Yes, we are lucky to have CJ, but it is alot different than CC or EF.
It's not nearly as deep as the other 2, so fluctuations in water levels at key times really affect it and the fishery.
CJ doesn't muddy due to its gravel and rock base, and the wetlands and marsh north of it.
It is also one of the few Reservoirs that was bulldozed almost clean...the structure that remained was just natural creekbeds, some foundations, and humps from roadbeds, gravel pits, ponds, etc.
CJ is pretty much a barren cereal bowl compared to other reservoirs.
It was chosen as a brood lake for Walleye due to the gravel, creek beds, and creeks.
For the fishermen of CJ...the lack of cover stacked the Walleye up for easy pickin's in the humps. While it produced 50 Walleye days and 100's upon 100's of fish caught per person every year, the population swings could be massive with no spawns or low stocking numbers.
With a huge Bass, Channel Cat, Crappie, and WB populations, the baitfish population would swing wildly also.
With a shrinking Perch, and natural minnow population and huge Shad kills during the early 2000's, the lake was slowly dying.
The ODNR was going to pull the Walleye program due to lack of Walleye forage.
Lowell and I knew each other from fishing CJ...then hurricane Ike hit, we had trees down everywhere. We talked about using all that wood for fish cover.
Lowell took the legal way and built a relationship with the ODNR, COE, and Park MGMT, and started the legal drops to help the baitfish population. Alot of laydowns, Christmas trees, etc.
Several of us went a different route...after a couple years we all hooked up...and some are still active!
CJ flourished...the baitfish population rebounded, baitfish spawns were fantastic....and with the abundant food supply, the predators rebounded.
Cover was added everywhere except old structure areas....this moved fish into other areas and away from humps and other places th h er y stacked up, so the overall lake would be healthy, and we could maximize the fish holding capacity of CJ. This would benefit the entire fishery instead of the fishermen at that time...we figured after time the fishermen would benefit from the extra fish holding capacity.

Where the COE screws things up, is not filling CJ to summer pool during spawns and leaving it there.
At Winter pool, there is BARELY any water in North Buck Creek....at Summer pool the creek is high. Walleye, WB, and others, use the creek to spawn.
So just before spawns this year, the lake was filling up, and the creek was rising....the Walleye were at the islands at the mouth.
And the dumbasses dropped the level below winter pool....No Walleye spawn!
Now the plug should really be in, and they are again dumping water, just before the WB spawn.

CJ has a 2 gate system...the upper gates are smaller and don't affect fish. The lower gates are huge and pump everything out of the lake.
The stupid bastards could use the uppers until an emergency situation occurs...but I think they believe CJ is a hatchery for the Ohio river, and they flush all the fish they can. They even flushed water when the OHIO river was flooding.

I sat in enough meetings with the COE and they will not try to comprehend anything...the rules of engagement are from the 1950's water management and they will die before adapting.

All lakes in Ohio are suffering from fishing pressure, a little common sense by the dinosaur COE, would go a long way to help Ohio's fisheries.