HOLLOWAY RESERVOIR
Holloway was created by damming the Flint River and flooding a forested valley, leaving a vast stumpfield, which is ideal habitat for crappies. Come spring, fish congregate in protected bays, inlets or backwaters that tend to warm faster than the main reservoir. Once you find fish, catching them can be somewhat easy, if you keep some important points in mind.

Holloway is fed by the Flint River, and melting snow and ice or rain can cause the reservoir to become strained. Turbid water requires adjusting your fishing strategy. Use brightly colored jigs, tubes or plastics. Fluorescent presentations will put more fish in the livewell. Holloway's choices for crappie lures include white, chartreuse and lime green.

"Holloway has an excellent population of crappies with most running from 8 to 10 inches," said DNR fisheries biologist Joe Leonardi. "The lake offers superb fishing with little spring flooding and miles of undeveloped shoreline highlighted by blowdowns, sunken logs and emergent vegetation that attracts and holds crappies through the spring spawning season."

Al Fisher, a local pro, started fishing for crappies in the 1960s when the population was low, but today he says the specks are booming.

"Back then, I used a cane pole and black nylon line and fishing was tough," he said. "Today, I prefer 8-pound clear monofilament, a 7-foot medium-light-action rod and spinning reel."

Holloway has given up several fishing secrets over the years: Most importantly, you should use a lure that crappies can see with ease in brownish stained river water.

"My hottest colors are fluorescent lime green and white 1/8-ounce jigs tipped with a white wax worm or feisty minnow," he said. "If the fish are in deep water, I cast the jig and let the offering swim toward bottom and twitch the rod tip to excite crappies into gulping the falling bait. If the fish are shallow, I prefer to scale down to a 1/64-ounce jig and suspend the bait about 4 feet below a slip-bobber that can be moved deeper or shallower depending on the depth water where I'm getting strikes."

Holloway covers 950 acres in Lapeer and Genesee counties, 10 miles northeast of Flint. There is a large park and boat launch on the southwest corner near Hasler Creek.

For more information, call the Lapeer State Game Area DNR office at (810) 245-1250.

STONY CREEK
"Crappie numbers are very solid in Stony Creek Lake and the growth rates average an inch faster than the rest of the state," said DNR fisheries biologist Jim Francis. "Crappies in a recent survey averaged 9.6 inches. One was over 13 inches and weighed a pound and a half, a vast improvement over a 1980s survey where the largest crappie was 7 inches.

"The state-record crappie came from Stony Creek Lake in 2000 and weighed more than 3 pounds and measured an amazing 19.5 inches. Stony has a reputation for serving up slab crappies."

Tom Anderson, a Stony Lake pro from Troy, said, "Stony has clear water, so use a live minnow 6 feet below a bobber, dorsal hooked with a No. 10 Octopus hook. This presentation allows the minnow to swim freely and draws big slabs from hiding."

Stony Creek Lake is north of Rochester Hills in Macomb and Oakland counties with an average depth from 6 to 15 feet and 24 feet deep near the outlet. Fish structure holds plenty of crappies on a point north of the boat access. Stony covers about 500 acres and is highlighted by crappie-holding stumps and sunken trees. A boat launch is located on the southeast corner near the dam.

For information, contact the Lake Erie Management Unit at (248) 359-9046 or the Huron-Clinton Metro Authority at (800) 477-2757.