Playing around at Cedar Creek ...

[CrappiePappy]

Sat 5/19/07 .... Partner Paul and I spent the day at Cedar Creek Lake, doing a little Crappie fishing. We probably caught around 40 or 50 Crappie, none of which would have passed the 7" length range .... let alone pass the 9" size limit :p We didn't care, since we weren't really expecting to catch keeper sized fish, anyway. We were just enjoying the day, playing with the dinks :D
Some interesting things observed :
The Male Black Crappie were very black in coloration, as though still in spawning mode. We caught no Crappie that looked to have any belly bulge (egg laden females), even though many of them were not so darkly colored.
We caught them from only a couple of select spots, 6-8ft of water, and around submerged logs. Don't know if they were going thru a false spawn, finishing up the spawn, guarding nests, or just in their normal habitat
We saw no sign of any Water Patrol Officials ... and observed people swimming & fishing at the "Beach", even though signs are posted that the Beach is closed. We also observed a number of bank anglers, who were taking a few sublegal sized Crappie right along with the other small Bluegill being caught. I started to "warn" them, that they were in violation .... but, conceded to the fact that, since the size limit is being removed (next year) anyway .... they probably weren't impacting the Crappie population enough to really matter. There have been numerous sightings of people taking bucketfuls of undersized Crappie, for the past few years, and still the Crappie are not getting to legal size in any numbers. Nor are they getting "scarce", either. I don't know if the removal of the size limit will really impact the Crappie, or not. That may take a couple of years to determine.

Partner Paul seemed to be "in the zone", when it came to catching Bass :p and even managed to bring in this young feller :



I tried to take a picture of one of the Crappie, still on the line, in the clear water of Cedar Creek Lake .... but, this one was camera shy, and thrashed the water at the most inopportune moment :rolleyes: :



..... cp

[badbrad]

I don't believe I've even heard of Cedar Creek Lake, sounds like you guys had a lot fun anyway....

It will be interesting to see what removing the size limit will do for the lake. How large is the lake? I wish our fisheries guys could do more for the crappie. Seems like between stocking trout, hybrids, musky and improving things for the bass the crappie just kinda get left out.

I think I might try Barren River tomorrow. Got the day off and it's the closest to home. Probably the only lake I'll be able to afford to fish if the gas keeps going up.

[CrappiePappy]

I don't believe I've even heard of Cedar Creek Lake, sounds like you guys had a lot fun anyway....
It will be interesting to see what removing the size limit will do for the lake. How large is the lake? I wish our fisheries guys could do more for the crappie. Seems like between stocking trout, hybrids, musky and improving things for the bass the crappie just kinda get left out.
I think I might try Barren River tomorrow. Got the day off and it's the closest to home. Probably the only lake I'll be able to afford to fish if the gas keeps going up.

Here's the scoop on CCL, from the KDFWR : http://www.kdfwr.state.ky.us/cedarla...vPath=C101C293

Incidently - they DID NOT manage to eradicate those "unwanted" species, at least not all of them. We've caught Green Sunfish, and have seen Pumpkinseed, and the Gizzard Shad are there, too
It's a decent Bass lake, but the "limit" is one fish per day, and has to be 20inches ... as it's being "managed" as a Trophy Bass Lake. I think last year was the first time I even heard of anyone catching a 20" Bass ... and I've "heard" of plenty of non-keeper sized Bass being removed - not to mention the "keeper" sized ones being removed. I think it's going to be a while, before the lake ever gets to being a "Trophy" lake.
There's been some few large Shellcracker taken from there ... but, the Bluegill probably won't ever get to any great size. The Gizzard Shad will see to that. The Bass were supposed to keep the sunfish population in check, allowing them to grow to good size. But, since they prefer to feed on the soft finned/higher protein Shad ... they're not being preyed upon enough to make a difference. The Crappie are probably being stunted, due to slow growth ... caused by the great number of sunfish present, that are probably removing the foodsource before the Crappie can utilize it to any degree. The whole lake is out of balance, and I don't forsee any quick fix in the works.

There's a B&B, bait store, RV camp setup ... right up the hill from the ramp at the dam. It went on absolute auction, because the owner wasn't really making any money from it. That, and the fact that he wanted to retire from "working"
The "beach" is just a section of shallow bank, that they dumped sand onto and placed a couple of bouys out, denoting that "no boats" were to come into that area.
The "marina" is still a unstarted project ... and I'm not sure it's even needed. The ramps are free (no launch fees), so ... unless they were going to rent boats, sell bait/food, and/or offer other amenities that anglers might need ... then what's the point ?? Bait shops, tackle stores, Wal-mart, gas stations, etc .... are all within a few miles of the lake, and are "on the way" for anyone going to the lake, regardless of which direction they're coming from. And, since Lincoln County is partnered with KDFWR on this project, to benefit the economics of the local businesses ... a "marina" would, in effect, compete with those businesses :rolleyes:

So, to make a long story into a short "point" .... no, it wouldn't be worth your while to even consider fishing it :D (not that you were)
Hope you do well at Barren ..... luck2ya ... cp

[badbrad]

I saw you mention trolling for hybrids at Taylorsville. When I can't catch crappie, which happens quite a lot, we troll Barren for Hybrid. I don't have downriggers, but we usually troll a large crankbait with the rear hook removed. I tie about a 5' leader and then put a size 12 "Pet" spoon on. I'm amazed at the size hybrid you can catch on such a little bait. My son got one last year 7lbs 12oz. I know they get much bigger than that, but it was a lot of fun for him to reel in.

If I get on them good down here this year, you'll have to make a trip down to Barren to join me.

What's your best technique for them.

[CrappiePappy]

I saw you mention trolling for hybrids at Taylorsville. When I can't catch crappie, which happens quite a lot, we troll Barren for Hybrid. I don't have downriggers, but we usually troll a large crankbait with the rear hook removed. I tie about a 5' leader and then put a size 12 "Pet" spoon on. I'm amazed at the size hybrid you can catch on such a little bait. My son got one last year 7lbs 12oz. I know they get much bigger than that, but it was a lot of fun for him to reel in.
If I get on them good down here this year, you'll have to make a trip down to Barren to join me.
What's your best technique for them.

Generally, I'm trolling a large Hot-n-Tot trailing a 12-18in leader off the front hooks, with a 1/16oz marabou jig attached. I use the larger Hot-n-Tot simply because it runs more true at the speed my partners boat will idle. The smaller "tots" will work, but tend to "roll" with any speed above a "puttering along" idle :p (can't tell you in mph, don't have gps or any speed gauges) I tie the leader on the front hook eye, because using the rear hook eye tends to pull the tail end of the bait "down" ... causing the bait to not dive or track correctly. The larger "tot" doesn't get bit very often, and even the larger Hybrids & Whites seem to like the jig better, anyway. Now, the occasional Bass or Channel Cat, they're as likely to hit the plug as they are the jig :D

Other than trolling, which is done mostly when boat traffic is heavy or the fish are not feeding on the surface .... then casting to "the jumps" is my other technique of choice. Normally, this is done using a small Silver Buddy in the old "White" paint coloration. This bait can also be trolled, with good results, if the fish are running in the top 8ft of water depth. I've used the "plunker & fly" setup, for surfacing fish ... but, results are generally less than with a blade bait like the Silver Buddy. The Shad Rap is also a good trolling/casting bait for Hybrids/Whites ... if they're big enough to attack a bait of that size. Unfortunately, T-ville's Hybrids are not as big as they should/could have been. It would seem that, once they got to keeper size, people had figured out that they could be easily caught by using Chicken Livers ... and I think the population of larger fish was decimated, before they could establish themselves. Also, there was a remnant population of White Bass, that was in the Salt River ... before the lake was impounded. You rarely, if ever, caught one during the early years of the lake ... unless you fished way up the Salt's headwaters. Then, a few years back, an explosion of White Bass occurred ... right around the time that the Hybrids were being removed in numbers. Nowadays, you catch them both in the same general area, if not from the same school.
Taylorsville Hybrid Stripers used to have a 15" size limit & 5fish creel ... but, since the White Bass population explosion, and the decline of the size of the Hybrids .... they've changed the regs to the "combined" ruling (White Bass/Yellow Bass/Hybrid Stripers) - no size limit, 15fish creel, no more than 5 of them may be 15" or longer. It hasn't seemed to help, though, as we've never caught any of that size, for many years. We don't keep them, anyway, so it's not a big deal to us personally ... we just fish for them for the fun of it, when the opportunity presents itself, or just to round out the day with some slammin hits or rod bending runs :D
We've also encountered some hefty catfish, the occasional Bass, and some decent keeper Crappie ... while trolling the Tot/jig rig. But, like I said ... they all seem to prefer the jig. Solid Chartreuse marabou 1/16oz jigs are the favorite ... whether it be a 4" fish or one of "some size" :p
Even with ski boats, water lice, and anglers ripping up and down the lake ... we still seem to manage to find them willing to grab a jig dragged behind a "tot" ... right out in the middle of all the commotion. Maybe the traffic keeps the Shad schools from staying on the surface, forcing the fish to forage on them in the 8-12ft depth range :D

I've heard that Barren is a very good lake for Hybrids ... keep me informed.

.... cp

[badbrad]

Barren is usually good for Hybrids, but they like everything else this spring have been a little out of synch. Usually this time of year the lake is covered up after dark anticipating the Hybrid busting top-water chasing the alweives. It's not happening yet, everybody still just waiting them out hoping they turn on at any time.

Got a friend of mine on the lake right now says he heard a guy caught some on topwater last night around 1:00 a.m.(your time of night) lol! Catching a 5lb plus hybrid on Topwater is big fun.

I'll let you know when the action picks up. Take care

[Biggerbear]

Crappiepappy -
I was supposed to go out on Cedar Creek Lake yesterday with a Guide and he canceled on me. I told him I wanted to target Panfish. Now I wonder if he read your report.
I have my own boat, but thought since the lake looks stumpy it would be a good idea to get a Guide to show me around. I did buy the map at Pro Bass Shop, but of coarse they didn't mention the Panfish were on the small side.
Do you think a experienced fisherman could manage a limit of eater size Panfish. By that I mean about 7 inch Bluegills?
And where would I start?

[CrappiePappy]

Crappiepappy -
I was supposed to go out on Cedar Creek Lake yesterday with a Guide and he canceled on me. I told him I wanted to target Panfish. Now I wonder if he read your report.
I have my own boat, but thought since the lake looks stumpy it would be a good idea to get a Guide to show me around. I did buy the map at Pro Bass Shop, but of coarse they didn't mention the Panfish were on the small side.
Do you think a experienced fisherman could manage a limit of eater size Panfish. By that I mean about 7 inch Bluegills?
And where would I start?

I don't really target the Bluegill & Shellcracker.
I would think that putting some sunfish type bait, down somewhat deep ... say in the 15-20ft range, out around the road bed - pond - channel mouths - or isolated tree ... should give you the best shot at the bigger ones. Or, you could wait until the Full Moon, and look for beds. I'm sure they're in there, just as I'm sure there are keeper Crappie in there ... it's just luck'n up on the right place at the right time, or wading thru a ton of dinks to get a few gooduns.
The lake is full of trees, but most of the creeks have obvious paths thru them. The "main" lake is open water ... not too much to worry about, there, as far as stumps.
I doubt the "guide" saw my report :D ... in fact, I didn't even know there was any "guide" working CCL :p The lake is not that big, so a "show me around" guide probably isn't really necessary. You should be able to find most of the structures put in by the KDFWR, with just a map. Other than that, just look for the same types of situations that you'd look for in any other lake ... and give it a try.
Just be sure and take twice as much "bait" as you think you'd need 'cause I'm pretty sure that, no matter where you fish, you're going to feed the dinks before you start catching many eaters. And don't even bother to take minnows (store bought), the little Crappie/Bass/Sunfish will clean you out PDQ !! ..... LOL!!

..... luck2ya .... cp

[Biggerbear]

Thanks crappiepappy -
I am glad you mentioned that about minnows. They are hard to keep alive when it's hot.

[Uncle Dave]

That lake needs better management. Fished up there in April and caught a million tiny ones.