All of us as fishermen are constantly at the mercy or preferably goodwill of the weather. Lake Monroe is no exception; cold or hot, muddy or too clear water, rain or snow, wind or calm - all of these affect the eating desires of Mr. Largemouth. The information written hereafter will keep in mind we are using baits and methods under normal conditions, i.e., lake level at a range of a foot over, or, foot below normal pool level; 538 ft. above sea level.

Surprisingly great bass fishing commences as soon as the ice goes off Monroe, which normally occurs by the third week of February. At that time water temperatures are 39-41 degrees so keep in mind fish movement is quite slow for their metabolism is at its’ lowest ebb of the year. You will want to fish the deeper and more clear water you can find; normally is down towards the lake dam. ½ to 3/4 oz. Jigs (preferable black, black & blue, black & purple) tipped with medium size pork frog (black and/or black & chartreuse); these combinations are a must but other color preferences will work should your desires lean in that direction. There are other baits that will certainly put fish into your boat, such as spoons, jig and grubs, etc. Don’t overlook the Sweedish Pimple (½ oz..]size); and since it’s not tournament time yet, swallow your pride and sneak a live minnow on the hook end of that Pimple - you will be surprised with the results. You might even catch an 8 or 9 lb. Walleye! Should your good fortunes be riding with you and you be blessed with a warm and sunny day, the bass will most certainly move into shallower water. Drop the jigs and tie on a #7 or #9 silver Rapala (floating); or, other crank baits (Smithwick suspend lures, with each of these running no more that eight feet down. Also, do not overlook a carolina - rigged pumkin & chartreuse lizard, preferably 4 inch size. This combo works quite well in the back end of small embayments littered with old stumps and dead trees. Good areas for this action are located within the confines of Sugar Creek, Ramp Creek, Moores Creek, Saddle Creek and Eel Creek bays.

    The foregoing fishing conditions will prevail until the third week in March, when warmer days will get the water temperature up into the low 50's. Jigs will still prevail as the better fish producing baits, but the introduction of spinner baits and medium running crank baits will certainly bring good fish to the boat during this period. Color selection is variable, but white & chart- reuse spinner baits are very popular; blades can be any option of willow leaf, Indiana, or Colorado - silver in color, unless stained water would necessitate changing to gold or bronze blades. Colors of the "cranks"also will vary but shad, black & silver, crawdad, black & chartreuse, or, the color of your choice will fit the bill so-to-speak.

    By the time April arrives we will be into "prime time" all the way through the end of June. Monroe is awesome at this time of year, for you have the full use of all your favorite baits regardless of name, color, shape or size - all of them will catch fish, and probably you"ll even catch the one that got away last year. Mr. Bass will move into the pre-spawn areas (normally 8-12 foot feeder ditches, but close to the main creek channels. Here they will stay until water temperatures reach 63-67, then they move to their spawn area, which normally will be 1-3 foot water. We all know it"s tough to get those huge sows to hit at this time, but perseverance will pay off - just hit em in the head with a spinner bait and they’ll break your arm.

    After the end of June, and thru the Summer, your friendly bass will return to their normal habitat (namely the main creek channels) where water depths will range from 17 feet in the upper end (Crooked Creek) to 45 feet in the lower end (Monroe Dam) There are exceptions of course, but now your plastic baits come to the fore, whether they are worms, grubs, skirted grubs, lizards, frogs or crawfish. Relative to this subject, experience has taught us the nine,ten or eleven inch plastic worms & lizards will definitely produce big fish all the way through October. Black & blue-flecked, black with blue tail, pumpkin-seed and pumpkin with chartreuse tail are the most popular colors. Also during this period, and due to extremely high water temperatures, your deep running crank baits (down to 24 feet) are a "must" for your tackle caddy.

That is about it for now, but should you ever have the good fortune to fish

Monroe when the lake is over eight feet above pool or better, just remember what has been written here; the only other thing is getting to the fish----just get your boat going about 50 miles per hour, and drive it right into the woods. When the boat stops - start fishing!

Number one: About 1987-88 Threadfin Shad (a great baitfish ) began appearing in the waters of Monroe. Since there were no planned stocking programs scheduled by the DNR, it is surmised migrating ducks deposited the Shad eggs which had adhered to their feet during resting periods during northern migration to their Summer nesting grounds.

Number two: On or about this same time the DNR commenced a well planned stocking program to introduce Walleye. Over the next few years

millions of Walleye Fry, plus a few thousand fingerlings were stocked .

Number three: Yet another of the most ferocious predator fish was introduced during this period, and believe the writer when he says the Hybrid Striped Bass is one mean tackle buster.

Number four: In 1988 Crappiethon (now Crappie USA) commenced holding competitive Crappie tournaments and a 60 day fishing derby for families and their children. Thousands of participants eagerly fished for thousands of tagged Crappie worth from $25.00 Up to $50,000. These events were a huge success and resulted in reducing the crappie population by the thousands.

We do not wish to bore you with all this side information, but we do believe you will have a better understanding of why Lake Monroe is now an excellent Crappie catching body of water. The biological fishing balance really is at the top of the list. All of us can be very proud of our Fish Biologists and all our DNR personnel who have contributed their expertise to the Lake Monroe program.

Fishing for Crappie at Monroe is quite similar to other lakes, creeks or rivers - look for brush piles, dead logs or downed trees, stumps, grass beds lilly pads, or any other objects that will provide cover and protection for the fish. Still fishing with bobbers, driftfishing, casting small jigs, jig and grubs, or small spinner baits will usually produce plenty of slabs for your dinner plats. Keep in mind Lake Monroe has a substantial amount of structure concerning its’ topography . Small embayments, sunken islands, feeder creeks, drop offs, flats and main creek channels. During the period of post spawn and thru late Fall, Monroe offers some great drift fishing. Many times you can limit out (25) with Crappie 10 inches or better. The author (for this type of fishing) prefers to use a 1/4oz chartreuse jig tipped with a two or three inch Power Grub, and further tipped with a #9 sized Bass Chub. Drift fishing with a bobber is also great, but you have to have sufficient weight in order to keep your bait 15-18 feet deep. Same thing for slow trolling.

Should the lake get well beyond pool stage, the high water will get well back into the trees and buck brush, river birch and willow trees. Now is when you"re in Crappie heaven. Sometimes it seems there is a 1 ½ lb Crappie under very tree. So if you hear the lake is flooded - get your butt down to the pond.

.Don’t forget lead head jigs and grubs (3-5 inch) late at night, or just prior to dawn

During the coming months keep our Web Site (WWW.FishinShedd.COM) handy, for we will be keeping fishing information up-dated weekly, as well as passing pertinent information on to you as it occurs

What better way can we introduce our children to a good clean sport , than by taking them to fish for Bluegill while the "gills" are nesting in 1-3 foot of water.

Lake Monroe is such a place. The writer would not consider Monroe a body of water where you will catch great numbers of huge slab bluegill, but there is no question you can go out with your sons and daughters and catch two or three hundred 7-9 inch "gills" - all of these coming out of one nesting area about the size of your living room. Monroe has hundreds of small coves, inlets, feeder creeks, or shorelines infested with buck brush; and when high water occurs, so do the areas the bluegill will nest. A good ultra-light 9 to 12 foot Jig pole, a couple hundred crickets, a hundred waxworms or red worms, or drift worms is all you need. Find the nests and have a go at it. Your kids will be hooked on fishing from then on. 

The past history of Monroe Bluegill fishing indicates that once the bluegill commence nesting, they will do so for 1 ½ to 2 weeks. Upon completion of laying their eggs they move off the area and return to their normal habitat - that being 6-12 foot of water with plenty of stumps or downed trees nearby. Almost immediately another batch of "gills" will move right into the same nesting area as the ones before. This process continues sometimes all the way from April thru July.

68 degree water temperatures normally will trigger the nesting activities. There has been some indication of the possibilities that Bluegill nest twice or maybe three times each year. The biologists say this may be possible, but not probable. Whatever the case may be, it is very enjoyable at its’ worse. So, letting a few words of advice being sufficient; after finding those nesting Bluegill stay as far away from the nest as you possibly can, for you will "spook" 100% of them if you get too close. And that is when I hope your kid kicks your butt!