# River Walleye



## Matt63

No Maumee and Sandusky discussion yet? I don't river fish anymore since I bought a boat. But like reading the reports and seeing the pics.


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## Morrowtucky Mike

Seems everyone is all about FB nowadays. Same with lots of reservoirs and different areas. I personally know several members on here that post weekly on FB but rarely post info on here. Yet see that they look at this site daily.


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## King-Fish

Bernie over at anglers supply in Fremont has posted a few pictures on his Facebook page of people catching a few here and there. The one guy caught a HOG. Need the water to come up some to get a good school moving up the river. I’m going tomorrow to try my luck for first time this year. Will post how I do.


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## RSCLLC

Hope to hear a good report! Me and the wife gonna try Saturday morning in the Sandusky river by state street bridge. Haven't been there in years but it's closer than the Maumee lol. I did see a good amount of folks in river Tuesday about 30 ppl or so on banks and hand full wading. Can't seem to find any up to date info anywhere online how it's going. About how many inches are y'all running the leaders these days? Never did the bullet weight and floating jig.. guess it's the new thing lol thanks!!


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## Morrowtucky Mike

RSCLLC said:


> Hope to hear a good report! Me and the wife gonna try Saturday morning in the Sandusky river by state street bridge. Haven't been there in years but it's closer than the Maumee lol. I did see a good amount of folks in river Tuesday about 30 ppl or so on banks and hand full wading. Can't seem to find any up to date info anywhere online how it's going. About how many inches are y'all running the leaders these days? Never did the bullet weight and floating jig.. guess it's the new thing lol thanks!!


Maumeetackle.net for that rivers updates. If you don’t have Facebook just google Maumee River Walleye Run and click on the FB page. You can access it on google just can’t comment. Can do the same on Anglers Supply FB page. I don’t have FB but check out both pages daily for updates.


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## King-Fish

Same here not on Facebook but look for the updates on the run. Usually run a Carolina rig 1/4 ounce swivel sinker with 18-24” lead works well for catching them. Least that’s been the better way for me to get bites last few years. Now that the dam is gone at least it’s opened up a little more fish able ground so your not so packed in like sardines between state street and the old cut off at the power lines.


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## RSCLLC

Nice! Yea no Facebook here but good to know I can look around and get the info. I appreciate it! Yea that dam was cool place for cats back when. I've always like dams for fishing. Just seems like the over flowing water always seem to produce a good day lol well better than just river fishing and I'm sure it was cause the fish couldn't go any farther but again when bait fish roll over top it's kinda easy pickings lol. So is there a better spot past power lines or kinda luck of the draw? And what about a job boat in there?? Don't really see many like the Maumee. Thanks!!


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## King-Fish

Past the power lines just before where the dam was they turned the old river cliff golf course into a park and public parking area and that pulls people from the state street/fifth street area. Guys last year we’re doing good down there but idk I tend to stick to the rapids around the fifth street bridge area. Wading also gives you more options to get away from the crowd. Supposedly the fish are now making the trek all the way to the pioneer mill dam in tiffin to spawn out now so a lot more fishing area. There is a boat ramp that depending on water level may get jon boat out and definately kayaks at wolf creek park and campground on state route 53 south of Fremont. I haven’t fished that area or anything south of the dam since they took it down but if fish going all the way to tiffin may be good area away from crowds. Maybe have to try the kayak this year myself that way. Just hard to leave the area I usually know there’s fish in. Never know south of town might be hot but that’s fishing I guess won’t know unless you try.


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## RSCLLC

I like trying new areas, well not so much the hunt but to test my skills of what could be lol reading the river for what may be a good place lol I'll have to check it out and see definitely!! I know the tackle box is open for launching boats but no docks yet as of Monday. But again a flat bottom Jon boat would be fine, didn't know if maybe drifting and vert jigging would be worth it.. anything is worth a shot I guess lol


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## AtticaFish

I fished the Sandusky just North of Tiffin earlier this week for an hour after work. Had a good hit on a twister tail but never saw the fish.


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## King-Fish

Went this morning later than I would’ve liked got there around 10am. Area around fifth street bridge was packed with waders and shore casters already so I fished the roger young park area. Saw another guy catch one and several foul hooked throw backs. I couldn’t manage a bite felt as if I rolled one that’s all the action I got. Fished for about two hours. Fish are definately in the river and moving though. It’s definately time to get out there.


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## RSCLLC

Nice!! Thanks for update 👍 I'll definitely check it out and see if me and my wife's luck is any different.. anyone ever tip the jigs with worms or anything??


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## HappySnag

RSCLLC said:


> Nice!! Thanks for update 👍 I'll definitely check it out and see if me and my wife's luck is any different.. anyone ever tip the jigs with worms or anything??


only twister tail,defrent size ,defrent color,leeder from 12" to 36",sinker depend on strenght off curent,when bass come in they use minows ,


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## RSCLLC

Well no fish here, did some catch and release s and one on a stringer but still far and few in-between. There was alot ppl fishing but again didn't any action really.


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## Harry1959

Is Schroeder boat ramp still open? Headed up to the Maumee to fish Monday


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## Matt63

I think they are pm anglermama I believe she is part of Schroder somehow. You could call Maumee bait and tackle also.


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## AtticaFish

I've still been trying just north of Tiffin on my lunch break. No walleye yet but starting to get a few of these guys now. 










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## Harry1959

Matt63 said:


> I think they are pm anglermama I believe she is part of Schroder somehow. You could call Maumee bait and tackle also.


Thanks for reply. Used to see angler mama on here. Haven’t for a while. She collected my ramp fee last year


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## Northern Reb

Harry1959 said:


> Thanks for reply. Used to see angler mama on here. Haven’t for a while. She collected my ramp fee last year


Yes, the ramp is open. I saw angler mama last weekend at the campground.


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## Northern Reb

Anyone who is boating the Maumee run should have no problems getting on fish. Waders who don't mind combat fishing will also do well in the common spots....and lose a ton of gear 

My out of the way spot has a few fish, but not thick by any means yet. I managed one on Sat and zero on Sunday. Both trips about 3 hrs.

BTW - If any boaters need a first mate let me know 😊


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## AtticaFish

I'm still not seeing anything but smallies around Tiffin. Anyone here try any place South ot Fremont at all? With the water as clear as it is, I would think I would at least see some passing through and I have not seen a one yet.

This was from Tuesday lunch break... 










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## King-Fish

I tried for couple hours on Sunday at county road 38 bridge area and didn’t get a bite or see any rollers or any sign of them either. They say there supposed to make it to pioneer mill dam area to spawn now but no ones fishing towards tiffin area that I’ve seen and no signs of them when I’ve tried a couple times. Seems like the bite and fish for that matter are still around Fremont and not really working towards tiffin. Nice colors on that smallie!


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## AtticaFish

I have not seen a single person fishing around Tiffin yet either. I know there are some areas around Steyer Nature Preserve near Old Fort that I think would be ideal spawn areas.... maybe they have no need to go any further. 

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## Morrowtucky Mike

Imo the females are going to spawn at the first suitable areas with the right temps. But keep an eye out for those males after the main spawn is over. I know they used to pile up at the ballville dam in May when everyone else was busy catching whitebass in Fremont.


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## Bowtie

I've tried fishing south of fremont by the park on 53 a few times this year and a few times last year. I haven't even run into one in there yet. While I'm sure that a few may make it that far I doubt they do in larger numbers. If you follow the river, especially this year, it gets into some pretty low areas that would seem to make it difficult for them to pass. I'm also not a fantastic river walleye guy so take all that with a grain of salt. It hasn't been a good year at all for the sandusky river this year either.


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## Bvil

There is an article posted on The Advertiser Tribune website today stating that no walleye have been found while electrofishing South of the old dam since removal.
Pretty much the same for white bass.


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## HappySnag

Bowtie said:


> I've tried fishing south of fremont by the park on 53 a few times this year and a few times last year. I haven't even run into one in there yet. While I'm sure that a few may make it that far I doubt they do in larger numbers. If you follow the river, especially this year, it gets into some pretty low areas that would seem to make it difficult for them to pass. I'm also not a fantastic river walleye guy so take all that with a grain of salt. It hasn't been a good year at all for the sandusky river this year either.


bite depend on fish,not on fisherman experience.
one day i got 50 eyes till noon,50% were snaged.
next day, all day i got one snaged,hed to relese her.
that mean i forget how to fish from yesterday ?


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## Redhunter1012

I know of several spots beyond the dam giving up numbers of fish. But they're not terribly too far upstream


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## Morrowtucky Mike

Maumee has been pretty good. Went up a couple weeks ago and limited in just over an hour. Decent grade of fish also, 18-22”. Went Friday afternoon and got 3 then went back up Saturday morning and got 4. The bite this weekend was pretty tough. Couple nights down around 20 degrees cooled the river quite a bit. But they are definitely in there thick. Fished Buttonwood all 3 times. Gotta be there very early before first cast or you’ll be struggling to find a place to park.


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## Hammb

Northern Reb said:


> Anyone who is boating the Maumee run should have no problems getting on fish. Waders who don't mind combat fishing will also do well in the common spots....and lose a ton of gear
> 
> My out of the way spot has a few fish, but not thick by any means yet. I managed one on Sat and zero on Sunday. Both trips about 3 hrs.
> 
> BTW - If any boaters need a first mate let me know 😊


Is your spot upriver to Waterville or further by any chance?

I live on the river in Waterville so I basically only fish my own property but I haven't had any luck or heard of anybody getting fish up here yet this year. I've probably put 7-8 hrs on the river over the last couple weeks and haven't hooked into anything yet, not even suckers.


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## Northern Reb

Hammb said:


> Is your spot upriver to Waterville or further by any chance?
> 
> I live on the river in Waterville so I basically only fish my own property but I haven't had any luck or heard of anybody getting fish up here yet this year. I've probably put 7-8 hrs on the river over the last couple weeks and haven't hooked into anything yet, not even suckers.


No...not quite that out of the way  I have tried Waterville area in the past with zero success, but it has been a few years.

The spot I like isn't shoulder to shoulder, but there are a fair amount of people who fish it at different times. It has a lot less snags, but then again less fish as well, so it is a trade off. I don't mind putting in the time as long as I'm not getting snagged every third cast either by the river or other lines. I generally manage around 15 caught a year which gets me through until time for the big lake.

Last yr when Maumee closed their side of the river everyone was forced to the P-burg side so then they shut down. I was forced into combat fishing in a different spot. I gave it two attempts and after seeing multiple waders snagged, fish drug in behind the line etc, etc I finally lost my temper and had to use my dad voice. Not sure if he/they understood what I was saying, but due to my tone and the corresponding look in their eyes, I believe the message was received. At that point my season on the river was finished when it was no longer relaxing fun.


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## BFG

It's only relaxing when the crowds go away. I've caught a lot of limits between April 20 and May 15 in the Maumee with less than 20 people in sight. I refuse to stand in the river for 3 hours before first cast anyore. I'm not that hungry.


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## bigbass201

Morrowtucky Mike said:


> Maumee has been pretty good. Went up a couple weeks ago and limited in just over an hour. Decent grade of fish also, 18-22”. Went Friday afternoon and got 3 then went back up Saturday morning and got 4. The bite this weekend was pretty tough. Couple nights down around 20 degrees cooled the river quite a bit. But they are definitely in there thick. Fished Buttonwood all 3 times. Gotta be there very early before first cast or you’ll be struggling to find a place to park.


I was down there checking things out Sunday. It was slow for most people that I talked to. Many had zero and others had 2 or 3. Took the drone for a fly around. I'll try to get that video up sometime soon. I did check the waterville area and only seen a couple anglers there and Wier rapids was the same. Most everyone was down from Fort Meigs up to Jerome Road.


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## Northern Reb

2.5 hrs last evening with no luck. Only saw a couple come in by anyone on either side of the river.

The bugs were unreal. At points I could barely see the tip of my pole. 

Hoping for some good rain over the next couple of days and colder temps to keep the run going a while longer.


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## Morrowtucky Mike

Hit the Maumee Wednesday morning. Slowwww is the only way to describe it. Very frustrating. Should be 1 hr limits right now. Only 1 hit the stringer for myself and my buddy. I lost one unhooking, don’t even wanna talk about that. Caught a short, didn’t even need to measure and pulled another in by the tail. Fished Jerome rapids from first cast till around 11. Swung over to buttonwood and the reports were even worse. Didn’t even get out of vehicle. Not sure there’s as many fish in the river as Maumee tackle claims. Sure I know they want people to come and spend money but there’s basically only been 1 main high water period in the last month. No new fish have came up since then. Most I saw on a stringer when I left was 3. And I could watch probably 50 people and saw less than 50 walleye reeled in by the mouth. Very few snagged fish which usually means not very many fish. Heard one spot was on fire at bluegrass from a guy that was fishing across the river at buttonwood. But was a very small area he said. Saw a pic of a whitebass caught at Jerome today. Not good, not good at all!! And about 3 weeks early. Going up tomorrow morning, hopefully this rain will stir something up. Report back tomorrow.


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## TRIPLE-J

i stopped going a couple years ago... nowhere near the numbers going up the river that there used to be and ive fished it forever...


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## Morrowtucky Mike

Little better today on the Maumee. Fished Buttonwood and managed 5. Saw quite a few limits today. Fished 3 1/2 hours after my fifth fish but just couldn’t pick up a limit. 3/8 oz weight was about ideal but I threw a 1/2 just to get out past some snags in front of me. Pink tail worked best early on then chartreuse glitter tail was best after the sun got up higher. Sure do enjoy meeting some of the guys out there and fishing with them. Was beside a guy from Indiana today and BS for several hours. Have never really witnessed the horror stories some people tell, but I’ve only been doing it for about 12 years. Almost always have a good time. Most people will listen if you tell them what they are doing wrong to make everyone else’s day miserable. Some won’t but it’s not very hard to get them to leave the river after just a little while


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## Matt63

I agree have met a lot of nice guys down there


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## TRIPLE-J

Yea met alot of cool people over the years up at the run 
And a few I already forgot lol


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## Morrowtucky Mike

Hoping this rain brings another push of fish up for the weekend. Should atleast get the fish already in there start to bite and move around.


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## odell daniel

fished Fremont sunday afternoon, the park mainly, fish were rolling everywhere, they would not bite, water is still low, fished "the wall" nothing, strange year since we haven't had any high water.


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## Bowtie

I've fished fremont several times this year with no luck. I'd like to try the maumee but I'm not familiar with it and dont have any waders. Is there any place I would be able fish from shore and have a chance to catch any?


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## BFG

Nope. Maumee is pretty much wader/boat only.


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## anglermama

Bowtie said:


> I've fished fremont several times this year with no luck. I'd like to try the maumee but I'm not familiar with it and dont have any waders. Is there any place I would be able fish from shore and have a chance to catch any?


It is a bit harder to find a place to shore fish with the river so low, when it is higher there are a few different spots. That said, you could probably get away with tall rubber boots in a few locations since it is low! I have fished a few places from shore on the perrysburg side! If you end up coming this way, stop at the campground and I’ll point you in the direction!


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## Morrowtucky Mike

There are definitely places you could fish from shore or with just rubber boots on but..... everyone will be out in front of you with waders. We could of worn hip boots last weekend since we never made it out over our knees but we were still 50 yards out into the water. The few bank spots aren’t much good when the water is low, not enough current. If you really want to fish Maumee or even start doing better at Fremont definitely invest in some waders. Skip the rubber and canvas ones and get neoprene. Can get cheaper non-insulated ones for under $100. Will last several years and longer if taken care of.


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## Bowtie

I do have a 14 ft john boat but I only have a 5 horse for it. Years ago when I fished the maumee the current was pretty strong. My question I guess is would the 5 horse be strong enough to push through it since its lower this year? It does fine in the sandusky but that's a smaller river then the mighty maumee.


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## Bucket Mouth

There's no way I'd try to use a 5hp in the river. That current downstream of bluegrass can and will wreak havoc on undersized and underpowered boats.


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## Morrowtucky Mike

Bucket Mouth said:


> There's no way I'd try to use a 5hp in the river. That current downstream of bluegrass can and will wreak havoc on undersized and underpowered boats.


Depends on the water levels. There is hardly any current downstream of bluegrass as of last weekend. Seen people having no problem with kayaks going upstream. But this is NOT your typical year!!


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## DeathFromAbove

I used my 5 horse Johnson right below Jerome road with no problem My problem was my anchor. A conventional anchor just wont hold in that current and slick rock. I was watching other boats and they had homemade anchors made of cut up pieces of railroad track, like 5 18 inch pieces lashed together , or quite a few cinder blocks tied together Things very heavy , and probably cheap enough they didnt mind losing them if they had to cut off


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## ress

Back in the day my buddy used 1 70lb concrete block. 

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## Bucket Mouth

Morrowtucky Mike said:


> Depends on the water levels. There is hardly any current downstream of bluegrass as of last weekend. Seen people having no problem with kayaks going upstream. But this is NOT your typical year!!


Good point. Water flow last weekend hovered around 2K CFS. Its at 6K CFS now, which during the run is still slow, so to speak. 
I guess I would have been better to say that a person should be experienced in the river, and be able to interpret water fluctuation potential based on recent rains in the river basin area. It can be done, but can also be beyond risky. I don't know what a 5hp can do in 6K or 10K current, and pair that with other boats being anchored in close proximity, or trying to control a boat coming back to dock, could be bad news.


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## TRIPLE-J

I've personally seen 2 guys drown and another get pulled out of the water on the maumee that were in a small maybe 12 ..14 boat with a small outboard that got hit broadside by tree coming down the river..
they didn't see the tree till the last second..
They tried to swerve and the tree hit them and flipped the boat..
None had a life jacket on 
The one that was saved floated right into another boat ..the other 2 went down almost instantly 
But they were having a hard time going against the current with their rig at the time 
Water was up and running very fast when it happened


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