O.H. Ivie Reservoir is turning it around after a slow start to the spring fishing season.
When O.H. Ivie, now below 20 percent capacity, produced ShareLunker 535 March 25, some people assumed the catch was an aberration.
That illusion vanished on Good Friday, April 6, when Kyle Johnson of Abilene caught ShareLunker 536, a 13.36-pound largemouth bass that was 27.5 inches long and 20 inches in girth.
Johnson proved that even in a lake that is more than 30 feet below conservation pool, it is still possible to find the shallow water where bass like to spawn. He caught the fish in three to four feet of water on a jig.
“When she hit, she almost took the rod out of my hand,” Johnson said. “Then she took me around the boat twice.”
The fish was weighed and held for pickup at Elm Creek Village, an official ShareLunker weigh and holding station. Elm Creek Village manager Jerry Hunter said he believes there are more big bass to come from the lake this season.
“People have been catching a lot of sevens and eights and a few double-digit fish,” Hunter said. “I think the spawn is about two weeks behind what we usually see.”
ShareLunker 536 is the second fish of the season to come from O.H. Ivie, the thirteenth entry into the program this season, and the twenty-fifth ShareLunker to come from the lake. O.H. Ivie is now tied with Lake Alan Henry for second place in the number of ShareLunkers produced. Lake Fork leads the pack with 249.
Check the next issue of Lone Star Outdoor News, out this Friday, for a full lake report on O.H. Ivie.
