# Regulations for limits and size



## WLAngler

Largemouth, Smallmouth & Spotted Bass Daily Limit - 5 & Minimum Size - 18 inches for Killdeer Plains, Knox Lake, Oxbow Lake, St. Joseph River Wildlife Area Lakes & Tycoon Lake. 

Largemouth, Smallmouth & Spotted Bass Daily Limit - 5 & Minimum Size - 15 inches for Acton Lake, Adams Lake, Blue Rock, Caesar Creek, Caldwell Lake, Cowan, Dale Walborn, Greenfield, Hancock County Wetlands Lake, Hargus, Kenton Lake, Lake Milton and the Mahoning River connecting Berlin Lake and Lake Milton, Monroeville Reservoir, Monroe Lake, New Lyme, Ohio-Erie Canal, Paint Creek, Pike, Pine Lake, Ross, Rush Creek Lake, Rush Run Lake, Salt Fork, Seneca Lake, Silver Creek Lake, Sippo Lake, Spencer, Vesuvius Lake, Wellington Reservoir South & Zepernick.


Largemouth, Smallmouth & Spotted Bass Daily Limit - 5 & Minimum Size - 12 for Alum Creek, Atwood, Berlin, Bresler, Buckeye, Charles Mill, C.J. Brown, Clear Fork, Clendening, Deer Creek (Fayette-Pickaway Co.), Delaware, Dillon, East Fork, Findlay #2, Grand Lake St. Marys, Hoover, Indian, LaDue, Leesville, Loramie, Mogadore, Mosquito, Nimisila, O'Shaughnessy, Piedmont, Pleasant Hill, Rocky Fork, Tappan, Turkeyfoot, West Branch & Wills Creek.


----------



## AbuGarciaFan

thanks for the info 


i release all bass i catch tho. i fish for bass for the fun/sport of it.


----------



## WLAngler

Same here.


----------



## j93bird

Catching the Bass is fun. Eating is why there are panfish.


----------



## Dandrews

I&#8217;m a catch and release guy more than 95% of the time. I occasionally keep a saugeye or walleye, never a bass; I&#8217;d rather go to Bonefish Grill anyway.


----------



## Intimidator

j93bird said:


> Catching the Bass is fun. Eating is why there are panfish.


Exactly! I agree 100%!

My problems is why have different size limits, make the lakes with a 12" limit go to 15" to keep and build a strong Bass population or make them all 18". CJ Brown has a 12" limit and struggles to increase the size and number of Bass.


----------



## WLAngler

I agree, make them all 18".


----------



## qpan13

ya I think 12 is a lil small for a min. I would much rather see an 18 limit.


----------



## lordofthepunks

if none of yall are keeping them, what difference does it make. an 18" limit is not going to help a lake that produces a bunch of 12''ers. if anything, its going to hurt it. a lake with a population of too many 12" can only get better if some of those fish are removed. overcrowding causes fish growth to diminish because there is too much competition for food. the odnr knows what they are doing when it comes to size limits.


----------



## Intimidator

lordofthepunks said:


> if none of yall are keeping them, what difference does it make. an 18" limit is not going to help a lake that produces a bunch of 12''ers. if anything, its going to hurt it. a lake with a population of too many 12" can only get better if some of those fish are removed. overcrowding causes fish growth to diminish because there is too much competition for food. the odnr knows what they are doing when it comes to size limits.


We aren't keeping them, but every other Tom, Dick, and Harry is. I've personally seen 12" Bass going into baskets and it makes me sick. Let them grow and then "slot" them if necessary...but first you have to develope a population!

Shouldn't you be leaving for Lake Norman? Keep us posted!


----------



## legendaryyaj

I remember looking at a lake in Texas and their regulations was you can keep anything 12" and under and 18" and over.


----------



## lordofthepunks

god i cant wait to leave, a couple of weeks. im not really sure about fish management, seems like a chicken and egg argument. however i have seen ponds and smaller lakes that were overrun with small bass which makes it harder for those fish to peak in size. odnr seems to have it under control. i know that the lakes with the 18" limit are usually known for producing quality fish, im just not sure if the limit created the quality fish or sustained the quality fish.


----------



## cmalinowski

Buddy and I were out on Hoover last year motoring North under the Sunburry Bridge heading to the north pool and a guy sitting up on shore that was fishing with a bobber hauls out a huge bass, had to have gone 5 lbs, we slowed down to take a look at it and he threw it in a cooler - I about puked right on my boat. I know he has all rights to keep it, but he could sit there and load up on white bass and crappie and get plenty to eat. As you can imagine that was our topic of conversation for the next four hours as we fished. We still talk about it everytime we pass where he was sitting on the rip rap.


----------



## markfish

well he probley did puke after eating it that big there too gamey,there is only 1 lake around here that the bass is low in and thats west branch,one year there good and plentful last year stunk,so i will leave it to odnr,there the ones that test the lakes so to set a 18in size limit thats just dumb, unless you want 12n fish all day i dont keep them i just weigh them in and hope to cash a check,


----------



## Intimidator

lordofthepunks said:


> god i cant wait to leave, a couple of weeks. im not really sure about fish management, seems like a chicken and egg argument. however i have seen ponds and smaller lakes that were overrun with small bass which makes it harder for those fish to peak in size. odnr seems to have it under control. i know that the lakes with the 18" limit are usually known for producing quality fish, im just not sure if the limit created the quality fish or sustained the quality fish.


I know alot of guys that have "perfect" Bass ponds in Ohio and SC and they first establish the population and then "slot" the fish to keep it viable and productive. Most Ohio lakes are fertile and hold a large baitfish (shad, minnows, bluegill, etc) population so I don't see a problem other than changing the law to help the populations grow for a few years and then looking to see if things need adjusting!


----------



## WLAngler

I just wish people who are going to eat bass would take the small ones instead of the bigger ones. It's all about genetics and those big bass need to be released when caught.


----------



## Fisherman 3234

Why should we be satisfied with a mediocre fishery? Why can't Ohio be a destination bass state like Tennessee? Better Regulations, Better Science, and Better ENFORCEMENT is what we need.


----------



## lordofthepunks

we dont have lakes like dale hollow, kentucky lake, and lake cumberland. those lakes are destination lakes mostly because of there size and centrally location in the eastern half of the states. alum creek would be just as good fishing wise as cumberland or hollow if it were 50,000+ acres.


----------



## Fisherman 3234

lordofthepunks said:


> we dont have lakes like dale hollow, kentucky lake, and lake cumberland. those lakes are destination lakes mostly because of there size and centrally location in the eastern half of the states. alum creek would be just as good fishing wise as cumberland or hollow if it were 50,000+ acres.


I completely agree, however there is excellent potential with what we have.


----------



## Intimidator

Fisherman 3234 said:


> I completely agree, however there is excellent potential with what we have.


Exactly! Take my home Lake of CJ Brown, about(??) 2500 acres, 3/4ths of the lake is 12-40ft deep and the other 1/4 is 10ft or less. Alot of rocks, gravel, sand, and trees, stumps, shoreline, areas of weeds.etc. It was an old golf course, Farm, roads, train tracks and tressel, and gravel pits, before it was flooded. Since Hurricane "Ike" came through, "The Friends Of CJ" have been planting "Trees" for Cover. They are close to 1000 sets that have been planted. 

And we still can't get a decent Bass Population at CJ because of all the people that take every Bass over 12" they can catch!


----------



## FLIPNPITCH

Same thing here on Monroe Lake. It was drained for dam repair a few years ago and then filled back up and re-stocked. Too many are taking every bass they catch, let alone paying attention to the 15" size limit! The Amish around here are the absolute worst offenders. Every time you see them there, they are keeping every fish they catch; it doesn't matter if its a 4'' bluegill! In the bucket it goes! Just simply not enough enforcement. I would have liked to have seen them make it catch and release for a few years. It was a great bass lake with some true hogs before they drained it and it has the potential to get there again if people would give it a chance! I guess its just hard to convince people that what they are doing is hurting the lake.


----------



## Fish G3

The ODNR knows a whole hell of a lot more than most of us. Reasons there are some many different limits are because every lake is different. The populations of all fish in those lakes vary. We can sit here all day and yell at people for taking fish and putting blame on those people as to why they are "ruining" our fisheries but it's not going to do anything. The ODNR places those limits with the understanding that some are going to break those limits. It's not like they don't take that into account when determining the limits. 
Some of us need to realize we can't grow the same quality fish that they do down south because our lakes and reservoirs are different. The south has longer growing seasons than us, lakes are more suitable to the needs of LMB with proper food proportions and spawning grounds, and can definitely handle a heck of a lot more pressure due to their larger sizes. There are so many factors that can effect growth it's ridiculous. We just aren't as well suited as California, Tennessee, Florida, and Texas. 

If there is something you guys want to hot about it should be the how the state spends their money. Do we really need a marina on Ceasers Creek, I think I had just seen the other day that they have proposed one for East Fork as well? Take those millions of dollars and put them somewhere useful like the addition of park rangers to help regulate the parks...for anyone that doesn't know they are severely understaffed, addition of state fisheries and wildlife biologists so we can learn more about how to improve our Ohio waters, then fisheries technicians so we can conduct more research and implement management plans on our local bodies of water.


----------



## Fisherman 3234

Fish G3 said:


> The ODNR knows a whole hell of a lot more than most of us. Reasons there are some many different limits are because every lake is different. The populations of all fish in those lakes vary. We can sit here all day and yell at people for taking fish and putting blame on those people as to why they are "ruining" our fisheries but it's not going to do anything. The ODNR places those limits with the understanding that some are going to break those limits. It's not like they don't take that into account when determining the limits.
> Some of us need to realize we can't grow the same quality fish that they do down south because our lakes and reservoirs are different. The south has longer growing seasons than us, lakes are more suitable to the needs of LMB with proper food proportions and spawning grounds, and can definitely handle a heck of a lot more pressure due to their larger sizes. There are so many factors that can effect growth it's ridiculous. We just aren't as well suited as California, Tennessee, Florida, and Texas.
> 
> If there is something you guys want to hot about it should be the how the state spends their money. Do we really need a marina on Ceasers Creek, I think I had just seen the other day that they have proposed one for East Fork as well? Take those millions of dollars and put them somewhere useful like the addition of park rangers to help regulate the parks...for anyone that doesn't know they are severely understaffed, addition of state fisheries and wildlife biologists so we can learn more about how to improve our Ohio waters, then fisheries technicians so we can conduct more research and implement management plans on our local bodies of water.


There are great bass fisheries north of us like coldwater and Irish hills in Michigan. The bass also found in Florida, Texas, and California are the Floridian strain of largemouth which is a little bit different then our Northern strain of largemouth. I'm simply saying that Ohio waters have a lot of potential that's all and we should all support our fisheries getting better not worse or the same old same old.


----------



## Fish G3

Fisherman 3234 said:


> There are great bass fisheries north of us like coldwater and Irish hills in Michigan. The bass also found in Florida, Texas, and California are the Floridian strain of largemouth which is a little bit different then our Northern strain of largemouth. I'm simply saying that Ohio waters have a lot of potential that's all and we should all support our fisheries getting better not worse or the same old same old.


I know there are different strains of largemouth. Some differences in those strains are the Southern grow larger but live less and Northern grow smaller but live longer. Look at the Fisheries above below and west to us. Look at their lakes and the characteristics of their lakes. North of us are all primarily good SM lakes because they thrive in colder water temps, sure there are some nice largemouth but those fisheries are excellent SM, Esox, and Percidae fisheries which are all that thrive in cold water temps. 

In my opinion we just don't have the characteristics needed for trophy bass fishing. We're stuck in the middle. The only thing we have is Lake Erie which is an excellent Walleye and SM fisheries. Ohio is stuck in the middle not one single species is really going to thrive in an inland Ohio lake or reservoir. I guess you can say we're lucky enough to be able to hold such a wide variety of fish in our fisheries but I just don't see any waters excluding Lake Erie becoming a dominant fisheries in any one species.


----------



## bassfisherman06

Intimidator said:


> Exactly! I agree 100%!
> 
> My problems is why have different size limits, make the lakes with a 12" limit go to 15" to keep and build a strong Bass population or make them all 18". CJ Brown has a 12" limit and struggles to increase the size and number of Bass.


e


lordofthepunks said:


> if none of yall are keeping them, what difference does it make. an 18" limit is not going to help a lake that produces a bunch of 12''ers. if anything, its going to hurt it. a lake with a population of too many 12" can only get better if some of those fish are removed. overcrowding causes fish growth to diminish because there is too much competition for food. the odnr knows what they are doing when it comes to size limits.


i think the limit should at least be 14 or 15 depending on how big the fish range in a lake or pond or wherever and i know a lot of people that keep bass for food i think fishing is more than sum sport its a way of life to sum people and i understand that fish need to grow and all but somtimes you gotta keep sum of the small ones because not everyone is gonna catch 18 inch bass thats just how it is.


----------

