# Public swamps



## TurtleJugger (Jun 2, 2013)

Hey I know these posts asking about locations is kinda annoying and I know nobody wants to give up a honey hole and I'm not asking for one. I am looking for public marshes and swamps around south western Ohio. Any info would be awesome!


Thanks


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## oldstinkyguy (Mar 28, 2010)

Spring valley wildlife area is really cool. located along the little Miami it is a huge marsh that used to be a fur farm like 50 or 60 years ago. Several hundred species of birds have been seen there. More that some states! Lots of beavers and if you set still any length of time you'll probably see a muskrat. Also home to the endangered massasauga rattlesnake and I saw an otter in the river here a couple years ago. Its a great place if your a photographer.


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## TurtleJugger (Jun 2, 2013)

Thanks OSG that place looks amazing and is not too far from me. I'm looking for places to frog gig and bank line turtles. I also enjoy taking pictures of wildlife.


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## sammerguy (Jun 7, 2011)

If you weren't so far from me we could gig all the frog you'd want at my grandfathers pond.


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## TurtleJugger (Jun 2, 2013)

I might make a trip to make a new friend and gig sum frogs! Hit me up and I'll come up sometime this summer. I haven't heard many frogs yet. The peeper toads have been out for a month or more already. I did hear a few at the pond a few days ago but it was long deep croaks. Sounded different then what I hear in the summer.


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## Cat Mangler (Mar 25, 2012)

TurtleJugger said:


> I might make a trip to make a new friend and gig sum frogs! Hit me up and I'll come up sometime this summer. I haven't heard many frogs yet. The peeper toads have been out for a month or more already. I did hear a few at the pond a few days ago but it was long deep croaks. Sounded different then what I hear in the summer.


Seen a nice bull on the same log all but one day since Monday. I scare him off coming to his log jam


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## junebug red (Feb 19, 2013)

There are a couple swamps in Beavercreek. One is located at Phillips park which is off Dayton Xenia rd. I have never been there but I've heard that there is a swamp down a path at that park.


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## chadwimc (Jun 27, 2007)

TurtleJugger said:


> Thanks OSG that place looks amazing and is not too far from me. I'm looking for places to frog gig and bank line turtles. I also enjoy taking pictures of wildlife.


Don't get too froggy until the season opens for frogs and turtles...


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## garhtr (Jan 12, 2009)

chadwimc said:


> ]Don't get too froggy until the season opens for frogs [/B]and turtles...


 I believe Frog season is open until April 30. Closed only from April 30 to June 15 I Did Not look a the regulations recently but thats the way it has been in the past ? ?


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## TurtleJugger (Jun 2, 2013)

chadwimc said:


> Don't get too froggy until the season opens for frogs and turtles...


I think frog season starts at the end of June then turtle season starts July 1st. I know all the laws and regulations for turtles. I like to scout out places ahead of time so when the time comes I've got a plan. Same thing when I trap in the winter. I'm a trapper and a fisherman 365 days a year. I target turtles the same way I run my traplines. 

Frog gigging is still new to me and am still leaning. I used to catch tons of frogs as a kid lol by never gigged them. I love me sum frog legs!


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## Salmonid (Apr 14, 2004)

Junebug, both swamps in Beavercreek are all part of the park system, no trapping/hunting allowed and Ive fished them for years and never really seen any frogs there. I might add that back in the late 70's-80's when I was a kid hopping all over fishing, that I used to see waaaaaay more frogs back then then I do now. what gives?? I introduced some bullfrogs into my pond but every winter they all die off, been a big waste of money so far and Ive relegated that Ill not be wasting any more of that effort on introducing them. 
Turtle, whats your opinion on the numbers now vs years ago, same with turtles,, nowhere near as many as I used to see. 

Salmonid


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## garhtr (Jan 12, 2009)

_Frog Season
Frog season is open from 6 p.m. the second Friday in June through* April 30.* Only bullfrogs and green frogs may be legally taken. Not more than 15 (singly or in combination) may be taken or possessed at any time. Frogs may not be shot except with a longbow and arrow.
Turtle Season
Turtle season is open from July 1 through *April 30*. Turtles may not be taken by shooting with a gun or crossbow, or by use of a spring or steel trap. Only snapping and softshell turtles may be legally taken. Snapping turtles and softshell turtles must have a straight-line carapace length of 13 inches or greater to be taken and there is no daily limit on the number that may be taken. A turtle trap with mesh less than 4 inches square must have an opening at least 6 inches in diameter leading from it. Wings and leads are unlawful. The trap must be marked with the name and address of the owner or user in English language._

Frogs and turtles can still be taken legally until April 30, Season is then closed{ April 30} until June for Frogs and July for Turtles
Good Luck and Good Fishing


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## TurtleJugger (Jun 2, 2013)

Salmonid said:


> Junebug, both swamps in Beavercreek are all part of the park system, no trapping/hunting allowed and Ive fished them for years and never really seen any frogs there. I might add that back in the late 70's-80's when I was a kid hopping all over fishing, that I used to see waaaaaay more frogs back then then I do now. what gives?? I introduced some bullfrogs into my pond but every winter they all die off, been a big waste of money so far and Ive relegated that Ill not be wasting any more of that effort on introducing them.
> Turtle, whats your opinion on the numbers now vs years ago, same with turtles,, nowhere near as many as I used to see.
> 
> Salmonid


I've noticed there are less frogs then years ago. I think people poach then and gig em out. You should always leave a few frogs to multiply. Also I think pollution and habitat destruction take a toll. I snappers are everywhere and again they too get wiped out by over jugging/bank lining them. I've seen ponds with hundreds of turtles then went to the next pond and there is not a single snapper.. Turtles live a long time and are resistant to disease and bacteria. Kinda like alligators. They never get sick even In the most polluted pond. I knew some people who would shoot snappers while fishing and I bet that happens a lot. People just kill them and let em lay. Also when they lay eggs in June. They get run over by cars crossing the roads.


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## Roscoe (Jul 22, 2007)

Farm ponds are best if you can get permission.Gotta have some weeds and bugs.The Spring Valley Marsh was always good years back.Used a canoe and you get to most of 'em.Good Luck.




Roscoe


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## TurtleJugger (Jun 2, 2013)

Roscoe said:


> Farm ponds are best if you can get permission.Gotta have some weeds and bugs.The Spring Valley Marsh was always good years back.Used a canoe and you get to most of 'em.Good Luck.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Can u wade most of the swamp?


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## chadwimc (Jun 27, 2007)

There's a lot more critters eating frogs now. It's nothing to see a dozen raccoons foraging at night on some lakes. Some researchers are trying to prove some nefarious plot is afoot. They need to spend some time outdoors...


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## TurtleJugger (Jun 2, 2013)

chadwimc said:


> There's a lot more critters eating frogs now. It's nothing to see a dozen raccoons foraging at night on some lakes. Some researchers are trying to prove some nefarious plot is afoot. They need to spend some time outdoors...


Yea that's true too. I guess I'll have to thin the raccoons out hahah


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## SMBHooker (Jan 3, 2008)

TurtleJugger said:


> I've noticed there are less frogs then years ago. I think people poach then and gig em out. You should always leave a few frogs to multiply. Also I think pollution and habitat destruction take a toll.


About two years ago the creek I grew up on was excavated. They did a thorough job of destroying it and then built a concrete base and wall down the whole length of it. 

I was quite sad to see it. As a kid I could get lost in there discovering things all day. . . . I fished it, explored it, caught frogs, turtles and everything else. 

Now there's nothing there. And on top of that the runoff now gets to the river even faster, unsettling the natural rise of the river. This can't be having good effects on the environment in the water.

But who am I?


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## oldstinkyguy (Mar 28, 2010)

Okay, I know not everybody might find this interesting but the wetlands in Beavercreek are fens instead of a swamp or marsh. Instead of being flooded by surface water runoff a fen is somewhere that the water table underground actually reaches the surface. I'm guessing that's the reason they are still there. The swamps around here have all been ditched drained and turned into farmland. For example Shakers Swamp which was in the low flat area by LCI and the flea market. That big ditch beside the road was part of the Warren County Canal BTW. The underground water in the headwaters of the Little Miami is one reason it holds a good stream of water even while a lot of its tribs nearly dry up in late summer. There were mills on the smaller streams back before everything was cleared. The reason being that most of the small streams back then had much more water than they do now. Much of the flat higher land actually had lots of swampy land. The huge forests held lots of water and it didn't all run off right after a big rain but instead was doled out of the forest and swampy highlands over time. Weirdly enough the driest ground was actually often closer to streams like the Little Miami. The steep hillsides along the river drained so much better that the flatter uplands. A traveling preacher Rev. James Smith, who traveled from Williamsburg eastward to Chillicothe in 1797 talked about how swampy the level parts of the land were. If anyone has ever been to the waterfall by the dam at Caesar Creek that stream is called flat fork. It was called flat fork because it drained a big flat area called Sweet Gum Swamp. As people slowly cleared the land for farms in the 1800's this area drained and became rich farmland. The steep sides to the streams were cut by glacial melting and giant floods at the end of the last ice age. The swamps were formed by choked streams filled with down giant trees in the flat land above them.


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## TurtleJugger (Jun 2, 2013)

oldstinkyguy said:


> Okay, I know not everybody might find this interesting but the wetlands in Beavercreek are fens instead of a swamp or marsh. Instead of being flooded by surface water runoff a fen is somewhere that the water table underground actually reaches the surface. I'm guessing that's the reason they are still there. The swamps around here have all been ditched drained and turned into farmland. For example Shakers Swamp which was in the low flat area by LCI and the flea market. That big ditch beside the road was part of the Warren County Canal BTW. The underground water in the headwaters of the Little Miami is one reason it holds a good stream of water even while a lot of its tribs nearly dry up in late summer. There were mills on the smaller streams back before everything was cleared. The reason being that most of the small streams back then had much more water than they do now. Much of the flat higher land actually had lots of swampy land. The huge forests held lots of water and it didn't all run off right after a big rain but instead was doled out of the forest and swampy highlands over time. Weirdly enough the driest ground was actually often closer the streams like the Little Miami. The steep hillsides along the river drained so much better that the flatter uplands. A traveling preacher Rev. James Smith, who traveled from Williamsburg eastward to Chillicothe in 1797 talked about how swampy the level parts of the land were. If anyone has ever been to the waterfall by the dam at Caesar Creek that stream is called flat fork. It was called flat fork because it drained a big flat area called Sweet Gum Swamp. As people slowly cleared the land for farms in the 1800's this area drained and became rich farmland. The steep sides to the streams were cut by glacial melting and giant floods at the end of the last ice age. The swamps were formed by choked streams filled with down giant trees in the flat land above them.


Dang are you a history teacher? You know a lot about everything. That's awesome! I love learning about stuff like that. I always wondered what this earth looked like before people.


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## oldstinkyguy (Mar 28, 2010)

Nope, the further from the LMR I get, the dumber I get actually,


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## 9Left (Jun 23, 2012)

Hey turtle jugger..pm sent


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## TurtleJugger (Jun 2, 2013)

9Left said:


> Hey turtle jugger..pm sent


Thanks everyone for the tips.


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## diehardbucfan2013 (Apr 19, 2013)

oldstinkyguy said:


> Spring valley wildlife area is really cool. located along the little Miami it is a huge marsh that used to be a fur farm like 50 or 60 years ago. Several hundred species of birds have been seen there. More that some states! Lots of beavers and if you set still any length of time you'll probably see a muskrat. Also home to the endangered massasauga rattlesnake and I saw an otter in the river here a couple years ago. Its a great place if your a photographer.


You had me interested until you said rattlesnake. Dont want to be anywhere near any rattlesnakes.


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## Aquaman (Mar 5, 2014)

I was at Spring Valley marsh / lake yesterday. Water level is all the way up and the Lilly pads and vegetation has not grown much yet. Water is stained but pretty clear, prob a couple feet of visibility or more. I fished it for a bit, only got a few gills off a spinner. I think with a slower presentation I could have done better but the debris is so heavy there I was afraid of getting snags and losing lures. Pencil float and a worm or minnow would probably do well. There Were a few others there that looked to be bottom fishing but I didn't see them pull anything in. Saw a hand full of small frogs and at least one snake. probably 100 black ducks and a few wood duck too. saw lots of signs of beavers also. I was at the lake side at the parking lot and didnt go to the marsh / grass land part of it so cant report of that areas condition.


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## Roscoe (Jul 22, 2007)

The Walmart next to the Dayton Mall was built on a Fen.There is a small part remaining on the SW side next to the parking lot if you have never seen one.They basically sold the Fen out to Walmart.$$$$.



Roscoe


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## jeepin_85 (Jan 20, 2012)

Id love to get in on a little giggin action if possible. 

Sent from my SPH-L720 using Ohub Campfire mobile app


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## OHhio (Jun 19, 2013)

oldstinkyguy said:


> Okay, I know not everybody might find this interesting but the wetlands in Beavercreek are fens instead of a swamp or marsh. Instead of being flooded by surface water runoff a fen is somewhere that the water table underground actually reaches the surface. I'm guessing that's the reason they are still there. The swamps around here have all been ditched drained and turned into farmland. For example Shakers Swamp which was in the low flat area by LCI and the flea market. That big ditch beside the road was part of the Warren County Canal BTW. The underground water in the headwaters of the Little Miami is one reason it holds a good stream of water even while a lot of its tribs nearly dry up in late summer. There were mills on the smaller streams back before everything was cleared. The reason being that most of the small streams back then had much more water than they do now. Much of the flat higher land actually had lots of swampy land. The huge forests held lots of water and it didn't all run off right after a big rain but instead was doled out of the forest and swampy highlands over time. Weirdly enough the driest ground was actually often closer to streams like the Little Miami. The steep hillsides along the river drained so much better that the flatter uplands. A traveling preacher Rev. James Smith, who traveled from Williamsburg eastward to Chillicothe in 1797 talked about how swampy the level parts of the land were. If anyone has ever been to the waterfall by the dam at Caesar Creek that stream is called flat fork. It was called flat fork because it drained a big flat area called Sweet Gum Swamp. As people slowly cleared the land for farms in the 1800's this area drained and became rich farmland. The steep sides to the streams were cut by glacial melting and giant floods at the end of the last ice age. The swamps were formed by choked streams filled with down giant trees in the flat land above them.


Thanks OSG. One of my retirement goals is to study this stuff. I've walked the Beavercreek wetlands/fens several times the last couple years and they are really unlike any place I've been. 

Hard to imagine what SW Ohio was like 200 years ago.


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## SMBHooker (Jan 3, 2008)

OHhio said:


> Hard to imagine what SW Ohio was like 200 years ago.


I've always wondered that too. I had a college professor say before Ohio was settled and was wild as it ever was a squirrel could go from one side of Ohio East to West without ever having to touch the ground.


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## Cat Mangler (Mar 25, 2012)

SMBHooker said:


> I've always wondered that too. I had a college professor say before Ohio was settled and was wild as it ever was a squirrel could go from one side of Ohio East to West without ever having to touch the ground.


Yeah, now when you look at satellite photos, all you see is like 95% farm plots. Hard to believe!


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## darkseid69 (Feb 27, 2013)

Indian creek wildlife area has some.


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## diehardbucfan2013 (Apr 19, 2013)

Indian Creek has what? Swamps or snakes?


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## Orville Wrong (Mar 20, 2014)

The Clinton County portion of Caesar Creek SP, at the dead end of Mound Road has a pond that's popular with turtle juggers. For Spring Valley frogging, I'd park at the south (Warren County) end and hike north up the bike path towards Roxanna-New Burlington Road, then cut over (right) towards the lake after a half mile or so, which will take you immediately into some wadeable swamp. To your left, between the bike path and the river, is some nice swamp, but the path through that area is always packed with birdwatchers in spring and they'll be mighty annoyed if you scare off any prothonotary warblers. 

Another way would be to park in the bird feeder/boardwalk lot off Pence-Jones and take a right at the bottom of the hill before heading out the boardwalk. Take that till you reach the dike path and take that left (west) toward the LMR -- good habitat on either side of that path.


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## TurtleJugger (Jun 2, 2013)

diehardbucfan2013 said:


> Indian Creek has what? Swamps or snakes?


Indian creek is full of rattle snakes and copper heads. Also bears and wolves will run after you if ya get to close to the woods. It's not worth anyone's life to go there. I almost died seven times last time I was there so be careful if you dare venture to that god forsaken hell hole. 

Thanks for the awesome tips! I've been working on my master plan for this summer.


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## diehardbucfan2013 (Apr 19, 2013)

TurtleJugger said:


> Indian creek is full of rattle snakes and copper heads. Also bears and wolves will run after you if ya get to close to the woods. It's not worth anyone's life to go there. I almost died seven times last time I was there so be careful if you dare venture to that god forsaken hell hole.
> 
> Thanks for the awesome tips! I've been working on my master plan for this summer.


Lol smart @$$.


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## darkseid69 (Feb 27, 2013)

watch out Dorothy you forgot lions and tigers, oh my. Seriously, if youre afraid of some wild life get a ranger to guide you with air support. I never saw any snakes, sure there are some water snakes. Poisonus snakes I doubt very very much in ohio period. Though there may be the odd one here and there state wide. Lots of water and marsh ponds. maps on odnr.com


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## diehardbucfan2013 (Apr 19, 2013)

darkseid69 said:


> watch out Dorothy you forgot lions and tigers, oh my. Seriously, if youre afraid of some wild life get a ranger to guide you with air support. I never saw any snakes, sure there are some water snakes. Poisonus snakes I doubt very very much in ohio period. Though there may be the odd one here and there state wide. Lots of water and marsh ponds. maps on odnr.com


I'm just not a fan of rattlesnakes. And there are some in Ohio. Go out to Shawnee forest in the middle of summer. There are tons of timber rattlers out there. Seen them laying out on state route 125 many times.


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## IGbullshark (Aug 10, 2012)

Roscoe said:


> The Walmart next to the Dayton Mall was built on a Fen.There is a small part remaining on the SW side next to the parking lot if you have never seen one.They basically sold the Fen out to Walmart.$$$$.
> 
> 
> 
> Roscoe


The rest of that wetland is for sale now.


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## TurtleJugger (Jun 2, 2013)

darkseid69 said:


> watch out Dorothy you forgot lions and tigers, oh my. Seriously, if youre afraid of some wild life get a ranger to guide you with air support. I never saw any snakes, sure there are some water snakes. Poisonus snakes I doubt very very much in ohio period. Though there may be the odd one here and there state wide. Lots of water and marsh ponds. maps on odnr.com


Your new to ohio then? Cuz Copper heads are all over southern Ohio. Killed one last year in my shed. I've seen two rattle snakes in ohio in my lifetime


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## Crawdude (Feb 6, 2013)

TurtleJugger said:


> I always wondered what this earth looked like before people.


I wonder that too.


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## TurtleJugger (Jun 2, 2013)

TurtleJugger said:


> Your new to ohio then? Cuz Copper heads are all over southern Ohio. Killed one last year in my shed. I've seen two rattle snakes in ohio in my lifetime


I was joking around .... Lol I know Indian creek like the back of my hand. I'm not afraid of wildlife I co exist with it. I've lived in the country my whole life and still do. And there ain't no critter too tough for TurtleJugger! Lol when I lived in scioto county I saw copperheads every year while mushroom hunting. They say the ODNR released rattle snakes in Wayne national forest years ago to keep the turkeys in check. Yes there is poisonous snakes in Ohio and if you look on http://wildlife.ohiodnr.gov/species-and-habitats/species-guide-index/reptiles/northern-copperhead

It says Ohio has three different poisonous snakes.


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## diehardbucfan2013 (Apr 19, 2013)

I've lived in Scioto county most my life. Used to be a land surveyor and still haven't seen many venomous snakes. But there are some in Ohio. I know copperheads are prevalent in some areas. Rattlesnakes are few and far between. But there are a few areas that have them. Like I said earlier part of shawnee forest has them pretty thick. But don't know anywhere else that does have them. I've fished up in the old strip mine ponds in Wayne national for years. And I've never seen or heard a rattlesnake up there. So I think the whole "released rattlesnakes in Wayne national rumor" I'd just that. A rumor.


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