Yatesville A Day On the Water



By; Chris "Trimmer" Erwin


Planning a day on the water for your family can be more of a task than what you might think, with care, planning, and some help it can be an outing that will be remembered for years to come.

I wanted to do just such a thing last week, my dad getting ready to turn 88 years old All the way to my grandson, including my brother and his wife all would be casting off Saturday morning.

My brother has a 24 foot pontoon boat and I have my bass boat, we felt we had everyone covered as far as space, now we just needed to find a good location to tie up the pontoon. Scott, my son, and Aaron, my grandson, would be fishing out of my boat.

After days of 80 degree weather we were sure that they all could fish a little and then go swimming, things never seen to turn out the way you plan them.

The day started off just as we planned, the water looked great, greenish blue that was something you see in a painting. The dock was busy as we put in our boats and headed out on the water.

Just to cap the water conditions, the water was warmer than I thought it would be, this water was near 80 degrees. I had been on Cave Run the week before and it was in the mid seventies, it was clear this lake was a few weeks more into the summer warm up than Cave Run.

The Bass are finished completely with the spawn on this lake, and the bluegill that I was hopping to catch this trip was in the second spawn not the first.

Bluegill spawn on the first full moon after the water temperature reaches 65 or over, it was clear this had happen long before we got there. The bluegill will spawn every month through the summer, but it is made up of smaller fish, and that's just what we were catching.

The day became overcast and the clouds started getting darker, my family started complaining that it was getting colder instead of getting warmer. All decked out in shorts and t-shirts it wasn't long till the first rain hit and the real discomfort set in for the family on the pontoon boat.

The three of us on my boat was having a ball, the overcast skies were not hurting the fishing, we may not be catching big bluegills but we were catching a lot of them along with small bass and some crappie.

We all met back at the dock about 1:00 o'clock to have lunch, at this time it was clear the pontoon boat was going home, they had enough, the wind was picking up and they were cold along with not being dressed for the cooler temperatures.

We said our good bys as Scott and I headed back out on the lake to explore some new spots.

The wind laid down for most of the evening and the fishing was good, we caught almost every kind of fish that is swimming in Yatesville, bass, crappie, bluegill, catfish, even a big old carp hit our bluegill rod as we fish the spawning beds.


The bass were in the trees and channel edges with smaller bass being positioned along the banks, the bluegills were on spawning beds on flats and sand bars, the catfish and carp were in the heads of creeks where they were rushing bluegill beds.

The baits that work best for us was crankbaits, topwater chuggers, it was clear that some plastic dragging baits would have worked but we didn't use any.

The bluegill were eager to hit the nightcrawlers, worms and small jigs we were using While the crappie wanted jigs and minnows. The crappie we caught were on crankbaits while bass fishing. The rest of the family was using minnows on the pontoon boat before they went home and the crappie and small bass were hitting them with regularity.

As the day came to a close and we headed back to the ramp we couldn't help but laugh about the day we had. The things you remember long after the day has past aren't always what you thought they would be. Catching a big old carp on 4 lb test line, on an 11 foot bluegill rod or landing the 18inch channel cat on the same outfit.

You just can't plan things to turn out this way. Seeing my dad at 88 still casting a rod and catching a fish, you can't buy memories like that. My love for nature runs through me like the blood that gives us life, it makes me happy to share it with you.

Till next time:
Good fishing
Chris "Trimmer" Erwin