CJ WATER TEMPS AND FISHING THREAD!

[ssouthard]

Any walleye activity? I will be out this weekend, champing and fishing!

[BlueBoat98]

Any walleye activity? I will be out this weekend, champing and fishing!

I was out early yesterday and this morning. Very quiet yesterday then I found three decent keepers all in one spot in less than an hour. This morning was a Walleye skunk for me. Talked to several folks trolling and jigging as well as the ODNR survey guy and nobody was catching much of anything. Water temp still in the mid seventies and the lake is clear. They are really dumping water because it is still 5 inches or so high so I'm sure there's quite a current going through there. There's another tourney there tomorrow so I'm not sure if I'm going or not. I was told yesterday that the winning weight for the two day last weekend was 23 pounds on 12 fish. That is not a lot of big fish!

See you out there.

MC

[CrappieDreamer]

Any walleye activity? I will be out this weekend, champing and fishing!

How did the tournament go today?

[INTIMIDATOR]

We just got an unexpected 3 inches of rain this evening...more COOL, OXYGENATED, FOOD LADEN water, flowing into the North End!

The cry babies on OGF are again blaming the cover that was added to CJ, for their lack of catching fish....I guess this is the only excuse left, without having to state the obvious!

Again, due to the temps and rain, CJ is in a late fall Pattern....with the added feature that THE ENTIRE lake is oxygenated. FISH ARE SPREAD OUT...they can be happy in 2 foot of water or 50 feet of water...temps ARE PERFECT FOR THEM....they are NOT STRESSED, AND ARE GORGING!
FOOD CONTINUES TO FLOW INTO THE LAKE...SPAWNS WERE EXCEPTIONAL....SPRING FISHING did not have as much pressure as normal, due to the fair weather fishermen staying home.
ALL OF THE FRY ARE EATING SIZE, bug populations have exploded, craws are hot, earthworms are being flooded in...they have everything they want right now.
IT IS THE PERFECT STORM FOR FISH...NOT FOR FISHERMEN!

Fish are not stacked up, and you will not have massive catch days...if you are able to think out of the box, like Mike did, you will catch a few...be thankful and realize that you have succeeded in one of the toughest fishing patterns that we'll have!
The Cover has nothing to do with anyone's ability to catch fish....if you aren't catching fish, it is your fault for not figuring out what is going on, and adapting to the pattern, so you can get a few during the tough times!
AND IF YOU KNOW COVER IS THERE, AND YOUR KNOW IT IS IN THE SAME EXACT PLACES EACH TIME YOU GO OUT, AND YOU CONTINUE TO LOSE LURES TROLLING OVER THE SAME EXACT AREA, then you fall under the definition of Insanity...."Doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result"!
I'm not sorry if anyone is offended...I'm tired of people crying about the cover, when it is their own fault for being a poor "fisherman"!
EVERYONE, had their chance to offer areas and help with the drops...everyone that choose not to help have only themselves to blame if they are unhappy....the ODNR OK'd all of the areas where WE dropped....quit crying and learn the NEW LAKE, like the rest of us did.
If you continue to fish the same areas that you caught fish stacked up on in the past, it is not going to be productive...period!
We have made a healthy lake, so that fish can use the ENTIRE LAKE...AND ALL FISH POPULATIONS HAVE EXPANDED ALL OVER THE LAKE!
WE HAVE A MONSTER LAKE...figure it out and quit making excuses....if you don't catch fish, YOU DID SOMETHING WRONG! YOU DID! YOU! NO ONE ELSE! JUST YOU!
To those of you trying to improve and figure things out, I commend you...that's why I will continue to throw you clues and help with what's going on. There are plenty of guys sending me pics of big fish and nice catches...they tell me where they are catching them because they know I will "bank" the knowledge and help others without giving anything away. There is enough knowledge here to help you have a good day out...normal summer areas are slow right now, LARGE fish are solitary, and looking for singular spots for them to hunt and rest. Think of a 30 inch Gator (30 inches, plus almost a quarter) sitting on the shady side of an island in 2 feet of water (It made me Jealous)...how out of the box is that? Or a stringer of 15 inch Crappie, caught 1 by 1, feeding apart in a 50 yard section of 2 feet and less of water? How about a 29 inch Gator on the bottom in 45 feet? A buddy spotted it on his electronics and jigged it into biting with my favorite baits.
Even night fishing has died, because they are so full and enjoying life, in PERFECT WATER CONDITIONS!

With all the rain in the forecast, this pattern will continue for awhile...until we get a long stretch of heat!
Fishing will be tough because of all the stuff listed....there will be 2 non-normal bites, "feeding reaction" and "non-feeding ice fishing"! With all the food they have to choose from, you either have to make your's stand out to them, or set it in front of them and slowly tickle their noses!
It's gonna be tough out there, but you can still go out and enjoy catching a few fish, and you can have the enjoyment of figuring things out and adapting!
GOOD FISHING!

[crappiemax]

The cry babies on OGF are again blaming the cover that was added to CJ, for their lack of catching fish....I guess this is the only excuse left, without having to state the obvious!

What thread are you referring to? I haven't noticed anyone complaining about the cover in CJ over there.
I think the same fishermen over there, are over here too

[jab]

What thread are you referring to? I haven't noticed anyone complaining about the cover in CJ over there.
I think the same fishermen over there, are over here too

It is in the 'Central Ohio' forum ...

[crappiemax]

It is in the 'Central Ohio' forum ...

It looks to me like there were a few guys who weren't happy about the drops but about 1/2 way through fished-out pointed out the benefits and the tone of the thread changed to the positive. Even at that it didn't look like anyone was blaming the cover for their lack of fish catching as the OP stated. It more seemed like the OP over there was unhappy with all the snags. Since not everyone fishes the same I can see where all the cover doesn't fit into everyone's plans. Just because they don't like all the cover and just because they voiced their opinion, doesn't make them "cry babies". These guys like their style of fishing too.

Personally I agree with fished-out, just adapt and learn to fish the cover but I'm a crappie guy and I like cover. All that cover actually has me wanting to make a trip up there. I've only been up to CJ one time and that was on a weekend and I swore I would never go back there unless it was during the week. That launch ramp was crazy to say the least.
I also wish Ohio would make it easier to drop cover, most of these lakes really need it.

[INTIMIDATOR]

It looks to me like there were a few guys who weren't happy about the drops but about 1/2 way through fished-out pointed out the benefits and the tone of the thread changed to the positive. Even at that it didn't look like anyone was blaming the cover for their lack of fish catching as the OP stated. It more seemed like the OP over there was unhappy with all the snags. Since not everyone fishes the same I can see where all the cover doesn't fit into everyone's plans. Just because they don't like all the cover and just because they voiced their opinion, doesn't make them "cry babies". These guys like their style of fishing too.

Personally I agree with fished-out, just adapt and learn to fish the cover but I'm a crappie guy and I like cover. All that cover actually has me wanting to make a trip up there. I've only been up to CJ one time and that was on a weekend and I swore I would never go back there unless it was during the week. That launch ramp was crazy to say the least.
I also wish Ohio would make it easier to drop cover, most of these lakes really need it.

Not going to continue beating a dead horse, but you should have seen/see my PM'S that I got/get...I get stopped in the parking lot and at the restaurant, by "crybabies"(people complaining that they can't catch fish at CJ anymore because of the cover)
Before the Projects, the fish had NO WHERE to use, except for the humps, creek beds, a a few boulders.
The vegetation was all gone to to building the Marina etc.
The ODNR was dropping 3/4 million Walleye fingerings a year ( Have a nice post about all of this in the first 10 pages of this thread)...now we get 1/3 of that if we're lucky. (2 of 10 years)
People were sitting on the humps catching 100 Walleye a day....this is not sustainable fishing.
The Marina was the main cover for Crappie...before limits people were taking 3-4 full baskets a day....this is not sustainable.
The lake was slowly dying...true fishermen could see it happening.
Lowell started the ball rolling along with others, then we all joined in an with the blessings of the ODNR and COE started the projects FOR ALL FISH.
We have habitat for Crappie, Walleye, Bass, Cats, minnows, fingerlings, and craws.
The lake is populated from one end to the other...we have increased the fish holding capacity...it is healthy and has a huge surplus of food for the predators.
That is why CJ is tough....you will be challenged to catch fish, if you are not a true fisherman, then you will get discouraged and not fish her....but if you are up for a challenge and know your species, patterns, etc, then you will do just fine.
CJ can now hold fish in places never before...fish have adapted, alot of fishermen haven't.
If you know what is going on with the lake, you know what the fish are doing.
Right now the lake is at perfect condition s for all fish.....high water, 70-75 degrees from top to bottom, highly oxygenated, flowing fresh water, extra nutrients and food, exceptional spawns resulting in perfect easy food right now...CJ also has a Monster shad and craw population, AND NATIVE BAITFISH that have come back strong (shiners, logperch, etc,...then add all the insects .....no wonder it is tough!
But, you can still catch fish!

[Lauer79]

I have been fishing CJ for about 6 years now. and agree over the years the fishing has gotten better and better. have had days where I was doing everything wrong and have had days where I could do no wrong. conditions are tough right now, I have been allover the lake this year and have fished so many new spots. the last time I was out it took me about 4 hours to figure out what they wanted. people need to remember a bad day fishing is better than a good day at work.

[INTIMIDATOR]

Oh they had another conversation about how bad CJ was since the cover was added.
Everyone posting on here and in the group, are trying to work through this pattern....a lot of guys are fishing in their free time and just calling me or sending pics. Limited time right now does not allow for them to post but they know I have time to help others with pointers.
I won't be able to get out until Dale goes back to school, so I'm living vicariously through others who can get out.