Ty and I gave Idong lake a try Sunday afternoon, hoping to catch some bluegill and bass. As you can see below, the lake is still pretty high, but the water was crystal clear, which you can see by checking out the second picture. One bad sign right away was that there were small bass (3-4 inches long) all along the shore and to me, that means there are no bigger bass in the vicinity.
We tried everything; Senkos, crankbaits, spinnerbaits, chatterbaits and small rooster tails for bluegill. In three hours, we caught several tiny (and I mean tiny) bass, no bluegill (as a matter of fact, I didn’t see a single bluegill anywhere along the shore) and a couple of small bass.
Ty did catch a decent bass, which jumped on his Senko right after he received a phone call. He reeled it in while still talking on the phone and as you can see, he was still talking when I took this pic. It may just be me, but I don’t think Idong is the same lake it was in 2006 and before. Back then, you could walk along the shore and see schools of bluegill everywhere, and it was common to catch bass in the 1-3 pound range almost every trip out. Last year, the fishing was terrible in that lake, and one of the things I noticed right away was that all year long, there were hardly any bluegill to be found. Yesterday was only my first trip to Idong this year, but the absence of bluegill and the fact that we didn’t catch any decent bass except for that one has me worried. Maybe things will improve, but it looks like Idong is taking up right where it left off last year.
By the way, isn’t all fishing FUN? 
The bluegill should be getting ready to spwan right now, maybe they are all at the spawning grounds, or maybe they’ve moved out a little deeper with the water been so clear
I don’t know, Steve. I’m sure they’re still there somehwere, but like I said…in the years prior to 2007, there were always tons of bluegill all over the shore. Two years ago, I walked the shore one day with an ultralight rig and a white rooster tail and caught over 60 nice bluegill. Last year, I couldn’t catch bluegill to save my life. Hopefully, things will turn around in that lake later on this year…or so I hope.
Nomad took Ty fishing!!!!
Just kidding guys, glad you got out there and had some fun.
Actually, Ty took me fishing
I really need to get me a SUV like he has…if I could just find a used Santa Fe or Sorento that uses gasoline instead of diesel, I’d sell my SM5 in a heartbeat….
Is the road that bad already? How about the cabins, anyone down there camping?
Why gasoline and not diesel Nomad ??
Rob,
No the road isn’t that bad but I’m tired of scratching my Samsung up, going to most of the places I fish. Plus, a SUV would get me into some of those places much better than a car, especially after a good rain. The cabins are finished, saw no one there but they are still doing more construction down in the cove…the cove as we knew it, is gone forever.
Steve,
For now, gas on base is a lot cheaper than gas or diesel off base. And they don’t sell diesel on base here at Osan.
Nomad,
That really sucks about Idong, It is hard to explain. If there was some sort of increased predator presence in the lake taking out the bluegill, you would not expect to see all the little bass. Usually bass and bluegill numbers rise and fall fairly together. I wonder if there was some sort of toxic issue in late 2006/early 2007 that had a toll on the numbers. I remember that early last year the lake level was very very low for a while. Maybe overnetting, overfishing, who knows.
Dave
Dave,
I also have no idea but wish I knew. I also noticed that all of last year and so far this year, there have been no fishing reports from Idong posted on Anglerstown. Maybe the fish movied to the north or other part of the lake; I do tend to fish mainly one part which is near that cove. I’m not giving up yet though, the year is still young…how about you, any luck anywhere lately?
Something has definitely been going on with Idong the past couple of years…
Dave, I thought I saw you out at the small lake on 82 on Sunday but it was another American guy from Camp Humphreys out there with his kids bluegill fishing. And speaking of lakes that have gone sour, that lake has sure taken a turn for the worst the past couple of years. It used to be pretty good, for both bass and bluegill, but the last couple of years it’s just sucked.
Rob,
I’m not so sure if that’s the case with Idong but I think that lake on 82 has just been over fished. Some people think Idong has been fished out as well but that lake is just too big to have been wiped out…or so I’d like to think.
Rob and Nomad,
They will never recover that way.
I’ve only been to 82 once this year about a month ago and got skunked. I remember last year seeing Koreans catching 8-10 inch bass there and just tossing them up on the bank to die.
I can’t get my daughter away from the rainbow trout. She’s really addicted to them (both on the fishing rod and the dinner plate).
That’s pretty much all we have been fishing for this spring.
Once it gets a little warmer, was planning to start night fishing Idong with live bluegill on the long rods to see what kind of predators I could dredge up.
On a side note, Osan outdoor rec is now taking the weekly fishing trip to PyongTaek River/Lake for bass fishing. I don’t know where they are going exactly, but you may see them out there on Saturday mornings.
Ack! There goes the neighborhood!
Dave, where are you still trout fishing at? The guy out at 82 on Sunday asked me if there were still any trout lakes open and I told him that I didn’t think so. Oops!
Anybody know anything about Osan Outdoor Rec’s skeet shooting operation?
If I have little kids with me and we are just going for the excitement, then its SangJi Land (Catch and Release). If we are going for food, then it’s SeongEun Lake.
Dave
I haven’t tried their skeet shooting trips yet. Don’t know if if I will either. I think they want 20,000won a round. I would want to shoot 3 or 4 rounds and that is kind of steep to me. Maybe I was spoiled at Scott AFB, Ill, they have skeet and trap ranges right on base and it was very inexpensive.
Dave
Thanks Dave. I was thinking that the skeet operation was on base somewhere and would therefore be reasonably priced.
Scott Air Force base, eh? I’ve been looking at jobs there. That’s only about two hours from my hometown, plus my brother-in-law works in Marion.
Rob,
Scott has 2 real nice lakes on base that are catch and release only for the bass. You can keep anything else according to state laws. The bass there love the Senkos as well, especially during lunchtime excursions.
They also have skeet/trap ranges on base and they even allow bow hunting for deer on a section of woods on base. I arrowed a small buck there a few years back.
Dave
Thanks for the information Dave…