LAKE LU Fishing NewsletterAnother upgrade to the combination is to add a faceted glass bead to the...

January 2009 Newsletter Roger Limerick - - Lake Manager

LAKE LU Fishing

Newsletter

2009 Monthly Rainfall at Lake LU

00.5

11.5

22.5

33.5

44.5

5

Janu

ary

Mar

chM

ay July

Septe

mbe

r

Novem

ber

Ra

infa

ll in

Inch

es

2009 Total MonthlyRainfall

2009 Lake LU Water Temperature

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

Janu

ary

Mar

ch May Ju

ly

Septe

mbe

r

Novem

ber

Deg

rees

Fah

ren

he

it a

t s

urf

ace

Lake LU watertemperature

January 2009 Fish Report

Monthly Harvest Comparison Month Number of

Anglers Number of

Bass Pounds of

Bass Number of

Bream Pounds of

Bream January 2009

48 111 110.50 19 11.75

January 2008

56 153 124.75 8 3.5

January 2007

100 308 272 50 31

Number of Anglers Number of Bass Pounds of Bass Number of Bream

Pounds of Bream

Monthly 48 111 110.50 19 11.75

Previous 0 0 0 0 0

Calendar YTD

48 111 110.50 19 11.75

lb/Bass Average lb/Acre Average lb/Bream Average lb/Acre Average 0.99 2.21 0.62 0.235 Formulas:

lbs divided by # fish = lb/fish average lbs fish divided by 50 (acres) = lb/acre

Three year Bass Harvest Comparison

0100200300400500600700800900

1000

Jan

uary

Mar

chM

ayJu

ly

Septem

ber

Novem

ber

Nu

mb

er o

f Bas

s C

au

ght

2007 # of Basscaught

2008 # of BassCaught


Three year Bream Harvest Comparison

0

500

1000

1500

2000

2500

3000

Jan

uary

Marc

hM

ay July

Septe

mbe

r

Novem

berN

um

ber

of B

ream

cau

gh

t

2007 # ofBream caught



Calendar Year-to-Date Year Number of

Anglers Number of Bass Pounds of Bass Number of

Bream P

2009 48 111 110.50 19 2008 56 153 124.75 8 2007 100 308 272 50 Fish Averages (Year-to-Date) Month/Year

lb/Bass Average lb/Acre Average

lb/Bream Average

lb/Acre Average

January 2009

0.99 2.21 0.62 0.235

January 2008

0.81 2.50 0.44 0.07

January 2007

0.88 5.44 0.62 0.62

Lake Conditions

I have made some fairly minor changes to the Lake LU newsletter. I hope that all readers enjoy the new look. I feel that it is a bit more professional looking than the old plain white “paper” newsletter, and perhaps the new graphs will be informative as well. I sent out an email message asking readers for their input as to what they would like to see in the newsletter. I plan on incorporating some of these changes into the newsletter throughout the next year. If you have an idea that might look good to the newsletter, feel free to drop me a line about it and I’ll see about incorporating it into the newsletter. I may even ask readers to submit some of their own fish writing to be added into the newsletter. We’ll just have to see what happens.

The water at Lake LU is as clear as glass. The water is gin clear and visibility is probably greater than 6 feet. Yesterday Mike Carr was fishing at the lake and he said it was clear down to near 12 feet. He said that he knew this because he got a $ 7.00 white crank bait hung up in a cedar top yesterday. He said he could see the lure and that it had to be nearly 12 feet to the lure. The water is very clear. Bass Fishing

Bass season officially begins the day after deer season. Most hunters

clean, oil and store their firearms on the night of January 31, and clean and oil their fishing tackle on February 1. I don’t know if it is pressure to rapidly swap over from one outdoor sporting event to the next, or if the pressure to get out of the house is great and using fishing season is a good excuse. Whatever the case, lake attendance always goes up greatly following the close of deer season.

Photo of Kevin Asbury 1-10-09; 8 lbs; 23.5 inches RELEASED. Bass caught on crawfish rattletrap.

Bream Fishing

Bream fishing has been very slow but we did have 19 bream caught this past month. Many of the bream that were caught this month were caught on crank baits by bass fishermen. Fishing Tips and Techniques

The tip of the month features the jig and pig. This is a great lure to use on sow bass at Lake LU for the pre-spawn period. I think that the jig with a built in rattle is the most productive type for really big bass. I call this the rattle bug combination. Mike Gordy, a retired UWA campus police officer, gave me a good tip concerning the jig. He said to take your pliers and cut off the bundle of monofilament that is on the jig to function as a weedless guard. He said that you will get more hung up on snags, but it makes hook setting easier.

The pig is merely a trailer attached to the jig to increase attractiveness and movement. Many anglers swear by only real pork skins while others like the convenience of a plastic trailer. A negative perk of the real pork skin is that if you let them dry onto your jig, you have to take a knife and cut the dried skin off the hook. A positive perk is that the real pork skin has oils and flavors that may provide addition appeal to a big wary bass.

Years ago I had a bass fisherman catch 5 bass totaling 35.5 pounds during ONE DAY of fishing the jig and pig. Last year the UWA Big Bass Bonanza was won by a student fishing the jig and pig. Another secret tip to the jig and pig is

be sure not to fish too heavy of a jig. The best weight jig is about 1/4 ounce. Some of the most productive colors are cocoa brown jig with a blue pig. Another upgrade to the combination is to add a faceted glass bead to the rig just like you would add a bullet weight to a Texas worm rig. Regardless of how you rig it, the jig and pig often lands some hawgs.

Additional Lake Information Need a laugh….Check out these YouTube blooper videos of fisherman Bill Dance. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uybXcRlqv_Y http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OvAHYR5DnZE http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p_UnV3RbCtg&feature=related

Photo of my big helper as we planted two cypress trees near the boat area.

Nature Trails

Brochures should be available at the Nature Trail kiosk by mid month. I hope to have all the information in place on the kiosk by the end of the month. We are in the beginnings of our prescribed burn season in the Blackland Prairie Restoration Area. We will be burning every Thursday and Friday as conditions warrant until we have finished up with our controlled burns. I’ll try to include some photos of our burns. If you see smoke on Thursday or Friday, try not to get alarmed.

If anyone wants any advice on fishing Lake LU, please call me at 1-205-652-9266 or e-mail me at [email protected]. Feel free to visit Lake LU’s website at www.lakelu.uwa.edu Thank you, Roger Limerick Lake Manager Lake LU [email protected] 1-205-652-9266

February 2009 Newsletter Roger Limerick - - Lake Manager

LAKE LU Fishing

Newsletter


00.5

11.5

22.5

33.5

44.5

5

Janu

ary

Mar

chM

ay July

Septe

mbe

r

Novem

ber

Ra

infa

ll in

Inch

es



464850525456586062

Janu

ary

Mar

ch May Ju

ly

Septe

mbe

r

Novem

ber

Deg

rees

Fah

ren

he

it a

t s

urf

ace


February 2009 Fish Report


Anglers Number of

Bass Pounds of

Bass Number of

Bream Pounds of

Bream February 2009

184 390 385.75 79 53

February 2008

219 261 204 3 1.75

February 2007

173 273 219.25 92 55


Pounds of Bream

Monthly 184 390 385.75 79 53

Previous 48 111 110.50 19 11.75

Calendar YTD

232 501 496.25 98 64.75




0100200300400500600700800900

1000

Jan

uary

Mar

chM

ayJu

ly

Septem

ber

Novem

ber

Nu

mb

er o

f Bas

s C

au

ght





0

500

1000

1500

2000

2500

3000

Jan

uary

Marc

hM

ay July

Septe

mbe

r

Novem

berN

um

ber

of B

ream

cau

gh

t






Bream P

2009 232 501 496.25 98 2008 275 414 328.75 11 2007 273 581 491.25 142 Fish Averages (Year-to-Date) Month/Year


lb/Bream Average

lb/Acre Average

February 2009

0.99 9.92 0.66 1.29

February 2008

0.79 6.57 0.47 0.105

February 2007

0.84 9.82 0.61 1.72

Lake Conditions

Well anglers, another February has come and gone. The month flew by and before we know it the leaves will have flushed out and Spring will have sprung. The lake water has undergone a significant warming trend as compared to 2008. I checked the water temperature of Lake LU on 2-28-2009 and it was 60º F. I looked at the 2008 field notes and saw where the water temperature was 53º F on 2-27-2008. That means that the water is 7 degrees warmer this year than it was last year. It could have fooled me because I think that 2009 is a much cooler year than the past several years have been. I’ve noticed that the trees are later to have their buds begin to swell and I think that the yellow daffodils are late blooming this year. The water at Lake LU is still extremely clear and cold. Secchi disc readings indicate 38 inches of visibility. Bass Fishing

Bass fishing has been very good for the month of February. We have had

below average angler attendance but increased bass harvest. Part of this has been attributed to lake management strongly encouraging bass anglers to catch and remove their daily creel limits on small juvenile bass. I joked with some anglers that I was going to put up a sign saying, “$ 5 fine for NOT taking out your daily bass creel limits.” Whatever the propaganda, more bass anglers are taking out their catch. This is the best way to help me manage the bass fishery at Lake LU. The table on bass averages (Year-to-Date) gives me some encouraging news regarding the individual fish body weights. Right now 2009 bass weights are hovering at the one pound mark. It has been several years since the individual bass weights have been this high.

Photo of 8 pound, 22.125 inch bass caught by Brian Allen on 2-28-09. Bream Fishing

Bream fishing typically begins following the first full moon in April. However there have been some real slabs caught lately. If you look at the current year to date bream body average you will see that it is at 0.66 pounds per fish average. On average those are some real slab bream.

Photo of 2 pound “dinner plate” shellcracker caught by Willie Cook on 2-14-09. I call them a “dinner plate” because they are as big as a dinner plate. Willie Cook calls them a “dinner plate” because that is where this bream is ultimately destined to go. Fishing Tips and Techniques

February’s Lure Tip of the Month: The Fluke

The fluke is an extremely popular soft plastic lure for spring bass fishing. Many anglers swear by this lure and many call it their, “go to” lure when bass fishing is slow. The fluke body represents a minnow and the presentation imitates a wounded baitfish. The

number one method of presentation is a technique bass angler’s call, “Walking the Dog”. To “walk the dog” an angler casts out his fluke and quickly starts a retrieve involving short, quick twitches of the rod tip. These short twitches transmit down the line and cause the fluke to dart quickly to the left and the right. The left and right movements of the fluke look like those of an injured minnow and bass find the action hard to resist. It takes a bit of practice to master the presentation. You have to maintain a constant retrieve with the reel while keeping your twitching at regular intervals. Many anglers use the “walk the dog” approach at the first of their cast and do that for about 10 “steps” of the dog walking, then allow the fluke to slowly sink. Many bass will watch the skipping action in the beginning and will strike when the lure sinks. Some anglers use the same jigging action they use with their plastic worm fishing and get good results. One of the biggest challenges to this top water action is to not set the hook too soon when the bass strikes. If you set the hook too early, you’ll often snatch the lure from the fish’s mouth before you can get a solid hook set.

The fluke can be rigged a multitude of ways. The favored presentation by Lake LU anglers is to rig the lure Texas Style weightless. One angler at Lake LU pushes small brad nails into the sides of his fluke to give it a bit of weight.

Some of the most productive colors to use at Lake LU are albino, white pearl, Bluegill, Arkansas shiner, smoking shad and baby bass. Additional Lake Information

Lake LU will be closed from Monday, March 16, 2009 through Friday, March 20, 2009 for the UWA Spring Break Holidays. Lake LU will reopen on Saturday, March 21, 2009 at 6:00 a.m.

Nature Trails

We have started working on the footbridge portion of the Nature Trail

renovation project. We hope to have the bridges completed soon after Spring Break. Please exercise caution as you hike around these construction areas.

Nature Trail controlled burn. Photo by R. Lewis ALFA Center

Controlled burn. Photo by R. Lewis We have completed the 2009 Controlled Burn Season on the UWA

campus. All burns went according to plan and the wildflowers should start emerging from the ashes in the next month or so.

If anyone wants any advice on fishing Lake LU, please call me at 1-205-652-9266 or e-mail me at [email protected]. Feel free to visit Lake LU’s website at www.lakelu.uwa.edu Thank you, Roger Limerick Lake Manager Lake LU [email protected]

1-205-652-9266

March 2009 Newsletter Roger Limerick - - Lake Manager

LAKE LU Fishing

Newsletter


0

2

4

6

8

10

12

Janu

ary

Mar

chM

ay July

Septe

mbe

r

Novem

ber

Ra

infa

ll in

Inch

es



01020304050607080

Janu

ary

Mar

ch May Ju

ly

Septe

mbe

r

Novem

ber

Deg

rees

Fah

ren

he

it a

t s

urf

ace


March 2009 Fish Report


Anglers Number of

Bass Pounds of

Bass Number of

Bream Pounds of

Bream March 2009

344 465 492.75 256 151.25

March 2008

427 349 331 124 68.75

March 2007

621 917 816.25 534 303.50


Pounds of Bream

Monthly 344 465 492.75 256 151.25

Previous 232 501 496.25 98 64.75

Calendar YTD

576 966 989 354 216




0100200300400500600700800900

1000

Jan

uary

Mar

chM

ayJu

ly

Septem

ber

Novem

ber

Nu

mb

er o

f Bas

s C

au

ght





0

500

1000

1500

2000

2500

3000

Janu

ary

Mar

chM

ay July

Septe

mbe

r

Novem

ber

Nu

mb

er o

f Bre

am c

augh

t






Bream P

2009 576 966 989 354 2008 702 763 659.75 135 2007 894 1498 1307.50 676 Fish Averages (Year-to-Date) Month/Year


lb/Bream Average

lb/Acre Average

March 2009 1.02 19.78 0.61 4.32

March 2008 0.87 13.19 0.55 1.48

March 2007 0.88 26.15 0.58 7.79

Lake Conditions Greetings friends of Lake LU and welcome to the first of April! We’ll be draining the lake tomorrow and planting wildflower seeds on the lakebed. Just kidding. HAPPY APRIL FOOLS DAY!! We WILL NOT be draining the lake or doing anything to the jewel of West Alabama. I’m letting Lake LU run along by itself and I’m just going to poke it with a stick every once in a while to keep it in line. The past week has been extremely wet with 10.2 inches of rainfall for the month of March. The water temperature is 69º F at the surface and current Secchi Disc readings indicate 26 inches of visibility. I put 50 gallons of fertilizer into the lake last week so the water color is a greenish-brown. Bass Fishing

Bass fishing has been great lately. I estimate that I had 20 big bass

caught during the month of March. These bass ranged from 10 to 6 pounds and all bass were very fat and healthy. In the middle of the month I thought that we would approach the monthly record for bass harvest but we fell short of this number following the massive rainfalls last week. So much water fell that it pushed the bedding bass off spawn and made them move back out to deeper water. These bass were suspended in about 8 to 12 feet of water. We have missed the rains now for a couple of days so I’m guessing that the bass are trying to sneak back on bed.

I don’t know what the bass were doing in 2007 but we fell a bit short of meeting that monthly harvest level. Both bass and bluegill harvest numbers were up in 2007. One good note about the 2009 bass harvest is that the overall individual bass body weights are increasing and now are over one pound average. I’ll continue to try to convince anglers to remove their daily creel limits on small bass. Remember April is the month to cast creature baits. The best baits to use are lizards and brush hogs.

The photo to the left is Wil Vickery, UWA senior, posing with a 9 pound, 10 ounce bass he caught on 3-15-09. Wil is currently winning the UWA Big Bass Bonanza with this fish. Wil won the Bonanza last year and will probably win again this year.

The photo to the left is Kortney Kidd, fiancé to Wil Vickery. It appears that Wil has been giving Kortney some bass fishing lessons. Kortney’s bass was caught on 3-29-09 and weighed 7 pounds and was 22.25 inches long. Kortney’s smiling because she landed the big one. She and Wil plan on marrying sometime in the upcoming year.

Left is a photo of Quinton &Jai Watters 3.5 pound bass that they caught and released.

Bream Fishing Bream fishing has started to improve. The water temp is right at 69 degrees and I’m betting that the bream will turn on at the next full moon. The next full moon will occur on April 9th, 2009. The best bait to use right now is very small red worms. April is the month that bluegill really begin striking aggressively. I’ve included the photos of some great artificial lures for panfish in the fishing tips and techniques area below. Fishing Tips and Techniques

This month I’ll focus on some bream lures. The curly tail jig is perhaps the best artificial lure anglers can use to catch some bream with. Many anglers prefer to add a jig spinner harness. The spinner gives the lure a good bit of extra flash and allows the lure to be retrieved slower than normal. The size of the spinner should be coupled with the size of the jig. Very small 1/32 ounce jigs should be paired up with very small 00 spinner harnesses.

The best color of jig bodies are black body with a green tail. Some anglers prefer gray or silver jig bodies.

The Panfish Assassin jig body in 1.5 inch length is a very productive lure when fished without a spinner harness.

Many bream anglers swear that small crankbaits are the best lures to use to catch bluegill. Above is the Bitsy Minnow, a small 1.5 inch crankbait that is very productive at Lake LU. The best colors are either firetiger or ghost.

Yo-Zuri “snapbeans” are another popular crankbait for bluegill and shellcracker. These are extremely tiny crankbaits and you need very small diameter monofilament in order to cast these very far. I recommend 6 pound test line because it’s a bit more forgiving. If you use 4 or 2 pound monofilament, you really have to have your drag set very light. Additional Lake Information

Lake LU WILL NOT CLOSE for Easter Sunday (April 12, 2009). However I will be going to church that morning and the lake might not open until around 12:20 or 12:30 pm. It depends on how long the preacher’s sermon is.

Nature Trails

The heavy rains have had us shut down in regards to our Nature Trail

foot bridge building project. I haven’t walked up in the woods to see if all our lumber didn’t float off. We will resume construction on the bridges as soon as it dries up a little bit.


April 2009 Newsletter Robby Limerick - - Lake Manager

LAKE LU Fishing

Newsletter

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

Rainfall in Inches


2009 Total Monthly Rainfall

0102030405060708090

Degrees Fahrenheit at surface


Lake LU water temperature

April 2009 Fish Report


Anglers Number of

Bass Pounds of

Bass Number of

Bream Pounds of

Bream April 2009 487 192 179 1,233 681.75 April 2008 510 578 369.25 1,581 758.50 April 2007 571 291 250.75 1,812 952.25


Pounds of Bream

Monthly 487 192 179 1,233 681.75

Previous 576 966 989 354 216

Calendar YTD

1,063 1,158 1,168 1,587 897.75



0

200

400

600

800

1000

Number of Bass Caught


2007 # of Bass caught

2008 # of Bass Caught


0

500

1000

1500

2000

2500

3000

January

March

May

July

September

November

Number of Bream caught


2007 # of Bream caught





Bream P

2009 1,063

1,158

1,168 1,587

2008 1,212 1,341 1,029 1,716 2007 1,465 1,789 1,558.25 2,488 Fish Averages (Year-to-Date) Month/Year


lb/Bream Average

lb/Acre Average

April 2009 1.01 23.36 0.56 17.95

April 2008 0.76 20.58 0.48 16.65

April 2007 0.87 31.16 0.53 26.83 Lake Conditions I apologize for the late sending of this month’s newsletter. My windows program experienced some errors and the guys from Information Services replaced my old reliable Windows XP with the new and improved (and vastly glitchy) Microsoft Office 2007. Oh well, change is the only constant. Perhaps by the time that I figure out how to work the new Office, they will come out with something else “new and improved”. Perhaps I can bribe the guys from IS to come out and reinstall my old XP program for me. I still don’t know what’s wrong with the graphs in my newsletters, but you can get the basics of what the graphs stand for. Some of the letters in the text are either backwards or upside down or something my mind can’t figure out at the present. Whatever the case, here’s the newsletter. We got four inches of rain at Lake LU for the month of April. April has been the month of change with Secchi Disc readings of 42” of visibility on 4-23-09 and visibility at 29” on 4-29-09. I checked visibility on 5-2-09 and it was 22 inches. I’ll fertilize the lake on Thursday, May 14, 2009. Water temp has ranged from 73º F on 4-23-09 to 83º F on 4-29-09. Bass Fishing

In trying to describe why bass fishing is off for this time of the year and I

can only put it into two words. Post spawn. While monthly bass harvest is really down, the year to date harvest is ok. When you look at the annual bass average body size and pounds per acre harvested, we are really quite on track for this time of the year. Again I encourage anglers to take out small juvenile bass. I talked with Mr. Jay Haffner and we again discussed the possibility of an electrofish removal for Lake LU this year. Perhaps we can beat the winter rains this year and take out a large portion of small juvenile bass.

Photo of a nice bass caught by Debra Maxtion 4-19-09 9lb; 24.75 inches. Debra caught this nice bass on a weightless Sinko worm. I measured, weighed and tagged this bass and it was RELEASED back to Lake LU. Tag number 081.

Photo of another nice bass caught by Rev. Frank Roshelle on 4-15-09 7.5 lbs; 22.25 inches and this bass was caught on live redworms. It seems that Reverend Roshelle is not only a fisher of men but also a fisherman!

Bream Fishing Bream fishing has been getting better and better as the year progresses. Many anglers have caught 15 to 30 bream per visit and occasionally there would be the bream angler that would max out on their limit with 50. Mr. Oscar Davis and his fishing partner almost always catch their limit of 50 bream. The best bait to catch bream with is small red worms or crickets.

Jimmy Edison 4-1-09 10 bream 7.5 pounds

Jimmy’s T-shirt says it all. Fishing Tips and Techniques

Watermelon red. What more can I say. I’ll do better next month. Additional Lake Information

Farm Safety Day is slated for May 14, 2009. This is a day when area school children converge upon Lake LU to learn about safety. Nature Trails

Photo of Logan Limerick at the construction site of the final bridge on the Nature Trail Renovation Project. Never again will this level of construction be performed on the Nature Trails. We have tried to name the bridge many times. Some of the names that we have come up with are Nosebleed Bridge, Wooden Snake Bridge, John Hall Bridge, Humongosaur Bridge and Snake Spine Bridge. If you visit the bridge site please send me an email with your bridge naming ideas.

If anyone wants any advice on fishing Lake LU, please call me at 1-205-652-9266 or e-mail me at [email protected]. Feel free to visit Lake LU’s website at www.lakelu.uwa.edu Thank you, Robby Limerick Lake Manager Lake LU [email protected] 1-205-652-9266

June 2009 Newsletter Robby Limerick - - Lake Manager

LAKE LU Fishing

Newsletter

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

Rainfall in Inches



0102030405060708090

100




June 2009 Fish Report


Anglers Number of

Bass Pounds of

Bass Number of

Bream Pounds of

Bream June 2009 220 82 80.50 753 361.75 June 2008 225 88 64.75 960 413 June 2007 345 165 84.75 2182 1,034.50


Pounds of Bream

Monthly 220 82 80.50 753 361.75

Previous 1433 1401 1373.25 2508 1367

Calendar YTD

1653

1483 1453.75 3261 1728.75



0

200

400

600

800

1000






0

500

1000

1500

2000

2500

3000

January

March

May

July

September

November








Bream P

2009 1,653

1,483 1,453.75 3,261

2008 1,770 1,664 1,242.75 4,112 2007 2,263 2,224 1,803 7,231 Fish Averages (Year-to-Date) Month/Year


lb/Bream Average

lb/Acre Average

June 2009 0.98 29.07 0.53 34.57

June 2008 0.75 24.85 0.47 39.23

June 2007 0.81 36.06 0.50 72.72

Lake Conditions Rainfall has been a precious commodity around here. We only got 0.6 inches of rainfall for the entire month of June 2009. Last weekend we had 100 degree weather on both Saturday and Sunday. The water temperature is 91ºF again this month. I last fertilized the lake on June 11, 2009. Secchi readings on that day were 34” of visibility. I shouldn’t have to fertilize anymore until around September. The current water color is Key Lime green with Secchi disc readings indicating 15 inches of visibility. I hope that the annual city of Livingston’s firework show doesn’t make the lake water any greener. Regardless, the fishes’ ears will be ringing for a few days following the fireworks display! Bass Fishing

This month’s “Mr. Lake LU” is Danny Howell. Danny is an AVID Lake LU

bass angler. Here’s a youtube link to an 8 pound bass that Danny caught and released last weekend when the temps were in the 90’s. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VT4xw-EsYh0&feature=player_embedded. The video is garbled because Danny was fighting the bass and trying to take video during the catch. I’ll have to go out with Danny one day and we’ll make our own Lake LU fishing video to share with you newsletter readers.

Bream Fishing Bluegill harvest numbers really started coming up with the high temperatures. Unfortunately angler attendance has dropped off with the high temperatures. Those brave souls willing to put up with the high temperatures have been rewarded with some nice bream catches. Fishing Tips and Techniques

Here are some video clips for fishing techniques. Hope some of them work.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TDI5kwR5zj

c Backlash fixing technique that I have never heard of. I hope it works for some of you.

Below is a page from a website dealing with survival situations. I

thought you might enjoy seeing primitive fishhooks.

Taken from http://www.survivaliq.com/index.htm.

FISHING DEVICES

You can make your own fishhooks, nets and traps and use several methods to obtain fish in a survival situation.

Improvised Fishhooks

You can make field-expedient fishhooks from pins, needles, wire, small nails, or any piece of metal. You can also use wood, bone, coconut shell, thorns, flint, seashell, or tortoise

shell. You can also make fishhooks from any combination of these items (Figure 8-17).

To make a wooden hook, cut a piece of hardwood about 2.5 centimeters long and about 6 millimeters in diameter to form the shank. Cut a notch in one end in which to place the point. Place the point (piece of bone, wire, nail) in the notch. Hold the point in the notch and tie securely so that it does not move out of position. This is a fairly large hook. To make smaller hooks, use smaller material.

A gorge is a small shaft of wood, bone, metal, or other material. It is sharp on both ends and notched in the middle where you tie cordage. Bait the gorge by placing a piece of bait on it lengthwise. When the fish swallows the bait, it also swallows the gorge.

Additional Lake Information REMINDER: Lake LU will be closed Saturday, July 4, 2009 for the University of West Alabama’s Independence

Day Holiday. Lake LU will reopen on Sunday, July 5, 2009 at 12:00 noon.

On June 24th, 2009 we had 216 white amur (grass carp) delivered and stocked into Lake LU for aquatic weed control. These carp ranged from 12 to 14 inches long. If anyone catches any of these grass carp they must IMMEDIATELY throw the grass carp back into Lake LU.

Grass carp waiting to head down the pipe to Lake LU.

Grass carp dropping out of the pipe. Nature Trails

The footbridge construction project has been completed on the Nature

Trust hiking trail. Stop by the information kiosk and get a brochure to the self-guiding nature tour and enjoy the changes.

Photo of volunteers decking the nature trail bridge. From left to right, Brian Burnes, John Hall, Rose Hall and Valerie Burnes.

If anyone wants any advice on fishing Lake LU, please call me at 1-205-652-9266 or e-mail me at [email protected]. Feel free to visit Lake LU’s website at www.lakelu.uwa.edu Fish on, Robby Limerick Lake Manager Lake LU [email protected] 1-205-652-9266

July 2009 Newsletter Robby Limerick - - Lake Manager

LAKE LU Fishing

Newsletter

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

Rainfall in Inches



0102030405060708090

100




July 2009 Fish Report


Anglers Number of

Bass Pounds of

Bass Number of

Bream Pounds of

Bream July 2009 165 77 62.25 586 274.25 July 2008 188 66 47.75 1,301 605 July 2007 204 84 56 1,410 650


Pounds of Bream

Monthly 165 77 62.25 586 274.25

Previous 1,653 1,483 1,453.75 3,261 1,728.75

Calendar YTD

1,818 1,560 1,516 3,847 2,003



0

200

400

600

800

1000






0

500

1000

1500

2000

2500

3000

January

March

May

July

September

November








Bream P

2009 1,818

1,560

1,516 3,847



lb/Bream Average

lb/Acre Average

July 2009 0.97 30.32 0.52 40.06

July 2008 0.75 25.81 0.47 51.33

July 2007 0.80 37.18 0.50 85.72

Lake Conditions

Well the drought appears to be broken. We got 2.7 inches of rain the latter part of July and the rainfall helped out a lot to improve lake conditions. I don’t know if it was the rainfall or the cooler temperatures but the lake appears to be clearing up a bit. June Secchi Disc readings indicated 15 inches of visibility and I wondered what effect the City of Livingston’s fireworks show would have on the lake. Well Secchi Disc readings went down to the all time low of 9 inches for a few weeks following the fireworks show. I don’t know what amount of firework residue makes it to the lake but it always turns Margarita Green following the fireworks show. Maybe next year Dr. McCall will get some aquatic biology students to gather some samples. Secchi Disc readings are currently sitting at 14 inches.

Fireworks show finale 2009 Bass Fishing

Bass fishing has been fairly constant throughout the summer to those

with the lucky skills. Apparently I lack in lucky skills for I haven’t caught a fish out of the lake since about Late April. I’ll have to play catch up later on this fall. Bass harvest numbers appear to be reduced but they are probably fairly normal considering the number of bass anglers attempting to catch fish. Remember that it was in the 100 degree temperature range early in July. Now the water temperature is in the 84 degree range. Cooler water holds more dissolved oxygen than warm water. Some big bass have been caught on crankbaits, while smaller bass have been caught on rooster tails and beetle spins.

Photo of Spencer Hodges and a bass he caught on 7-25-09. Spencer is the grandson of Joyce Brannan, a UWA librarian. As you can see in the photo Lake LU has dried up a bit during the drought. I estimate that Lake LU’s water level has dropped by approximately 14 inches during the past two months.

Bream Fishing

Bream fishing has been slow but you would never know it by looking in the coolers of some of Lake LU’s regular anglers. This month’s “Mr. Lake LU” Award goes to Arnold Thomas. Mr. Thomas used to fish at some of the state public fishing lakes situated around Tuscaloosa. Mr. Thomas was converted to fishing at Lake LU last year and he is one of my most regular bream anglers. The stringer of 20 bream Mr. Thomas is holding weighed about 14 pounds.

Fishing Tips and Techniques

This month’s fishing tip covers bluegill fishing with live bait and the use of casting bubbles in the bait presentation.

To the left is a photo of three different colors of casting bubbles used with live bait fishing for bluegill. Almost all of the real bream catching professionals at Lake LU use these casting bubbles. They appear easy to use. Most anglers use 6 pound test monofilament fishing line and tie about 6 feet of line beyond the casting bubble to their hook. Most of the time the hook is used without any lead weight attached. These bream anglers have mastered the ability to cast the float along with the 6 feet of extra line, hook and bait. I have watched them and I can tell it takes some practice, but what else are you going to do while sitting on the bank all day? Practice makes perfect. These bluegill anglers will cast their bait out and they don’t just let it lie out there all stagnant. They twitch and ease the float along every so often. I’m guessing so as to keep the bream’s attention focused on all that live bait. Whatever the reason for the increased angling success, old pros swear by casting bubbles. The next time you are in the sporting goods store, stock up on some of these floats to increase your chances of catching some nice bluegill. Additional Lake Information

Students will return to the UWA campus on the weekend of August 15th and 16th. Classes begin the next week.

Nature Trails

Dr. Lee Stanton, UWA Assistant Professor of Biology, is working on

establishing some professional quality nature trail signs for the hiking trails. These high quality signs will contain detailed information on the plants and animals found throughout the Black Belt. Look for this project to be completed in the next year.

If anyone wants any advice on fishing Lake LU, please call me at 1-205-652-9266 or e-mail me at [email protected]. Feel free to visit Lake LU’s website at www.lakelu.uwa.edu Thank you, Robby Limerick Lake Manager Lake LU [email protected] 1-205-652-9266

August 2009 Newsletter Robby Limerick - - Lake Manager

LAKE LU Fishing

Newsletter

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

Rainfall in Inches



0102030405060708090

100




August 2009 Fish Report


Anglers Number of

Bass Pounds of

Bass Number of

Bream Pounds of

Bream August 2009

151 117 105.25 656 261

August 2008

157 89 67.25 1,372 642.75

August 2007

121 31 32 1,095 478.50


Pounds of Bream

Monthly 151 117 105.25 656 261

Previous 1,818 1,560 1,516 3,847 2,003

Calendar YTD

1,969 1,677 1,621.25 4,503 2,264



0

200

400

600

800

1000






0

500

1000

1500

2000

2500

3000

January

March

May

July

September

November








Bream P

2009 1,969

1,677

1,621.25 4,503



lb/Bream Average

lb/Acre Average

August 2009 0.97 32.42 0.51 45.28

August 2008 0.75 27.15 0.48 64.18

August 2007

0.81 37.82 0.48 95.29

Lake Conditions Lake LU’s Secchi disc readings are still at 14 inches of visibility. Water temperature at the surface was 83º F on 9-2-02. This is a bit cooler than is to be expected for the month of August. I predict an earlier, cooler, wetter fall than we have seen in years past. The lake water is a deep, dark olive green and I don’t expect much clearing until the water temperature goes below the 80º mark. Bass Fishing

We have escaped the doldrums of the fishing year. The doldrums are a

sailing term and I use the word in relation to the stagnation of the summer fishing activity. Historically June, July and August are the three worst months for bass fishing at Lake LU. Most people associate fishing with summer activity and I guess that’s because the kids are out of school and they don’t have much to do. Now begins the fishing year in regards to angler success rates. Cooler weather does result in better bass fishing; however the bluegill catch rates do decrease in cooler weather. The bass fishing season begins now and runs through April.

As you can tell from the above numbers, bass fishing is comparable to the past three years. Individual bass body weights are increasing on average. There has also been bigger trophy bass caught this year. Last month I had two 8 pound bass caught. One never recovered from being caught and was removed from the lake. This big bass was caught on a shallow diving crawfish crank bait. Another was caught last weekend and the fishermen released it and it swam away unharmed. This big bass was caught on a diamond shad rattletrap. As the water continues to cool, fewer fish will suffer from low levels of dissolved oxygen. I caught a nice 7.5 pound bass at my dad’s farm pond on a Zoom brand worm motor oil colored with a chartreuse tail. This is an excellent color to use in late summer waters.

Photo of a big bass caught and mounted by Brian Allen. Nice taxidermy job Brian!

Bream Fishing

Bluegill fishing has been about half as good as in the past three years. The reduction in bluegill harvest numbers could be related to many factors. Two factors that I believe have reduced the harvest numbers are reduction in angler attendance and the increased number of trophy class largemouth bass. Attendance is about 600 anglers less in 2009 than we had visiting the lake in 2007. Also, Lake LU is growing more trophy class bass that in turn consume more of the bluegill as a forage prey type. Overall individual bass and bream body size is going up each year. Another reason for the change is one that a very old man once told my mother, “Somedays it just bees that way.” Everything goes through a cycle. Things are either on their way up, their way down, or on their way out.

Fishing Tips and Techniques

Sorry I didn’t have much time for lure photos. Below are two websites that will benefit bass anglers. The first website talks about the evolution of bass fishing. It holds valuable information for the bass fishing enthusiast. The second website is a blog website detailing the comparison between mono, fluoro and braided fishing lines. I hope it helps your fishing.

http://www.strikeking.com/journal/00320/1.php George Cochran and the Evolution of Bass Fishing with

Tips On How to Make Your Fishing Better http://bassinblog.richlindgren.com/2006/04/14/monofilamen

t-vs-fluorocarbon-vs-braided-lines--how-does-one-choose.aspx 1. Rich Lindgren’s Bassin' Blog: Monofilament vs. Fluorocarbon vs.

Braided ...

Additional Lake Information

Autumn begins September 22, 2009. Full moon is slated for Friday, September 4, 2009.

Nature Trails

Photo of a box turtle that Logan and I found on the Nature Trail.

The trails are in great shape and we welcome their use. Be sure to sign

the user form at the entrance/kiosk.


September 2009 Newsletter Robby Limerick - - Lake Manager

LAKE LU Fishing

Newsletter

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

Rainfall in Inches



0102030405060708090

100




September 2009 Fish Report


Anglers Number of

Bass Pounds of

Bass Number of

Bream Pounds of

Bream September2009 141 304 238.75 380 150 September2008 142 305 249.25 360 159.50 September2007 133 118 73.75 242 90


Pounds of Bream

Monthly 141 304 238.75 380 150

Previous 1,969 1,677 1,621.25 4,503 2,264

Calendar YTD

2,110 1,981 1,860 4,883 2,414



0

200

400

600

800

1000






0

500

1000

1500

2000

2500

3000

January

March

May

July

September

November








Bream P

2009 2,110

1,981

1,860 4,883

2008 2,257 2,124 1,607 7,145 2007 2,721 2,457 1,964.75 9,978 Fish Averages (Year-to-Date) Month/Year lb/Bass Average lb/Acre

Average lb/Bream Average

lb/Acre Average

September2009 0.94 37.20 0.50 48.28

September2008 0.76 32.14 0.47 67.37

Septembers2007

0.79 39.29 0.49 97.09

Lake Conditions Well, now wasn’t that one of the wettest Septembers in recent memory? We got 7.1 inches of rainfall at Lake LU for the month (believe it or not) and that brings our annual total rainfall up to 43.2 inches. I traveled through Emelle on a rainy Monday and I estimate that they got 7 inches in one day! To quote a line from one of my father’s favorite poems; Samuel Taylor Coldridge’s Rhyme of the Ancient Mariner. “Water, water everywhere and not a drop to drink. Water, water everywhere and all the boards did shrink.” The water clarity was at 14 inches of visibility before all that rain and it has since cleared up to 20 inches. Following the rain, it has since greened back up to around 18 inches of visibility. Current water temperature at the surface is 77º F.

Logan the aquanaut playing in the floodwaters.

Bass Fishing Bass fishing is as good as it gets. September 2009 bass fishing is a near

mirror image of bass fishing for September 2008. Bass are feeding aggressively on small bream. The last hour of daylight is a bass angler’s paradise. I urge all bass anglers to come to Lake LU and enjoy the great Fall fishing. The best lures to use on these Fall bass are blue finesse worms, chrome blue rattletraps and weightless flukes.

Bream Fishing Bream fishing is really starting to slow down a good bit. Some dedicated bream anglers are making some decent catches. With cooler weather you may catch fewer bream but the overall body size is larger. I have seen some real slab bream caught in cool weather. Wax worms and meal worms are the best bait to use in October. Fishing Tips and Techniques

Save your trolling motor battery. Use an anchor when fishing in the wind. Trolling around all day can really wear out a battery. I’ve had to jump start a few anglers in the past who use the battery out of their truck to power their trolling motor. If you like to troll all day it’s a good idea to bring two batteries. Additional Lake Information The UWA Fellowship of Christian Athletes will be holding a concert called “Fields of Faith” on Wednesday, October 14, 2009 beginning at 5:00 pm. The public is invited to attend. The UWA Department of Languages and Literature will be sponsoring a poetry reading at the Lower Pavilion at Lake LU on Wednesday, October 21, 2009 beginning at 5:00 pm. Bring a covered dish and some poetry if you attend.

October is the month that the Burr Marigold comes into bloom around the perimeter of Lake LU. I encourage photographers and nature lovers to take full advantage of this annual beauty.

We recently added some new gravel to our footpaths in the park. Below

is a photo of some boys playing in the big pile of gravel.

Nature Trails

We have started working on the arm rails on the Wooden Rollercoaster

Bridge. Please exercise caution around this project area until it is finished. Remember to sign in at the kiosk at the trail head behind Tartt Baseball Field.


October 2009 Newsletter Robby Limerick - - Lake Manager

LAKE LU Fishing

Newsletter

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

Rainfall in Inches



0102030405060708090

100




October 2009 Fish Report


Anglers Number of

Bass Pounds of

Bass Number of

Bream Pounds of

Bream October 2009

141 371 320.25 432 212.75

October 2008

143 285 255.25 236 104.50

October 2007

154 326 205.50 180 66.75


Pounds of Bream

Monthly 141 371 320.25 432 212.75

Previous 2,110 1,981 1,860 4,883 2,414

Calendar YTD

2,251 2,352 2,180.25 5,315 2,626.75



0

200

400

600

800

1000






0

500

1000

1500

2000

2500

3000

January

March

May

July

September

November








Bream P

2009 2,251

2,352

2,180.25 5,315

2008 2,400 2,409 1,862.25 7,381 2007 2,875 2,783 2,170.25 10,158 Fish Averages (Year-to-Date) Month/Year


lb/Bream Average

lb/Acre Average

October 2009

0.93 43.60 0.50 52.53

October 2008

0.77 37.24 0.47 69.46

October 2007

0.78 43.40 0.48 98.43

Lake Conditions Lake LU is at its pinnacle of annual beauty with the yellow Burr Marigold now in full bloom. The lake water is very clear with Secchi Disc readings indicating 42 inches of visibility on 11-4-09. Water temperature was 67º F on 11-4-09. We got 5 inches of rainfall for the month of October.

Burr Marigold in full bloom in upper end creek channel of Lake LU. Photo by Robby Limerick.

Bass Fishing Bass fishing for the month of October was very good. Almost every bass

angler caught their limit. Ted Galloway and Brad Langner from Tuscaloosa are co-winners of the title, Mr. Lake LU for the month of October. These two have been very regular and they only fish weightless blue Sinko worms. I always pick at Ted that I would rather tie a hot dog onto the end of my line than fish a Sinko worm. The Sinko worm just doesn’t have enough action for me. Regardless, Ted and Brad have been catching many bass with this lure. If you look at the bass graph, you’ll see that the Fall 2009 bass catches are approaching the 2007 bass harvest. Perhaps the November bass harvest will elevate it beyond the 2007 numbers. Now is the best bass fishing experience that can be found at any time in the year.

Photo of Ted Galloway (left) and Brad Langner (right) and one of their stringers of nice bass they caught at Lake LU. Photo by Robby Limerick.

Bream Fishing

The bream fishing is really slow with the cool, clear water. Last week on Wednesday I had some bank anglers catch some really nice shell crackers. The best bait to use now is the wax worm. I had someone email me last week wanting a 10 page email letter on how to get to Lake LU, what bait to use, what tackle to buy and how to hold their mouth while they fished. I typed up the monster letter and sent it out and they said that they would be at Lake LU this past Saturday. Well I got an email back and they said that the rain kept them from coming to Lake LU on Saturday but they wanted to thank me for the information on the bait they used. I told them in the email letter that wax worms were the best bait to use. They said they took wax worms to a state public fishing lake and that they caught a cooler full of bream on those wax worms! They thanked me for the fishing advice and stated that they wanted to make it to Lake LU as soon as they could. Those wax worms are hard to beat! Fishing Tips and Techniques

The best fishing tip I can give is to fish a blue worm, 1/8th ounce bullet weight and fish drop offs in open water.

(Sorry, but I can’t think of anything better at the moment!) Additional Lake Information

Lake LU will be closed from Monday, November 23, 2009 through Friday, November 27, 2009 for the UWA Thanksgiving Holidays. Lake LU will reopen on Saturday, November 28, 2009 at 6:00 a.m.

Nature Trails

Be sure to get out and enjoy the nature trails. UWA is fortunate to have an extensive nature trail complex that features three different trails covering an estimated 4 miles. These trails are mowed and maintained for comfortable hiking. Be sure to enjoy the out-of-doors while the fall foliage is at its peak.

We are approximately 25% complete with the arm rail

installation on the Wooden Rollercoaster Bridge. Please exercise caution around this work area until the project is finished.

Photo of armrail installation on John Hall’s Wooden Rollercoaster Bridge. Photo by Robby Limerick. If anyone wants any advice on fishing Lake LU, please call me at 1-205-652-9266 or e-mail me at [email protected]. Feel free to visit Lake LU’s website at www.lakelu.uwa.edu Thank you, Roger Limerick Lake Manager Lake LU [email protected] 1-205-652-9266

November 2009 Newsletter Robby Limerick - - Lake Manager

LAKE LU Fishing

Newsletter

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

Rainfall in Inches



0102030405060708090

100




November 2009 Fish Report


Anglers Number of

Bass Pounds of

Bass Number of

Bream Pounds of

Bream November 2009

112 301 248.75 228 128

November 2008

83 142 109.50 130 70.50

November 2007

108 439 282.25 63 19.75


Pounds of Bream

Monthly 112 301 248.75 228 128

Previous 2,251 2,352 2,180.25 5,315 2,626.75

Calendar YTD

2,363 2,653 2,429 5,543 2,754.75



0

200

400

600

800

1000






0

500

1000

1500

2000

2500

3000

January

March

May

July

September

November








Bream P

2009 2,363

2,653

2,429 5,543

2008 2,483 2,551 1,971.75 7,511 2007 2,983 3,222 2,452.50 10,221 Fish Averages (Year-to-Date) Month/Year


lb/Bream Average

lb/Acre Average

November 2009

0.91 48.58 0.50 55.09

November 2008

0.78 39.43 0.47 70.87

November 2007

0.76 49.05 0.48 98.82

Lake Conditions November 2009 was a good month at Lake LU. We had only 2.2 inches of rainfall for the month. It was the second driest month this year. Our current annual precipitation amount is 50.4 inches of rainfall. We are right on track for a normal rainfall year. The lake water is currently the color of sweet tea. We got 2.1 inches of rainfall last night and I’ll bet the upper end of the lake is very muddy. Secchi Disc readings indicate 32 inches of visibility. The current water temperature at the surface is 56ºF. Bass Fishing

November 2009 was a great month for bass fishing at Lake LU. We had

nearly 250 pounds of bass caught for the month and our annual total is approaching the 50 pound per acre of bass harvested mark. I have no doubt that we will be sitting right near the 50 pound per acre mark by the end of the year. November anglers said that the best color plastic worm to use was anything with the word watermelon in it.

Bream Fishing Bream fishing has been slow as to be expected for this time of the year. However the bream tag team of L.C. Brown, Patrece “Peanut” Stewart and Ben Hudson has managed to catch some very nice bream last month. They have caught the majority of their bream by using “dug bait”. Dug bait is not the preferred bait used by Dr. Doug Wymer, Chair of the UWA Department of Environmental and Biological Sciences. Dug bait refers to worms dug by hand from local soil sources. In these recessionary times, “dug bait” is a good way to save some angling dollars.

I have had good success raising earthworms in a compost pile that I have near the lake house. I just pile leaves and table scraps and other organic goodies that decompose and turn into Iowa topsoil. Earthworms love these compost piles. If you have some leftover “bought bait” from a fishing trip use these to “seed” your compost pile with earthworms. Once you have a good compost pile going, remember to turn the pile over with a pitchfork to incorporate the soil in with the fresh scraps and leaves. It’s environmentally friendly also! The soil can be used in the garden or greenhouse. If you want to pursue “dug bait” you can search for them around farmer’s barns, stockyards

or anywhere animal manure is stockpiled. You want to dig in the older black soil and not the fresher green stuff. Fishing Tips and Techniques As I mentioned earlier the best plastic worm to use in November was anything with the word watermelon in it. Anglers had good luck using watermelon red, watermelon seed and watermelon pink. Soon it will be time to use the rattletrap. Remember the best fishing is on cloudy days and not bluebird sky days. Mr. Jay Haffner, District 3 Fisheries Biologist came down to Lake LU on Thursday, November 19, 2009 and performed an electro-fishing event to study the growth of Lake LU bass. Following the shock survey, a team composed of me, Dr. Doug Wymer, and UWA biology students Josh Caudle and Hannah Wilson worked to weigh, measure and remove otoliths from the fish. Jay gave us a 10 minute training lecture on how to remove otoliths from bass. Jay would have made a heck of a great college professor! He’s very patient with people that have never yanked an otolith from a bass before.

Otoliths are kind of like inner ear bones found at the base of the fish’s skull. These bones grow in circular rings much like the growth rings on trees. By counting these rings you can determine within 95% accuracy the age of the bass. By dividing the bass total weight by the number of rings you can determine the amount of fish flesh grown in a given year. Data gathered from this electro-fishing survey indicate that bass at Lake LU were growing on average a half to three quarters of a pound per year. Jay commented that the largemouth bass at Lake LU are growing as rapidly as any bass that he observes in all of District 3.

Below are some captioned photos of the electro-fishing survey. All

photos by Robby Limerick.

Jay Haffner, District 3 Fisheries Biologist with shock boat in background

Electro-fishing in progress. Robby Limerick (left) Jay Haffner (right).

Jay holding up the biggest bass of the day. 6.5 pound bass caught and released. Bass were holding around trees and brush that I had placed in the lake. The bigger the treetop, the bigger the bass.

Jay instructing UWA Biology students Josh Caudle and Hannah Wilson on how to properly remove otolith bones from bass skulls.

To quote Jay, “It’s not rocket science!” I was amazed at how easy it really was.

On the top of the thumb rest the two freshly removed otoliths ready for study.

Dr. Doug Wymer using dissecting scope to count the number of growth rings in the otolith. It was a great day of scientific discovery. Fresh food to feed nerdy minds. Additional Lake Information LAKE LU WILL BE CLOSED FROM THURSDAY, DECEMBER 17, 2009 THROUGH TUESDAY, JANUARY 5, 2010 FOR THE UWA CHRISTMAS

AND NEW YEARS HOLIDAYS.

LAKE LU WILL REOPEN ON WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 6, 2010 AT 6:00 A.M.

Nature Trails

I have done the dance of joy!!! We have finally finished working on John Hall’s Wooden Rollercoaster!!! Of course I still have to complete some minor cosmetic finishing touches to the bridge but it is structurally complete! This concludes the entire trail reconstruction project. I’d like to thank the following for volunteering their time and talents. Dr. Richard Holland Dr. Tina Jones Mickey Smith John Hall Rose Hall Valerie Burns Brian Burns The men of the Tau Kappa Epsilon Fraternity Community service volunteers from UWA Freshman Seminar

This is the finished product, John Hall’s Wooden Rollercoaster! Nature Trail Bridge #3. COMPLETED!!!!! The Nature Trail Restoration Project is now complete! (I’ll have to get a press release prior to Spring!)

Leaf angels are just as much fun to make as snow angels. Especially in the south when it never snows when you want it to. If anyone wants any advice on fishing Lake LU, please call me at 1-205-652-9266 or e-mail me at [email protected]. Feel free to visit Lake LU’s website at www.lakelu.uwa.edu Thank you, Robby Limerick Lake Manager Lake LU [email protected] 1-205-652-9266

December 2009 Newsletter Robby Limerick - - Lake Manager

LAKE LU Fishing

Newsletter

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

Rainfall in Inches



0102030405060708090

100




December 2009 Fish Report


Anglers Number of

Bass Pounds of

Bass Number of

Bream Pounds of

Bream December 2009

19 21 18.25 24 9

December 2008

14 27 15.25 28 13.25

December 2007

54 278 181.25 9 4.75


Pounds of Bream

Monthly 19 21 18.25 24 9

Previous 2,363 2,653 2,429 5,543 2,754.75

Calendar YTD

2,382 2,674 2,447.25 5,567 2,763.75



0

200

400

600

800

1000






0

500

1000

1500

2000

2500

3000

January

March

May

July

September

November







Anglers Number of

Bass Pounds of

Bass Number of Bream

Pounds of Bream

2009 2,382

2,674

2,447.25 5,567 2,763.75

2008 2,497 2,578 1,987 7,539 3,557 2007 3,037 3,500 2,633.75 10,230 4,946 Fish Averages (Year-to-Date) Month/Year


lb/Bream Average

lb/Acre Average

December 2009

0.91 48.94 0.50 55.27

December 2008

0.77 39.74 0.47 71.14

December 2007

0.75 52.67 0.48 98.92

Lake Conditions

We received 8.1 inches of rainfall for the month of December 2009 and that brings our annual rainfall total to 58.5 inches of precipitation. The normal rainfall average for Sumter County is 55.93 inches according to the U.S.D.A. Soil Survey Manual. This puts 2009 into a rainfall surplus of 2.57 inches of rain. The bulk of our rain fell after July! Secchi Disc clarity indicates 48+ inches of visibility. If I were to guess I’d say that the lake has about 6 feet of clarity. The chart of Lake LU water temperature has been through a complete year. Our water temperature ranged 47º F from high to low temperatures through 2009. The highest water temperature was 91ºF in June and the coldest water temperature was 44ºF in December (actually Jan. 6, 2010!) Bass Fishing

We had a great bass harvest for 2009. We had 48.94 pounds of bass

caught for the year. Bass fishing, as with most all fishing for January, is very slow. We are just returning from a nice Christmas break and we are looking forward to a busy angling year. It was 18ºF on January 6, 2010 and I had one angler show up at dawn to go fishing. I tried to snap his photo but he avoided the camera! I guess he didn’t want to be identified! Cold winters make for great fishing in the spring. I don’t know if the cold weather forces the bass to eat more or what. Cold weather makes deer eat more. One thing I do know is that the colder the winter the more wound up and hyperactive the anglers become on Febuary 1st. It was 14ºF on the morning of 1-9-10 with a 5ºF wind chill. Now that’s frosty!!! I expect a phenomenal spring of bass fishing.

Run, Rodney, Run! Fishing in a boat in 18ºF weather! You should have your head examined!!!

Bream Fishing We had a mediocre bream harvest for 2009. Now don’t experience anxiety! For bass anglers, a reduced bream harvest is good news!!! That means that there are more bluegill remaining in the lake to feed those big bass! Fishing Tips and Techniques I am going to do away with the fishing tips and techniques section starting with the January 2010 newsletter. I am also going to do away with the lake water temperature graph. I now have one that cycles throughout the year and I expect little change. I also plan some minor changes to the overall newsletter so bear with me as I hammer out a new look. I plan on adding more photos of monthly activities around the lake. I would like to have input from the readers of this newsletter as to what graphs, charts, and special sections that they would like to see added to the newsletter. Do we need a birdwatchers section, a blooming wildflower section, wildlife section or what?

Remember, I would like to keep things as simple as possible. I remember back in the day when I first started this newsletter that it was going to be small and simple. It has since grown into something that takes up the bulk of the day to write. Let’s keep it simple!!!

If anyone would like to submit something for me to add to the newsletter please do so. I’ll edit the writing for spelling and include it into the newsletter with you as the author. Detail a particular trip, event or lure you enjoyed at Lake LU. Please send your writings to me in a word document format attached to an email message and title it, “Angler Quotes”. Please limit your writings to no more than about 500 words. There is NO minimum. Send a little something. Today’s Angler Quote is one of my father’s favorites. “It’s cold as a well digger’s ears in Idaho!!!!” by Oliver Limerick. Additional Lake Information March 10th is the single best day for bass fishing at Lake LU in the 2010 calendar year. It’s only two months away. Nature Trails

Below are some photos of Logan and I breaking ice at the

beaver pond. It was 14ºF this morning with 5ºF wind chill. We were bundled up like polar bears and out of the main part of that propane torch wind. Who says even though it’s cold you can’t enjoy a good nature trail hike. We had a BLAST!!! All photos by Robby Limerick.

Gotta put the sign up.

Why did the Windex freeze but not the sealed, unopened gallon jug of drinking water? Just some things to make you go hmmmmmm ?!?!?!

5 gallon “Ice cups” poured up the day before and plopped out of their 5 gallon bucket molds.

Looking through a pane of ice.

Ice at the beaver pond is about one inch thick. Photo by Logan Limerick.

Cold fingers!!!

How cold does a deer foot get?

No swimming in the beaver pond today!!! If anyone wants any advice on fishing Lake LU, please call me at 1-205-652-9266 or e-mail me at [email protected]. Feel free to visit Lake LU’s website at www.lakelu.uwa.edu Thank you, Robby Limerick Lake Manager

Lake LU [email protected] 1-205-652-9266

LAKE LU Fishing NewsletterAnother upgrade to the combination is to add a faceted glass bead to the...

Documents

Transcript of LAKE LU Fishing NewsletterAnother upgrade to the combination is to add a faceted glass bead to the...