Thread: Hodenpyle Dam

If your looking to connect with crappie, then those shallow bays with warmer water might be the place to start right now. I have not fished Hodenpyl, but have fished Tippy and the shallows early are good. Also look for deep water structure and toss a jig tipped with minnow (real or not), or some other plastic into it and let it pendulum back out to you, then after working that for a bit, ease over it and straight jig down in the structure. Good luck and hope this helps some.

You came to the right place. I grew up 10 minutes from the backwaters of Hodenpyl and considered it to be my home lake for many many years. I fished it about 5 days per week in the winter, and as much as I could in the summertime. When I got out of the Marines, I fished it for about a month straight.

For crappies, the area by the dam cannot be beat. You have two creeks that run in to that area (Seaton creek, and Tar creek). Both have very sharp drop offs. Tar is a lot narrower and should have quite a bit of brush and downed trees in it. Concentrate on those. It doesn't run back in near as far as seaton so you will run out of water quickly.

Between Tar and Seaton is a small bay. Inside of that bay is an old forest (for lack of a better term). On a clear day, you can still see the tops of the trees and branches. Great spot in the summertime to find them hanging out.

Seaton creek also has many standing trees and timber in the water. In the springtime, go into the creek and around the bend to the left, the creek will turn back to the right after about 300 yards. In that back bay before it turns, there was an old beaver damn. That place is dynamite for spawning crappies. Go back up the creek and there is also downed tree tops to explore.

To the south of the campground (west side of the lake) there is a bay that goes up in. You will see a stump field. Also a great place for crappies. The narrows (just south of the stumpfield (seperating the dam area from the Northern section of the lake can be good in the summer for suspended crappies.

North of the campgound just around the point you will also find a tree field. Fish these trees in the summer time. Further up river you can find stumps, trees and so on. These are all great spots in the summer.

On the east side past Northern exposure campground, will be another campground (used to be owned by the late Pat Sniff) it was called "Pat's place". There is another stream that is worth exploring in the springtime.

I hit on all the crappie spots that I can recall in my brain. This body of water has tons of structure in the form of wood. Look for that structure and you will find the fish.
I also have Walleye hotspots as well as Perch hotspots but I'll save that for another post I guess!

Wow thanks for the help. Learned more about that place in two minutes of reading than I have in the last couple years of fishing it for myself. I sort of figured those creek areas might be good, just a little overwhelming with the amount of trees and stumps everywhere. Would you suggest minnows or the jig and plastic technique?

Originally Posted by wicklundrh

You came to the right place. I grew up 10 minutes from the backwaters of Hodenpyl and considered it to be my home lake for many many years. I fished it about 5 days per week in the winter, and as much as I could in the summertime. When I got out of the Marines, I fished it for about a month straight.

For crappies, the area by the dam cannot be beat. You have two creeks that run in to that area (Seaton creek, and Tar creek). Both have very sharp drop offs. Tar is a lot narrower and should have quite a bit of brush and downed trees in it. Concentrate on those. It doesn't run back in near as far as seaton so you will run out of water quickly.

Between Tar and Seaton is a small bay. Inside of that bay is an old forest (for lack of a better term). On a clear day, you can still see the tops of the trees and branches. Great spot in the summertime to find them hanging out.

Seaton creek also has many standing trees and timber in the water. In the springtime, go into the creek and around the bend to the left, the creek will turn back to the right after about 300 yards. In that back bay before it turns, there was an old beaver damn. That place is dynamite for spawning crappies. Go back up the creek and there is also downed tree tops to explore.

To the south of the campground (west side of the lake) there is a bay that goes up in. You will see a stump field. Also a great place for crappies. The narrows (just south of the stumpfield (seperating the dam area from the Northern section of the lake can be good in the summer for suspended crappies.

North of the campgound just around the point you will also find a tree field. Fish these trees in the summer time. Further up river you can find stumps, trees and so on. These are all great spots in the summer.

On the east side past Northern exposure campground, will be another campground (used to be owned by the late Pat Sniff) it was called "Pat's place". There is another stream that is worth exploring in the springtime.

I hit on all the crappie spots that I can recall in my brain. This body of water has tons of structure in the form of wood. Look for that structure and you will find the fish.
I also have Walleye hotspots as well as Perch hotspots but I'll save that for another post I guess!

Holy cow what a terrific report. I'm going to print that off and stash it in my fishing journal. Thanks a million!!!

Glad I could help guys. I have 1000's of hours on this body of water. The knowledge does me little good if I cannot share it!

To answer the age old Minnow/plastics question. I will give you this:

When I first started fishing crappies, I was overwhelmed with all the different baits, lures, techniques and so on. I had very little success and had no idea why. I took the advice of one old timer and simply went with minnows. I didn't catch a ton of fish at first, but I did catch fish. I went back to the same spots I used the above techniques and guess what? I didn't catch any fish with minnows either! The conclusion was so simple that I didn't want to believe it. Simply put, there were no crappies where I had been fishing.

Minnows helped me locate fish. Whether it was big schools or little pockets. It helped me learn where they might be at during different times of year, high sunlight, clouds, rain, and so on. Once I learned where they were, it was a lot easier to target them. Since that time, I've switched over to mostly soft plastics. At times, they do catch more fish. Color, action, size all play a role in that. I have lakes where one color is dynamite yet they won't hit it on another lake. Chalk it up to visibility, water clearity and so on. I learned this from minnows.

My suggestion is the K.I.S.S method (keep it simple, stupid). The best bait to start with is a gold #4, #2, or #1 aberdeen hook with a bobber. In the spring, I prefer a weighted Thill bobber (has a weight on the end to ease in casting) I set this about 4 foot above my hook and minnow. I don't use any weights. I locate more springtime fish with this than any other method. As summer progresses, I will switch to 1/32, 1/16, or 1/8 oz colored jig heads. Sometimes I cast and retrieve, other times I verticle jig, other times I drift. Let the wind and line deflection dictate what weight you use to get your bait in the strike zone.

Lastly, presentation can be key as Yankee Doodler and I learned last spring at Croton/Hardy. The fish were in the tree tops of down trees that extended from the bank to about 14 foot of water. Although verticle jigging in the timber produced some fish, the best action was when we swung the bait out in a pendulum motion and let the bait swing away from the trees. You will loose some jigs, that is just the nature of the beast. Jigging timber in the summer time is awesome (especially on Hodenpyle). Yes there are a TON of trees. Choosing which ones to target can be difficult.... UNLESS you trust your electronics. Quickly you will be able to tell if there are fish in and around the timber. Look for "suspended" fish. These are usually crappies. They don't hang out on the bottom. Once you find them, try everything you can to entice a strike, and then move on. Sometimes it takes 5 or so before you hit an active pod.

And, for the Walleye lesson on Hodenpyle!!!!

First, let me start by saying that when I targeted these fish on that body of water, word quickly spread that I was doing something right. My boat soon became the "parade" leader and it was rare that I didn't fish an area that would soon have 15 other people around it. It taught me to leave areas I knew that held fish to find areas that held fish that no one else was using. So, here it is.

If you launch at Northern Exposure, head south. The very first bay is where they used to have primative camping. It is a sandy/gravel bottom mix. I've done very well in this cove targeting the 10 to 12 foot shelf. I did most of my fishing in the late evening and after dark in this location. there is no stumps. I primarily trolled floating rapalas with Gray and black, gold and black, and orange and gold being my best colors.

North in front of the beach is another good area after dark. Again, the same bottom and there is one one set of stumps. They used to be just out in front of the very first wooden bench north of the launch however that was many years ago and that bench might not exist. Target the fish in the same depth and manner as above. In fact, you can make one long troll from that bay all the way to past the beach.

Traveling south from the launch you will go around the first point. There is usually a weed bed that extends out into the lake a ways. I usually find the outside edge of the weeds and troll south. This will eventually put you out in front of the stump field I discussed earlier. Target the same depths in early evening (6pm until dusk). I used both floating rapalas and crawler harnesses bouncing bottom. This was my MOST productive spot but was quickley overrun with others. I used alot of floating bouys in those days to mark the weed edges and trolling lines. Today, I would use my electronics. You can troll all the way to the narrows however my best was from the weed bed down to where the narrows started.

Across the lake (to the east) was Burton's landing (might still be). Was owned by the late Charlie Burton. This was my home launch. Old Charlie used to tell me stories about catching sturgeon during the depression. They would find them in the river channel, put a long pvc pipe in the water with duct tape over the end so water didn't fill it, put a .22 rifle in the top, hold the pipe by the fishes head and shoot them!! At any rate, the cove just north of Burton's launch was my Perch spot. There is a few weed beds and mostly a loam type bottom. I spend many winter hours in this area and iced my share of perch and walleye. There is also a big weed flat out in the center of the lake worth looking at.

North of Burton's where their cove jets out into the lake is a small point. At the tip of this first outcrop, the drop off is pretty steep (I didn't have electronics at the time so I went by feel). It was a gravel bottom in one area. I put 15 walleyes in the boat one afternoon in 12 minutes in this location. Not bad!

Traveling north on the same side of the lake there are (used to be) two prominant stumps that stuck out of the water (maybe 200 yards off shore). I used to troll hot and tots in silver and black and gold and black and catch tons of eyes in the early evening in this location.

If you go up river from this location (several miles) you will get past Pat's place and another campground on the west (cannot remember the name). You will come to an area known as the Silo. Many because it was an old farm that was flooded when the dam was built and the silo remnants can still be found in the water. Before you hit that cove, there is sand bar on the east side. From the sand bar to the point I trolled small rapalas and bottom bouncers (very small distance) and picked up some great walleyes. Knowing what I know now, I should have verticle jigged this area as it is the main river trough. The area in front of the Silo bay is also great although it has a pretty good weed bed. This is also the best area on the water for Jumbo perch. Jig the edges of the weeds for perch and walleye.

Be very very mindful of stumps. Take your time. I would mark them with my gps so I have a safe passage, otherwise, you play bumper boat in the dark unless you have a spotlight. I keep telling myself I am going to go back to this area and fish.... I just never do! Maybe these old memories will force me to go back this summer!

FYI: Until last year, my personal best Blue gill came out of this lake at 10 1/2 inches. I caught it out in front of the scenic turnout off from M-37

Wick..that is the most comprehensive, and selfless fishing report that I ever read!!! If anyone cannot catch a fish with these directions, they need serious help-like me-. Well done that man! 5

Originally Posted by fiveeyes

Wick..that is the most comprehensive, and selfless fishing report that I ever read!!! If anyone cannot catch a fish with these directions, they need serious help-like me-. Well done that man! 5

I've met and fished with a lot of people and I can attest to the fact that Rich is the most willing fisherman I have met in a looong time. You have seen how well he shares his tactics online, now you should come and meet this man in person.