Lake Ovid Fall 'Seminar' for the DK Open 2007

[djkimmel]

Online MDNR map (you need Adobe Reader to open this pdf document): http://www.dnr.state.mi.us/SPATIALDATALIBRARY/PDF_MAPS/INLAND_LAKE_MAPS/CLINTON/LAKE_OVID.PDF

The map is based off of old contour maps before they created Lake Ovid almost 30 years ago. Lake Ovid is a lowland reservior - swails, farmland, some house foundations, ponds, ditches and the Little Maple River.

Lake Ovid has been heavily stocked with Northern Musky and there are many 40-plus inch toothy critters - THROW YOUR EXPENSIVE LURES AT YOUR OWN RISK. GreatLakesBass.com must be held harmless

The water is always dark, even if it has calmed enough, and algae has died down to clear it up. Because it is lowland, it muddies up easily and fast. There is a small cement cap dam at the north end of the lake along the road. It is a fairly unique dam in design - kind of a Peecahso of dams - that many people don't even recognize as 'the' dam.

The ramp is all the way around to the far west middle part of the lake. Just stay on the main park road off of Price Rd - Sleepy Hollow State Park - until it ends.

To get to Sleepy Hollow State Park - go north of Lansing not quite to St. Johns Michigan on US-127. Exit on Price Rd and go 5.5 miles East to the park entrance, a short way past Shepardsville Rd. Park opens at 8 AM. We'll start around 8:30 AM.

MadWags hit most of the nails on the head in the participation post. Be prepared to fish shallow, dying weeds and ick along the shores, or fish the deep wood that is scattered all over the lake, but particularly in the main river channel. The best and biggest wood piles are in the channel from the north end of the big island along the west shore up to the dam (typical fall largemouth stuff.

Any shallow cover left may be good. The weeds have been down this year. The deeper weeds died off early, so green clumps are rare, but dead clumps might hold lethargic bass.

Bait will be shallow along shores, and suspended over the deeper water. A lot of Lake Ovid is 10 feet or less. Deepest water is about 22 feet in an old foundation and a few small ponds. The main river channel where some of the biggest wood piles are is 15 to 16 feet deep until you get to the very north end of the lake, where you may find 18 feet. Plain harder bottom ledges can hold schools of bass at times, even without obvious cover, usually close to the river channel or side ditches.

There is a brigde under Shepardsville road into a swamp at the south end of the lake, but you'd need to lie in a canoe to get under it. Most good catches of bass will probably come from the north half of the lake by that time of year. Bass up to 6 and a half pounds are caught commonly in Lake Ovid. There are good numbers of 3 to 5 pound bass, but most keepers will be 1.75 to 2.5.

Lake Ovid bass are rarely alone, especially along the channels and deeper...

There is an obvious major point on the lake that is fished very hard for good reason. I will probably be there to add to that pressure. There are also many very good humps around the lake, mostly in the north end. They probably will not be as good as the shallow stuff and the channel areas this time of year though.