The fishing has picked up with the warmer weather, the WB are (or were) running in Buck Creek on the N end of the reservoir. The 2cnd set of posts (#25)  nearest to the old N boat ramp are producing some very nice WB and crappies and several cats as well. The Crabill House beach hosted 6 boats at one time today (#8A and B) , apparently poking around the edges and mass of the graveyard just off shore, several were possibly tied off together, perhaps playing cards. Crappie City (#12) produced afew crappie and a nice smallmouth. The `Burbs (#14) was smoking as well, producing at least 17 crappies over 12" and one WB over 17", courtesy of Jason and the Sugar Shackers who helpped sink over 300+ of the forrest littering select parts of CJ. The Handicap Fishing area was only handicapped by a shortage of Bass and Crappie minnows as the crew there just kept catching them; one gentleman came in to get his second 4 dozen minnows after getting laughed at offering 3.00 a dozen to anyone willing to sell some. He seemed concerned someone might take his spot!! He did buy a bag of ice for his 20+ keepers the biggest was a 15' WB, the 13 crappies all topped 11+"- he said he doesn`t keep "small ones". That`s the spirit. And also another large wallyeye was caught just inside the mouth of the Marina this morning on a smoke with fleck twister by Intimidator, his 12th of the year, 5? of which were taken in or just outside of the same. Well done, Brent. Lastly, thank you to the two gentlemen in the extreme SW corner of the Marina for 4 hrs, a study of how to fish the deep side of the brush blocks- wasn`t super, just steady. 25 keepers. Very good show, old boys! An inspiration to all of us watching: as far as  saw, the deadly duo missed almost no bites. Hope to see you catching a few yourself.

"Of meek things on swings the hinges of fate"; unfortunately for us seems ongoing, if anyone`s in good standing with any Higher Powers in as politically and ethically korrect method possible humblely ask for said supernateral and/or "Divine" intervention on the part of us vs the fish, with somewhere the same meek results Patton ask for (and GOT, in spades), we should perchance throw back those under 10" and most of the 11". OK, HALF the 12" Good Luck and tight lines!

OK, maybe a little premature with the title but heart felt to be sure. Rumor has it an honest 10+ lb wallygator was taken Sat. early morn, was weighted in at Bird House, multiple witnesses including Marty confirned solid above 10. ODNR netting disc have from Debby Walters implys 10+ lb fish as a ratio of total of netted wallyeye  was better than 1 in 9 ?  Fairlly good chance of 8lber would like to think.  So, down to it...please feel free to spill yer guts (perhaps figureatively) ANY BODY do any good at CJ?  (Had to stay home and do due "honey do" stuff.) Am probably suffering withdrawl, casting arm seems to have an involuntary cast flick-like tick, and am having momentary subbliminal images of hoisted 14" crappies shaking off minnows from  twin glow in the dark 1/16th  snagless jigs `bout 12" apart; a REAL double header and yes actually did that once last year on top of #12, "Crappie City" . Help a fellow addict out here!

Watched over 200+ crappies caught today in and just outside Marina, will admit 4/5ths were smallish males taken 2-7` deep; most of larger females 11" and bigger (up to 15.5") taken below 8`- `bout 12` fow, those deadly snagless 1/16th oz black-dark greenish jigs and smoke with flecks doing serious execution to the stouter finned female crappies. Several of the larger females were spilling their eggs and incidently tommorow is the full moon. Keeping in mind generally a prespawn crappie will almost always rise to a bait but will but seldom dive to a deeper offering ; this is where believe tiniest bobber rigged as a slip bobber set to 10+` with longer shank preferably glo orangeish jigs with an eye hooked large female fathead (or a small shiner hooked thru the upper lip) and 12-14" below a twin size and color jig WITH...a small leach. Yes, have heard it before, again, this has tempted a couple of completely unexpected wallyeyes over the years to save a couple of crappies` lives that day by valiently inhauling the afore mentioned jig rig before they could, like she would kindly let them. Twice with very similar rigs have hooked 10" crappies deep and recovered them with twin gashes 4" apart diagonally on both sides while reeling them in off #15A. The wallyeye fingerlings they stock annually are HEAVILY preyed on by mostly white bass and crappies are very deadly to juvenile wallyeyes, they can consume more than half of the fingerlings their first year. It is of course a fish eat fish underwater world down there, and yup, your`e right the few survivors return the favor with gusto as those spices each spawn themselves, preoccupied. One last thing about the rig; if properly rigged, this will sink if a smallish crappie or bluegill breathes on it. Good Luck and let us know how you do. And do please be safe.

Stand corrected, former 10 lb 3 oz  known to haunt the NW corner of the Camper`s Point was taken on an Erie Deary with 1/2 of your garden variety canadian? night crawler. Further inquireies were meet with "What Fish?"Thank you Lord with the rich endoulmemt and even perhaps over stocking sometimes of hysterically funny "associates" one meets in baitshops. And  too along the shores and waterways this nation and region is blessed with. Am sure will be very busy; help host kid`s fishing program 10AM to `bout noon; am hoping for a pack of small crappies and or white bass, The  light`s shadow  was producing some 12' white bass just before sundown, 45 minutes prior a 15" wallyeye was caught casting a Rebal type shallow diving lure just past and barely on the deep edge of the set Smost riprap 3rd cast didn`t come back alone saw the swirl and thought decent bass, saw the seductive glint of her eye and ran to offer to clean the fish. Guy laughed and gently tossed  would have been supper back in. Probably doesn`t know what wallyeye costs a lb WHEN you can find it. Am hoping afew of you all outthere post (modestly, of course) upon any significant sucess at CJ Brown. Thanks, and please if yall boat please wear your personal floatation device- they are called LIFE PRESERVERS for a simple reason. And many persons have drowned with a PFD in their hands instead of ON them, doing it`s simple job. Nice choise of colors too. Eye catching. Forgive me , former USN aviation LIFE support technition 7+ yrs. Put it on and bring  `um back alive!

Perhaps more accurately "And  so on and on..." informal permission has unoffically been given to commense "Lake Erie South 2+, will start meeting after 9pm CJ Brown Marina by the fuel dock every Sat night will invite general public  to help if willing; the dozen or so current Friends are already drooling over 1964 original Army Corps of Engineer maps of the then  to be submerged  real estate that has been littered  sparsely,  to be generous. Most will be dried cedar shrubs and/ or cedar limbs on heavy 12" block castable from shore, on top of the 7/8ths of Debby Walters` "drop in the bucket" (proportional to the overall size and depth of the lake) this would be closer to 1.5 drops in said same bucket, figureatly figgerin` that is. . The Friends will jostle together starting in June Sat nights 9PMish to begin our seemingly less than socially upper class gatherings  to politely and courteously exchange ideas publiclly with good will to all (while slyly failling to mention one particular location just awaiting the peaceful quiet tranquility and stunning beauty of a just risen full moon  to be lustily  shattered, unloaded upon with the subtulty and stealth  of a pre Normandy squadron of B-26 Mauraders all  dropping together at once at meduim altitude  ( or depth, depending on your particular point of view) Assuming a further extension is granted OFFICIALLY  would finish by Oct 31. Assembly is the choke point. Still hoping to have Boy Scouts earn Merit badges both building and fishing them.  It is a chance to post more #`s and hopefully get to fish "afew" of them soon. Hope you do too.  Forgive me, but a famous line from a movie comes to mind..."Who is more foolish? A fool, or the fool who follows him?"  Hmm. And look what happened there!  Remember please, wear the PFD on a watercraft. Respectfully, the Friends of CJ Brown Reservoir.

No one fishes CJ? Have trouble believing that. Too bold, doing 1,000?  Nah!

"...with or without you..." Bono, and a group called U2. We will delay posting GPS`s untill we are done. Respectfully, The Friends of CJ Brown Reservoir

19" crappie off of #16 (Handicap Platform) set of 8 supers 40` W of platform - old sign post- in 12 fow. Now THAT is a crappie! 15" off #11C (E end of Main Boat Ramp breakwater) Sat Memorial wkend slip bobber 14` deep. Good luck!

We will attempt to place 100 more cedar brush blocks into Marina CJ 3rd weekend of July, and possibly some more in cove N of Marina. The Friends of CJ Brown Reservoir.

Still awaiting official permission to begin operations again, should know tommorow. A friend was upon the waters of CJ today, he and a buddy were checking out a side scan sonar the boat owner just bought and installed. According to him, the difference is night versus day; he said "I could SEE my 1/16th oz jig down in the cover!"" They started around the Main boat ramp, hitting #12, #13, and #14, then the #11 series, then down to #10. Said saw fish all over the cover, but no takers, and only afew hits. They then looked at the W retaining wall of the dam- pretty much barren; they then turned N following the shore, and again marked all kinds of fish on the #9 series- the greatest concentration was in mouth of the emergency spillway in 10-20 fow. They promply threw everything they had at their disposal at the fish and finally got a small bass. Further N in front of Crabill House- #8A and B they marked even more fish than before! And again, no solid bites. The fish are obviously using? holding on them, and between the 2 of them they SHOULD have swamped the boat with fish. Brent has limited out using snagless jigs in and around the Marina more than a couple of times, by rights it should have been a slaughter. Any thoughts? suggestions?

We are preparing to do the "+" part of "Lake Erie South 2" we ware asking for volunteers and materials- unpainted new and used cement blocks, and whole cut cedar and taccis? trees and shrubs. We have the steel cable and clamps coverd. The cedar trees and shrubs will last 2-3X longer than the best "C" tree, and generally are denser too. If there are any local (Springfield Ohio area ) tree service persons here we need 350+ of them, all we can promise in return is a detailed map of where we sink them- C and S Tree service helped us last yr. Help us just to get the material and by next spring will confidently promise the fishing will be outstanding, particularly the Crappie spawn. It will be a slaughter, to be precise. Thank you to all those who have already helped and to those willing to help us finish this. Contact me at FLAKBAIT1960@Aol.com. Respectfully, the Friends of CJ Brown Reservoir

Fished SW corner Baitshop shadow line with spouse caught 5 -9" crappies, all she got was 1 4+lb flathead that all but snapped her line and then a 7+lb carp that bent her hook straight as netted it for her; she insisted we were going for tonnage,not numbers that time. OK. 3 boats out on #18 series when arrived 11:30ish, middle boat saw lights on and came in for more bass minnows and leeches, they had 14 11" or better crappies, they said 3 locals in furthest boat were locals whom when asked replied in 3hrs had caught 78 crappies, kept 65 over 11+". upon expressing some reasonable doubt they were shown a livewell busting at the seams with "crappies that made ours look small"; they were also told "why, no, we have plenty of bait" and "we ain`t moving off#18C (or D) for the next week or so" and "find your own honey hole with BB`s at 17-22 fow next to a spring with heavily oxygenated 56 degree water flowing all year long" All 3 boats were STILL there when we left at 3:30ish AM. Also, walleye tourney today, rumor has it several 7lb fish off #19 and 19A (NW corner Camper`s Point and along southern stretch of former Buck Creek Lane roarbed, bottom bouncers and weight forward spinner worm harnesses , couple on slip bobbers with twin jigs leech on bottom 12" belowminnow. Surprizingly several bigger crappies also fell for same tactics, 16+ fow. Please WEAR your PFD

Just spoke with ODNR- we are a "GO" to start "+" part ASAP, we will need help and materials...

Aug 7 and 8th E end of Marina 8AMwill "splash first 50? Stop on down if you can.

We are a"GO" for tommorow- hoping an army AND a forest of cedars show up...

So much for the army of 3- 120 more blocks are now in the park; no cedars showed up BUT had a call from Lawn Masters stating they WILL provide cedars yew and tactis shrubs as they get them; they are 2 miles from the lane. Looking more and more like we WILL pull a cedar forest out of an empty hat with no top. The words of Winston Churchill of RAF Fighter Command during the Battle of Britain again come to mind. Thank you Steve and Fritz, you are made of stout stuff, sirs. Will begin to move the cedars into the lane Monday.

Heard from a guide for an Adventurers troop, they are looking for a field project into fall, he suggested putting a demo togethre and enlisting their aide assembling some of the cedars and helping to load them for placement in the Marina, earning credits. More than willing; hope they fish! Using cedar shrubs and small trees, they will still be producing fish when these kids graduate collage. Just hope we are ready with the cedars when they come in numbers...

Scouted W boundary of Park, many young cedars on RR right of way owned by Corps 200+ of them. Hmm.

A gentleman named Matt has had "some" luck on the previous drops, apparently he thinks "more" should be placed in various spots in lake. Matt works foe and/ or runs? Lawn Masters on Old Columbus Rd, he is making any cedar, yew, and tactis? trees and/ or shrubs available to us as they come into the mulching yard behind the CalArk terminal just N of the RR tracks heading towards CJ. He is having his crew cut off the root balls to facilitate loading and assembling them in the lane just N of the Maint area in the Park. Hope to begin "splashing them in Marina within 10 days. 3 loads already there.