# Maumee River Salmon



## DeathFromAbove

I was smallmouth fishing the Maumee yesterday, and while walking the bank I found a dead 2 ft long salmon laying on the rocks.Looked like a coho. It had been gotten at by something, it had it's full head,then the front half of it had been eaten down to the spine and skin on the other side, and the tail half was still intact. It looked relatively fresh, still silvery and the eyes didn't look too bad. Must have died the night or evening before. No idea how it ended up on the rocks, and I was surprised to find it in the river on Aug. 4th.Pretty early for salmon in the river Definately a salmon and not a steelhead. Havent seen any swimming in the river, but I'll be watching for them. Anybody else seen any yet?


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## BFG

Let's see them pics.


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## fishingfoolBG

Haha BFG, I want to see the pictures as well!!


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## husky hooker

Get reel!!!!! I GOT TWO SHARK YESTERDAY!!!!


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## The Bream Reaper

I wonder if I saw the same one as you? This was from a week or two ago...


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## WATER FOX

If you start seeing anymore let us know.


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## chet

edit


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## sploosh56

did anyone else hear about the large grouper caught out of the portage yesterday? and know i'm not joking.


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## Fisherman 3234

There are more fish species swimming around in the maumee then what a lot of people think there are.


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## BFG

That pic above is a steelhead...look at the tail. Salmon have forked tails...coho more pronounced than kings. 

The head is a dead giveaway though..


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## ErieAngler

BFG said:


> That pic above is a steelhead...look at the tail. Salmon have forked tails...coho more pronounced than kings.
> 
> The head is a dead giveaway though..


Exactly what I was going to reply. Definately no fork, therfore not a coho. Looks like a steel. Also all the cohos ive seen or caught have mouths that extend past thier eyes.


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## profisher5

Hey husky hooker, there was a piranha caught in the maumee at napoleon a couple weeks ago so don't be to quick laugh.


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## Fisherman 3234

There has also been lake sturgeon caught out of maumee river before during the run, like I said there are all kinds of critters that call maumee river home.


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## CarpCommander

I have caught salmon from the river before, and steelies. BUT I have a hard time believing a salmon would be up this early; the water is like bath water!

Mid October is when the salmon usually show...not enough to waste your time on, but they do make an appearance.

And sturgeon? Lol...never heard of such a thing....


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## Mr. Catfish

I seen sturgeon come from the river. My Uncle caught a 18lb sturgeon off the end of the big island in Grand Rapids. It was like 20 years ago when I was 13. Also I think the bait shop in town has a pic os one around fifty pounds.


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## Bucket Mouth

I've got pics of some kings that I caught where there isnt a pronounced fork in the tail. That picture could def. be of salmon remains.

Also, I think CarpCommander is the cat that caught that boss sturgeon out of the river a few springs back.

The Maumee has all kinds of lost, one-off fish. I dont doubt that some random stupid salmon was in there.


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## WeekendWarrior

CarpCommander said:


> I have caught salmon from the river before, and steelies. BUT I have a hard time believing a salmon would be up this early; the water is like bath water!
> 
> Mid October is when the salmon usually show...not enough to waste your time on, but they do make an appearance.
> 
> And sturgeon? Lol...never heard of such a thing....


The latest one caught was about 4 years ago. An article was posted in the Toledo Blade. I pulled this from another website. This was the pic in the Toledo Blade.

http://www.coolwaterfish.com/special.html

http://www.dnr.state.oh.us/tabid/12834/default.aspx

So yes, such things do exist in the Maumee. 

Warm Water Bay just north of Maumee Bay see's several in it's waters.


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## husky hooker

just kinda sounded funny,thats all,, sorry to laugh. and the pirana,yea thats not hard to believe.but thats a steelie not a salmon!!


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## Steel Cranium

Looks like a steelhead to me. Probably more probable than a salmon since it's mighty early for a king/coho to think about running to the streams and they were last in the river in the fall. Some steelies were still in streams to the east in early June.

I have caught a few good sized trout (probably leftover steelies) in the upper rocky during the summer, where they probably ran in the spring, found some cooler/fast water, and stayed in the river instead of heading to the lake. Not real large ones, but in the 20-24" range. Only a couple over many years, so not worth chasing - accidental catch.

Same thing could have happened here = spring run steelie (which Michigan stocks north of the Maumee, Huron river) runs way upstream, finds some tolerable water in/near a cooler feeder creek, then kicks the bucket once the river level finally dropped and the water warmed.


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## Sandpike85

sploosh56 said:


> did anyone else hear about the large grouper caught out of the portage yesterday? and know i'm not joking.



Are you serious? I thought groupers were strictly salt water fish. I did not know the could survive in fresh water especially this far from the ocean.


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## husky hooker

there ya go,im laughing again....geeezz


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## liquidsoap

No matter what it is that is still pretty cool..


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## CarpCommander

WeekendWarrior said:


> The latest one caught was about 4 years ago. An article was posted in the Toledo Blade. I pulled this from another website. This was the pic in the Toledo Blade.
> 
> http://www.coolwaterfish.com/special.html
> 
> http://www.dnr.state.oh.us/tabid/12834/default.aspx
> 
> So yes, such things do exist in the Maumee.
> 
> Warm Water Bay just north of Maumee Bay see's several in it's waters.



Lol....ya, that was me that caught that one...I was just seeing if anyone remembered.  After getting that fish, the salmon, and finding 12+lb steelies in TINY creeks out in the middle of BFE podunk suburban Toledo, NOTHING surprises me anymore!


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## sploosh56

that would be awesome to catch a sturgeon


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## Redhunter1012

It's either a Skam or steelhead. My guess would be a stray Skam that made it's annual mid summer run. I've caught every freshwater fish known to man, and nothing fights harder pound for pound than a Skamania in a river. Yes, even harder than Smallies


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## Sandpike85

Carp Commander,

What were you fishing for when you caught it? and what were you fishing with?


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## Mushijobah

I remember when you got that sturgeon CC. Such a cool catch. Fish of a lifetime!


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## CarpCommander

Thanks guys.

I was just down there wasting time actually, not really 'targeting' anything. Got tired of battling the walleye crowds so I decided I'd do some exploring and happened to find the fish of a lifetime! 

The EXACT spot is only shared with a close few friends; not so much that another sturgeon might be caught, BUT I also hold the bowfishing sucker state record, and it was shot VERY close to where I got the sturgeon. 

Secret squirrel stuff...lol. 

The following year (or maybe it was the same year?) I went to Wisconsin with a buddy and caught 3 more sturgeon, the biggest going 45". Pound for pound the hardest fighting fish I've tangled with! And you wouldn't know it, but the baby sturgeon have SUPER sharp spines covering there bodies so nothing eats them.

(Sorry to hi-jack the salmon thread man!)


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## CoolWater

Nice fishies Brent. 

I know I will do my part to make sure no one ever forgets about your catch. As long as I have my site your story will have a place on it. I still consider that catch "the most significant catch in NW Ohio in my lifetime". I can only hope that a few decades from now catching Sturgeon from the river will not be quite so amazing. With the removal of the Ballville Dam just south of Fremont, and other such dam removal endeavors - maybe we can see more river spawning Sturgeon.

Even if this particular thread was started with a mis identification of a fish, it is always exciting to generate conversation regarding the diversity of what our waters hold. Some stories are true without a doubt, as Brent's catch clearly would be an example. Other stories might not have the documentation but are just as true to the person that experienced it.

Whether someone has the proof or not, I sure do love fishing stories.

My site is having an overhaul right now and that link might end up axed so I want to add this link to the thread, especially if someone happens to search this topic from the archives in the future:
http://www.coolwaterfish.com/articles.html


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## fishingwithjohnnyjohnson

I've never heard of a SKAM--can u explain what it is?


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## Bucket Mouth

skamania are a strain of steelhead that what is stocked by the DNR. A bunch of them are stocked by Indiana in Lake Michigan. They are tremendous fighters that enter river systems earlier than other strains of steelies.

http://www.indianagameandfish.com/fishing/in_aa071704a/


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## gunnyg

The Bream Reaper said:


> I wonder if I saw the same one as you? This was from a week or two ago...
> 
> That photo is a Steelhead, or what's left of it. The tail is flat.
> 
> Salmon have a forked tail. Additionally, Coho have spots on the top half of the tail only. Bottom half, no spots.


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