# ODNR Fishing Report 6/8/05



## Big Daddy (Apr 6, 2004)

HOT WEATHER!!!

Wildlife News 
Ohio Department of Natural Resources

Division of Wildlife



The Fish Ohio Report





June 8, 2005



Tip of the Week - Fin Tips  Fish are picky about the temperature: largemouth bass 68 to 78 degrees Fahrenheit, walleyes 65 to 75 degrees Fahrenheit, smallmouth bass 67 to 71 degrees Fahrenheit, bluegills 75 to 80 degrees Fahrenheit, channel catfish 75 to 80 degrees Fahrenheit, and bullhead catfish 78 to 82 degrees Fahrenheit. These cooler temperatures can be found 10 to 20 feet deep where the water is cool and still has enough oxygen for the fish to survive. For more information on fishing, check us out on the web at www.ohiodnr.com. Enjoy.


CENTRAL OHIO
Kokosing Lake (Knox County)  Largemouth bass measuring up to 20 inches are being taken around shoreline cover and along the drop-offs in the old creek channel and will continue into the summer. Use soft plastic baits, live bait, and small spinners for best results. Channel catfish are great to go for on these warm summer nights. They can be caught using prepared or cut bait fished on the bottom in brushy shoreline areas. Over 3,700 channel cat yearlings were stocked last fall. Bluegill are biting steadily at this lake, providing fun for first timers and children. Crappies are moving back to deeper water with underwater structure. 10 horsepower limit.

Scioto River (Franklin and Pickaway counties)  A large variety of fish provides good fishing opportunities from downtown Columbus all the way to Chillicothe. Try using small spinners, softcraws, tube jigs, and hellgrammites fished below small rapids when seeking smallmouth bass. Doughballs and live bait can be used to take carp when fishing along the bottom. Now is a great time to fish for channel catfish at night using traditional catfish baits such as chicken livers and prepared baits at any shoreline area. Remember that fish will try to stay out of the heat as much as we do so look for areas with cover to cast your line.



NORTHWEST OHIO
Wasseon Reservoir (Fulton County)  Crappie are being taken using minnows or small jigs with twister tails. Fish the lee shore for the best action.

Archbold Reservoir (Fulton County)  Good catches of crappie being taken by fishing minnows under a bobber. Fish the lee shore.

Bellevue Reservoir (Huron County)  Excellent catches of largemouth bass in the 14 to 20 inch range have been reported. Rubber worms or salamanders with a bullet weight are working the best. Afternoon is the best time from any point along the shoreline.

Lake McKarns (Williams County) - Bass are hitting top water baits in the early mornings or late evenings. An angler had 30 hits last week between 7 and 9 p.m. Trout are being taken on rainbow colored powerbait and also on minnows in 10 to 12 feet of water.

Lake Borton (Williams County)  Bluegills are hitting red wigglers. Crappie are being taken on the east side using minnows fished under a slip bobber in 8 to 10 feet of water.

Pleasant Hill Lake (Richland County)  Very good catches of saugeye have been reported. Dragging jigs tipped with worms are working the best. Try the area across from the beach for the best catches. Catfish are being taken on shrimp and chicken liver.

Clear Fork Reservoir (Richland County)  Very good catches of catfish taken on nightcrawlers and shrimp. The best spots are Picnic Area #3 and Oreweiler Road.



NORTHEAST OHIO
Tappan Lake (Harrison County) - Saugeyes are hitting at this 2,350 acre lake located on U.S. Route 250 in the northwest portion of Harrison County. These fish range in size from 9 to 27 inches or more, so anglers will never know what to expect out of this lake. Jig heads with half of a nightcrawler, sonars, and other blade baits are doing the trick. Shoreline anglers can wade and cast, but boat anglers should concentrate on submerged road beds at seven to eight feet deep. Drifting, trolling, or casting early in the morning is the best. Crappies are also biting in Willis and North Bays in submerged brush in about eight to nine feet of water. This is fairly deep for this time of year, so look for crappies to start moving to shallower water soon. Boat anglers can reach these brushy areas, but not shore anglers. Crappies are biting on minnows early in the morning as well. 

Shreve Lake (Wayne County) - This fairly small, 60 acre lake is located one mile west of Shreve and is offering good bluegill fishing. Bluegills are a perfect fish to get a youngster hooked, so try a simple hook and bobber set up tipped with worms or grubs. The best location is the access dock on the east side of the lake. Wheelchair accessible shoreline fishing facilities available. 

Tuscarawas River (Tuscarawas County) - Channel and flathead catfishing is picking up with anglers catching these bottom feeders on chicken livers, stink bait, cut bait, or shrimp. Boat access and slow pools are accessible in New Philadelphia near the New Towne Mall area. Keep bait on bottom and about 50 feet from shore with hooks ranging from one to four in size. Remember that catfish have small eyes compared to many other fish, so think big, colorful, and smelly bait. Also, keep your bait geared to the size of fish that youd like to catch. Anglers are reminded that much of the land along the Tuscarawas River is private property and permission from the landowner must be acquired to fish from shore. 


SOUTHWEST OHIO
East Fork Lake (Clermont County) - Crappies are being caught by anglers using white or chartreuse colored jigs with plastic bodies or live minnows as bait. Cast into areas with submerged trees and brush or near other woody debris. Keep the bait between four to eight feet deep. Choose a #6 to #8 sized baitholding hook. Look to catch larger crappies in water greater than eight feet deep. Also try 1/32 ounce tube jigs that are white or chartreuse in color. Channel catfish are being caught by anglers using crawdads, live minnows, or earthworms as bait. Cast into the areas under undercut banks or near submerged trees and brush. Keep the bait off of the bottom and about five to eight feet deep. Use a #1- to #3 sized baitholding hook. 
Rocky Fork Lake (Highland County) - Anglers are catching bluegill and crappie by live minnows or wax worms as bait. Fishing is good throughout the lake but look for areas with woody debris or submerged trees and brush. Fish the bait under a bobber keeping it greater than eight feet deep. Use a #2 or 1/0 long shanked hook for best results. 



SOUTHEAST OHIO

Vesuvius Lake (Lawrence County) -This newly restored fishery has provided anglers with excellent catch rates for largemouth bass. The typical catch is 12 to 13 inches in length. Most anglers are using an imitation minnow or dark colored (i.e. motor oil, black, and purple) plastic worms. Sunfish are being caught at many shoreline locations with red worms fished with bobbers. Water conditions are normal at 80 degrees Fahrenheit.

Ohio River (Lawrence County, Gallia County, and Monroe County) - River conditions have been excellent for fishing opportunities. Channel catfish have been caught using cut baits, night crawlers, and chicken livers. Flathead catfish ranging from 23 to 44 inches in length have been caught using live bait such as sunfish and goldfish. Hybrid striped bass have been reported at all the dam access sites, but with highest success at the R. C. Byrd dam in Gallia County. Water temperature continues to climb higher and is currently 71 degrees Fahrenheit. This has elevated catfish feeding behavior and the likelihood of angler success. 

Muskingum River (Muskingum County & Morgan County)  Catfish tournaments have been active and successful throughout the Muskingum River. Anglers continue to catch flathead catfish from 20 to over 50 inches using live goldfish and creek chubs. Channel catfish anglers have been most successful using nightcrawlers. The most productive sites are at any of the low-head dams.

Piedmont Lake (Belmont County) - Angler success has been hot! Largemouth bass in the range of 10 to 17 inches have been caught near shore locations associated with submerged trees. The preferred lures include worm-tubes and lizards from motor oil to chartreuse in color. Smallmouth bass from nine to 15 inches have been located near rocky points in water depths of eight to 10 feet. Small spinner baits and crankbaits are the angler's choice for "smallies". Sunfish have been caught at all locations throughout the lake. Float fishing with night crawlers, red worms or wax worms are used most frequently. Saugeye fishing continues to provide excellent fishing opportunities. Saugeye have been measured in the 12 to 19 inch range. The best saugeye areas and fishing techniques have been around rocky and sandy points using green twister tails tipped with a nightcrawler. Lake conditions are normal and murky with water temperature of 70 degrees Fahrenheit and normal pool elevation.


LAKE ERIE 
**From May 1 through Friday June 24 there is a no-possession season for black bass (smallmouth bass and largemouth bass) on Lake Erie. Anglers can legally target black bass, but they must be immediately returned to the water.**



Western Basin



Walleye
Not much changed during the past week. The best walleye fishing continues to be W and NW of West Sister Island, W of Rattlesnake Island, along the E side of the Camp Perry firing range (including the Niagara Reef area), and SW of Kelleys Island. Drifting or trolling worm harnesses and trolling crankbaits or spoons produce the most fish.



Yellow Perch
Yellow perch fishing has been best near Starve Island, near the Sandusky Bay foghorn, and near the Gull Island Shoal buoy. Fish just off the bottom using perch spreaders tipped with shiners.



Smallmouth Bass
The best smallmouth bass fishing has been around the Bass Islands, Kelleys Island and Sandusky Bay. Largemouth bass have been caught in Sandusky Bay, East Harbor and West Harbor.



Central Basin



Walleye
The best walleye fishing has been around Ruggles Reef E of Huron, 3 to 5 miles N of Fairport Harbor in 50 to 60 feet of water, 3 to 5 miles NW of Ashtabula in 50 to 60 feet of water, and 1 mile N of Eastlake in 20 to 30 feet of water. Trolling spoons, crankbaits, or crawler harnesses, and drifting crawler harnesses have produced the best catches.



Yellow Perch
Yellow perch fishing has been best 1 to 2 miles N of the Vermilion River mouth, 1 to 2 miles off of Lorain, 1 mile N of the E 72nd street lighthouse of Cleveland in 30 of water, 1 mile N of Eastlake in 20 to 30 feet of water, and 1 to 3 miles out from Fairport Harbor to Conneaut in 30 to 45 feet of water. A perch spreader tipped with shiners is the most popular set-up.



Smallmouth Bass
The best smallmouth bass fishing has been around the shoreline and harbors in 15 to 30 feet of water around Fairport, Geneva, Ashtabula and Conneaut. Jigs tipped with shiners or leeches, tube jigs and crankbaits have been the most productive lures.



Lake Erie surface temperatures range from 57 to 67 degrees.



To view the predicted weather forecast for Lake Erie visit: http://seaboard.ndbc.noaa.gov/data/Forecasts/FZUS61.KCLE.html


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