Hovey Lake

[Minus 1]

MooseIam I just joined last week Isee you are from the Evansville area. I figure you could tell me every thing I need to know about crappie fishing Hovey Lake. I live a mile or two out of Shelbyville , Ind. I go by the name of Braneded but I haven't figured how to put it in my prophile. Any help would be greatly appeciated...........Braneded

[Moose1am]

Hey mate:

Yes I am from this area but I have not fished at Hovey ...yet. My boat's motor is too big and there is a 10 HP engine size limit on Hovey Lake.

With that in mind I can tell you what I have read and heard about Hovey's. I use to duck hunt there with my next door neighbor when I was in college.

The lake is not that deep. It's an old oxbow lake that once was part of the Ohio River. Someday many years in the future Evansville's River front will become an Oxbow lake when the river cuts across the Henderson County Pensinula. LOL .

I read the Patoka Lake Fisheries Biologist's report and in that report he mentions the Hovey lake Crappie's growth rates. According to the State Fisheries Biologist the crappie at Hovey are underharvested and growing fast. There are numbers of big slabs in that lake.

If you want to catch some crappie at Hovey's rumor has it that the DRAIN is the place to fish. There once was an open drainage system that connected the oxbow lake to the Ohio River but the Indiana DNR built a structure across the damn to stop the free flow of water and fish too. If the Ohio River gets up above a certain flood stage the river overflows the drain and fish can enter and leave the lake.

I talked with someone recently that fished Hovey's a lot and he suggested that I go stright across the lake from the Launch and fish the treelines. I believe that is the East Side of the lake. Also the West Side of the Lake just North of the Ranger Station is said to be a good spot for springtime crappie.

The water should be stained to muddy depending on the lake and river levels.

If I had a smaller boat or a kicker motor I would fish Hoveys more often as it should be one of the best Crappie Fishing Lakes in the State. It's full of old cypress trees and it's one of the few lakes of that kind in our state.

Most guys fish with minnows. I would recommend using Chubs which are about 1" to 1.5" long. 6lb test fishing line and a long graphite jigging pole.

There are maps of Hovey's Lake online at the DNR web site and at the local Wal-mart they sell maps of fishing lakes in Indiana of which Hovey's is included in the book. Fish the bases of the Cypress Trees and move around until you start catching fish.

Hovey's is closed to fishing during Waterfowl Hunting Season so you won't be able to fish it right now. I should be open to fishermen again by March 1st of 2005. Might want to check with the Office down there to make sure of the opening dates for fishing. Last year they said it was March 1st so I am assuming that this year it will the the same day. But you should call to make sure.

MooseIam I just joined last week Isee you are from the Evansville area. I figure you could tell me every thing I need to know about crappie fishing Hovey Lake. I live a mile or two out of Shelbyville , Ind. I go by the name of Braneded but I haven't figured how to put it in my prophile. Any help would be greatly appeciated...........Braneded

[Minus 1]

Moose Thanks for the come back. I"ve got a Tracker 17.5 ft. with 15 hp but a 10 hp sticker. I"ve fished REELFOOT LAKE in Tennessee every year for the last 40 years and this Hovey Lake sounds like it"s the closest thing toit around here. Most of the time I use a 10ft B&M rod with a 1-64th oz. Grizzly jig.I 'd like to try that Bluegrass lake you wrote about too.If you"ve never fished Reelfoot , you should try it one time. I think you would luv it................................................ ............Hope to talk to you again . Regards Braneded

[dsticker]

I am heading to hovey lake tomorrow (6/30/06) Can anyone can give me an idea of what to expect and where the hot spots are? I here that it is not very deep. I am using a 8ft flat bottom with a troling motor. Thanks, David

[3's]

The lake is probably less than a 6 foot average depth. May be some holes but the structure to control the water in the drain has also allowed the lake to silt in. I believe there is a channel back to the drain and most people head there to fish. The north end is pretty shallow and some of the off takes are solid with lily pads. The east treeline is what was once known as the Dry lake area and may have a little more depth. I just work a couple miles from there and haven't heard any reports. If they were doing good someone hear would be talking about it.