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2K views 14 replies 8 participants last post by  eyelooking 
#1 ·
We have noticed where Cabelas will hold a tournament on Lake Carlyle on June 9 this year. We were thinking we would like to try and fish it. but we don't know anything about this lake. Could someone please give us some general information on this lake such as-- is it an all or mostly channel cat lake, best bait, and if it is shad what size net is now legal in Il. are there public ramp, and are some better than others to use. Since we know nothing any information or help would greatly appreciated . Thank you
 
#3 ·
I don't but I'm sure alot of that info could be found using Google. Next time your somewhere that sells fishing license pick up your states fishing manual, it will cover any cast net questions you have. It's a bummer not getting help here where you can ask follow up questions or talk to someone who's been there but sometimes the fisherman is tight lipped too:coffee:
 
#4 ·
sunday i got up at 9 15. went to the showers. came back and dean and jim came by to say bye before they headded out. since i had reserved and paid till monday by acccident we decided to stay and enjoy sunday since it was looking to be a nice storm and rain free day. i talked my oldest into fishing with me but he changed his mind at the boat. at 10am i went out toward the dam. i fished right in front out a few hundred yards drifting toward it. i used a large 8" whole shad on a rod and them bluegill heads from the ones i cleaned. i cut them off back past the pectoral fins after i filleted the 17 big ones i kept.

wasnt long i had a fish on. turned out to be the 7.7oz one. thats a nice channel and was on the bluegill heads. i was happy since that was the first time i caught more than 1 at a gathering there. the other 3ish came from the spillway fri morn. then about 12 noon i went back to camp and got the family all out there with me. told my oldest boy that the pole he had chosen was the one that the fish bit on. he could have caught it. then shortly after we began drifting again roughly in the same area the bluegill head picked up a 4.6oz channel. soon as i grabbed the rod i handed it to tiler and let him bring it in. at 1 pm i took them back to go to the pool. was gonna meet them back at camp at 3pm to go to beach.

so at 1 after i dropped them off i went to the outer edges of the rock walls protecting out cove at camp and netted some shad. i had seen them jumping earlier on boat rides with the fam. then after getting a dozen of them i went back out in front of the sailboat association and began a drift back toward dam. i picked up another 4.2oz channel on the shad on my war rod, and at 3pm i was abot to call it quits. after i reeled in the channel i retired the war rod and went back to the back of boat where my abu 6500cl3 on a catfish ugly was with 50lb invicta line and a 8/0 invicta circle, baited with the head and orange breast of a large bluegill. it dropped quickly and bottomed out like a snag. i lifted out of the holder to feel a couple of deep hard short tugs. it was a fish. i snaked the rod through the support poles of my bimini top to the front of the boat. i began lifting and reeling down. at first he was taking more line than i was retrieving. pulling against my reeling.i added some drag and began taking line on. the waverunner came by and the guy was looking. then he began pointing telling the woman on back that that guy has a fish on. he slowly circled and when he seen a 250+ guy having trouble holding the big white rod tip out of the water he came around and shut off his machine to watch. as it went on the 7-8 min battle was getting close to over i had the fish just a few foot under the boat. again peeling off line he was going from stern to keel holding the tip of the rod right at the wates edge. i was so pumped thinking heres my BIG blue i came after and its gonna really happen. the fish held his ground and was holding the spool still while i uselessly cranked the handle making no ground. after about 10 min of working him along the boat i had the drag about cranked all the way down the still holding fish broke free. i felt a pop and i cranked the reel 5-6 times and the bait popped out of the water fishless.:mad1: thats was awesome. i never saw so much as a fin. since its my story i aam holding on to the thought that it was my big blue. and now i have a score to settle next year. if i wait. i may have to come back soon alone for a weekend and try that again when theres no rain in forcast. the man and women just sighed loudly and shook thier heads. he yelled man you had a big one there as they spead off into the distance. it was 3:15. time to go back to camp. my fishing was over.

sucks too only witness i had was two folks ive never met. ill never dought anyones fishing storys again. now i too have a tale of the one that got away.:eek1: so in my mind i did have a new PB. cause i aint ever had something that big on my line before. ive reeled in 10 lb snappers the came up easier than this thing did.
here is a report from Jerm at Catstock gathering 2011
 
#6 ·
I don't fish Carlyle alot, but here is some info.
It is a shallow lake, average depth I believe is around 5-7 ft. Lots of rocky shoreline. It is divided by a RR trestle. The lower end is open while the upper end has lots of flooded timber.
Mostly channel cat are caught. It has good numbers of them. There are some flat heads also with fair to good numbers.
Because of the shallow water and how open most of it is, it gets real rough real quick when windy. Also has lots of activity on weekends.
Get a GOOD lake map!!! There are some under water rocky points that will get ya if ya don't know about them. They are marked, but still claim alot of lower units and/or props.
Most catfish are caught useing either cut bait, shad or bluegills, or dip baits. I prefer cut baits myself when I fish it.
 
#7 ·
Wanda, Here is some of what I found in the 2018 fishing guide
. All cast nets shall be not larger than 24 feet in diameter or of a mesh size not larger than 1 inch bar measurement.
There is nothing in the Illinois Fish Code which pro- hibits the use of legally taken sunfish as bait for an- other species of fish, but sunfish can only be used in the body of water from which they were taken. The sunfish must have been taken by a properly li- censed sport fisherman using legal sportfishing de- vices. You must also observe all length limits and daily harvest limits both where the sunfish were taken and where they are being used as bait. Also, it is illegal to cut up or dress or be in possession of cut up or dressed fish on any body of water where there is a size limit for that particular species of fish. Examples of sunfish species legal for use as bait include bluegill, redear sunfish, green sunfish, longear sunfish, pumpkinseed sunfish, warmouth and their hybrids.

Sport fishermen may not use a minnow seine, cast net or shad scoop for bait collecting between U.S. Route 50 and the Carlyle Lake dam and spillway
This is what I found. You can read the whole fishing regulations by just googling 2018 Fishing regs. Hope this helps.
 
#9 ·
I never fished that water either but will be fishing the Cabela's tournament on June 9. I would start out with using the free Navionics Chart Viewer on their website: https://www.navionics.com/usa and or purchase a chart that covers that water. I also would get the mobile app for your smart phone as a back up. For $10 the first year you cannot go wrong. Navionics contour will help you find the catfish. Contact me if you need details on what chart to purchase. Good luck to you my friend.
 
#13 ·
Hope to see you there barnold! I am not a fan of trailering but I like the Cabela's King Kat Trail and it is well run by Director Jeremy Coe. Twisted Cat Outdoors Trail is another great Trail that I fish and it is well run by Alex Nagy. If you have any other questions please contact me as I am willing to help out other anglers even though you might be my competition.
 
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