Cold and windy Horseshoe Granite City 1/4/11

Went pheasant hunting at the shoe yesterday and seen like 1waterdog said the water was open, only some skim ice around the shore. So since i've had cabin fever for awhile now I went home and threw the old 12 foot jon and troller in the back of the truck to give it a try today. Didnt want to get out the big boat since its winterized. Man was it a slow cold ride, but well worth it. Had my limit in a little over 2 hrs and continued to fish and have fun a little while after that as they were still hungry. Line started to ice up and eye holes started to freeze about 10:00 so I got outta there. Caught all fish on white/char jigs even a few doubles I thought were hogs till I got em in :cool:. The wind may keep it open for a little while, but the the ramp off bend road was surrounded by ice all the way across to the still mill levee road.

very nice! good to see some pictures and success!

Wow you got you a mess. Them are some good lookin crappie.

Congrats!!!! Those Shoe crappie have plenty to eat and are really fat. It's my favorite Illinois lake.I've had 100+ fish days this past year from there.

Way to go! those are some nice slabs! I hear ya on the cabin fever. the ice finally got off of rend this week!

congrats on nice catch thanks for the report and the pics the cabin fever is really starting to set in on me as well ,,, going try to get out this weekend might be on hard water .

Nice looking mess of Crappie. How did the pheasant hunting go. I have been over there several times hunting pheasant and didn't see too many birds on some trips and other trips I saw tons of birds.

Pheasant hunting was great! It was one of the special all hen 4 bird hunts they have every year on Monday's.. I've been there probably 10 times already this year and got my birds every time, most of the time within the first 30 minutes i'm done which is too short of time out for my dogs, so I go help others without dogs get theirs. Had all 4 hens at 9:23 Monday..

That is a good mess. Do you fish horseshoe alot? I've thought about giving it a whirl out there, since its so close......but never got around to it.

Good story, photo, and catch.;) Congrats.:)

Those are some fattys

nice mess of fish,it will cure the winter blues..i could be wrong but please check i think lake is closed for waterfowl hunting only until jan 31.i dont want anybody giving their money away.bank fishing only.but still a nice catch. 1waterdog

Sure enough good lookin mess of crappies

great mess of fish

1waterdog I will ask for sure to check if it is open for boat fisherman tomorrow when I pheasant hunt, but its in the central zone and they had signs at both ramps that said closed to fishing until Dec 28th and the signs are now gone and there were other boats out there fishing yesterday as well.. I know they can still goose hunt till the 31st but I was out there again this morning and actually had some goose hunters come up to me at about 8:30 and ask how I was doing and what color jigs I was using, cause they brought there poles to crappie fish their blind while waiting on the geese to fly by. Here's the pic from today. Two short of my limit, was almost there when I got a call from my son's school nurse and had to stop and hurry back to pick him up.. Same as yesterday but no wind and was icing up. Had to break ice to get out and was worse when I left at 10:00.. Trying to break ice in a old 12ft jon boat with only a troller is no fun :eek: All caught on wht/chart and wht/blue jigs all whites with one lonely black crappie in the mix. Looks like my fun is over cause I'm not gonna try busting the ice again :cool:

Good ones again!

Confirmed with DNR this morning, boat fishing is allowed during goose season.. As of Dec 28th boat fisherman are good to go :cool: But I was out there this morning pheasant hunting and it froze up now... So gonna have to wait on some warmer weather..

Thanks for clearing that up Camaro, maybe I'll see ya out there soon. Two more questions, since you were out there in a 12, what advice have you got for a guy with a little boat (14ft w/ 9.8)? I bet a shallow lake like that can get wild in the wind. Also, when is the next hen shoot out there, that is a pretty good deal. I like going out there in the week if I can, since there usually aren't many guys hunting.

Spent days on that lake this summer/fall and whacked some nice fish. I called the park office and they said the ice is back and I should stay home this weekend. Kinda sucks. I wanted to get out to the shoe again. Maybe coffeen or something this weekend. Nice bag of illini crappie.

MJM, a 14 footer can handle that lake 90% of the year. The wind gets going and the waves will rock but putting the boat back on the trailer is what will get ya with the wind. The lake has some places to get out of the wind but usually those places are a waste of time.

mjm76... rodneyver is right the most problem you will have is at the ramp trying to load... That dock really rocks when the wind blows.. I was only out there in the 12ft because big boat is all sealed up for winter and I knew I had a short window with no ice to get out there.. Will have to meet up out there this spring sometime. The next hen hunt is on the 24th of Jan and then again the last day on the 31st which is the end of the season. I would call in advance and make reservations if you plan on going... Does not cost anything to make reservations and you pay when you get there so if you don't go your not out any money..

I'll have to do that if the old dog gets to feeling better. I took him out on Sat. and worked him a little too hard for an old warrior. If I take him out again I gotta make sure its an easy hunt for him, which horseshoe usually is. I think last time we went, we got our birds in about 20 minutes.

I live close to Horseshoe Lake but never fished it. I don't even know where the boat ramp is. Would my small Gamefisher boat do ok on the lake. I also herd that you have to be careful, that it's not the safest lake to fish(people wise). I also love to use minnows. Where can I get minnows at? I live in the Edwardsville area. Talk to me, give me the skinny on Horseshoe lake!!!!!

Thanks, Shakynerves

don't be fooled it gets really rough in the wind . a 12 boat is not the boat i'd like to be in on that lake... you reallly have to pick your day

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Originally Posted by shakynerves24

I live close to Horseshoe Lake but never fished it. I don't even know where the boat ramp is. Would my small Gamefisher boat do ok on the lake. I also herd that you have to be careful, that it's not the safest lake to fish(people wise). I also love to use minnows. Where can I get minnows at? I live in the Edwardsville area. Talk to me, give me the skinny on Horseshoe lake!!!!!

Thanks, Shakynerves

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As far as unsavory charachters......I think if you avoid the bathrooms you are pretty safe. And minnows, I think there is a bait concession in the park, if not I know that there are several good bait shops in alton, and probably one closer than that to Edwardsville, but I don't know for sure.

The signs guiding you to the main ramp are at the entrance to the park. AND, YES Ive had a car broke into but that was a number of years ago. The new bike path has helped a bunch. People are all over and active in the park. Is it perfect, no. A 12 foot boat could be pushing it, use common sense. Use the Ramp located on the madison side of the lake. You dont need to cross as much open water and most of the deeper water is nearby. If your gonna do the minnow thing wait till later in the spring or early summer. Days are a little longer and the fish will be close to the banks.