According to Scott Schell, District Four fisheries biologist, Salt Fork Lake is a rapidly improving muskie fishery. It offers good forage and relative stability for its fish. With the exception of the recent decrease in the water level, things in Salt Fork tend to stay the same.

The best way to target active muskies in August is to troll around the dam and other deep areas of the lake. Muskies will typically be found suspended about eight to 12 feet down. With this in mind, keep your lures running at about that depth, and troll between three and five miles per hour. If you locate a large school of shad on your electronics, it's a good bet that there's a muskie nearby.

Don't expect to find fish relating to cover this time of year on Salt Fork. Often, similar to stripers, they'll be suspended in open water in the middle of the lake for no apparent reason.

Public access to Salt Fork Lake can be found off U.S. Route 22, six miles east of Interstate Route 77 near Cambridge. You can also access the lake by exiting Interstate 77 at Route 541 and follow it to county Road 35 (also known as Old 21 Road).

Follow County Road 35 south to Morning Glory boat ramp. For lake information, bait and tackle, contact Salt Fork Outdoors at (740) 439-4570. You may also contact the District Four headquarters at (740) 594-2211 or write to the Wildlife District Four office, 360 East State Street, Athens, OH 45701.

ALUM CREEK LAKE
Alum Creek Lake is in Delaware County near Columbus, one mile west of Interstate 71 on U.S. Route 36 and state Route 37. This 3,269-acre muskie hotspot has approximately 70 miles of shoreline and countless bays and coves extending from its main body.

The muskie bite is almost always hot on Alum Creek. As long as anglers keep up with the seasonal change of the fish, they'll always have a fair shot at a true Ohio trophy.

"As the surface water warms, it holds less oxygen," said Elmer Heyob, a District One fisheries biologist and avid muskie angler. "Muskies, in turn, will relocate to deeper water near the thermocline where temperatures are cooler and the water is richer in oxygen."

With this in mind, trolling for suspended fish is often the ticket when fishing the summer bite.

Good areas to troll are near main lake points, neck-down areas and tributary inlets. Areas where small streams enter the lake often result in cooler water that attracts baitfish, which will bring muskies into shallower water.

Catch returns indicate that in 2005, eight Ohio Huskie Muskies (that is, muskies over 42 inches long from Ohio waters) were caught in Alum Creek, plus 135 honorable mentions (muskies over 30 inches) and 122 fish less than 30 inches.

One 50-inch-plus fish was reported.

Biologists claim that these numbers do not indicate every fish caught, only those turned in. Probably the real number of hooked fish is considerably higher because not all anglers report their fish.

Biologists strongly feel that Alum Creek's muskie fishery is on a steady upward track and will provide anglers with great fishing opportunities again in 2006. Anglers targeting Alum Creek in August can expect a fair chance at some exceptional fish, and -- who knows? -- maybe even a 50-inch Goliath!