Grain wrote:The water is clear and not stained. There are large weed beds throughout the lake, if you look at the depth map wherever there are shallows there are weeds. Also, plenty of pads - again look at the map wherever the bottom is not steep you'll find some pads. I've seen some completely overgrown coves, but in other places vegetation is sparse.
Woohoodude11 wrote:Nearly the entire lake is accessible to shore fish except the area around the beach. Its just such a big lake though. If I was a Lake County resident I'd explore it more.
Aux Pleins wrote:But I dare you to cast a few times around the canoe launch on the river in that park. You might just get hooked.
Woohoodude11 wrote:Aux Pleins wrote:But I dare you to cast a few times around the canoe launch on the river in that park. You might just get hooked.
I checked it out very early in the season but the water levels were brutally low so I just skipped it![]()
Aux Pleins wrote:Ice fish the hell out of it, ice fishing is great. Since moving to the area last year, I really gave it a go at ice out this year from shore. Caught some hammer pike and had one huge musky follow from a mid 40's looking fish. Seen two others cruising the shoreline during the spawn. I solely tossed for musky up until the bass spawn. Saw plenty of nice looking bass shallow in my last few outings there.
The place is huge, you can always find relief from the wind. But I dare you to cast a few times around the canoe launch on the river in that park. You might just get hooked.
Aux Pleins wrote:Go check her out brother, crystal clear in a lot of areas. Something about the dpr river bottom is just hypnotizing. Pike bites are as good as it will get from now thru August.
crankybass wrote:Aux Pleins wrote:Ice fish the hell out of it, ice fishing is great. Since moving to the area last year, I really gave it a go at ice out this year from shore. Caught some hammer pike and had one huge musky follow from a mid 40's looking fish. Seen two others cruising the shoreline during the spawn. I solely tossed for musky up until the bass spawn. Saw plenty of nice looking bass shallow in my last few outings there.
The place is huge, you can always find relief from the wind. But I dare you to cast a few times around the canoe launch on the river in that park. You might just get hooked.
Aux, would you recommend a spinnerbait or chatterbait for Northern Pike in that area?
Cranky, I checked out Independence Grove for a couple of hours a few weeks ago armed with zero information. It was a cloudy overcast day so I was feeling good about my chances. I agree, as a bank fisherman, it's overwhelming trying to figure out where to concentrate your efforts. I ended up on the North end walking around casting wherever it looked decent. The water is super clear, but the vegetation is HEAVY. Every cast required yanking and ripping to free whatever I was throwing. Very frustrating. I found some more clear pockets here and there, but couldn't entice a bite. While I was tossing a frog in a pocket of one area, a guy walking by with his wife yells out, "hey, what do you got there, a Spro? Booyah?" I thought, ah yes, one of my people. He pointed at a corner across from where I was where there were a couple of tall birdhouses. He said to toss my frog there and also to cross the path and toss my frog into the other bay where there was a big field of lily pads. I headed over toward the birdhouses, nestled into the corner and started tossing a frog. He was right. 5 casts in I had a 2-pounder. Had a few more blowups, but couldn't seal the deal. I went across the path to the huge lily pad field. Got a few blowups, but didn't hook up. From my one short experience, I'd say your best bet is topwater. I struggled mightily with anything subsurface. It would be worth it to explore the place in a boat. And with someone who knows what they're doing.crankybass wrote:I noticed that there hasn't been any activity on this board for a while. I am surprised because according to a reliable source the fishing can be good. Anyone who has fished this lake, can you give me some idea of where the best shallow, pads/weeds, areas that are accessible from shore are located?
toyasu wrote:Cranky, I checked out Independence Grove for a couple of hours a few weeks ago armed with zero information. It was a cloudy overcast day so I was feeling good about my chances. I agree, as a bank fisherman, it's overwhelming trying to figure out where to concentrate your efforts. I ended up on the North end walking around casting wherever it looked decent. The water is super clear, but the vegetation is HEAVY. Every cast required yanking and ripping to free whatever I was throwing. Very frustrating. I found some more clear pockets here and there, but couldn't entice a bite. While I was tossing a frog in a pocket of one area, a guy walking by with his wife yells out, "hey, what do you got there, a Spro? Booyah?" I thought, ah yes, one of my people. He pointed at a corner across from where I was where there were a couple of tall birdhouses. He said to toss my frog there and also to cross the path and toss my frog into the other bay where there was a big field of lily pads. I headed over toward the birdhouses, nestled into the corner and started tossing a frog. He was right. 5 casts in I had a 2-pounder. Had a few more blowups, but couldn't seal the deal. I went across the path to the huge lily pad field. Got a few blowups, but didn't hook up. From my one short experience, I'd say your best bet is topwater. I struggled mightily with anything subsurface. It would be worth it to explore the place in a boat. And with someone who knows what they're doing.crankybass wrote:I noticed that there hasn't been any activity on this board for a while. I am surprised because according to a reliable source the fishing can be good. Anyone who has fished this lake, can you give me some idea of where the best shallow, pads/weeds, areas that are accessible from shore are located?
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