Conneaut Lake Report 03/25/09

I had to meet someone near Conneaut Lake yesterday around 2 in the afternoon. Not one to miss an opportunity to fish new water, I brought the boat along. I have never fished this lake before so I was completely blind, not to mention the weather was NASTY. I pulled up to that little ramp by the PFC office at around 4:45. The wind was blowing something fierce and almost convinced me to stay off the lake.

I've gone this far I might as well put in, right? After discovering how freakin' shallow the mouth of that place is, I was on my way. I headed to the other side of the lake. I figured I might as well make the run because fishing in that 30 mph wind was going to be nearly impossible. I assumed I could some how get out of the wind, but wasn't sure where I was going or where the fish might be. On the way there I was definitely questioning my sanity...I was running wide open into a 30 mph wind so it felt like I was doing about 85, and I was taking rain in the face that could of pressure washed my deck.

Noticing the water was a chilly 39 degrees, i figured any chances of me finding a decent bite was very low. I've always wanted to get on this lake to check it out, so this was my chance. I was amazed at the depth. In the center of her I marked humps starting at 45 FOW that rose up to 25 FOW. Pretty impressive, to say the least. Cruising around with my eyes glued to my electronics, trying to figure out what kind of water I was on, I started marking a few fish. At this point the rain is coming down, my hands and face were wet, and I was getting cold.

The wind was blowing extremely hard so I didn't have a choice but to drop anchor. First try with the anchor, I was in perfect position to fish the marker I threw out. I was on the deep side of a 15 foot high hump that bottomed in 44 and rose to 29. A drop shot with some heavy weight was the only thing I could think would work in these cold, windy conditions.

Completely "dead sticking" the rod I managed to get my first bite in about 20 minutes using a finesse worm. A small bass about 1 1/2 pounds was the first to come to hand, followed by 6 others that all could have passed for brothers. After a couple of adjustments, I found 2 smouthmouth that wanted to eat. Neither being large, but one would go 2 lbs I think. After I could no longer feel my hands OR my face, I decided it was time to leave.

I managed to mark 11 spots to fish within about 4 hours on the lake, and I imagine there are tons more. Whether or not these new "honey holes" hold fish or not...well, that's yet to be determined. Like I always tell others, you will always find out more about a body of water when you just go look for yourself. When the fishing is slow is when you need to get out and find more spots. With no pressure to catch fish, you'll find yourself motivated to fill your GPS up with places to fish.

Considering the weather, the fact I've never been on this lake, and the 39 degree temp, I counted this day a success.
So if you saw a green boat skimming across that lake yesterday, that was me, because I was the only moron out fishing.

Air Temps...41(L) 48(H)
Winds...Southeast at 20-25 Gusting to 30
Water Temps...39
Fished from (PM)4:30-7:45