T_boy
05-01-2008, 08:40 PM
CENTRAL OHIO
Big Darby Creek (Franklin and Madison counties) With the warming temperatures, anglers can enjoy wading, bank fishing or float fishing. This is one of the few streams in central Ohio containing all three species of black bass found in Ohio largemouth, smallmouth, and spotted bass. Rock bass, channel catfish, flathead catfish, sunfish and carp also provide good fishing opportunities. Use small spinner baits and small crank baits for early smallmouth action in the pools below shallow riffles. Jerk baits, surface baits and small tube baits fished near aquatic vegetation works best when fishing for largemouth bass and spotted bass. Catfish can be caught on the creek bottom with night crawlers or other traditional baits.
Knox Lake (Knox County) Areas of woody shoreline cover are good locations to fish for largemouth bass at this time of year. Try dark-colored creature baits and jig-and-pigs or white and chartreuse spinner baits fished shallow for the best results. Most of these fish measure 12 to 18 inches. There is an 18-inch minimum for keeper largemouth at this lake. Use jigs and minnows in brushy areas to take crappie. Crappie will be moving shallow as the temperatures warm. Use shrimp or night crawlers fished along the bottom to take channel catfish. Some channel catfish weigh up to 10 pounds. There is currently a 10 horsepower limit at this lake.
NORTHWEST OHIO
Maumee River (Lucas and Wood Counties) The water temperature is 59 degrees and the water level is normal. Walleye fishing is starting to slow down. Anglers are still catching good numbers of male walleye between 18 to 20 inches. There are still some limits of walleye being reported. Good numbers of white bass are being caught and that continues to improve. For walleye, use floating jig heads & Carolina rigs with chartreuse or fluorescent colored plastic tails. Try fishing with minnows for white bass or use white jigs. The best places to fish are Fort Meigs up to I-475 bridge. Anglers are wading over to Bluegrass Island. Walleye fishing will continue to slow down and white bass fishing should continue to improve. Anglers should be able to catch walleye for another couple of weeks. Right now is the time to catch both walleye and white bass.
Sandusky River (Sandusky County) The water temperature is 60 degrees and the water levels are normal. Walleye are still being caught on the Sandusky River but in smaller numbers. Most are in the 18 to 20-inch range. White bass are in the river with improved catches. For walleye use floating jig heads with brightly colored plastic tails with 3/8 oz weight about 18 to 24-inches above the jig. For white bass, use minnows. The best places to fish for walleye is near Roger Young Park. The best spots for white bass have been near the Sand Docks. The majority of the walleye run appears to be over on the Sandusky River. A few walleye will still be caught through April.
NORTHEAST OHIO
Region Wide (northeast Ohio) Spring warming trends are prompting excellent opportunities across the region. Anglers have reported excellent catches of crappie in many reservoirs. Small jigs or minnows fished around brush piles or fallen trees have been consistently productive. Channel catfish are also biting well in shallow, rapidly warming backwater areas, on a variety natural baits including night crawlers, chicken liver, and cut fish. Largemouth bass fishing has been dependent on weather, with excellent catches reported during stable warming periods and immediately before cold fronts. A variety of artificial lures have been effective for largemouth bass.
Tappan Lake (Harrison County) White crappie are biting on twister tails or live minnows about two to three feet under a bobber. Wheelchair accessible shoreline fishing facilities are available. Anglers should note the 9-inch minimum length limit on crappie.
Clendening Lake (Harrison County) This lake offers good crappie fishing. White crappie are biting on twister tails or live minnows about two to three feet under a bobber. There is 10 horsepower limit on this lake.
Mahoning River (Stark County) Anglers are catching white bass while fishing with minnows in Alliance. Fishing the dam near the intersection of E. Gaskill Street and Apple Avenue produces good numbers. Limited parking is available at a pull-off area or nearby Early Hill Park on Vine Street. Parking and fishing access is also available near the bike trail off of E. Gaskill Street, just east of state Route 225/Union Avenue.
SOUTHWEST OHIO
GRAND LAKE ST MARYS (Auglaize and Mercer counties) Crappie are being caught by anglers using chartreuse or yellow colored jigs with plastic bodies as bait. Fishing is good near submerged trees and brush and woody debris. Keep the bait between two to four feet deep. Jig around brush and the docks in the channels. Anglers using night crawlers, cut bait (shad), or shrimp on a No. 2 bait-holding hook are catching channel catfish. Fish the bait along the bottom and along shoreline areas.
INDIAN CREEK WILDLIFE AREA (Brown County) Bluegill and sunfish are being taken by anglers using red worms, earthworms, or wax worms on a No. 6 fine-wire hook. Keep the bait about two to three feet deep. There are 58 ponds on the area that all have fishing opportunities. The Family Fishing Pond is best and is marked and accessible from Campbell Road in the wildlife area.
SOUTHEAST OHIO
Piedmont Lake (Belmont County) Saugeye in the 16 to 20-inch range are being taken near the dam by shore and boat anglers. Best fishing is at dusk or dawn or all day if there is cloud cover. Most fish are being taken on jig and minnows fished six to eight feet deep using a slip bobber. Fair numbers of 12 to 14-inch black crappie are being taken in the same area by the same method. A few largemouth bass from 12 to 15 inches are being caught on spinner baits fished slowly in shallow water.
Seneca Lake (Guernsey County) Water conditions are slightly turbid and at normal pool with water temperature around 59 degrees. Largemouth bass, 12 to 17 inches, are being caught on spinner baits and plastic worms in the shallow coves. Saugeye in the 16 to 17-inch range are just starting to bite on jigs tipped with minnows fished on the points and flats in eight to 12 feet of water. A few channel cats up to 20 inches are also being taken on minnows and night crawlers fished near shore. The next warm spell should improve the fishing.
LAKE ERIE
Over the past weekend, walleye and yellow perch fishing were excellent in the western basin. Limits of walleye were caught by jigging on the Camp Perry firing range reef complex, nearshore from Davis Besse to Crane Creek, and Maumee Bay. Popular jigging lures include jigheads tipped with shiners, hair jigs tipped with shiners, and vibrating blade baits. Trollers caught walleye on the flats north and east of the reef complex, around the Bass Islands, and north of Kelleys Island. Shallow minnow-imitating stick baits in the top half of the water column pulled behind planer boards will produce occasional trophy walleye during the spring. Large yellow perch were caught east of Kelleys Island, near the Marblehead lighthouse and around the Sandusky Bay foghorn. Spreaders or crappie rigs tipped with shiners are the best technique to catch yellow perch. Surface temperatures are generally in the mid-40 degree range.
Walleye are still being caught in the rivers, but the runs are past peak densities. White bass are also now being caught in both rivers.
The walleye bag limit returns to 6 per day on May 1. The minimum size limit for walleye is 15 inches.
The yellow perch daily bag limit on Lake Erie is 30 fish per day.
The black bass (largemouth and smallmouth) daily bag limit is 5 fish with a 14-inch minimum size limit.
The steelhead trout daily bag limit is 2. The minimum size limit for steelhead is 12 inches.
OHIO RIVER
Sauger fishing continues to be good in the Racine tailwaters with most fish ranging from eight to 12 inches and some fish more than 15 inches. Try white, chartreuse, salt and pepper or orange twister tails or grubs. Both largemouth and smallmouth bass fishing is starting to pick up. Most fish are in the 10 to 12-inch range and are being caught along the walkway and the riprap at Racine. Hybrid striped bass fishing remains somewhat slow. Casting plastic shad, white grubs or small bucktails in the swift current may yield some fish. River temps were in the low 60s at the end of the week.
Big Darby Creek (Franklin and Madison counties) With the warming temperatures, anglers can enjoy wading, bank fishing or float fishing. This is one of the few streams in central Ohio containing all three species of black bass found in Ohio largemouth, smallmouth, and spotted bass. Rock bass, channel catfish, flathead catfish, sunfish and carp also provide good fishing opportunities. Use small spinner baits and small crank baits for early smallmouth action in the pools below shallow riffles. Jerk baits, surface baits and small tube baits fished near aquatic vegetation works best when fishing for largemouth bass and spotted bass. Catfish can be caught on the creek bottom with night crawlers or other traditional baits.
Knox Lake (Knox County) Areas of woody shoreline cover are good locations to fish for largemouth bass at this time of year. Try dark-colored creature baits and jig-and-pigs or white and chartreuse spinner baits fished shallow for the best results. Most of these fish measure 12 to 18 inches. There is an 18-inch minimum for keeper largemouth at this lake. Use jigs and minnows in brushy areas to take crappie. Crappie will be moving shallow as the temperatures warm. Use shrimp or night crawlers fished along the bottom to take channel catfish. Some channel catfish weigh up to 10 pounds. There is currently a 10 horsepower limit at this lake.
NORTHWEST OHIO
Maumee River (Lucas and Wood Counties) The water temperature is 59 degrees and the water level is normal. Walleye fishing is starting to slow down. Anglers are still catching good numbers of male walleye between 18 to 20 inches. There are still some limits of walleye being reported. Good numbers of white bass are being caught and that continues to improve. For walleye, use floating jig heads & Carolina rigs with chartreuse or fluorescent colored plastic tails. Try fishing with minnows for white bass or use white jigs. The best places to fish are Fort Meigs up to I-475 bridge. Anglers are wading over to Bluegrass Island. Walleye fishing will continue to slow down and white bass fishing should continue to improve. Anglers should be able to catch walleye for another couple of weeks. Right now is the time to catch both walleye and white bass.
Sandusky River (Sandusky County) The water temperature is 60 degrees and the water levels are normal. Walleye are still being caught on the Sandusky River but in smaller numbers. Most are in the 18 to 20-inch range. White bass are in the river with improved catches. For walleye use floating jig heads with brightly colored plastic tails with 3/8 oz weight about 18 to 24-inches above the jig. For white bass, use minnows. The best places to fish for walleye is near Roger Young Park. The best spots for white bass have been near the Sand Docks. The majority of the walleye run appears to be over on the Sandusky River. A few walleye will still be caught through April.
NORTHEAST OHIO
Region Wide (northeast Ohio) Spring warming trends are prompting excellent opportunities across the region. Anglers have reported excellent catches of crappie in many reservoirs. Small jigs or minnows fished around brush piles or fallen trees have been consistently productive. Channel catfish are also biting well in shallow, rapidly warming backwater areas, on a variety natural baits including night crawlers, chicken liver, and cut fish. Largemouth bass fishing has been dependent on weather, with excellent catches reported during stable warming periods and immediately before cold fronts. A variety of artificial lures have been effective for largemouth bass.
Tappan Lake (Harrison County) White crappie are biting on twister tails or live minnows about two to three feet under a bobber. Wheelchair accessible shoreline fishing facilities are available. Anglers should note the 9-inch minimum length limit on crappie.
Clendening Lake (Harrison County) This lake offers good crappie fishing. White crappie are biting on twister tails or live minnows about two to three feet under a bobber. There is 10 horsepower limit on this lake.
Mahoning River (Stark County) Anglers are catching white bass while fishing with minnows in Alliance. Fishing the dam near the intersection of E. Gaskill Street and Apple Avenue produces good numbers. Limited parking is available at a pull-off area or nearby Early Hill Park on Vine Street. Parking and fishing access is also available near the bike trail off of E. Gaskill Street, just east of state Route 225/Union Avenue.
SOUTHWEST OHIO
GRAND LAKE ST MARYS (Auglaize and Mercer counties) Crappie are being caught by anglers using chartreuse or yellow colored jigs with plastic bodies as bait. Fishing is good near submerged trees and brush and woody debris. Keep the bait between two to four feet deep. Jig around brush and the docks in the channels. Anglers using night crawlers, cut bait (shad), or shrimp on a No. 2 bait-holding hook are catching channel catfish. Fish the bait along the bottom and along shoreline areas.
INDIAN CREEK WILDLIFE AREA (Brown County) Bluegill and sunfish are being taken by anglers using red worms, earthworms, or wax worms on a No. 6 fine-wire hook. Keep the bait about two to three feet deep. There are 58 ponds on the area that all have fishing opportunities. The Family Fishing Pond is best and is marked and accessible from Campbell Road in the wildlife area.
SOUTHEAST OHIO
Piedmont Lake (Belmont County) Saugeye in the 16 to 20-inch range are being taken near the dam by shore and boat anglers. Best fishing is at dusk or dawn or all day if there is cloud cover. Most fish are being taken on jig and minnows fished six to eight feet deep using a slip bobber. Fair numbers of 12 to 14-inch black crappie are being taken in the same area by the same method. A few largemouth bass from 12 to 15 inches are being caught on spinner baits fished slowly in shallow water.
Seneca Lake (Guernsey County) Water conditions are slightly turbid and at normal pool with water temperature around 59 degrees. Largemouth bass, 12 to 17 inches, are being caught on spinner baits and plastic worms in the shallow coves. Saugeye in the 16 to 17-inch range are just starting to bite on jigs tipped with minnows fished on the points and flats in eight to 12 feet of water. A few channel cats up to 20 inches are also being taken on minnows and night crawlers fished near shore. The next warm spell should improve the fishing.
LAKE ERIE
Over the past weekend, walleye and yellow perch fishing were excellent in the western basin. Limits of walleye were caught by jigging on the Camp Perry firing range reef complex, nearshore from Davis Besse to Crane Creek, and Maumee Bay. Popular jigging lures include jigheads tipped with shiners, hair jigs tipped with shiners, and vibrating blade baits. Trollers caught walleye on the flats north and east of the reef complex, around the Bass Islands, and north of Kelleys Island. Shallow minnow-imitating stick baits in the top half of the water column pulled behind planer boards will produce occasional trophy walleye during the spring. Large yellow perch were caught east of Kelleys Island, near the Marblehead lighthouse and around the Sandusky Bay foghorn. Spreaders or crappie rigs tipped with shiners are the best technique to catch yellow perch. Surface temperatures are generally in the mid-40 degree range.
Walleye are still being caught in the rivers, but the runs are past peak densities. White bass are also now being caught in both rivers.
The walleye bag limit returns to 6 per day on May 1. The minimum size limit for walleye is 15 inches.
The yellow perch daily bag limit on Lake Erie is 30 fish per day.
The black bass (largemouth and smallmouth) daily bag limit is 5 fish with a 14-inch minimum size limit.
The steelhead trout daily bag limit is 2. The minimum size limit for steelhead is 12 inches.
OHIO RIVER
Sauger fishing continues to be good in the Racine tailwaters with most fish ranging from eight to 12 inches and some fish more than 15 inches. Try white, chartreuse, salt and pepper or orange twister tails or grubs. Both largemouth and smallmouth bass fishing is starting to pick up. Most fish are in the 10 to 12-inch range and are being caught along the walkway and the riprap at Racine. Hybrid striped bass fishing remains somewhat slow. Casting plastic shad, white grubs or small bucktails in the swift current may yield some fish. River temps were in the low 60s at the end of the week.