Tip:Read DNR's Lake Surveys

[CMorg]

I have never really contributed any bit of big help to this site ( as im still learing myself ) Anyway I am sure alot of you guys take the time to do some homework on your favorite lakes , or new ones your going to goto. I like to goto the states DNR website and read the most recent lake survey conducted. Here's a link to my favorite lake http://www.in.gov/dnr/fishwild/files/Dogwood_Lake.pdf
The first thing I look for is Water Clarity , look for the Secchi disk reading , the higher the number the clearer the water will be. Also alot of times they will give the disolved oxygen count , or how deep the fish can live at ( in my linked lake it is down to 22 ft. , with the max depth of the lake at 44' , that tells me there is no use fishing lower than 22 ft. ) combine that info to a topography map and you may eliminate some unproductive water. The other thing you may find useful is the max depth and average depth of the lake ( you probably already know if you have topo maps ). The second thing I look for is fish counts , they tell me what the most abundant fish is ( in my lake it is bluegill ) so I know what one of the food sources is. I will use bluegill imatation cranks , swimbaits and spinnerbaits , and eliminate shad since they dont exist in my lake. The fish study also tells the size range of fish caught. Figure one tells where the fish surveys were taken and what method they used. There also is information on acquatic vegitation , depth at which it grows and what kind it is , they also have a figure that shows these test sites. I believe these to be a good source of information that allows me to try to find possible holding spots and feeding grounds when used in conjunction with topography maps. I hope to have not mislead anyone , and I hope this may teach some of the younger anglers to do some at home research.

[MississippiBoy]

Wow, that's a lot of good info, CMorg. I wish our DNR had that much detail on their website. All I can get is a depth map (for most lakes), a "current" fishing report (which may be a week old), and a water temperature (sometimes).

[CMorg]

Our DNR site has fishing reports also , I dont know how much you can go by it , but they also list water temps. Thats some good info too really. They tell how deep people are catching bluegill , bass and all fish.

[JB]

As much the dnr stops everyone around here, I am sure they know what s hitting and where on the lake, everyone usually talks about the days catch once his inspection of the boat and license part is over with...

[Jim80]

Ours gives fishing reports but not much useful info otherwise another good on is look to see if there is a local board in your state and try to rake some of the locals for info .

Jim

[aikenyounggun]

thats a good tip..... i have never been to our DNR website for fishin reports..... got to take the boater safety course but have never seen anything like what you are talkin about.... guess i have to go look now

[MallenManson]

I'll hafta check to see if there's any fishing reports on Michigan's.

[dtyukody]

After you get to the DNR section where did you go exactly to get the lake surveys? Can't seem to find them. I fish IN as well. thanks

[aikenyounggun]

i went to mine (SC) and it didnt have lake reports but it showed where all the fish attractors were.... the fish attractors that they had put down

[CMorg]

Originally Posted by dtyukody

After you get to the DNR section where did you go exactly to get the lake surveys? Can't seem to find them. I fish IN as well. thanks

They have a section where you can search up top. Type in the name of the lake your looking for , then search dnr. It will come back with alot of results , just look for fish management , of lake survey.

[CMorg]

Originally Posted by aikenyounggun

i went to mine (SC) and it didnt have lake reports but it showed where all the fish attractors were.... the fish attractors that they had put down

Thats some good info too...