Cedar Lake Fishing Reports - Scott County - New Prague

[harvey lee]

14-16 eyes are small but they are the best to eat for size.

I would never call a 9" crappie small, maybe mid sized at best. Not many crappie lakes in our part of the state that kick out larger than 11 on average. Yes, a few here and there but nothing on average much larger.

All in what one is looking for.

I think people are crazy for eating a walleye over 19" but many do.

[Sifty]

Yes 14-16" walleyes are small, but if there was a lake giving them up like cedar crappies you would have a riot on your hands....

If anyone reads this fast there is going to be another 1,000 house's out there

[aanderud]

Was out on Cedar last night. Got 40 or 50 small walleyes (14-16 inches) in just a couple hours. It was a riot. Or maybe a hoot. I don't recall. Either way, fun times. Had to weed through a lot of small crappies to get to the 'eyes though.

[Portlis]

Was out on Cedar last night. Got 40 or 50 small walleyes (14-16 inches) in just a couple hours. It was a riot. Or maybe a hoot. I don't recall. Either way, fun times. Had to weed through a lot of small crappies to get to the 'eyes though.

Oh god, people are going to actually believe you and it's going to be even busier if that's even possible....

[tj417]

Now I'm confused...where does "small" fit in around "little" and "potato chip"?

[DTro]

My humble appologies, and a shout out to Portlis on his previous post.

I gave Cedar another try tonight and picked a random spot away from everyone. I caught a limit of 10's in about 10 minutes.

They DO exist!

[Getanet]

Fished this lake a few weekends ago for the first time, before reading about it here. Has it always been such a popular lake, and has it always produced decent crappie fishing (even if they're small)?

I couldn't believe how many houses were out there, it was incredible. It's hard to imagine a lake that size could take that much pressure for a sustained period of time.

[Eric_Kruger]

Fished this lake a few weekends ago for the first time, before reading about it here. Has it always been such a popular lake, and has it always produced decent crappie fishing (even if they're small)?

I couldn't believe how many houses were out there, it was incredible. It's hard to imagine a lake that size could take that much pressure for a sustained period of time.

Been like this since I moved up here 6 years ago, insane!

[Portlis]

Fished this lake a few weekends ago for the first time, before reading about it here. Has it always been such a popular lake, and has it always produced decent crappie fishing (even if they're small)?

I couldn't believe how many houses were out there, it was incredible. It's hard to imagine a lake that size could take that much pressure for a sustained period of time.

I've fished it for 3 seasons pretty regularly now, and it's been pretty great crappie action every year. Each of the past 3 seasons seems to have gotten busier from a fishing pressure standpoint.

I will say, although I still consider anything less than 10" small, they're definitely bigger than they were last year or the year before. They aren't growing super fast or anything, but they are growing. 2 years ago I would catch more in the 8.5" range than anything else with an occasional 9, then last year it was more like 8.75" with an occasional 9.5, and this year most of them are closer to 9.25 with some scattered here and there that are actually pushing 10 (I still haven't honestly caught more than a handful of legit 10's out of Cedar ever).

More than anything, I think we're currently dealing with an epic year class though. I really don't know what's going to happen when they get fished out, which is inevitable at the rate they're getting taken out. Simple math tells you that thousands of crappies must be getting kept on a daily basis. Luckily, I have caught the random 7-8" crappie this year too, which is a good sign that perhaps other year classes are following this current one.

If nothing else, I sort of like that Cedar is getting so much pressure that it's hopefully taking a bit of pressure off of other local lakes, notably Spring. I used to fish Spring with much better results than I have the past couple years which just got hammered about 3-4 years ago.

[Portlis]

My humble appologies, and a shout out to Portlis on his previous post.

I gave Cedar another try tonight and picked a random spot away from everyone. I caught a limit of 10's in about 10 minutes.

They DO exist!

Heh, I'm telling you, I just don't understand why everyone is within 20 feet of each other. It's a big shallow basin. They bite in 6 feet of water, 10 feet of water, and everything in between, which is essentially the entire lake.

[fisherman-andy]

I love it that 10" is considered small crappie here in the Metro areas. That's an average size mature crappie people. On Rainy lake I would call 11" small. 12" average lol. That would be considered huge here in the Metro though right? Or is that average also since 10" is considered small?

[Portlis]

I love it that 10" is considered small crappie here in the Metro areas. That's an average size mature crappie people. On Rainy lake I would call 11" small. 12" average lol. That would be considered huge here in the Metro though right? Or is that average also since 10" is considered small?

Good thing no one called 10 inchers small then I guess.

[tracker x-2]

nough said!!

[Yourmumsfishtank]

Fun lake to get some pannies. Waxies and small jigs as usual or are they being picky lately?

[Lip_Ripper Guy]

I love it that 10" is considered small crappie here in the Metro areas. That's an average size mature crappie people. On Rainy lake I would call 11" small. 12" average lol. That would be considered huge here in the Metro though right? Or is that average also since 10" is considered small?

There is a huge difference between a 10" & 12" crappie.

[fisherman-andy]

I love it that 10" is considered small crappie here in the Metro areas. That's an average size mature crappie people. On Rainy lake I would call 11" small. 12" average lol. That would be considered huge here in the Metro though right? Or is that average also since 10" is considered small?

[bobbymalone]

Criminy, you'd think you guys are measuring roosters over there with all the talk of what's big and what's small.

[fisherman-andy]

Criminy, you'd think you guys are measuring roosters over there with all the talk of what's big and what's small.

This certainly is silly isnt it? Go fish!

[Portlis]

You dont say? If 8"-10" is small then 11'-12" is only average in Cedar Lake terms.

Maybe this weekend i'll head back over to Cedar and catch me some small crappies for lunch...

Seriously dude, I don't know what your deal is.

Truths:

The vast majority of the crappies coming out of Cedar are 9.25 inches. I can personally verify this from first hand experience. Some are also around 9, others around 9.5. I've caught PLENTY of crappies on Cedar this year and only have a couple (2 or 3) that are LEGIT 10s.

a 9.25" crappie weighs under half a pound (around 4/10 of a pound). A crappie that weighs under half a pound is a small crappie. I don't even know how this is an argument. It might be average for Cedar, but that sort of illustrates why I referred to them as "small crappies" in the first place. Cedar is known for having a good population of small crappies, and rightfully so.

As was pointed out, there's a BIG difference between a 10" and 12" crappie and lumping them together in a range is just silly. Yeah, it's only 2 inches, but a 12" crappie is literally twice as heavy as a 10" crappie. I realize you're taking issue with "less than 10 inchers" being lumped together, but the difference between an 8" crappie (universally considered small I would hope) and the 9.25"s coming out of Cedar this year is just over a tenth of a pound, clearly not as significant as a half pound 10 incher growing to a full pound at 12 inches.

Regardless, this thread has been turned stupid by people obsessing over the adjectives used to describe crappies, so I'm done here. Good luck fishing.

[Portlis]

Fun lake to get some pannies. Waxies and small jigs as usual or are they being picky lately?

I've caught them on minnows, spikes, waxies and plain plastics this year. It hasn't really seemed to matter as long as I was hitting them at the right time of day.

I will say, my last trip out there wasn't nearly as fast and furious as the previous ones... I still caught fish, but I wonder if the fishing pressure is finally catching up to the lake or if it's just the middle of winter.

[fisherman-andy]

[

Seriously dude, I don't know what your deal is.

Truths:

The vast majority of the crappies coming out of Cedar are 9.25 inches. I can personally verify this from first hand experience. Some are also around 9, others around 9.5. I've caught PLENTY of crappies on Cedar this year and only have a couple (2 or 3) that are LEGIT 10s.

a 9.25" crappie weighs under half a pound (around 4/10 of a pound). A crappie that weighs under half a pound is a small crappie. I don't even know how this is an argument. It might be average for Cedar, but that sort of illustrates why I referred to them as "small crappies" in the first place. Cedar is known for having a good population of small crappies, and rightfully so.

As was pointed out, there's a BIG difference between a 10" and 12" crappie and lumping them together in a range is just silly. Yeah, it's only 2 inches, but a 12" crappie is literally twice as heavy as a 10" crappie. I realize you're taking issue with "less than 10 inchers" being lumped together, but the difference between an 8" crappie (universally considered small I would hope) and the 9.25"s coming out of Cedar this year is just over a tenth of a pound, clearly not as significant as a half pound 10 incher growing to a full pound at 12 inches.

Regardless, this thread has been turned stupid by people obsessing over the adjectives used to describe crappies, so I'm done here. Good luck fishing.

No harm or hate intended. I just find it amusing and am expressing my own opinion just like yours. Did you see me compare a 10" crappie to a 12" crappie? And do you see me lump 10"-12" sizes together in a range? I think not. I did say on a body of water like Rainy Lake that 11"-12" may be considered small for its reputation as its known for pumping out 14"+ crappie. And that anything of those sizes would be considered large down here in the metro.

I merely commented it as an example to poke some interest at what you think is considered small. I have fished Cedar for over 15 years, so I have a pretty good idea of the sizes of crappie available on that body of water previously and currently.

Although hardly at all serious as you think, I do find it a little misleading on my own terms as your idea of small is not someone else's idea of small. If 8"-10" is small crappie for you please define what you think is an average size crappie? I consider an 8"-10" average, 11"-13" to be slab or large. 14"+ crappies as monster slobs.

[Jigging Joe]

I wonder if they taste small, average, or big?

[Sonicrunch]

I wonder if they taste small, average, or big?

[DrJuice1980]

Dont venture too far from the grill of frying pan, those small guys will turn to rubber real quick. I like the big flaky pieces instead of the rubbery potato chips. They do taste different in that regard.

[MidCoast]

I was out fishing on Cedar this past weekend, fished from noon until 5 pm and was skunked. No Crappies at all. I fished by the community Crappie hole. Is this a night bite lake?

Feel free to pm me if that works better.

Thanks.

[#fishhunt#]

You left 15 minutes too early for the best bite. I did get some around 3:30 a few weeks ago when it was still light out but they seem to bite best at the usual crappie time when the sun gets below the trees.I have not stayed past 7:30pm so I can not comment on a leter bite.

[Lip_Ripper Guy]

Friday night I started catching a few around 5:00. The bite didn't really start until around 9:00. Was good from 9-11.

Saturday was dead. 4 fish for the entire day/night.

[Portlis]

I was out fishing on Cedar this past weekend, fished from noon until 5 pm and was skunked. No Crappies at all. I fished by the community Crappie hole. Is this a night bite lake?

Feel free to pm me if that works better.

Thanks.

I've fished Cedar more than a handful of times this year and the bite seems to keep getting later and later. Early in the season I could go out at 2 in the afternoon and set up shop and catch some gills and crappies, now it doesn't seem like anything bites until the sun has hit the trees.

Not sure if this is due to normal middle of winter shifts in fish activity or the huge amount of pressure the fish have been under all year, but as the previous guy said, you left about 15-30 mins too early heh.

[FishingRebel]

I fished Cedar lake a few times. Why does everybody fish in just two areas on the North Side? Literally all the permanents are together and people just fish in the same two areas with the permanents on the North Side of Cedar Lake.

Of course, being there only a few times and everybody fishing in Shanty town, I too, fished there as well.

My question is does panfish not bite outside of those two Shanty town areas? From the looks of it, all the panfish are schooled in within Shanty towns. Since everybody seems to focus on those two areas only.

[DrJuice1980]

Its a herd of sheep. Go exploring and you will find fish, just be careful where you are driving. I think the roads are what is leading them together. A fullsize went through last year around this time with 25"+ all around it. But to answer your question, there are plenty of fish in other locations throughout the lake.