Lake Shelbyville, Shelby County (all postings)

Saturday May 18th. Spawn is over. Caught everything in 15 feet of water using minnows. We had a crappie tournament and everyone caught fish. Great day!

fished may-17,18,19.. 2 boats, 5 fishermen, 3 crappie word from anyone we talk to on the lake was that fish just shut down for the past week. we tried minnows, worms, gulp, jigs, spinners, jig and pig, rapalas, etc..shoreline, deep timbers, rocky shores, deep water trolling nothing! there was a muskie, crappie and bass tourney this weekend... we heard stories of a couple of muskies caught. of course when we were leaving, we were told that the were killing them below the spillway on leeches. go figure.

I fished the firefighters crappie tournament on 5/1. Pre-fished on 4/29. Both days started out with 58 degree water in the morning, warming to 68 in some coves by the afternoon. The water is so high and muddy it was a waste of time. Of 150 boats, I saw maybe 15 weigh a full 7 fish limit. The females have eggs but they aren't on shallow beds. It's real hard to find fish now but the key is clear water. If you can find clean(ish) water, you can catch fish. The south end is colder but a little cleaner so that's where I would look if I just had to drown some minnows.

Any crappie action lately? Coming down this week. Any water temps?

Thanks

Was in a bass tourney Saturday. Marked schools of crappie in both Eagle Creek and Lithia Springs. Most were by the trees coming into the creeks. Don't go too far back. All were close to schools of shad. Water is really low, so be careful out there

Crappie next to the trees, on a 1/16 jig tipped with small plastic light blue and sliver worked very well under a small float. Crappie were either suspended 2ft down in water 16-25ft or near the bottom. When one stopped we tried the other depth. Best trees were near the main channel, Lithia Springs was good all over.

Two fisherman and our three day trip caught about 200 crappies with many shorts. Fish were caught in the upper 3-4 feet over 10 FOW. Sun made fish more active and Saturdays cloudy/windy cold front made for a slower fish catching day.

Worked stumps with 1/16th oz jigs with small tubes, under a very small and sensitive bobber. This system worked for us and we like feeling the fish better using light rods in lew of long dipping rods.

Fish did not chase your bait cause the water was cold so you had to fish right next to each stump and sit still or light twitch for fish to bite.

Lake should warm up fast in the next few weeks and fish will be active all over the lake.

Stayed at the Spillway Motel and heard a 47 inch muskie was caught while we were here. I did not fish the spillway this trip but many people fishing it.

Foggy, water levels show steady at 538.17 feet for the last week. You can keep track of the levels using the usgs or ahps web sites. They report river levels, including army corps lakes constantly. The level should be rising slightly with the snowmelt and run off but the corps is dumping the lake water at the dam. They will continue dumping throughout spring until they maintain summer pool level. You should be able to navigate the lake with no problem now. Just stick to the high bank sides and river channels to stay away from sandbars. Good luck and tight lines.

Can anyone report on the water level of the lake?

Curious as to how high or low t is at this point.

Thanks, bob.

Was wondering if anyone has ever used the satterfield guide service? I'm not sure if mary satterfield even guides for bass anymore. I only ask since I have a few people bugging me about it for help. I fish here 4 or 5 times a year and never used a guide. They are looking for largemouth bass, thanks

I heard from Jay at the Spillway Motel and he said they are starting to catch crappies on the lake. Best bet is to fish above the brush piles which are located close to the main river channel. The north end will warm up faster and that is where I will target when me and my fishing buddy head down there on March 27th. By that time it should be in the 50's and 60's and the spillway and the lake should be turning on. Look forward to any reports on this thread before our trip.

Walleyespanker, It's nice to see guys catching fish. I first saw your pic on Heartland Outdoors (see mine on the cover of this month's issue). That's a nice 'ski. I've gotten two this year, but neither close to 40". I've been down the last two weekends and it's mostly been a buffalo rodeo. I am not joking when I say I could literaly foul hook 3 ea cast. They are stacked up in there thick. With recent rains and snows, I look for them to keep dumping the lake for at least a few more weeks. I'll be back down this weekend. One of these times it's going to pay off again.

Waugeye,

I have an update on the shelby fishing. I went down for a three day trip a week ago with a great fishing buddy of mine and we targeted crappie and walleye in the spillway and the lake (from shore).

First we went up to Bo Woods and fished the launch and shoreline and only caught one small crappie. The rest of the trip we fished the spillway for walleyes and crappie. Low and behold I picked up this 39" Muskie while I was throwing a sassy shad. I don't target Muskie but since the other fish were being stubborn I will be glad I caught anything My buddy was the hero by netting this big fish in a very little net, and he took some great photos and we let the fish go in short time.

The birds were feasting on all the stunned shad coming out of the flumes, so I think the walleyes were full too. So we will be going down next month for some 'real' fishing and will look forward on hooking up with some crop's and walleye.

The Spillway Motel is a good place to stay and is geared to the fisherman. Jay the manager has the tackle you need and will give you some good advise to get you on fish.

Good to see some activity on this page again! I haven't fished the spillway yet but might have to make a trip. Hit a local river hole on a small Illinois River trib the other day. Bad news, no marble eyes all day. This time last year they were almost done with their run. Hope to see more reports when they hit below Shelbyville, wouldn't mind a drive over there if I knew I had a chance to catch something. Keep posting...

thinking of coming down on friday the 15th to fish the spillway, is there any water coming through for walleye or sauger? thanks for the info