DELAWARE, OH – If you can get to Alum Creek Lake, do so by all means! The crappies are in the shallows hanging around wood. Largemouth bass are hitting soft plastics like Zoom plastic worms and Venom Better beevers. Live minnows are great under a bobber for the crappies, but crappies are also hammering small jigs.
Boat anglers can cover more water, but savvy bank anglers are having success too. At a recent Perry County Anglers tournament, Ed Snider took first place with a five-fish limit that weighed over 13 pounds. Ed caught 10 keeper bass that day as well as 8 or 9 bass not quite 12 inches long.
In the cove behind the Alum Creek Lake Marina, Rich Zweifel and I had five keepers on Inland Fish Ohio Day. Most of them were caught by Rich using a black grape Zoom finesse worm on a Texas rigged hook. My bass was caught on a blue black Bitsy Flip jig with a dark blue Zoom Super Chunk Jr.
A couple days later, I returned to Alum and caught several bass on the same Bitsy Flip in the Marina Cove. I also saw a guy fishing for crappies from the bank who was catching nice crappies.
Remember, the Cheshire Boat Ramp is under construction and the road to the ramp is closed. Use the Galena ramp or the ramp on the west side of the lake on Hollenback Road.
On Inland Fish Ohio Day, I fished with the Ohio Division of Wildlife’s Inland Fisheries Program Administrator, Rich Zweifel. The guy put on a clinic with Texas rigged Zoom plastic worm. Fishing from 8 a.m. to nearly noon with Rich could not have been a better time. Of course, I’d like to have a do over on our return to the marina.
The sharp right turn I made allowed a wall of water to sweep over Rich like a Myrtle Beach breaker. Sorry, Rich. Even with the dousing you took, I had a great time.
Governor Mike DeWine had a squadron of grandsons with him on a pontoon boat that returned to the dock with a cooler of crappies. Chief of the Division of Wildlife Kendra Wecker fished with Captain Lawless and they also returned to the marina with a cooler full of keeper crappies. Following the fishing experience all the guest anglers were treated to a great lunch that featured fresh fish.
Many thanks to all the Division of Wildlife staff who made this day so successful. Gov. DeWine’s commitment to anglers continues to make Inland Fish Ohio Day and the Lake Erie Fish Ohio Day great experiences for all those who attend.
So, who caught the most fish? That would be Tadgh Dudukovich. Smallest fish was a tiny perch caught by Camden Baker with big bass legend Solomon Curtis landing the biggest fish of the day.
The fish are biting at Alum Creek Lake. Get there if you can and always….
STAY SAFE AROUND THE WATER!!!
