# Apple Valley



## aplvlybass1 (Apr 14, 2004)

Anybody know how fishing is at Apple Valley? I live in Columbus, but my parents have property up there. Any info would be appreciated.


----------



## Anth (Aug 16, 2004)

I dont know how good any is now, but come spring we do some catfishing. Last year or two years my sister got a 2ft cat up on the north side.
Do your parents own a boat up there?
What type of fish are you looking to be fishing for?


----------



## aplvlybass1 (Apr 14, 2004)

They've had the lot up there for like 5-6 years now, so I've fished there, after I read it again I made it seem like they just got the lot.....i know you gotta go deep for the fish this time of year, but i've heard of a couple guys catching some nice ones, just wanted to know if anybody else knew anything....we have 2 boats, a bayliner for the non-serious fishing and a little terry bass boat, but it runs and it's got a trolling motor and a depth finder.......usually just go for bass but last i heard we were finally going to get a dock this year and the bayliner's getting it, so i want to get into some catfish too b/c i know there's some huge ones......i can get some nice sized one's here at Buckeye, but not as nice as some one's i've heard about up there.....hopefully tryin to get into some walleyes this year too


----------



## capt-hook (Apr 27, 2004)

i have heard that theres` some good bassin there, but small to mid-size.
Mr. fish for fun should kno he`s closer than me .
Tight lines and good fishin !!!
Capt-Hook


----------



## aplvlybass1 (Apr 14, 2004)

capt.......there's bass, all sizes.....i caught a 5.25 lb largemouth last year, largest i've caught up there....caught a 4.5 lb smallmouth couple years ago.....every year or so there's a huge largemouth caught, i know a guy that's caught a 7 lb 13 oz largemouth......ain't the double digits you see down south, but still a helluva fish


----------



## Lucky Bass (Apr 7, 2004)

I was actually fortunate enough to have electro-shocked AppleValley lake last year for my OSU Fisheries Management class (we did an entire assessment of all gamefish populaitons for our class). We found that they have a great largemouth bass population, mostly because of catch and release and the large shad populations. The lake is also heavily stocked. After having the insight of shocking, I would love to actually fish the lake. But, as we all know, the good fishing populations are because it is a private lake and closely managed.

Norm


----------



## aplvlybass1 (Apr 14, 2004)

lucky bass


----------



## Anth (Aug 16, 2004)

What other types of fish did you find when you electro-shocked the lake?


----------



## bkr43050 (Apr 5, 2004)

I just got a message this morning from a buddy of mine that lives in the Valley. He said the lake is on its way back up toward summer pool already. I don't think it is nearly high enough to use the ramps yet but probably won't be long. I fish quite a bit over there and can also vouch for the healthy bass population, both largemouth and smallmouth. There are some very good sizes in both varieties.

I imagine the crappie fishing will be heating up here soon and I plan to have the boat out there hitting them. Apple Valley is also an excellent crappie lake. I am getting a bit antsy and may have to do a shore trip to check it out soon.


----------



## aplvlybass1 (Apr 14, 2004)

bkr....ever do any eye fishin?


----------



## bkr43050 (Apr 5, 2004)

Yeah I do it every now and then, usually night trolling. I have gotten some fish but never in consistent numbers, usually only one or two each outing. It seems we almost catch as many accidental when bass fishing. But they are there and some are nice size. I have gotten them around 25" but have heard of them even bigger. I just don't know how good of numbers there are though.


----------



## aplvlybass1 (Apr 14, 2004)

yeah that's pretty much the same story here......heard of some nice ones at night, caught a few accidentally


----------



## aplvlybass1 (Apr 14, 2004)

was up there for the little fishing seminar thing they have.....guy said that only like 3% of the walleyes and saugeyes live past a year or somethin like that......i don't know what a good percent is, but i'm sure 3% doesn't fall in that category


----------



## Lucky Bass (Apr 7, 2004)

We caught quite a few species. We didn't see any cats, but they tend not to shock as well as most fish. We saw very few smallmouth bass but the ones we did see were nice ones. If i remember right we only had 4 saugeye total and the biggest was 15". We saw a lot of yellow perch but none over 7". We also sampled the very north end of the resrvoir where the creek flows in, so we got a lot of species related to streams (ie. hogsucker, whitesucker, darters, minnow spp., etc.). The crappie were of good health but we didn't see any large ones, and the bluegill populations were very large but stunted (this was because of the large gizzard population). The gizzard shad were quite literally everywhere and a few carp over 5lb were shocked (big carp seem to skirt the electric field). Again, the largemouth were abundant and their average weight/length were above the ohio averages our biggest was around 3.5lb but with a LOT of 2lb fish. (keep in mind that of all the shocking I've ever done (a lot) I have never shocked a bass over 4lb.) We deemed the saugeye and perch stockings to be very unsuccessful.
Other notes: When you shock a lake you don't do the entire lake but instead try to focus on locations which will represent most of the lake habitat. We did 7 sites which were positioned throughout the lake. Shocking also gives a poor representation of deepwater species (ie. crappie, perch, etc.) Trap nets are a better for sampling species like these (we set up 3 trap nets on APL). It was also surprising to see what was shocked over certain habitat types and lake areas. 

Whew! I'm beginning to think that I could be an APL guide! ha. Hope that answers some questions! Feel free with any others. 
Norm


----------



## Lucky Bass (Apr 7, 2004)

Oh yea, saugeye survival normally ranges from 0-10% in Ohio reservoirs. A lot of this is dependant of prey avaiability (shad & minnow species), predator densities (in APL's case largemouth bass), and precipation. Although APL has a lot of prey (as long as the gizzard shad have good reproduction each year), the saugeyes will see a lot of predation from the largemouth and competition as the saugeye age, and if water is high throughout the year the young, recently stocked saugeye will wash through the spillway. But in a situation where APL Home Owners Association has a LOT of funds to put towards lake stocking they can afford the mortality. 

Norm


----------



## bkr43050 (Apr 5, 2004)

Thanks for the report on the shocking. That is interesting info. I am not sure when they last stocked walleye or saugeye in the lake. Last year I don't believe any of the ones we caught were under 18". It is not surprising that the mortality rate is that low on them. After all it is a put and take situation in a pretty small body of water.

As far as the catfish go in there, I don't know that I have ever caught a flathead. There seems to be a pretty decent channel population and a very good bullhead population.


----------



## aplvlybass1 (Apr 14, 2004)

lucky....thanks for that info, i always wondered exactly how the shocking was done


----------



## aplvlybass1 (Apr 14, 2004)

i know they stocked walleye and saugeye in 94 and again, i believe, in 2000.....they're also starting to stock more of them with a new 5 year plan the fish club is starting this year, but it'll be a while for those


----------



## Mushijobah (May 4, 2004)

dont forget the walleye in there...more numerous than the saugeye


----------



## bkr43050 (Apr 5, 2004)

I tried to get a list of the stocking program year by year just for my own research but have not gotten it yet. The fish club president I believe has the list but it just was not readily available in electronic form when i checked. I have been wanting to get to the fish club meetings to hear about their current and future stocking programs but have failed to make it. Thanks for the info on the plan they have in place.


----------



## saugeyeslayer (Jul 6, 2004)

each spring break and summer, mushijobah and i (my brother) make it up there. the bass we normally catch are over 1 pound and some of the catfish and walleyes are big. if your a serious big walleye fisherman, i recomend using a live perch, which are caught commonly on the sandy points that can be found on this lake. either use the perch in the morning or right before nightfall. but once night comes along throw a worm harness or fishfinder rig under the lights of a dock. walleye mania.


----------



## Fishingislife (May 20, 2004)

Your allowed using perch as bait?


----------



## bkr43050 (Apr 5, 2004)

You can use any fish for bait, provided that the fish itself is not protected by a size limit,etc. You could even use bass for bait but they would have to be of legal size for the body of water by which you are fishing.


----------



## Fishingislife (May 20, 2004)

Thanks for the reply Brain.


----------



## bkr43050 (Apr 5, 2004)

No problem. That is one that has been hashed out many times on this site and others. There always seems to be some confusion on the law. Don't feel bad for asking the question because there are a lot of people who do not fully understand the regulations on live bait. I don't claim that I know them all either but I got to sit through the rather long threads discussing it in the past.


----------



## Bassnpro1 (Apr 6, 2004)

The bait needs to be legally caught as well. Can't go cast netting perch and using them for bait, must be caught by legal methods.


----------



## bkr43050 (Apr 5, 2004)

Thanks Kevin for the additiional details. As I said earlier the regs are a bit complicated at times. I figured I would leave some important details out.


----------

