|
|
| Shellbyville is very slow. Things have got to change. Alot of boats out there fishing with very little to show for it. The water has cleared up a bit but there has been no shad die off this year. Water temps are main lake 52 to 53 and the backs of the coves are up to low 60,s. The lake has come up over 3 feet in the last month. There are shad everywhere in the lake from shallow to the deepest water you can find. If things don't change there after this weekend I am heading to Kinkaid. The fishing is the worst I have ever seen there ever. You would swear that there aren't muskies in the lake. I have talked to alot of people and everyone has been saying the same thing. I would keep going to Kinkaid. Last year by this time we had over 20 fish boated, this year 1 and lost one and not a single follow! Both trolling and casting has been poor! Things could change, but it hasn't as of yesterday. We have been out there all day 5 of the last 8 days and the fishing is very very slow! Steve I have even more bad news for you. Next weekend there are 2 Chicago area muskie club outings at the same time on Shellbyville. If I wasn't already committed to my clubs outing, I would be going to Kinkaid. Chad Cain is catching fish down there according to his web site. Wish I had better news!
Rick Mikel |
|
| |
|
Posts: 2024
| Report 4/10:
Weather: cloudy, S-SE wind, 10-15 mph
Water: low (maybe slightly above winter pool, 594'), stained mostly, muddy north, clearer south
Structure: timber coves (Bouy, Lick Creek), bare coves, main lake points
Baits: 1 oz. rattletraps, 6" Jake, 10" Jake, Shallow Invader, VooDoo Tail
Water Temp: 54-55 in/near Lithia, up to 58 near Wolf
Other notes: no follows, no nothing... sounds like that was the general consensus for most. The backs of coves out of the wind held some baitfish. I too wish we had better news. We will be leaving Shelby until Fall, and hitting Evergreen for the rest of Spring (or at least until there are reports of people actually catching fish). |
|
| |
|
| No Muskies  ,
I need some assistance, I am an amature muskie hunter with only one descent muskie under my belt with about 3yrs of muskie fishing. A friend and I have made plans for a weekend trip to Shelby this weekend. I'm wondering if this will be a mistake since all reports seem to piont toward not going. I myself have never been there but I've heard it's really nice. I live in the Naperville area and would appreciate any advice to a good lake to go to within 3 hrs or so away. My few muskies came from Shabbona but I haven't seen anything as of yet this year(no follows but had briefly spotted 2 36"-38" muskie just sitting at the top of the water sunning) Should I try my luck at Shabbona again and hope to not get skunked or hit up Kinkaid or Evergreen and drive the extra hrs? Shabbona seems to get alot of pressure for such a small lake and thats one of the reasons I'm starting to not like going there. I just want to catch a nice 2004 muskie before I give up hope in IL. PLEASE HELP!
Thankyou in advance for a speedy responce,
Sincerely: Wandering Fisherman
P.S. any other suggestions are welcome
|
|
| |
|
| One last question<
What muskie clubs are going to shelby ang how many people are in each club.
Thanks again,
Dave C. |
|
| |
|
Location: Minneapolis, MN | Chicagoland and Fox River Valley both have outings on Shelby this weekend. I don't know how many from Chicagoland. Last I heard from FRV was about 30 guys. |
|
| |
|
Posts: 2024
| Dave,
This time of year is the hardest in terms of fishing Shelbyville. The main factors, IMHO, that make it hard to fish are the inconsitant weather and ever-changing water levels. We have not had great success this Spring and have decided to fish the remainder of Spring at Evergreen and/or Spring Lake. From your post it looks like you don't want to drive too far. Evergreen is near Bloomington, and Spring is near Pekin. They are probably less than two hours from you. It would probably take close to four hours to get down to Shelbyville.
If I were you I might take my chances on Shabbona or Evergreen if you're looking for a decent sized fish. If you don't care what size fish you catch, definately hit Spring. They are both good lakes within easy driving distance from Naperville. You also might want to look into getting a guide if fishing Evergreen. Also, Evergreen has a 10 HP limit and Spring has a 25 HP limit. If you have any other questions you can email me at [email protected]. I'd save Shelbyville for the fall (September through November) if I were you.
Edited by esox50 4/12/2004 8:54 AM
|
|
| |
|
Posts: 259
Location: Alexandria, MN | Thanks for the honest reports and opions!
We will be hitting Shelbyville this week and try everything we can -- maybe one of our northern
tricks will fool a southern muskie. We will let you know.
The fish have to start biting sometime -- don't they? Maybe try that cheese idea.
Steve |
|
| |
|
| Steve
These guys are not kidding you! It is the dead sea out there on Shellbyville. It is so slow that some of us from are clubs are thinking about going some where else. It sucks!
Rick Mikel |
|
| |
|
Posts: 259
Location: Alexandria, MN | Thanks, Rick
It sounds like everyone is in agreement on this one. I think we are still going to
hit Shelby on Thursday -- Then you never know, we might be driving to Evergreen
or Kincaid, maybe even up to Shabby? We are just going Muskie Fishing! Going out
to have some fun and see what happens.
I will report where we end up and what we find.
Good luck to everyone! I hope things turn around.
|
|
| |
|
| Hey guys,
I wouldn't give up on Shelbyville just yet. My fishing partner and I left for Shelbyville after work last Thursday and made the 13 hour trip down there. On Friday we boated a small one (32") and lost a real nice one (mid to upper 40). On Saturday the 10th we had a day we won't forget for a long time. We caught a 44, 40.5, 40, 40, 39.5, 36 and lost two other nice fish in the 39-42" range. I can't give you all the details, however I'll let you know that all fish except the 39.5" came on a Gray Ghost jerkbait. So if that's slow, I'd sure like to make it down there when they turn on! By the way the Gray Ghosts are available at www.thornebros.com |
|
| |
|
Posts: 2024
| Swen,
How often do you come down and fish Shelbyville? Given your distance, I assume you don't go down much. If you do get down a lot, feel free to disregard this post. But if you don't, I was wondering if you'd be willing to share some more info for the folks that do fish Shelbyville on a regular basis. As you can see, some of us regulars are VERY frustrated. We would like to have the success you two had, but need to know where to start. I'm glad that Shelbyville might be turning on, but if you don't come down much, why hold back some of that info? Swen man, I'm pleading with you. If you don't want to reply here, you can email me at [email protected]. Thanks. |
|
| |
|
Posts: 2691
Location: Pewaukee, Wisconsin | Swen,
Stacy and Matt make a great jerk bait. We fished along side of them for almost the whole PMTT qualifier at the Cave this past weekend.
I too like their baits with good results. Have you seen the special colors he made this Spring?
How good do you know them? Did you just try one of there hounders and like it?
My partner and I got a set of custom colors that are awsome.
Great baits, they produce big fish.
Matt and Stacy had a mid 40's going but could not get her to eat on Saturday in the PMTT.
Dick Heckel had the fish on later but lost it.
Drop me a e-mail and I might have something you might like.
[email protected]
You can also get Grey Ghost baits at Smokey's Muskie Shop in Pewaukee
|
|
| |
|
| i fished shelby for 2 days Fri and Sat and no luck. no muskies seen and no follows. water is very, very murky! me and my partner trolled and casted about everything possible, mainly the southern end of the lake. very dissapointed . alot of boat traffic on Sat. Does anyone know of any success stories at shelby???? help |
|
| |
|
Posts: 2024
| I too am very interested in hearing other's reports. I am fishing a tourney there this weekend and need some info to base my game plan off of. Thanks! Weren't there a few guys from this board that were fishing it and said they'd give a report???.... |
|
| |
|
Posts: 135
Location: Elgin, IL | Me and a couple buddies fished Shelbyville on Saturday and Sunday this past weekend as part of a chapter (FRV) outing. We fished the southern half of the lake around the dam and Lithia Springs. We spent most of our time casting and had no luck at all. Tried main lake structure as well as coves. No dice. Had one mid 30s fish follow.
There was a large number of boats trolling in Lithia both days and from what we saw and heard, there was some pretty decent action on a sporadic basis. Watched some bass fishermen fight a mid forties fish for at least 45 minutes before netting it. Felt bad for the fish. Saw a couple more upper 30's fish being netted. Talked to another guy in our chapter who boated 2 on Saturday and at least 3 on Sunday. All ranging from the low 30's to 45 inches. All while trolling. Smaller cranks. Not sure what the hot color pattern was.
We tried trolling intermittently both Saturday and Sunday but didn't stick with it long enough to pick up any fish. Old habits die hard. Good luck!
Mark |
|
| |
|
Posts: 259
Location: Alexandria, MN | Well, it doesn't sound like we missed too much.
I had to cancel our trip down last weekend, family and work issues -- just couldn't
get away. Still would have liked to get out, even a no fish day has it's good points.
Hope you guys start seeing some action, all this rain can't help the water clarity.
Good Luck,
Steve |
|
| |
|
Posts: 5
| Dave,
I grew up on the South side of Chicago and then lived near Shelbyville for 13 years and I agree that Musky fishing there is tough until fall arrives. I now live in the Des Moines, Iowa area, while I do have some waters I target near here for Muskies the going can be tough. I am a avid Musky Hunter and I would suggest you look into Webster Lake in Indiana, it has a good population of Muskies with some real dandies. The driving distance is much shorter than Shelbyville and I think you will enjoy the trip.
Once the season opens up there are several nice lakes in Wisconsin that are also within a 3-4 hour drive.
Contact me if you want additional information on specific area lakes, I'll share what I can. Don't get discouraged, once you get zeroed in on a few techniques and waters you'll enjoy the rewards you get from targeting the king of all freshwater fish.
Good Fishing! |
|
| |
|
Posts: 20281
Location: oswego, il | How has shelbyville been lately? Looks like we are headed there saturday, my dad's new boat trailer is in at the marine dealer down there. Is it a bank casting or trolling bite? |
|
| |
|
Posts: 37
| Troll lithia and the dam Todd fish are not on the casting bite. Wish I could be down there but have to work. |
|
| |
|
Posts: 20281
Location: oswego, il | Hit shelbyzoo yesterday afternoon. Hoped to get our earlier but the dealer was so busy with sold boats it took almost 5 hours to get the new trailer. Fished from 3:30-8pm. Caught one bass trolling. No escape from the cigarrette and houseboats, they were even in the coves. Thought I was on the fox chain. No place to be on the weekends between the holidays.
Edited by ToddM 6/6/2004 8:52 PM
|
|
| |
|
Posts: 117
Location: champaign, illinois | The Lake Shelbyville Muskie Club had an outing Saturday and everybody blanked except for my wifes small bassette!
4 boats out, 60 man-hours of fishing (one team left early), and not one muskie seen! (But the gar were out in huge numbers...)
Craziest year yet for those #*^@ stinky fish!
Jay
Lake Shelbyville Muskie Club www.shelbyvillemuskie.com
and
Illinois Muskie Tournament Trail www.illmuskie.com |
|
| |
|
Posts: 561
Location: Monee, Illinois | Anyone been out on Shelby at all? Thinking about going Sunday and Monday? Anything????..............
PGA |
|
| |
|
Posts: 37
| most people dont fish shelbyville this time of year. Water gets to hot. |
|
| |
|
Posts: 2024
| We were out this past Saturday and the water was way too hot for our taste. We hit it in the evening and even then it was in the low 80s. I strongly encourage you to reconsider fishing Shelbyville.
However, I would encourage you to give the spillway a shot. The water being pulled from the dam is from deep in the water column, making it much cooler and subsequently the spillway cooler than the main lake. Also, the churning of the water creates a lot of oxygen. If there's any current it'll make it that much better (for the fish anyway). Even still, exercise caution when handling fish down there in this heat. I have not actually taken a thermometer down there, but would expect it to be much cooler than the main lake. |
|
| |
|
Posts: 561
Location: Monee, Illinois | I agree with you Esox50. With the big rain they got down there yesterday and the next 3 or 4 nights are spose to be in the lower 50's and day time highs of only mid 70's this should bring the water temp down. I was planning on the spill way also. I will let you know how I did if I go. Might be my last two days off until September. I was also thinking of heading up to Wisconsin. Then again it all depends on the chicky you know.
pga |
|
| |
