OddChase

Caught my first bass on Summit last night. A whopping 10 inches on a 4in weightless senko. Caught in 3 foot of water but don't think he was on a bed, hit the senko twice on the fall. Going out tonight to try and catch more with the same pattern.

It's not that I was targeting perch, I just happened to catch one on my crappie rig lol. I'm just trying to find some spots to catch some dinner during the summer and fall.

Ah thank you, I was out yesterday and caught a small perch by the dock and then went around sandy flats and couldn't get anything. Might have been the front. I'll be exploring the rest of the lake after work looking for beds. Thank you and thanks for suggesting some lures.

Calling out the Eastern Indiana guys.. I need help with Summit Lake. I know this is a bass fishing forum but being a multi-species angler myself, I enjoy catching all fish. I'm looking for any info on panfish from the bank at Summit. Send a PM if you don't want to reply on the forum. Thank you.

Middlefork does have decent bank fishing as well as 3 docks to fish from. It is very kid friendly. There is also a bait shop if you want to buy some bee larva as well as a cleaning station if you want to eat your catch later. If you wait a week or two the crappie will be shallow and spawning. Currently they are under the bigger dock about 8 foot down. The upper (North) end is the head of the lake and has a river feeding into it. Lots of catfish and bass are caught there but I don't have much luck honestly. There is a parking lot on the North end as well as nice mowed banks, for the most part. Let me know if you have any more questions! I have been fishing Middlefork for the past 15 years, just recently moving to the Summit area. Not sure how familiar you are with Richmond, but there is a nice little park called Glen Miller in the middle of the city and it has a small pond in it with bass. None are very big but my dad and I had fun one day with just a weightless senko. Catch one just about every cast. Good luck.

Went out and fished my home reservoir last night for crappie for my grandfather. My father managed to catch a lake record crappie at 13in long. Not big, I know, but for a lake where the average size is 7 to 8, this was a big fish and full of eggs. I've noticed that smaller bass (8 to 12 inches) have been feeding on top water insects all over the lake, which makes me think the spawn is nearly over. Incoming storms so won't be able to get out until the weekend.

Have you tried a spinnerbait? Seems simple but they are effective in clear water if you go with willow leaf blades.

A small city reservoir named Middlefork. The crappie don't get bigger than 8 inches but its close to my house and they still taste good. Good luck on your tournament dude!

@IndianaFinesse Went out and caught some crappie this weekend. They are still full of eggs so spawning hasn't happened on my home lake yet. Should just be another warm front and they'll be up shallow for me. Managed to catch them on a double rig with a tube jig and small artificial crappie minnow (just testing it out). They were about 8 feet deep under docks in water about 15 foot. Limited out on 2 different days in less than an hour with my father.

Slow fishing today on the river. Got 4 very small male white bass in about 4 hours. Very few fish besides walleye were being caught at Brookville. Might try going out this evening.

If you go to Brookville the white bass are running up the head water and largemouth are stacked up in Silver Creek which is also near the head of the lake. There's a boat ramp inside Whitewater State Park on Brookville Lake that puts you right where I'm talking about. Also the walleye are up cruising the flats by the northern causeway. I'll be there on Friday after I finish my finals that morning! Edit: Here's a sweet graphic I whipped up.

Did you catch these bad boys today? I haven't seen the sun at all and I'm rather jealous. I want to get out and do some fishing but these cold fronts are telling me no.

Just something about those red eyes! Great catch.

Honestly this is a bad year to try and learn the crappie spawn. This spring has been different compared to years past with the sudden jump in temperatures. Personally, I haven't been able to catch crappie in normal spawning locations but instead I found them up in creeks and inlets. The spawn usually only lasts 2 weeks at most so your timing is pretty much spot on. In regards to using something other than minnows, as a bank fisherman I use a set up with a casting float (basically a clear bobber that sits sideways) and a small tube jig with anywhere between 1 foot and 3 foot of leader. I often tip the jig with bee larva or wax worms if the bite is slow. If the crappie are spawning in full force, they'll hit anything in the water. I generally use a slow retrieve when fishing with the floating jig and it works well in 1 to 3 feet of water on the lake that I catch a lot of spawning panfish. Crappie tend to like jigs moving slowly, and they tend to look upwards for food. So the floating jig solves both of these problems you might be having with just a curly tail. This year I either missed the spawn or it hasn't happened yet. I went out last evening to try my usual spots but no hits. I wonder if the cold front had anything to do with it. I plan on trying some shallows at Summit Lake this week in between final exams, looking for bedding bass or maybe getting on some bluegill/crappie.

Oh that's awesome! Thanks. I always just go to Dick's or TW. I'll order the jig heads off TW since I have a gift certificate but I'll give the guy a visit for the plastics. Appreciate it.

Ordering my ned rig stuff now actually haha. Would you recommend buying the zinkerz and cutting them in half in order to be money efficient?

Do you still use Ned in zero visibility water? Just curious as I'm getting the parts to make the rig soon and with the incoming weather, lakes won't be clear for a week or two. Also the white bass are going to be running in full force this weekend and I'm not sure how the dirty water will effect the bite.

Small creeks and rivers are LOADED with spawning bass. There is a crystal clear creek near my house and I counted somewhere between 20 and 50 bass in a 50 foot stretch of creek. Managed to catch a new personal best at 19 inches and 5 lbs. She was my only catch as I had been down at the creek looking for crappie and did not bring my bass gear. Today will be a different story though!

Upper end of Brookeville. It's known for the white bass run but the crappie are usually first.

Nothing in life, especially fishing, can be guaranteed. However, you'll have great luck fishing some shallow flats in the coming weeks as the crappie begin spawning. Look for places where weeds or grass are coming up out of the water and have a hard/small rocky bottom. I was fishing in a small river/creek where the water was much warmer than the main lake.

Went out Saturday afternoon and slayed the crappie.. Limited out with my father in about 40 minutes. None of the fish were under 9 inches. Managed to catch a 2 lb bass using a *** Swim Bento. Also managed to catch a cat on the artificial.

How was water clarity? I'm going to try and fish Middlefork reservoir tomorrow morning in hopes of finding some early spawners

I attend BSU and have been to Summit about 20 times since December and have yet to catch anything. The weather has been awful at best so hopefully soon the bite will start up. Westwood looks good though.

That's just about the craziest thing I've ever heard.

Province by chance?