Thread: Favorite Patterns by lake in Ohio

I fish many small city reservoirs (Attica, Bellevue, Clyde, New Washington, Willard) mostly very clear or green tinged. I've had the best luck longline trolling or slow retrieve jigs, curly tail and wedge tail, white, silver or black/gold with clip-on spinner, sometimes tip with salted mionnow.

Summer time and fall, best bite is at night with minnow and slip float. No crowds! Bought a floating light I hope to put into use this year.

Caught 3 hawgs this summer with a blaze orange erie derie and worm on the bottom drifting for saugeye?

Southwest Ohio, most lakes.
Early spring 1/32 or 1/16 oz jig with black/chart or red/chart tube. May use bobber if water is cold or the fish want a slower presentation. I used to always start with minnows but last year did better on jig/bobber.
I think tipping with nibble helped in colder water. If water is pretty clear I throw in some blue...blue/white, blue/silver or blue/black. I catch some of my best fish on blue/white.

Summer,I've been messing around with plain head tipped with minnow. I used to think the fish went deep, but lately I've been looking shallower. I think I'm doing a little better.

Pitching jigs in up to 20 FOW.. That spells fun in my book.

Unlike a lot of guys, I still like minnows more times than not. I pitch small slip floats with 10' rods to cover like standing timber, stumps, whatever most of the time. Sometimes I tip a jig with a minnow, but most it's just straight meat. This method allows me to fish as shallow or deep as I need. I don't sit on a spot like a lot of float fishermen. Most the time I'm moving spot to spot and reworking the spots that produce, much like when casting a jig. I like casting and vertical jigging as well, I just feel that I can more efficiently work cover with my slip rig. Like crappiemax mentioned, there always seem to be at least some good fish shallow if you look in the right places. Even in this cold water we have now or the heat of summer. That's a lesson I learned the hard way in the last year or so. My methods don't change a whole lot from lake to lake unless I fish somewhere where the cover is spread out over a wide area or has little to work with. Then I will cast 1/16 or 1/32 jigs with either a Southern Pro tube or Hot Grub or YUM curlytail. Colors vary, but black/chartreuse is usually a good starting point.

im like speckwick,, hardly ever do my anchors hit the bottom on a calm day.. in and out of cover,, not leaving one stick untossed.. bobber may sit for 20 secs but thats as long as it gets for me.. when slow a round the banks ill sometimes dip into a few holes w fallen trees but never over 12 feet,, a t least not very often.. i treat the craps like the bass,,,, gotta keep moving.. gonna try some serious electronics this year.. good luck to all and thanks for the input.. learned some new things here..

I haven't used my anchors in probably 4 or 5 years. Some days when I get off the lake my right foot cramps up on me I use the trolling pedal so much, but I don't like to anchor.

I used all my anchor ropes to sink stuff.Better get some more rope.

you put more in the lake will rise