We confirmed that bass were locked on spawning beds at Miami Whitewater Forest, Sharon Woods and Lake Isabella last week. A new moon on Saturday, water temperatures in the low 60s, stable clarity and lake levels, and 14 hours of daylight, seemed to set-up perfect conditions for these fish to spawn. Unfortunately, these fish are also difficult to catch. Two bass tournaments last week proved that.
There were 19 teams at the Bass League tournament on Wednesday, April 18 at Sharon Woods Lake. It was a beautiful warm spring evening, but the bass just wouldn’t eat. Most teams reported seeing bass on spawning beds. Zach Schaible won the tournament with two keepers totaling 4.74 pounds, including the biggest bass of the day weighing 3.60 pounds.
Zach Schaible
On Sunday, April 22 the first Bass Series tournament of 2012 was held at Miami Whitewater Forest. A major cold front blew through the tri-state on that Saturday and anglers were greeted by at 38 degree morning. The wind blew steady all day, and temperatures never reached 50 degrees. Combine that with spawning bass, and you get a mighty tough day to fish.
There were 28 teams that competed for $1,215.00 in prize certificates, a big-bass jackpot, trophies and qualifying points for the Bass Series Championship. Curtis Pendergrass and Jody Andrzgenski of Mainville won the tournament with an impressive weight of 8.26 pounds. They had the biggest bass of the day, an awesome 5.31 pounder! They won $567.00 in prize certificates, a $220.00 big-bass jackpot, a $25.00 Bass Pro Shops gift card, and beautiful first place plaques.
Curtis & Jody
Mike Borgess of Cincinnati finished second with a nice 4.03 pound bass. He won $405.00 in prize certificates.
Mike Borgess
Brent Jones and Ryan Zwick of Okeana finished third with 3.45 pounds and took home $243.00 in prize certificates.
Brent Jones
The good news for cat-fishermen is that not all fish spawn at the same time. We saw numerous trophy cats caught at Miami Whitewater Forest over the past week. The big shovelheads are really feeding. Josh Robinson of Hamilton caught a 40 pound shovelhead on April 18. It isn’t exactly what he was fishing for. The giant fish ate a crappie minnow, and Josh spent the next 30 minutes landing the big fish on an ultra-light rod with four pound test line!
Josh Robinson
A fisherman, who called himself “Cowboy”, brought a huge shovelhead to the scales on April 16. The fish weighed nearly 50 pounds, and was the largest one caught last week!
"Cowboy"
Chad Carpenter of Harrison caught a 40 pound bluecat on April 15. He used a cut crappie for bait.
Chad Carpenter
Alex Gleason enjoyed a sunny day at Winton Woods Lake on April 17 and caught a nice 2.25 pound bass on a buzzbait.
Alex Gleason
The story at Lake Isabella continues to be hybrid bluegills. Chloe, Laura and Morgan Bayer had an awesome day at the lake catching nice bluegills on earth worms that they dug at their house.
Chloe, Laura and Morgan Bayer
The annual Kids Fishing Derby will be this Sunday, April 29 at Triple Creek on Pippin Road. The event runs from 8 am until 3 pm and there is no charge to participate. Channel catfish and hybrid bluegills will be stocked in the pond for the event. The entire family is welcome to fish. Children who catch a tagged fish will win a trophy. All children who catch a fish will receive a first fish certificate. Live bait and basic terminal tackle will be on sale at the event. Fishing license are not required at Triple Creek.
Neal Ramsey, District Recreation Manager
