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I enjoyed a great day of kayak fishing at Downs Lake. Sunny skies and gentle breezes on a quiet lake with only two other anglers made for a great setting. Bird life was abundant to include two resident eagles, osprey, pelicans, terns and waterfowl on or above the water. The lily pads are thick here and so is weed growth, limiting the acreage available for fishing.

Having said that, I had a great time fishing jigs along the lily pad lines or into pockets. I ended up catching and releasing a nice 10 inch crappie, about 8 small (6 inch) perch and a nice 11 inch rainbow trout. Hooked and a bunch of fish too including a nice bass. Lures of choice included a 1/8 oz Mack's Rockdancer jig in Red/Black and a TTI Blakemore Roadrunner lure in chartruese/blue. This is a great place for kayak or canoe fishing and I would highly recommend it.

If you need a place to stay Downs Resort is on the lake and offers a good place to park an RV or pitch a tent. There is a launch fee you'll have to pay because there is no other public access to a launch on the lake.

Ruffneck18

7/28/2019 9:16:10 AM

Thanks for report, sounds like I might have to take the kayak out

john-kruse

7/28/2019 11:30:30 AM

I suspect you'll have a good time if you do!

hewesbob

7/29/2019 9:24:05 AM

Downs Lake is a very unique place to fish. I bought Downs Lake resort in 2000 and sold the business in 2007. During our time there it was common for folks to catch over 100 perch a day, some up to 14". Most people wouldn't keep anything under 10". Crappie up to 15" were common as were smallmouth bass, the largest bass ever brought back to the resort for pictures and to be weighted before being released was 6 1/2 pounds. The state used to plant 10,000 rainbow and 5,000 german brown every year but they have cut that back to just 5,000 rainbow the past few years. Downs Lake was always a fun place for kids to fish, you just pull a boat into the lily pads and if a kid could handle a jig with a piece of worm on 6' of line they could have none stop perch action. There has definitely been a decline in the fish population in recent years but from what I hear it is still a great place to camp and enjoy family fun.

john-kruse

7/29/2019 9:33:57 AM

Wow! Great comments from a man who knows! I was hoping to catch one of the grass pickerel that are found in the lake but didn't have any luck in that regard. If you have any suggestions about catching those particular fish there let me know!

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