My dad and I fished Cave Run yesterday after Church. We did not get on the water until 2:30 pm or so. We put in at Bangor and tried to find some clear water. Most of the water was very dingy or stained at best. We had been on the main lake Friday and only found 42 degree water. We were able to find 49 degree water toward Poppin Rock on the Licking River (obviously the ice is gone now). This time of year the fish are still grouped up on brush around the main river channel. On warm sunny days like yesterday they tend to move up as shallow as 3 feet of water over 20-30 feet. You should be able to catch several by using a slip float and minnow around standing timber or brush. We caught 25-30 yesterday using this method. We kept just 8 fish as most were small, but we had 4 fish over 10.5 inches and one that measured 13 inches. Several already had eggs.

Crappie fishing was definitely tough on Cave Run last year. We rarely failed to catch a good mess, but often it took all day and a lot of gas to get them. I feel very hopeful, like Caveman, because we caught so many 8" fish last year. The best bite of the year comes in late April and early May during the spawn, but we catch our biggest crappie in the fall of the year in deep water around standing trees.

The Pre-Spawn is right upon us and some good Crappie will be caught between now and the end of the spawn. White Crappie are prevalent in Cave Run, but the lake also supports a large, and growing population of aggressive black crappie. Plenty of black Crappie will be caught in the next few weeks as they move toward the shallows to spawn.