LAKE LU Fishing Newsletter

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Dinah Tucker
5 years ago
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1 LAKE LU Fishing Newsletter

2 January March May July September November Inches of Rainfall Three Year Rainfall Comparison Monthly Rainfall 2016 Monthly Rainfall 2015 Monthly Rainfall 0

3 January March May July September November Number of Anglers per month Three Year Monthly Angler Attendance Comparison Angler Attendance 2016 Angler Attendance

4 January February March April May June July August September October November December Number of Bass Caught Three Year Bass Harvest Comparison Number of Bass Harvested 2016 Number of Bass Harvested 2015 Number of Bass Harvested 0

5 January March May July September November Number of Bream caught Three Year Bream Harvest Comparison Number of Bream Harvested 2016 Number of Bream Harvested 2015 Number of Bream Harvested 200 0

It was a very wet month! We got 7.1 inches of rain at the lake for the month of April. Secchi disc readings indicate 39 inches of visibility. Water temperature is 75 F.

7 It was a very wet month! We got 7.1 inches of rain at the lake for the month of April. Secchi disc readings indicate 39 inches of visibility. Water temperature is 75 F. The increased wet weather has been flushing the lake regularly and it is making fertilization of the water difficult to say the least. I like to fertilize on a Thursday, hopefully when there is going to be a two or three-day window where there will be ample sunlight to kick in the algal growth. Perhaps May will be a bit drier and sunnier so that I can get the lake to turn a nice green color and kick off great bream fishing.

8 Bass fishing has been a bit crazy this past month. Early on in the month the bass were still in full spawn and very difficult to catch. Strangely some anglers caught big bass in the middle of the lake, during the middle of the day, on buzz baits of all things. One team of bass anglers caught and removed 72 small bass for 48 pounds during one visit. They said that they threw back 36 bass; 18 that were in the slot and 18 that were too little to kill. Many times I wonder if the truth is in what anglers say, for it is in their nature to stretch the truth. As a veteran lake manager I look for the signs of success. If an angler tells me, we wore them out on a particular lure, I peek into their truck to check their rods. If he or his partner doesn t have the bragged upon lure tied onto a rod and reel in his collection, odds are the truth is not in him. Also if an angler says he and his partner caught a lot of bass, but didn t bring any out, I make them show me their thumbs. If their thumbs are all scratched up from lipping bass all day I know they are telling the truth. If their thumbs are all smooth and look like the hands of an office worker, I know the truth. Some

9 anglers can foil this assessment. I myself do not lip bass and instead catch them behind the head to get them off the hook. Nobody wants to get hooked in the thumb and still have a flopping fish attached to the lure. Rocky Rhoden and Mike Wedgeworth sent me some late photos of a successful mid-march bass fishing trip they had at Lake LU. Here we have a photo of them with each a 7-pound bass that was caught and released. They caught both bass on buzzbaits.

10 Rocky with his big bass.

11 It appears that Mike s bass was bigger due to the fat belly.

Jerry Jones caught and kept this nice 7.5-pound; 22.

Gary Shamblin caught and released this 6.5-pound bass.

12 Jerry Jones caught and kept this nice 7.5-pound; inch bass one day while he and Suzy were bream fishing on the beach. Gary Shamblin caught and released this 6.5-pound bass. Gary told me that he caught this fish on a 12-inch watermelon red plastic worm. Photo by Neal Shamblin.

Taylor Teague and Trent Humber are UWA Bass Team members that regularly fish at Lake LU. They told me that they were fishing near the dam one day and saw a dying big mouth bass.

13 Taylor Teague and Trent Humber are UWA Bass Team members that regularly fish at Lake LU. They told me that they were fishing near the dam one day and saw a dying big mouth bass. They went and picked it up and brought it to me. It was indeed dying but not yet fully expired. This fish weighed 8 pounds and was 24 inches long. I gave the fish to Miss Eunice for her supper. No need to let a good fish go to waste.

14 Charles Sprayberry had a successful first time visit to Lake LU when he caught and released this nice 6.5- pound bass BASS HARVEST REGULATION Anglers have an unlimited bass harvest at Lake LU, as long as the bass is less than 14 inches in total length. In addition, anglers may also harvest 1 fish greater than 22 inches in total length, per person, per day at Lake LU. Please continue to encourage anglers to harvest small bass. ~ Jay Haffner

15 Bluegill harvest REDUCED to 25 bream per person per day Bream fishing has been improving with the warmer weather. I told someone last month that bream are sunfish and that sunfish want the hot sun to shine on them. I remember back in the past when a bluegill angler caught the limit and the air temperature was 100 degrees! Bream bite best when it is HOT! Success rates for bream anglers using plastic jigs will continue to increase according to the same increase in fry size. Right now the best baits are very small red wigglers. Bream are just like the bass and are hanging close to

structure. Many times anglers fishing with fiberglass poles are more successful because the cane pole allows them to drop bait straight down into an old treetop.

16 structure. Many times anglers fishing with fiberglass poles are more successful because the cane pole allows them to drop bait straight down into an old treetop. Likewise, when they get a bite, the pole allows them to lift the fish straight up out of the top. A rod and reel will only allow you to drag the hooked fish across the top where it will more than likely get snarled up in the limbs. Alonzo Archibald had a nice bluegill catch one day while he was fishing on the pier. He caught 18 for 9.5 pounds and he was using a super long fiberglass pole and small red worms.

17 This is the bream that Jerry and Suzy caught the day that Jerry caught his 7.5-pound bass.

18 Ronnie Rose had a nice catch of some shell crackers one day.

19 Gloria Clark finally got into a bed of shell crackers and made a nice catch. There certainly appears to be more shell crackers in the lake now.

20 REMINDER: Bream harvest has changed and anglers may only catch 25 bream per person per day.

21 Daniel Koehn had built his own paddleboard and wanted to try it out on the lake. I was surprised to see how fast he could paddle that thing. He could have crossed the width of the lake in less than 30 seconds!

22 For years many anglers have told me that the fish quit biting, like you threw a switch in the office. Now I have the proper equipment close at hand!

23 I have finally installed the Little Free Library near the Lower Pavilion at Lake LU. The prairie is in full bloom.

24 Daniel Ratcliff, my work study student, caught this green grass snake one day while we were making trail repairs.

25 The Blue Flag Irises were nice this year. If anyone wants any information regarding fishing, nature trails or prairie wildflower blooming times, please give me a call at or me at lrr@uwa.edu. Feel free to visit the Lake LU website at

26 Thank you, Robby Limerick Lake Manager Lake LU The University of West Alabama All photos by R. Limerick unless otherwise noted.

LAKE LU Fishing Newsletter

LAKE LU Fishing Newsletter January March May July September November Inches of Rainfall Three Year Rainfall Comparison 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 2017 Monthly Rainfall 2016 Monthly Rainfall 2015 Monthly Rainfall