Little Pigeon Creek by Ohio River ... Yankeetown,IN

[Moose1am]

Any of you fellow Hoosiers ever fish the Little Pigeon Creek where it emties into the Ohio River near ALCOA? This is upriver from the Newburgh, IN damn.


I went there today and looked at the creek near the launch ramp by Yankeetown. This launch ramp is a single boat launch ramp but it's not too bad. There is parking for about 10 trailers or maybe a few more if you park just right. I saw four trucks and boat trailers there at Noon today. Three looked like they belonged to pleasure boats and one was a fishing boat. You can tell by the size of the trailers. And I saw one boat launching that was definately a water ski boat. I figure the other two larger trailers may have been big bass boats.

The sign on the site says ALCOA and Indiana DNR fish and Wildlife something. So I figure that the Indiana DNR has something to do with this launch ramp. It appears that the launch ramp is about a mile up the creek from where the creek empties into the Ohio River. The river is at about 15ft today and last week it was down to 12 ft at the Newburgh Lock and damn site. Not sure where exactly they take the river level readings.

This little pigeon creek looked pretty fishy. Quiet water without much flow and lots of huge stumps and snags along the bank and out into the shallow water. Someone at the bait shop yesterday said that the creek also is pretty deep. So I guess it's perfect for the crappie. Not sure if the crappie will be up in there in this hot weather but I bet in the spring time some huge Ohio River Slabs may run up this creek to spawn and get out of the Ohio River's Currents.

If it cools down I think I will take my boat over to this creek and give it a try for crappie. A slip bobber rigged to fish in 5ft depths might work. The water was stained to muddy from what I can see. But we have had some rain the past two weeks and it may take a while to clear up.

[Glenn]

We fished there 4-5 times a year back in the early sixties. Mostly from the bank. Very close to to the mouth of the creek. Minnows under slip bobbers.
I can't recall ever catcting great numbers of crappie, but the ones we did catch were quality fish (13-15 inches). I think between me and Dad, about a dozen were a normal stringer.

[Moose1am]

Thanks Glenn. I appreciate the response. I am looking into any information I can get about this little pigeon creek. I found some info on the web. The web site showed that the areas upstream had low DO levels but nothing else bad was said about the creek.


It sure looks fishy with all the submerged stumps along the edge of the creek.

Water was not moving much yesterday. I guess its flow depends on how much rain and water is draining though the creek and the Ohio River Level.

Also in the spring time I expect it to be better as the creek water may be a lot warmer than the Ohio River which could draw the crappie up into the warmer waters. Same for the fall weather as the creek water may cool off faster than the river.

The boat ramp looks to be about a 1/2 miles from the mouth of the creek where it dumps into the Ohio River. But I am just guessing at this and have not taken the time to actually measure the distances on my topo maps. I need a special device to follow the river and record the number of cm on the map. They sell those at Evansville Blueprint company and I intend to get one of them things someday. Until then I just look at the map legend and try to guess how long the creek is.

I am encourged by your report of the fish being large. I am looking to find a spot where I can catch some bigger crappie.

Have you ever fished Hovey's Lake in the past?

We fished there 4-5 times a year back in the early sixties. Mostly from the bank. Very close to to the mouth of the creek. Minnows under slip bobbers.
I can't recall ever catcting great numbers of crappie, but the ones we did catch were quality fish (13-15 inches). I think between me and Dad, about a dozen were a normal stringer.

[Glenn]

I was drafted and left Evansville in 1965. Have not lived there since. I think Hoveys became known for it's crappie fishing after that. I know many of the fisherpeople in my family speak well of the place. We fished private lakes, stripper pits and of course a couple of trips to Ky Lake every spring.