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 0
January March May July September November Number of Anglers per month Three Year Monthly Angler Attendance Comparison 450 400 350 300 250 200 150 100 50 0 2017 Angler Attendance 2016 Angler Attendance
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 2017 Number of Bass Harvested 2016 Number of Bass Harvested 2015 Number of Bass Harvested 0
January March May July September November Number of Bream caught Three Year Bream Harvest Comparison 1200 1000 800 600 400 2017 Number of Bream Harvested 2016 Number of Bream Harvested 2015 Number of Bream Harvested 200 0
The wet season continues! We got 4.3 inches of rain at the lake for the month of May. Secchi disc readings indicate 19 inches of visibility. Water temperature is 84 F. The fertilization of the water is going according to plan and the lake will remain a constant green shade until the cold weather returns in November.
I didn t have any big bass photos for the newsletter this month. I did get reports of several 5 and 6-pound bass being caught, but without photo documentation they are just fish stories. Jay Haffner, District 3 Fisheries supervisor, came down with the district s shock boat and performed an electro-survey of the lake. The water was very green and his results were not what we expected. We shocked up several 5 and 6-pound bass, but not that many small bass. The largest bass was about 8 pounds and a few larger ones jumped out of the electrical field. One important fact revealed by the shock of the lake is that the fish are in the trees. The Katrina Pile held the most big bass. Open water was the poorest shock site.
This is a photo of a 4-pound bass that was shocked up during the survey. It is a tagged bass that developed a lesion around the tag that we put in its dorsal fin area. I was unable to find the data sheet on this fish when it was originally caught and tagged. If I find the information I will try to include it in a later newsletter. It was a particularly nasty lesion probably caused by the tags constant movement causing irritation to the fishes skin.
2017 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 harvest REDUCED to 25 bream per person per day
The bream fishing really picked up in May. Anglers were catching nice amounts of slab bluegill and the preferred bait was crickets. The best presentation was with the use of a casting bubble. Anglers put about 4 feet of line beyond the bubble to the hook and bait. The heavy casting bubble allows the extra-long line to cast very easily for great distances. Some anglers preferred to add a split shot to the rig, while others chose a weightless cricket. The panfish really started biting crickets in May!
This is a cooler full of some great eating! This was a nice shell cracker.
Mrs. Gloria Clark (pink shirt) and Shea Pruitt (navy shirt) are at the lake every Wednesday and Sunday. Here they are posing with a nice catch of bream. Mrs. Gloria says she often gets to the lake at 5 am and waits for me to open the gates. She wants to be the first person in line so she can get to the honey hole first!
This was a nice knot head bull bream that was caught by an angler in May. Note the big bulbous forehead on this fish. This bream was approaching the one-pound mark. REMINDER: Bream harvest has changed and anglers may only catch 25 bream per person per day.
This wet weather we have been experiencing has really got the nature trails bright and lush with all the plant growth. I have a feeling that the dry season is right around the corner so get out and enjoy the May flowers that the April showers have brought us.
The Farm Safety Day was held at Lake LU in early May. We had about 100 children come to the lake to learn various safety topics ranging from electric line safety, food safety and hunting and tractor safety. The April showers brought the May flowers!
I m glad to know that I can still string trim around the lake even though I will be turning 50 years old next spring. The upper end of the lake into the creek channel is especially green and lush this time of the year.
My aquatic biology professor Dr. John McCall used to say to us in lecture that an abundance of amphibians indicated good health in an aquatic ecosystem. This is a photo of tadpoles that are growing in Lake LU and there must be hundreds of thousands of them in the water. 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.