERY organized when they want to be.
Everyone helps until its done...the past 2 drops, plus Lowell's "Freshwater Reefs" have taken between 2-3 hours to finish.
The power of a group is amazing...we're not only turning our ENTIRE lake into a "Honey Hole", we are also providing Long Term Health and Protection from disasters.

We have members who build cover, we have members with trailers and trucks to move it, we have members who do heavy lifting, we have members who provide boats, we have members who do it all, or members who do multiples...we don’t turn down anyone who wants to get involved IN ANY WAY!
Since this is for the fishery...we are not required to provide anyone else with locations snd they are not published.