Midwest Camping and Fishing

[HoosierHawgs]

Wondering if anybody knows anything about Acton Lake at Hueston Woods State Park in Ohio. My friends and I are from Indy and are planning a camping trip for spring break to do some fishing and other outdoor activities. The cabins and lodge here seemed very nice, and we thought it might be a little better than Raccoon SRA in Indy. If anyone has any information on fishing this lake, how the fishing was, and how the state park was i would appreciate it. Other suggestions for a week camping trip within a 2 and a half hour drive of Central Indy would be great too.

[Ohio Archer]

Live about an hour from HW but have never fished it.  Shot a few 3D archery tournaments up there, though.  Looks like a nice lake.  Are you bringing a boat?  There's a couple other lakes around the area as well.  Caesar Creek and Cowan Lake are within an hour of HW.  Both have camping in the State Parks.  Make sure you read all the rules for Ohio State Parks (there are a few).

[HoosierHawgs]

11 hours ago, Ohio Archer said:

Live about an hour from HW but have never fished it.  Shot a few 3D archery tournaments up there, though.  Looks like a nice lake.  Are you bringing a boat?  There's a couple other lakes around the area as well.  Caesar Creek and Cowan Lake are within an hour of HW.  Both have camping in the State Parks.  Make sure you read all the rules for Ohio State Parks (there are a few).

We were planning on bringing some Kayaks. Where would I find the rules for Ohio State Parks?

[5fishlimit]

http://parks.ohiodnr.gov/

More specifically, here:

http://parks.ohiodnr.gov/huestonwoods#overview

Edited December 18, 2015 by 5fishlimit
added more info

[Ohio Archer]

Not sure about Hueston Woods boat traffic but they changed the lake to Unlimited HP with a No Wake rule.  I know Caesars can get pretty rough for small boats unless you put in at Wellman's near the dam (large idle-only section).  Cowan in 10 hp or less.  Quite a few kayaks and sail boats usually out.  Not many current fishing reports available about Acton Lake.  Last year we had so much rain all the lakes were way up.  I may have to take a trip up there myself in the spring.

http://wildlife.ohiodnr.gov/actonlake#tabr3

http://wildlife.ohiodnr.gov/caesarcreeklake

http://wildlife.ohiodnr.gov/cowanlake

http://www.fishingnotes.com/fishing-report/oh/Acton-Lake

[HoosierHawgs]

5 hours ago, Ohio Archer said:

Not sure about Hueston Woods boat traffic but they changed the lake to Unlimited HP with a No Wake rule.  I know Caesars can get pretty rough for small boats unless you put in at Wellman's near the dam (large idle-only section).  Cowan in 10 hp or less.  Quite a few kayaks and sail boats usually out.  Not many current fishing reports available about Acton Lake.  Last year we had so much rain all the lakes were way up.  I may have to take a trip up there myself in the spring.

http://wildlife.ohiodnr.gov/actonlake#tabr3

http://wildlife.ohiodnr.gov/caesarcreeklake

http://wildlife.ohiodnr.gov/cowanlake

http://www.fishingnotes.com/fishing-report/oh/Acton-Lake

 

7 hours ago, 5fishlimit said:

http://parks.ohiodnr.gov/

More specifically, here:

http://parks.ohiodnr.gov/huestonwoods#overview

Thanks for the info and links guys. I'll do some exploring on those links you guys left. Need to look at the prices for non resident licenses as well.

[Ohio Archer]

BTW, saw yr post on another site but didn't respond since we were talking here.

[thefraz44]

In my opinion, acton is the best lake in ohio for largemouth (the best smallmouth lake being Erie of course). I don't know when exactly your fishing but, assuming it is the pre spawn, toss a red colored square bill crank bait against wood in the backs of creeks. Also pick up some Spro  Rock Crawler designed by Mike McClelland. I'm not affiliated with them at all, however I just can't think of a better crank bait for imitating crawfish. You'd want to throw the Rock Crawler in the deeper water cause it dives to about 12 feet. Any ways, I've never gotten the chance to fish Acton in pre spawn so these are just a few generic tips.

[HoosierHawgs]

On 12/21/2015 at 6:19 PM, thefraz44 said:

In my opinion, acton is the best lake in ohio for largemouth (the best smallmouth lake being Erie of course). I don't know when exactly your fishing but, assuming it is the pre spawn, toss a red colored square bill crank bait against wood in the backs of creeks. Also pick up some Spro  Rock Crawler designed by Mike McClelland. I'm not affiliated with them at all, however I just can't think of a better crank bait for imitating crawfish. You'd want to throw the Rock Crawler in the deeper water cause it dives to about 12 feet. Any ways, I've never gotten the chance to fish Acton in pre spawn so these are just a few generic tips.

We would be fishing around Spring Break so somewhere between March 24th-April 4th. What kind of fish are you catching at Acton? How is the traffic on the lake? Would it be navigable by kayak? If you have any pics that would be awesome. Not trying to steal your spots but we are trying to figure out if we want to go to Acton or to another lake over Spring Break.

[HoosierHawgs]

Bump to this thread. I would really like to hear thoughts on this place or others. Some friends of mine and I (group of 4) are looking for a nice place to camp or stay at a lodge, and kayak fish for about 3 days in the date range above within a 3 hour drive of Indy. If anyone could give us information about this place, or hints to other good locations for these activities within 3 hours of Indy please do! All advice appreciated!

[Scott F]

Do yourself a favor and don't make any plans or make any deposits that can't be cancelled without penalty. For the last 3 years, I planned a fishing vacation with a friend of mine who is a teacher and is off during spring break. Every year the weather during that period in the Midwest from Ohio, to Missouri including Tennessee and Kentucky was so bad we had to cancel our trip. I hope you get lucky and hit a good stretch of weather but many lodges and resorts do not give refunds if you back out due to bad weather. Kayaking in near freezing temps is not as fun as it sounds.

[HoosierHawgs]

22 hours ago, Scott F said:

Do yourself a favor and don't make any plans or make any deposits that can't be cancelled without penalty. For the last 3 years, I planned a fishing vacation with a friend of mine who is a teacher and is off during spring break. Every year the weather during that period in the Midwest from Ohio, to Missouri including Tennessee and Kentucky was so bad we had to cancel our trip. I hope you get lucky and hit a good stretch of weather but many lodges and resorts do not give refunds if you back out due to bad weather. Kayaking in near freezing temps is not as fun as it sounds.

Thanks for the advice. Losing cash because of weather would be huge bummer.

[thefraz44]

On December 26, 2015 at 8:53 PM, HoosierHawgs said:

We would be fishing around Spring Break so somewhere between March 24th-April 4th. What kind of fish are you catching at Acton? How is the traffic on the lake? Would it be navigable by kayak? If you have any pics that would be awesome. Not trying to steal your spots but we are trying to figure out if we went to go to Acton or to another lake over Spring Break.

Sorry, I've been off the forum. I have caught fish flipping the laydowns and sparse vegetation in the summer (I was only there one day). There were a few boats out, nothing big, there is a 10 hp limit. I might also flip laydowns in the prespawn in certain situations such as heavy rain. I've seen people in kayaks and I fished from a canoe.

[HoosierHawgs]

On ‎2‎/‎16‎/‎2016 at 9:02 PM, thefraz44 said:

Sorry, I've been off the forum. I have caught fish flipping the laydowns and sparse vegetation in the summer (I was only there one day). There were a few boats out, nothing big, there is a 10 hp limit. I might also flip laydowns in the prespawn in certain situations such as heavy rain. I've seen people in kayaks and I fished from a canoe.

Ok, thanks for the advice!