LAKE LU Fishing Newsletter
January March May July September November Inches of Rainfall Three Year Rainfall Comparison 12 10 8 6 4 2016 Monthly Rainfall 2015 Monthly Rainfall 2014 Monthly Rainfall 2 0
January March May July September November Number of Anglers per month Three Year Monthly Angler Attendance Comparison 600 500 400 300 2016 Angler Attendance 2015 Angler Attendance 2014 Angler Attendance 200 100 0
January February March April May June July August September October November December Number of Bass Caught Three Year Bass Harvest Comparison 900 800 700 600 500 400 300 200 100 0 2016 Number of Bass Harvested 2015 Number of Bass Harvested 2014 Number of Bass Harvested
January March May July September November Number of Bream caught Three Year Bream Harvest Comparison 2000 1800 1600 1400 1200 1000 800 600 400 200 0 2016 Number of Bream Harvested 2015 Number of Bream Harvested 2014 Number of Bream Harvested
We got 6.45 inches of rainfall for April 2016. The water temperature is 75 F at the surface. Secchi is at 32 inches.
April bass fishing was terrible on average. Bass began spawning at the end of March, and remained on bed with lock jaw until the end of the month of April. Bass that were coming off bed began to hit plastic worms, flukes and crank baits once again. Bass are approaching their summer patterns and will begin to slow down once again as the hot weather comes in. Bass fishing was good for the pros and poor for the novices. I have a feeling that May and June will be good bass fishing months. The 3 biggest mistakes that anglers of any type (both bass and bream anglers) make at Lake LU are as follows:
1. They use too heavy lead weights. The range of bullet type worm weight that works the best at Lake LU ranges from 1/8 th to 1/16 th. Only in the winter is a heavier weight needed and then only 3/16-1/4 ounce. In the summer I recommend using NO lead. 2. Anglers use too heavy pound test monofilament fishing line. The best weight line to use for bream fishing is 6-pound test. For bass fishing I recommend 10-pound test line. 3. Most anglers seem to think that the best fishing is on beautifully clear bluebird sunny days. This is not the case. Sunny days may make for a great day of fishing, but they do not make for a good catching day.
Mitch Henderson caught this nice 9-pound bass in early April on a jig and pig.
Mitch Brumbeloe caught this nice 8.5-pound bass one day while fishing with his father. Here Mark Grant is posing with his favorite glide bait. Mark is graduating and leaving UWA. He says that he will miss Lake LU the most.
Maybe that big, goofy glide bait works Mark! Those are some nice fish. Photo by Hannah McCurty.
Jerome Brown caught a nice 7.5 pound 22.25-inch bass with a fluke. Suzy Fortner caught and released this 4.5-pound slot bass towards the end of April. As I had forecast, bass fishing greatly improved after the bass spawn. 2016 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
Bluegill fishing has been pretty good for the month as compared to the beginning of the year. Many anglers are making the mistake that bream will be biting crickets. This is not the case. Bluegill and shell crackers are both preferring to hit very small red worm wigglers. The weather has to get warmer before panfish will hit cricket very well.
James Walker caught 31 bream for 12.5 pounds.
Jerry Jones caught a whopper 2-pound shell cracker in April.
Jerome Brown caught a slab 1.5-pound shell cracker just last week.
The blue flags returned in full bloom. I m sure glad that I planted these flowers over at the Civic Center all those years ago. Big Troll Bridge.
Pale Indian Plantain.
Rigid Verbena.
Verbena bunny boy. If anyone wants any information regarding fishing, nature trails or prairie wildflower blooming times, please give me a call at 205-652-9266 or e-mail me at lrr@uwa.edu. Feel free to visit the Lake LU website at www.lakelu.uwa.edu. Thank you,
Robby Limerick Lake Manager Lake LU The University of West Alabama lrr@uwa.edu 1-205-652-9266. All photos by R. Limerick unless otherwise noted.