The bottom line is they are still biting.

I arrived at the lake at 5:45 this morning and rigged to jig for crappie, Not a bite! At daylight I rerigged for sunfish, The first fish I caught was also the biggest of the day - an 8 inch Bluegill shaped like a dinner plate.

I went on to keep 50 eating size fish and released at least that many undersized fish. Cleaning 50 Bluegill is a job, but I wanted to freeze some while they are biting. I divided them up into 4 packages. My wife and I will enjoy them.

Joe Pool is noted for its undersized crappie. A 9 1/2 inch fish is called a Joe Pool special. My old home lake - Lake Weatherford - raises much bigger crappie. The same cannot be said for Bluegill. The average size of the Bluegill from Joe Pool is much bigger than those from Lake Weatherford or Lake Mineral Wells.

The fish were caught on cut wieners except for a few which were caught on nightcrawler pieces. I wanted a comparison between the two baits. The hot dogs win hands down. The fish were caught in 6 feet of water just off the bottom. I ordered crickets, but they did not come in time. They were in the mailbox when I got home.

Awesome post "Smithaven" with some super fish. Good job Sir.





Cleaning 20 to 25 Gills is a chore for me. I can only imagine 50.

im gonna have to get in on that! i was fishing the lake today and was wishing i had brought my ultralite gear

Unfortunately the bass in JP this year have also been undersized, along with the crappie.
Maybe the sand bass will charge up in the next couple of weeks.

interesting report there ....
looks like the bluegill are biting good .....
KABOOM

after i read this i immediately went to the lake to fish for bream lol....i threw a small rooster tail and caught more bass than perch

Where is a good spot out there, for some of those sunfish, I want to take my daughter.

Nice mess of Gills. Need to see one of those super "Smithaven" Bluegill meals.

Nice Catch!

I found them in the Lynn Creek Marina cove along the rip rap by the swimming pool. There is a dock attached to the crappie house and it is an easy cast to the rip rap.