Playing around at Cedar Creek ...

I fished Cedar Lake today from 7:30am to 1:30pm.
It was my first time on this Lake and in my opinion the lake does need some help since only 3 Bluegill(8") out of the 100 I caught were keepers(My opinion). Most were 6" or smaller. It would be a great Lake for the kids. I also caught 10 Largemouth Bass with the biggest being 16".
The Crappie were very small and skinny. I did get 2 Crappie over the 9" size limit.
The fish hit constantly and the only reason I quit at 1:30 was the heat. Sunny and mid 80"s means go home and turn of the air conditioning!

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Originally Posted by Biggerbear

I fished Cedar Lake today from 7:30am to 1:30pm.
It was my first time on this Lake and in my opinion the lake does need some help since only 3 Bluegill(8") out of the 100 I caught were keepers(My opinion). Most were 6" or smaller. It would be a great Lake for the kids. I also caught 10 Largemouth Bass with the biggest being 16".
The Crappie were very small and skinny. I did get 2 Crappie over the 9" size limit.
The fish hit constantly and the only reason I quit at 1:30 was the heat. Sunny and mid 80"s means go home and turn of the air conditioning!

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If you caught ANY Crappie over the 9" size limit .... you've done better than I have, in all of my trips to the lake :D (all half dozen of them)

Did you know that CCL has Blacknose Crappie :confused: I've caught several, so far. I'm in hopes that they survive and thrive in CCL. I'm also in hopes that the removal of the size limit on Crappie, next year, will help the growth rate of the survivors. Guess we'll have to wait 3 or 4 years afterwards, to really tell, though.

You ever venture over to Taylorsville Lake ?? Crappie are a bit bigger, there. You just have to get there at the crack of daylight, hit the timber that's still in the shade, and head for the house by midday. Boat traffic gets a little "excessive" from 11ish on, especially on weekends. Early to mid week is usually a lot more peaceful ... but, that's when I work :rolleyes: so I can't get there from here :D

Anyway, thanks for the report ... and keep 'em coming. Congrats on the two CCL "keepers" ;) .... at least that does mean that "some" of them are getting there !!

.... cp :cool:

Are there any carp left in the lake? I know many consider them "undesirable", but I sure don't.

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Originally Posted by deathb4disco

Are there any carp left in the lake? I know many consider them "undesirable", but I sure don't.

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at least I've never seen any. The "creeks" were supposedly poisoned, before the lake was impounded. This was done to rid the area of any and all "undesirable" fish ... like the Green Sunfish, Gizzard Shad, and others. The intent was to stock the lake, from scratch, with LM Bass - Channel Catfish - Shellcracker - Bluegill - Black Crappie ... so that they would counter-prey on each other, and keep the populations in check. This was supposed to create a Trophy Fishery, specifically for the LM Bass ... but, as a byproduct of the predation, it would also produce large Bluegill - Shellcracker - Crappie.
Either the poisoning didn't work, or it wasn't extensive enough, and the "undesirables" are present. Rumor has it, that the local landowners did not want their livestock to come in contact with the poisoned water ... and that may have allowed some of the unwanted species to survive. I would assume the KDFWR used Rotenon ... which would not have hurt the livestock, since it dissipates rather quickly. And the "rumor" is third party heresay, and unsubstanciated ... far as I know.

As far as Carp go .... the lake that Cedar Creek Lake flows into - Herrington Lake - is full of them, and they get quite large in there. But, as of yet, I have not seen nor heard of anyone seeing Carp in CCL.

....... cp :cool:

This is the latest report from the Pro Bass Bait Shop Owner
"Big Shellcrackers still catching 11 and 12 inch fish. Good fish coming on Popeye and wax worm as well as worms and nightcrawler pieces. Still on the bed.

Crappie - keeper crappie being caught. No limits, some fish still shallow, most are moving deep."

I was told pretty much the same thing when I bought my bait last Wednesday morning. If anyone was catching 11 and 12 inch Big Shellcrackers I certainly didn't see them. And the boats that I drifted past were keeping small fish.
I moved around the whole time I was there looking for the larger fish that I did not find.
Those Popeye Jigs are expensive and I would think with all the wood losing 20 Jigs in a day could be expected.
In my opinion the Bait Shop Owner isn't the most reliable source. Sure I caught plenty of fish and did see others doing the same, but nothing like this report eludes to.

We got the same report early this morning. The shellcracker we caught were not anywhere near that size, nor did we catch that many of them. We did catch a lot of very small 5-8 in. crappie, and lots of bluegill. First time I've fished Cedar Creek in over a year. Just checking the size of the Crappie again!:)

It's a nice Lake just to go and get some action and you never know when you will run into some nice fish. I consider a 8" Bluegill or Redear Sunfish a keeper.
There are times when I settle for 7.5" if they run fat.
As for Crappie - I wouldn't bother cleaning any under 9" anyway.

i went last week to cedar creek and was able to wade in the water just to the right of the boat ramp. i had luck with a rooster tail and caught 1 crappie suprisingly it was 11" long. i returned it to the water as i had no need for just the one crappie. guess i was luckier than i first thought.

How has the Fishing been on Cedar Creek?

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Originally Posted by Biggerbear

How has the Fishing been on Cedar Creek?

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It's been "normal" for me ... dink Crappie :D (casting, jigging with tube jigs ... trolling with Roadrunners)

My fishing partner's youngest son has been doing pretty fair on Bass. He's also, reportedly, gotten into some keeper size Crappie ... using minnows on creek channel drops with stumps, around 10-12ft deep. He's been going in the afternoons & staying til midnight ... while I've been going in the early AM and staying till noonish (that could be the diff :confused: )

I'm like you ... it's a nice "fishing" lake, just to go to and relax and unwind. It's also an hours less drive time, total, than a trip to Taylorsville .... shame that the Crappie fishing isn't as good, or has the potential to be good, like Taylorsville.

... cp :cool: