Summit

[BackLash625]

I've fished Summit a few times.. once in the Spring and another in the summer.. both times I had my rear-end handed to me but also have seen some pretty nice fish there. The lake is very clear which I've read is due to Zebra Mussels. I've tried (low light) ealry in the morning, gone deep in the afternoon all to no avail. Does anybody have the secret to this place figured out??

[cubswin]

I've fished it twice, first time was a tournament, and we didn't have a bite until 10:30. Ended up catching five fish, on 6 bites and getting second. Last time I went down just to fish, and I caught a few but wasn't a stellar day. Got blown off by a storm so was a short trip.

That first time was a weird day, fish were 1-8' but 4 of them were on stumps in the middle of the weeds.

[billius]

I live about 30 minutes from Summit. I know there are some good fish in the lake. Most of the time, I rarely catch anything bigger than 1-2lbs. On some days you can load the boat with those fish. Most of the time I never catch a keeper. All of the fishing I've done, has been along the edges of the weed beds. I wasn't there last year, but the year before the weeds just weren't there like they used to be. If its windy, you will have a tough time without poles or a spot lock trolling motor.

[DustyD26]

I fish Summit alot. In fact starting in probably Late April every year an older gentleman holds an open tournament on saturday evenings and also there is a usa bassin division for Summit. In spring and early summer the past couple years there have been ALOT of 20-25lbs bags weighed in. Grass is key at Summit. Im not sure about Zebra Mussels i thought its so clear because of the grass. But i did take a 2nd place finish there last year in Club event and we caught probably 40 fish that day 15 keepers all targeting grass with weightless wacky senko. Had a blast that day. But look for those saturday evening tournaments in late April. They usually start around 4 or 5pm. And run til 9 or 10pm. $20 per boat last year. Hope this helps.

[sk2000]

Dang DustyD26, Summit is crowded enough already. I was out there last year and there was 3 club tournaments going on with 78 boats not including weekend anglers. A person was lucky if you could find 50 yards of bank to fish. I've fished those tournaments at Summit and Prairie Creek for 20 years on Tuesdays and Saturdays and ended up giving it up due to some , "not all", bass boats and Walleye boats thinking that since there in a tournament they have priority over the lake, coming in hot, jumping in front of people already fishing on a certain spots. Sorry for the rant but that's why these club and weekend tournaments get a bad rap, and now the lake is over run by disrespectful Kayakers cutting in front of all fishermen. It's only a 800 acre lake and over crowded already. "I'm not even including the Walleye tournaments going on there at the same time". This is just a Rant and I'm sure that there are other small lakes getting "Hammered" the same way.

[BackLash625]

RE: Walleye Tournaments: Do they catch many?

[DustyD26]

Dang DustyD26, Summit is crowded enough already. I was out there last year and there was 3 club tournaments going on with 78 boats not including weekend anglers. A person was lucky if you could find 50 yards of bank to fish. I've fished those tournaments at Summit and Prairie Creek for 20 years on Tuesdays and Saturdays and ended up giving it up due to some , "not all", bass boats and Walleye boats thinking that since there in a tournament they have priority over the lake, coming in hot, jumping in front of people already fishing on a certain spots. Sorry for the rant but that's why these club and weekend tournaments get a bad rap, and now the lake is over run by disrespectful Kayakers cutting in front of all fishermen. It's only a 800 acre lake and over crowded already. "I'm not even including the Walleye tournaments going on there at the same time". This is just a Rant and I'm sure that there are other small lakes getting "Hammered" the same way.

Yes sir it definately gets pressured. But in Indiana they all get pressured. Since we dont have many lakes. Hell Geist has 3-4 tournaments a day everyday on the weekends and its about 1300 acres. But i was in one of the tournaments last year that your talking about when 3 clubs was on the lake. One was us Richmond Bass club also Gad A Bout club and Indy League Fishing. It was definitely crowded

[DustyD26]

RE: Walleye Tournaments: Do they catch many?

Yes they catch walleye in these tournaments. Summit is getting better for walleye

[idbefishing]

I think the walleye and crappie populations hurt the bass. Back when walleyes were still small in size and number bass fishing was really good. The main thing that really hurt is the pressure. Once words got out, clubs from far and wide came to fish it. It seems every boat from Ohio has been on it at least 3 times. Before it was well known, parking was not an issue even on weekends. I used to fish it a lot when I lived in Muncie. I know that lake very very well but don’t bother with it anymore.

[BackLash625]

Are most of the walleyes caught during the day or at night? I would think it would be a "tough-fish" during the day given the water clarity and the keen eye-sight they have.

[idbefishing]

I caught walleyes while bass fishing day and night. I caught a good one pitching a tube right next to a dirt bank.