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Keeper
Cross Creek NWR/Elk Resevoir Today
Today was my first time fishing at CC, and I want to first say what an amazing place. Even if one comes away completely empty handed the trip would have still been worth it. Thankfully I was not empty handed but it wasnt bountiful either. I had 5 keepers and probably 20 throw backs. I didnt catch a crappie over 11" and that seemed to be the story for the other boats as well. Is this the norm for ElK? Most of mine were caught spider rigging away from the shore in 10' of water. I couldnt find any in the shallows, I did see one fella catching some off a brush pile but I dont think there was much action along the shore other than that. On a side note, I did hook the biggest bass (accidental) I have ever had on a line in 2' of water using a road runner jig. Got him to the boat (I have no net of course), reached down to grab him and my 4lb line gave way at the knot! R U Kidding me! Oh well, maybe next time.
blueball LIKED above post
Crappie.com Legend
Good report
Crappie Wall Hanger II
What was so "amazing" about it? Scenery? I would like to fish it. Do you need any permit other than fishing lic?
Keeper
The scenery is great but there are a lot of things that make it nice such as water quality, cover along the shores, and lots of other wildlife. Given that it is a no wake area there is more noise from the geese than there are other boats and they dont leave you bobbing up and down continuously due to the speed restriction. However there were a couple of folks who had the big boats and the big motors and it just hurts them to keep it under 5mph but they would at least slow down when they were approaching other boats. There were quite a few folks out there, but it didnt seem crowded and you really didnt notice unless you were looking. As for permits, the only thing you need is a fishing license. All Lake Barley rules apply. I will give one bit of information about one of the ramps. I used the concrete ramp that was not on the main highway. On the left side of the ramp is a huge and deep hole that will swallow your trailer. It dropped mine down a sudden 18" or more. Problem is the hole is so big if you try to keep to the right side of the ramp is swallows the left side of your trailer. So I found the best method was to accept it and plunge the trailer into the deeps. Not a big deal but will surprise you if you are not expecting it.
Keeper
To the folks reading this post and have fished Elk Reservoir I wanted to ask again is the small size of the crappie a common thing or just me not finding the better sized ones? What about other parts of Cross Creek? Thanks
Crappie Wall Hanger II
Thanks for the info!
Trophy King
Small size is common for elk harbor has been the main compliant for years. It does have some very nice bass in it. have seen some 8 and 10 pounders come out of there. an 11 1/2in crappie is a big crappie for elk harbor.
Keeper
Trophy King
No problem I am from Clarksville as well and used to fish up there a lot. You can catch numbers but the size is just not there. Have you tried North Cross creek by the river?
Keeper
Havent tried North Cross Creek yet. I have fished the Mills a couple of times, would you say that North Cross was equal to, better, or not as good as the Mills? I was up there a couple of weeks ago and didnt catch many but everything was over 12".
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