April Crappies at Lake EvergreenCrappies and springtime just go together and Evergreen Lake is one place in Central Illinois where fishermen can enjoy both. My fishing partner and I set out for Evergreen early on April 23 to see if we could bring some crappies home to get acquainted with the deep fryer. We stopped at Engel Aquafarm Bait and Tackle for minnows. It is located on Bloomington Lake Road, which is the exit (number 8) that you take from Interstate 39 west to the lake. The bait shop is located 1 1/2 miles east of the Interstate. They can be contacted at 309-726-1075 or 309-726-1105. There are two boat ramps at Evergreen. The main one is located on the east side of the lake near the swimming beach, boat rental, and park headquarters. The east ramp is located near the south end of the lake, which has shallower, often murkier water color than the north end of the lake near the dam. We decided to put in at the ramp near the dam since recent rains had muddied up the shallower end of the lake. We headed for the first large cove west of the north boat ramp where the water clarity was 1-2 feet. There are scores of submerged brush piles and stumps in the cove. Shoreline wood cover is abundant in many areas of the lake. There had been a warming trend for several days, but the air temperature was 47 degrees when we started fishing at 7 a.m. The afternoon sun would warm it to 72 degrees with a blue, cloudless sky. The morning wind was from the northwest at less than 5 mph, but would increase to 12 mph by the time we headed for the dock at 1:30. Water temperature was 60-61 degrees. We started fishing brush piles with minnows on slip bobber rigs. These rigs consist of a four-hole bobber stop which is treaded on the line first, followed by a small red bead, slip bobber, split shot, and hook. Some people prefer to use 10-12 foot limber rods for crappie fishing to better reach otherwise inaccessible brush. I have become accustomed to a 5 1/2 - 6 foot rod with a Zebco 33 reel. It is more reel than most people prefer for crappie fishing, but I like that it produces less line twist than many smaller reels. We caught the fish by pitching our slip bobber rigs near the submerged brush in a manner similar to how bass fishermen pitch jigs into brush. We caught a few scattered fish from the brush, but soon realized that greater concentrations were located on the larger stumps and trees in the water.We caught more fish when we placed our rigs right against the wood, which was in 2-4 feet of water. There is no length limit on crappies at Evergreen, but each angler is limited to 25 fish per day. The fish we caught were smaller than we had hoped, but we kept 32 crappies that measured from 8 1/2 to 9 1/2 inches. Lake Evergreen is located 10 miles north of Bloomington and one mile west of Interstate 39. Information on the fishing, camping, boating, and hiking activities can be found at the McClean County Parks and Recreation web site located at: The lake has 900 surface acres of water and 22.5 miles of shoreline. The average lake depth is 19 feet with a maximum depth of 55 feet. Motors are restricted to 10 horsepower or less. Watercraft registration is required and can be done either at the park headquarters or at each boat ramp. Fees for McClean county residents are $12 per day or $35 annually. Out-of-county boaters must pay $16 per day or $45 per year. In addition to crappie, the lake is stocked with largemouth bass, muskies, channel catfish, hybrid walleyes (saugeye), and panfish. Illinois Department of Natural Resources information about Evergreen Lake can be viewed at: DNR- Evergreen Lake Other contact information for the lake includes: |