weekend at Johnson

Spent Fri and Sat again at the big mud bowl known as Johnson Lake. Did hit the canal real quick Fri and the water was all the way down to 54 in one area, just couldn’t believe it. Then hit Johnson with my cousin Darren and his buddy Rock and it was great to finally fish with em. We only managed a couple whiteys trolling but did find the crappie later and had a blast fishing them until about 11pm.
Managed 6 smallies Saturday while my dad got 1, and got another 16″ smallie, and a few that weren’t far behind. Still trying to break that 17″ barrier. I know there were a lot of smallies caught this weekend before they cranked up the water heading down the canal. There were a few more walleyes caught, including 3 in our boat with a nice healthy 18 1/2 incher. I can’t believe the guts on the fish this year at Johnson. Just about every one of them has looked like they’re about to pop. I hit a 5 inch whitey on a crappie jig, and even he looked mis-shapen!
With the warmer weather this week, I’m thinking things will pick up, with the potential to explode. Just wish I had more time off the next couple of weeks.

Thanks for the report Brian. I am looking forward to coming out there this weekend.

Looking forward to seeing you Chad. Too bad I gotta work Fri and Sat nights! But I hope to make it up sometime in the afternoon if at all possible so I can see you guys. Be safe in your travels.

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With the warmer weather this week, I’m thinking things will pick up, with the potential to explode.

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Well, I guess you guys can blame me for this one. This %%#@! weather has pissed me off once again. I had yesterday and today off, should have known the weather would take a massive dump. Weather idiots really should only get paid when they’re correct, maybe they’d know what they’re doing a little more. If you ever want to know what my days off are, just look at the forecast. It’s easy to figure out.

Hey I have the weekend off but still can’t go. So I am sure it will be beautiful.
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They are forecasting better weather next week.

I hear ya, MB….it’s caused me a lot of rage the past couple of days. I shoulda just went today, but didn’t. Did get to spend the day with my dad, so that was good. But now I gotta work this weekend, and that’s not good.

I did get around to learning something new on my computer tonight, so here it is. Another smallie over 16″ from the canal last week, and this was another fish that had a very full stomach. Once again caught on crappie jigs, so it was another good time. Like all smallies in my boat, it swam away nicely. Hope to get out there again soon.

Nice smally B-Rob. Didn’t miss anything at Johnson yesterday, it was a windy “mother” didn’t do much but made up for it today at Sherm. I saw a post somewhere else which brings me to my current question. Could there still be stripers in Johnson? My buddy almost had a rod with lead core spooled by a fish Sat at Johnson. We saw it on the surface and it looked like a striper ?? It ran like a freakin tarpon. It straightened a hook on a shad rap and is still on the loose.

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Looking forward to seeing you Chad. Too bad I gotta work Fri and Sat nights! But I hope to make it up sometime in the afternoon if at all possible so I can see you guys. Be safe in your travels.

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It was nice to get on the lake this weekend. Mike and Kris had a great time with you on your boat. I appreciate you taking them out. The Walleye sure did not cooperate, but there is always next weekend We didn’t even try to go out on Johnson saturday, the wind was really blowing hard. Spent some time catching a few crappies in the canal. Kris managed to catch her first ever crappie, saugeye, walleye and white bass this weekend. She is hooked

No prob Chad, I had a good time taking them out. It woulda been a lot better if I would not have had to work that night!

Sounds like they did a lot better with you than with me though! Glad you guys got into some fish. Kris is real cool, I’m glad she got some fish.

I’d be out there right now, but as usual, it’s gusting to 37 mph right now. Nothing less would be expected on my day off.

Thanks Pullin! I thought I was all cool with my smallies over 16″ this year, but I saw a picture of one over 19″ that was caught a week and a half ago or so. REAL nice fish! I’m still hoping one of these days it’ll happen to me.

Stripers in Johnson? Absolutely. They are very few and far in between, but I do hear of them being caught there every once in a while. Most every one I’ve ever heard of has been in the inlet, however. But you know they’ve gotta be out there roaming the lake too. There’s a chance it could have been a huge wiper too, ya never know. That’s the thing about Johnson and other lakes on the canal system: you have a chance to tie into anything at any time. The state record tiger muskie wasn’t just broke at Johnson, it was shattered. Think of those odds. I don’t know that I’ve EVER heard of a pike, muskie, or tiger caught at Johnson, but it still happened.
Back in about 1990, my uncle landed a 38lb striper out of the inlet at Johnson, and it’s been on his wall ever since. Later that year he landed a small one, you know, 22 lbs.
I had a fish about spool me at the outlet a few years ago, and he ended up popping the hook on me. The more I think about it, it had to be a wiper. Too slow for a flathead, and if it was a smallie, it had to be a new world record. But who knows, it could have been a striper too.
Johnson is one of those lakes where I believe a lot of the trophy fish are either up in the inlet or in the outlet where there’s always moving water. But you never know what you’re going to run into out on the lake, either.