INFO ABOUT CJ

Everyone understands that most people are busy, have kids, sick family members, etc, and ARE TRYING to learn the lake AND JUST CAN"T GET OUT AS OFTEN AS THEY'D LIKE...CJ can be fickle, she does not like to give up her secrets without a cost....that's why we will help anyone who wants to learn about CJ, not everyone has had the benefit of fishing CJ their entire life, or have figured out some of her secrets, or have the time to spend finding the best areas in every season or pattern....we want people to catch fish and enjoy the lake....I STILL BELIEVE THAT IF YOU LEARN THE LAKE, YOU BECOME VESTED IN IT, AND WILL HELP TO TAKE CARE OF IT! I had the luxury of meeting The guys on the thread and spent a lot of time with each...we would just sit and pick each other’s brains...what I didn't know, someone else did! We put all the pieces of the puzzle together quicker than most, and we could then understand the patterns and continue to call one another to bounce ideas or theories! Ask on this thread, how many people we have helped try to learn the lake better and if their understanding has improved...
I really didn't understand the workings of the North end that well and how it played into the rest of the lake...so I picked Doc's brain...I also picked Don's brain to help putting all of the west end in perspective...once I saw how everything worked together, it all clicked...now I can pretty much figure out patterns and where the fish are...some locations are the same so you might have to hit a few spots, but more than not you can catch what you want on any given day!

For the New Guys, let me explain what is going on....CJ is a ODNR Walleye Brood lake, what that means is that the Walleye in CJ are a Pure strain, they have no disease or defects, and CJ has perfect conditions for them to grow and prosper, the State will use them for the State stocking program....some spawning occurs at CJ but not enough to sustain a population...Walleye can be harvested during the spawning period and the eggs and sperm are taken to the hatchery to make fry and fingerlings. Sometimes they use other lakes or rivers for fry production but a Brood lake keeps it's status and Walleye are stocked every year for the fishermen also!
Back in the OLD DAYS, CJ could get upwards of 3/4 of a million fingerlings...Walleye are stocked as fingerlings because this is as big as they can be grown cheaply...at fingerling size they start eating each other if not fed massive amounts of food, SO THEY GET VERY EXPENSIVE TO KEEP ANY LONGER....Gators are voracious cannibals, they love soft rayed/finned fish and fish that have their shape...they absolutely love a nice soft shad or perch and their own smaller relatives.
The ODNR HOPES (HOPES) that out of every stocking 3% of the fingerlings survive to legal size (15 inches at CJ).
During the time BEFORE cover was placed in "THE DEAD BOWL" (what CJ was being called in her later years), over 22,500 Walleye MAY have survived every year to legal size, and to be caught by fishermen...THESE WERE THE GLORY DAYS of CJ Gator fishing....trust me, you could be a HACK FISHERMAN and catch Walleye at CJ....this is where part of the problem is coming from!
CJ took a turn for the worse after the Marina and Main boat ramp were built...they lowered the water sooo much all the vegetation/grasses, lily pads/reeds/ etc., were killed, stumps and attractors fell down or rotted, and ALOT (ALOT) of fish were flushed down the creek...this also was the time in which the natural cover had decayed...then add that all the STATE budgets were being cut due to job losses, etc, and paying for SOCIAL PROGRAMS! Everyone knows that Bitching people come before anything else and common sense seems to be lost on them! Fishing and hunting will always be one of the first things cut to pay for waste. So fishing at CJ was on a steady decline, fewer Gators, smaller fish/stunted growth, no cover, etc.
During the initial State Budget cuts (before the drops started) CJ was only getting AROUND 50,000 fingerlings, which means MAYBE 1500 survived to legal size in that year’s class....duh, and these crybabies can't figure out why their catch rates have declined!
The "Friends of CJ" and others, also had seen that the Perch Population had declined due to the loss of cover and breeding habitat...Perch lay strings of eggs over limbs, grass, etc, with flow and oxygen...so now you have less Gators, and less food, less cover, plus like on Doc's website we had some MAJOR shad kills, add on the same pressure of fishing...IT WAS THE PERFECT GATOR STORM!

WITH NO OTHER COVER IN THE LAKE, the Gators MAINLY stayed in the Mid Lake Humps...They were easy pickings for most fishermen...and fishermen BECAME LAZY, SPOILED, AND SET IN THEIR WAYS!
The Friends of CJ decide to help Gators by providing breeding cover for perch, and breeding and regular cover for other species also. We learned as we went, we found out what worked and what didn't and spent a lot of time studying and learning about other projects like this...the experience of each fisherman and knowledge of each species led to the varied cover being made and where it was added...we made a couple mistakes but most of our decisions were right on, and we have PROOF that they worked and benefitted the lake...THAT WAS THE GOAL, BENEFIT THE LAKE, AND YOU BENEFIT ALL FISHERMEN!
In the last few years, brood lakes have been allotted 100 fingerlings per acre...that's 220,000 for CJ...AND MAYBE that's 6600, per class, reaching legal size...ONE GUY told me before the drops that he used to catch a 100 Walleye a day, every time he went out (which was ALOT) and now he'll be lucky to catch 100 this year...well I'm sorry, but in years before the drops, the Walleye were like shooting fish in a barrel...Now, you might have to actually fish!

Gators Mainly feed during the DARK...this is when they have the advantage over ALL their prey, because their eyes are set up for night vision...they HATE bright sunlight...so when the sun is out they head for deep water, or humps that provide underwater shade, shady trees, vegetation, cover, anything that gets them out of the light during the day.
We have found that Gators at CJ have two distinct types of feeding behavior...Gators at night that are hunting will smash BIG lures/baits/etc, these are Gators that are actively after shad, perch, etc...these are the ones you typically can find in the shallows or areas known for perch, at night or cloudy days...then you have the Gators that are suspended or moving around during the day looking for shade as the sun moves...they will eat if a meal is easy...these are normally the light biters, that will take smaller baits, different slower techniques, etc...these fish can be finicky!

What has the cover done to CJ???
During the years before the cover drops, most of the natural cover was depleted, all of the natural vegetation was gone, and Gators pretty much only had the humps to hide in...there were a few other areas but most fishermen found the humps to be easy and productive to fish.
Now, since cover has been placed ALL-OVER the lake and VEGETATION is staring to regrow, THE GATOR HAVE NEW AREAS TO GET OUT OF THE SUN, HUNT, FEED, AND CHILL!
The BIGGEST FACTOR in the complaints, of the lack of production, from the regulars, is the fact that the WALLEY ADAPTED, AND THEY HAVE NOT!
BEFORE the cover drops the ODNR HOPED for 3% survival rate...WHAT IF THE ADDED COVER IS DOUBLING, TRIPLING, or more, the survival rate??? ...then we have gone from survival rates of HOPEFULLY 6600 Gators to 13,200 or 20,000 or more a year!
ALSO WITH THE ADDED COVER, the perch population has increased, and we haven't had a huge shad kill so the shad population IS HUGE, this has also allowed other fish food to increase....Due to all of this, WE HAVE BEEN GRANTED MORE YEARLY GATOR FINGERLINGS...TRY almost 100,000 to 200,000 more fingerlings the last couple years. Yes, for the past couple years we have been granted close to HALF a Million Gator babies!
So, because of the work put in by the FRIENDS, the population of Gators is EXPANDING!

I knew I had to adjust to the NEW LAKE, so I studied Walleye, Crappie, and Bass, I learned all their little tricks and what they liked at different times...I studied the lake, I spent time with all the knowledgeable guys in the group, I AM STILL LEARNING AND ADAPTING AT AGE 53, Heck, I've been blessed so I'll try to help anyone interested in learning! Ask any of the others who PM me, or ask questions while we fish.

IMHO, if you learn the lake, learn about your specific species, see what they like, what they like to eat, their preferred habitat, their patterns, temps they like, etc....then no matter what, you will be able to understand and game-plan for what they are doing....NORMALLY WHEN YOU DO NOT CATCH FISH, YOU (YES, YOU) ARE DOING SOMETHING WRONG!

The cover has benefitted all of the species of fish in the lake...I have seen many Golden shiners, and other Natural baitfish that I haven't seen in a long time....the Crappie Population is huge and the overall Sizes are growing...HUGE bass are coming back in numbers, IT WOULD BE NICE TO GET PEOPLE TO PUT THESE BACK IN...people are catching small flatheads and 20lb channels, and hoping to get bigger fish in greater numbers, I have personally seen and caught 18 inch shovels that about ripped the pole out of my hand...perch are back, you just aren't going to see many BIG ones since those are Preferred Gator food...THE COVER HAS BENEFITTED CJ.

Crappie and Walleye are my main passion, then Bass...you can catch any of these during their spawns with almost any technique, and lure, even foil and plastic covered paper!
A TRUE fisherman, is one who has figured out how to continue to catch them throughout the year and in any weather or condition, etc...even now, I make judgment mistakes, but when I go home and think about it, I'm the one who should have done something different but didn't think about it until later! That's how you continually learn and adapt/adjust!
I went out with a friend, to learn how to adjust my fishing to a day-time slower bite, I failed miserably with trying to catch my main target...I went home and thought about it...instead of trying to swim my swimmer, I should have been jigging it, since it was a day time slower bite...next time out, with another buddy who fishes the same way as the first, I jigged the swimmers and it was perfect...Ask anyone, I experiment all the time...that's another way you learn...if a newer swimmer comes out that is better and MY PREFERRED brand does not adapt/adjust, then I'll switch...I'll soon be trying the Z-Man line of New swimmers...I love their plastic.
I already switched from Daiwa Samurai Braid to Seaguar Tourney Braid because their 20lb is half the size of any other...I switched from regular jig heads to sickles and double collars, due to better hookup, sharper points, and ability to straighten and re-bend many times, and they don't tear plastics up as bad.
My favorite rods and reels don't come close to 100 bucks (together) and yes I have a high $$ set-up and it catches the same fish my cheap budget gear catches...heck, I use spincasts still, cause they are just so easy to use...the main thing is that you have to learn how to make that lure fit your fishing, and transform it into something a fish wants to eat or kill.

Why swimbaits???
Lures are categorized into different ways they can make a fish react...some vibrate, some smell, some shine, are brightly colored, etc, etc, etc....fish have various senses that help them find food...a fisherman must affect those senses to get a fish to react.
I had all the various tackle boxes full of stuff for every species I fished for, Heck, I was making fishing expensive and confusing!
I sat down and decided to cut back....I basically asked myself what do fish mainly eat??...answer, other fish...so I set out to find a fake fish that other fish would eat!
Trust me, I tried every make and model of swimbaits from the US and overseas, and still continue to do so, when I think one is worthy... I trialed, tested, and did write ups for 4 different lure makers...so I know EXACTLY what I wanted and needed!
The one I chose had many of the fish reaction keys...color, smell, vibration, shape (water displacement), etc...and it can be used in MANY VARIOUS techniques!
You can swim them, twitch, make them die, act like a crawdad, worm, rig them in every manner possible, and for any condition...now my tackle box is a small plastic pack I carry....with a box in my basement with Extras...nothing else...I can use them from the bank, or from a boat, and all throughout the year...AND IF THEY EVER STOP WORKING, I WILL ADAPT AND ADJUST TO FIND SOMETHING ELSE.

Fishing is easy??
Water is wet, so are fish...they bite when it rains, when it's cloudy, when the water is rough, etc....also when the sun is out...if you aren't catching fish, YOU ARE THE CAUSE, you are not finding the keys...Keys like water temps which MOVE and SCATTER FISH OR DRAW THEM places, same with other keys...if you aren't catching fish, THEN MOVE...think about what YOU are missing! FISH ARE PREDICTABLE TO THEIR KEYS...WATER TEMP IS THE MOST BASIC, then food, oxygen content, shade or protective cover, etc, etc!
Fish also have cliques...most BIG fish eat small fish...normally if you are catching small fish...MOVE...small fish and Big fish don't normally associate...easy huh!
Yes BIG fish may move in...but are you going to wait your whole day to find out...NORMALLY you have missed a key or they are in a same area just in a different location.
We have been in 10 locations on the lake with the same kind of cover and finally found the BIG fish we were looking for....sometimes when bank fishing you don't have the time or can't move as easily, so it can be tougher...IMHO, if you have become a consistently good bank fisherman, you will never have a problem in a boat, because you already have things figured out...as a bank fisherman, your educated guesses have to be right, or you and PEPE LE PEW are going to be good friends!
If you are willing to learn, all you have to do is ask questions to anyone who is part of this thread...you won't get many honey holes but you will get knowledge to catch fish...REMEMBER the saying about "giving a man a fish"!!

So, the next time you hear someone complaining about cover and not willing to ask questions or learn...Don't be like me...just smile and wish them the best...because you know that the POOR COVER is not causing their problems or hurting the lake! THEY ARE THEIR OWN PROBLEM!

CJ and other man made water retention lakes throughout Ohio fall into 2 categories....those that were just dammed up and flooded, including everything left on the land, such as trees, posts, foundations, bridges, brick structures, etc. A "Forward Thinking" person did this to serve 2 purposes, water retention and fishing!
Then another type of water retention lake was built by an "idiot"!
They bulldozed the area clean...and dammed it! Then later they said "oops" and tried to make a fishing lake out of it!
CJ is the latter...MOST OF CJ IS BULLDOZED CLEAN!

Over the years, CJ developed a Very Nice Vegetation cover in the coves around the lake...that and the Rip-Rap (Big Rocks) that were added to stabilize the Dam and other areas gave fish limited places to hide in Shallow water...Shallow North End Middle of the lake was barren, as well as the entire South end, with mostly "humps" in the middle!

When the Marina was built the lake was lowered....most of the vegetation died! When the lake was lowered to build the New Boat ramp, ALL of the vegetation died!
The ODNR does not want vegetation back due to the outcry of $$$boaters, who camp out and swim in the coves, EVEN THOUGH THIS IS ILLEGAL!
CJ has PERFECT vegetation coves, AND FLATS, the shallow coves AND FLATS, lead out directly to deep water where vegetation will not grow!
The ODNR states that the vegetation will die due to the yearly 3 foot drawdown’s...BUT IT NEVER DID BEFORE, IT FLOURISHED....UNTIL MASSIVE DRAWDOWNS for the Marina and MBR!

SO HOW DOES THIS ALL TIE IN???

Man creates imbalances in Nature...various species of fish, lay different amounts of eggs due to their genetics and habitat evolution!
A mature Walleye may lay half a million eggs, but none will hatch if conditions aren't perfect...they are probably the most sensitive to what they need for spawning....
They spawn in CJ, but survival of eggs to fry is low...not self sustaining...so they have to be stocked.
Walleye are stocked in CJ because of the food base of Shad and deeper water that helps with survival rate, Walleye also need a higher level of Oxygen than most fish, and cannot survive in bathwater.
The Army COE and ODNR could help the Walleye situation at CJ, by throwing out the old ANTIQUATED Water Retention "Rules of Engagement" and either keep the water level up or raise it earlier to allow the Walleye up in the creeks to spawn. Modern technology allow better forecasts than in the 70's, but that's another debate!
Most of us that have been up there know that there are suitable areas, and Walleye do spawn successfully when things time out perfect.
CJ used to get MASSIVE amounts of Walleye FRY that were stocked yearly, But as SOCIAL PROGRAMS grew, ODNR budgets were slashed and along with that the VORACIOUS appetites of the 500,000-750,000 fingerlings that used to be stocked.
In the early 2000's, CJ was getting 50,000 or 60,000 and people couldn't understand why the fishing declined?
THAT'S ALSO WHEN THE FISHING BEGAN TO SUFFER DUE TO ALL THESE CIRCUMSTANCES TOGETHER!

Crappie, Bluegill, and Channels are reproducing nightmares, they have to be managed...you manage then by eating them or other predators eating them...if you take Predators out of the equation then you are "Out Of Balance"! Fish will stunt and the sizes people want are VERY hard to find.
You are seeing stunted Channels and Bluegill right now! This comes more into play later!

Perch (A GATORS BEST FRIEND)...loss of breeding habitat (vegetation) almost wiped out the perch population, and it is SLOW to get back...Most people and GATORS love BIG perch! They are "FEW and FAR between"!

White Bass, LOVE THEM OR HATE THEM, they are DEMONIC LITTLE STRIPERS. Try them on an UL, dang things battle to the end!
They are considered "Trash Fish" because they eat "JUNK"..when I heard that I laughed...these things eat anything that moves, they follow schools of shad in open water like Tuna in the ocean....they also take Crappie fry, Catfish fry, Bluegill fry, any fry...and they are also loved food for WALLEYE!
They spawn mainly in creeks...with the COE playing it's antiquated game of chance, People catching hundreds in the creek and just throwing them up on the bank to rot, and terrible spawns, the White Bass Population is WAAAYYY down!

Largemouth....they are mainly fringe Predators...hiding in ambush, they take out mainly Bluegill, Crappie, Cats, anything that will fit in its mouth...normally in deeper lakes it will not run into shad that often, so it's diet relies more on other baitfish or game fish species closer to shore!
Smallies...in CJ they can be anywhere, but normally prefer smaller or longer (perch, etc) prey than Largemouth.
The problems here is that they both normally only lay 2,000 eggs per lb, and most research agrees that in Northern lakes with decent cover, the survival rate can be as low as 1 PERCENT surviving to LEGAL size.
ALSO, the Northern Strain Largemouth grows ALOT slower than the Florida strain down South.

NOW, with NO cover, Vegetation destruction, REMOVAL of APEX PREDATORS, Poaching, and everything else man does, you can start to understand how things get so out of wack, and a fishery can suffer!
Bass, besides being fun to catch, help provide equilibrium of populations of other species, when you continue taking BIG breeders or reduce an already small population due to habitat loss, you effect the entire balance of the lake, River, Pond, etc.

We saw a huge increase of Dink Bluegill, Dink Crappie, Dink Channels, huge schools of shad, etc, all due to the Loss of Walleye fingerlings, Bass Habitat, and WB spawning...plus the increased fishing pressure of those Predator populations.
People need to realize that you can't just continue to take the Predator base out without destroying the population balance.
Take all the Crappie, Bluegill, and Channels you want...plus carp for those that enjoy them....but we are trying to build a Bass Population at CJ so it is healthy. Five pounders that can lay 10,000 or more eggs are needed in the lake to grow that population!

We can stabilize Walleye because they are mostly AWAY from the banks, where bank fishing pressure is constant throughout the year, and normally their feeding times are scheduled in darkness in the summer.
Bass are hungry or pissed off anytime...and they are leaving CJ in droves during the day and night!

We are seeing results from helping CJ with cover...we have used it to draw Bass away from fishermen, Bass away from Walleye fingerlings...Cover locations to draw Walleye to different areas, perch breeding cover, etc..now we are getting a few more Walleye Fingerlings...but our continual efforts must be to grow the entire fishery...CJ needs It's vegetation back..."Mother Nature" needs to start spitting seeds and putting plants back where they belong, to get the needed balance of all Predators back!
AND people need to be taught or learn how to balance the fishery so we all can enjoy it! Take legal Crappie, Take Bluegill, Take eater Channels, take carp, take yourself a few Gators or WB...Catch and release struggling predators, or Large fish (LOTS OF EGGS) until they build up and then they can be managed!
Help Build Cover, or give back to the lake, we're all in this together, WE HAVE MADE A DIFFERENCE!

Sometimes now fish are becoming solitary due to the amount of cover, sometimes you'll see 1 fish (Walleye, Crappie, Or Bass), by one isolated rock...normally this is just one Big fish. Smaller fish tend to school together in cover for protection.
Normally Big fish will feed ONLY AT NIGHT and they go lay in the shade during the day, then they'll move around and feed if nothing swims by their spot.
Some fish will pick resting areas close to "Highways" or feeding areas. In the animal kingdom, the idea is to feed as much as possible, with the least amount of expended energy, get as big as possible, and mate once a year, then eat, rest, grow, and stay out of Brent's freezer!

It was VERY interesting to go out with some experts on the subject, during recent tournaments, to actually see what they look for!
They pointed out EXACTLY what you are asking about...we found HUGE single Walleye, Crappie, and Bass, laying in shallow water in the shade by 1 rock, 1 stump, and nothing else close by. We also found them the same way in deeper water....the main thing seemed to be shade or shadows during sunny days...they tended to move around more or cloudy days....we also found different species using these single structures on different days!

Then again, at CJ, BIG FISH seem to work with the White Bass, they tend to take on a Pelagic (roaming) trait...we have found that the BIG Fish will continue to keep schools of shad near, they will follow UNDER the shad and take one or two whenever they are hungry...then what they are really waiting on, is when the White Bass feed...White Bass will normally hit a school of shad hard and injure or wound as many as possible, then circle and collect the injured or wounded fish...YOUNG WB seem to enjoy the massacre, and they tend to forget to feed right away and continue the hunt and wounding shad....BIG FISH, and I mean BIG Walleye, Crappie, Smallmouth, Kitties, etc, sit under the schools and eat all the EASY FOOD possible.
When You find a school of feeding WB...put on a heavy jig and swimbait and get it through the WB to deeper water columns under the feeding WB...you work the swimbait with twitches, etc, make it look injured or dying...and you'll be amazed what you can catch while the WB are feeding!