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Hit Newton this morning right at daybreak and couldn't see 20 yards in front of me. After finding the edge of the lake with the cold rush of water in my boots, I knew I was there. The lake is in good shape. It is soft around the edges in spots and no slush. At least a foot of ice and another 2 ft of snow pack on top. I think it will take a while to thaw off. I caught around 40 perch and two crappie. I was able to pick and choose the bigger perch. I actually found a spot that produced some decent perch instead of little dinks. When I left around noon, about 6 different groups occupied the lake and they were catching perch. I found the best perch action is better on the deeper side of the lake about 15 to 20 feet down. I didn't catch a perch in deeper water. The crappie were suspended about 5 reels off the bottom. (Man I need some sonar) It took me longer than I wanted to get them figured out. The bite was light for the crappie and the perch were aggressive. I switched to a larger lure to weed through the smaller perch. It seemed to work. I am ready for spring fishin.
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Thanks for posting your report LC, sounds like you did good on the perch. Was there any size to the crappie? Wh2
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No size to the crappie. There is an abundance of crappie in Newton because we would have hundred plus days last summer with only a handful of big crappie. In '04 the lake was down so low and fish started dying and the lake is on a comeback. Newton is a secret when it comes to bass fishing. There are some nice bass in Newton and a hoot to catch. I anticipate over the next couple of years if the water level stays up that the crappie will fatten up. The perch cover up the lake so the muskie and bass have plenty to eat and help maintain a balanced lake. I can only catch decent crappie during the pre-spawn and that is it. I have a hard time finding them in the Fall because the water level is low and I am acustomed to fishing around structure and the structure becomes limited or obselete when the farmers have sucked the lake to a low level. This is probably more than you expected for an answer.[crazy]
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It is always good to get info on a lake I don't get a chance to fish much. We use to do good for the crappie at Pineview but it has been a while since that has happened. Hopefully this year will be better, maybe I'll even get a chance to fish Newton. Thanks for the info. WH2
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