Lake Shelbyville Fishing Report

Best Bet...Crappie

The lake is about two feet high and slowly falling back to summer pool. Water temps are running 81, and the water is gin-clear.

For the serious walleye fishermen, they are still picking up fish pulling bottom bouncers and spinner rigs, but not near the numbers they were a few weeks back. I believe every year about this time, the walleye start feeding at night due to extreme heat gin-clear water and ski boat pressure.

Best Bet...Crappie/ White Bass/ Walleye

A lot has happened since the last report. The lake jumped 5.8 ft, bringing it to 2.8 ft. over summer pool. That is a ton of water. But the good news is that since we were low anyway the Corp just let it fill. When they do that the lake does not fill with mud and ruin the fishing for several weeks.

The color of the water is just fine and the surface temps are in the high seventies low eighties. This has caused some white bass jumps but nothing like a decade ago. These days the bait fish schools are smaller so you must use your electronics to find the white bass out on drops or on gravel and sandy areas. They are bunched up and a jigging spoon or one of our Candystripers cast to them and pop it off bottom works very well.

Best Bet...Crappie/Walleye

The lake is still three-feet low and very clear except way up near the mouth of both rivers where it is pretty stained. Water temps are running 75-80.

The crappie have spawned and moved out to the deep basins all over the lake. Just off ledges or over deep brush. They are bunched up and hungry trying to recover from the spawn.

Our guides are both spider rigging and slip bobber fishing with live bait and boy oh boy are they catching them. I talk with John and Brian about every day and they are getting days in the hundred fish or more.

Best Bet….Crappie/Walleye/Sauger/White Bass, take your pick

Water temps on the surface are running 70-75 and the lake currently is about four-feet under summer pool. The color is slightly stained on the north end and gin clear on the south since we have not had heavy rains hit it for several days.

The eggs are pouring out of the female crappie and I believe the full moon on the 29^th the crappie and bass spawn will be complete. Yeah there will be some eggs in fish and anglers saying the spawn isn’t over clear through mid-summer but believe me it is almost done.

To catch the last of the pre-spawn crappie you will need to fish live bait over and in heavy brush or down trees in the six to eight foot range basically anywhere on the lake.

Best Bet... Crappie, Walleye, and Sauger

Water temps on the north end are running about 65-70 degrees, so it has warmed up considerably. The Corp has slowed the drawdown as well. Currently, the lake is four-feet under summer pool, and very soon the Corp will change the rule curve and allow it to reach normal summer pool.

The crappie spawn is well underway on the north end, and soon with the rising water, this will bring in a whole new batch of spawning crappie. The larger fish have learned through the years to wait it out. Right now is that time up on the north end as my guides have been seeing some very nice fish this past week running in that pound to the nearly two-pound range.

As I have said many times, jigs work fine but I prefer a large to most angler’s minnow under a slip bobber. Male crappie do not want these predators near their beds, and they have been guarding them for some time so are extremely hungry. Besides at these water temps the male Largemouth Bass are moving up into these same areas the crappie use and it is a ball to hang onto one of these on light tackle. We have one that guards the same stump every year, and we have named him Elmer and many of my clients have caught and released him sometimes more than once in the same day. I always get kids coming up to me during show season and asking how Elmer is. Last I saw him; he was pushing five pounds.