An angler's odyssey.....

[Tony Livingston]

The area I'm hitting in the morning is where the Hoosier state record BG came from back in 1972. In addition, I received an email last week from a fisheries biologist who told me of a 2 lb. gill that came from there just a few weeks ago. Supposed to be photos available at a local baitshop, I will see what I can find out.

[Greg McWilliams]

Tony, I think I just feel in LOVE!!!!!! Is this the right place??? If so it looks like Mined Lands of KANSAS!!!

http://www.angelfire.com/ms/ceninfish/GSSF.html

[Tony Livingston]

Greg I have a boat, just the right size. In fact, it's the same one a buddy and I used to fish out of down at Greene Sullivan. If I decide to use my new fishing license for more than one day a year, perhaps I'll take it back down there this fall when it cools off and the bite picks up.

I did wonder about a float tube.... all of Greene Sullivan's lakes are no swimming, so I'm not sure where a float tube fits in, or how open to interpretation that law is.  I'll check into it.

[Greg McWilliams]

Tony, I agree YOU need a BOAT!!!!! Did you ever think about a KICK-BOAT????? I fish strip mines in S.E. Kansas, that have been taken over by the Kansas State Wildlife Dept!!!! A lot of them have boat ramps but not all!!! I can always get a tube on the water!!!!! SOUNDS LIKE YOU HAVE GREAT PLACE to SEARCH!!!! Now you need the TOOLS!!!!!

[Tony Livingston]

Since I am hopelessly long-winded, I'll save the details for the end. Short version: I fished for four hours, caught 27 fish, only had 6 over 8". I began my day at Hickory lake, the BOW that produced Indiana's record Bluegill ( 3lbs, 4 ozs) back in 1972. And, my three biggest fish came from this lake, but I caught many small ones here too.

 

Didn't start out like I had hoped:

This looks a little better:

There we go! a nine inch Gillcracker.

Half of the combo required to produce a Gillcracker:

 

Well, that's the short version, for anyone wanting details, I'll expand a little. I started off at Hickory lake, simply because it was something I've been wanting to do for a long time. I had no illusions about schools of three pound BG's swimming in it's depths, rather I simply wanted to be able to say that I had fished it.

A couple of guys on horseback came by after about 30 minutes, and politely told me that there were no fish in this pit... I showed them my fish basket and begged to differ, although it would've been nice to have a little larger fish to show off.

I spent a couple of hours fishing Hickory, mostly just thinking about the angler who stood exactly where I was 40+ years ago, and caught that monstous fish. On his first cast, nonetheless.

After a couple of hours I moved on, and spent the remainder of my time moving around from pit to pit. And I caught fish in all of them, but a few things were readily apparent at the end of the day. There are over 120 ponds in this forest, and 95% of them require a boat to fish properly. These are mining pits, which means they get deep right now.... very little shallow water in most of them. And when you do find some shallows, the combination of aquatic growth and Indiana's current drought have rendered them nigh unfishable.

I knew all of this, having fished Greene Sullivan quite regularly years ago. And I have caught some very nice BG from there in years past, but I was always in a boat. Casting from shore means you're limited in your presentations, and lure selections. I soon discovered that the bigger fish were coming from deeper depths, and adjusted my slip float accordingly. But... I would've loved to have been in a boat, where I could have thrown a spoon, or spinner, or even removed my float and weight and presented my bait with that slow fall that I'm such a big fan of. I feel confident that a boat would have allowed me to find, and catch, some bigger fish.

I fished with jigs, of various kinds, tipped with either waxworms, mealworms, or crickets. And they all produced fish, although a lively bait certainly out produced a motionless one.

On my way out I stopped and talked to a family who was also bank fishing, and asked about their luck. They had been there over an hour, and were still waiting on their first fish. The other anglers I saw were all in boats.

Certainly, conditions were not at their prime for catching fish. The water was low, the weeds pretty bad in spots, the heat has taken its toll, and I didn't have a boat. However, I managed to catch fish anyway, and while I can't control the weather, I could have taken my boat.  Somehow though, that didn't fit in with the spirit of this adventure.

By way of comparison, I came home and hit our ponds, to use up my bait. I caught 25 fish in an hour, all of them over 8 inches, with probably half that number between 9-10". But that's not unexpected, and it's not the point. The purpose of my trip to public water was twofold. To fish in the spot where a 3 pound+ BG came from, and to see if I could find fish in an unfamiliar BOW, from the bank. I'm satisfied on both counts.

 

[Walt Foreman]

That is awesome that you're going down there to fish - if a two-pounder just came from there, sounds like the place still has the magic!  I'll be looking forward to hearing how you do.