Bass Chasin In Ohio report for Hinckley Lake
Hinckley information for this basser anyone?
To: Basschasininohio@aol.com
Well I just got done watching the Saturday fishing shows, and since I
have cabin fever bad I thought
I would let my brain leak a little more. Don't worry, I will try not to
bombard you every day.
Hinckley Lake: When I was 14 and 15 in the late 70's Hinckley was a
great crappie lake in the spring. Even before the crappie got hot the
pike were there. Surpisingly, a hot spot for the pike
was in the river below the swiming hole, across the bridge. The
fishermen would line up there to fish for the pike as they migrated
upstream. As far as I know that is the only time that they were fished
for in the river. I wonder if anyone else visiting the site knows of
fishing for these river pike the rest of the year? They have to be
coming from somewhere.
The crappie were not very big but they were plentiful and easy to
catch. Small minnows on bobbers or 1/16 or 1/8 oz. maribou jigs were the
ticket. I always did better with light tackle
such as 4 lb. test on ultralight tackle, and #8 hooks with a bobber just
big enough so that the
minnow could not pull it under.
About 4 or 5 years ago I took the wife and kids out in a rowboat for a
ride and to check out
my old hotspots which included several fallen trees along the south
shoreline in the back bay area
that the river flows into the lake at. When I was a kid this area
averaged 4-5 feet deep. Imagine my surprise when I rowed the boat just
into the bay off the main lake and hit bottom with the oars!
Yes, the ENTIRE bay had silted in! I attempted to row futher into the
bay to see if I had just hit a bar but the water never got any deeper
and I feared grounding the boat so I turned around and left the bay.
Now the water is always muddy at Hinckley. I have not seen it clear
or even close to it in the past 6 or 7 years. You still do see someone
pull a real nice fish out of there once in a while; 5# bass, 3 # trout,
and a nice cat or pike. Personally though I prefer to fish other lakes
for the time that I have available. Though, someone visiting the site
may be the Hinckley Lake master. If so, please fill us in on how to fish
this challenging lake. I know worth while fish are there, I see the pics
of them in the boathouse all the time.
I plan on filling out fishing reports when I have info on a new trip.
How would you prefer that I
give info such as what is in this letter or other background
information? In a letter such as this or in lake reports? Let me know
and I will submit the info that way. I know a website can get tedious.
By the way, the steelhead fishing at the Avon Lake pier seemed best
before noon, on sunny days,
with clearer water. When they are there you can see them jumping out of
the water all around. The first day of march was when things kicked off
the last 2 years but with the real winter we had earlier in the year it
might start a little later. I have been there several times already and
have not had any luck, nor have I seen any.
Have a great day,
Steve