# Bass on the Blanchard



## ress (Jan 1, 2008)

Hit the Blanchard near 75 today,,, lots of bass in there! Jig with tube skirt.
6 fish ranging from 8in. to 16in. and many more got off. Got wet in the rain so left after 1 hr. 
Find where the clean water is being discharged into the river. Several nesting geese near by, so be nice, I got a little close and they chased me away from the nest!


----------



## leovpin (Mar 18, 2009)

Ress, I was there yesterday and I saw the geese. They kept giving me the "if you get closer I will bite you" look. That is one of my favorite fishing spots in Findlay. I might try it tomorrow when it gets a little warmer. Where you casting right where the current is faster and letting it flow with it? I sometimes do that with a worm rigged wacky and they love it. BTW, are we talking largemouth or smallies?


----------



## ress (Jan 1, 2008)

It didn't matter where I threw it, they semed to be every where. I caught SM the most but did get a few LM but they were the smaller ones. I did get a black bass. I am not a bass fisherman so I am quessing that's what it was.


----------



## Littlelunker (Mar 20, 2009)

I'm pretty sure I seen you out fishing yesterday when I went to wal-mart. I'm probably gonna try to my luck a couple of places along the river today.


----------



## Curly (May 15, 2006)

> It didn't matter where I threw it, they semed to be every where. I caught SM the most but did get a few LM but they were the smaller ones. I did get a black bass. I am not a bass fisherman so I am quessing that's what it was.


I'm not correcting you but, largemouth and smallmouth are in the black bass family. Maybe you caught a rock bass?


----------



## yonderfishin (Apr 9, 2006)

Curly said:


> I'm not correcting you but, largemouth and smallmouth are in the black bass family. Maybe you caught a rock bass?


They are technically in the "black bass" family , but also within this family is a strain of bass along side the largemouth, spotted, and smallmouth, etc. that is literally called black bass.


----------



## ress (Jan 1, 2008)

I remember one time we got into a large school of bass at the res. LM, SM and what my fishing bud said was a rock bass. The one from the river was built the same as a SM and the one from the res. was sort of built like a x-tra thick and a bit longer bluegill.


----------



## Littlelunker (Mar 20, 2009)

ress said:


> Find where the clean water is being discharged into the river. Several nesting geese near by, so be nice, I got a little close and they chased me away from the nest!


I was over there today, in the rain also. Got a couple of bass, 7-8", tossed em back, only was out for about 45 mins. 

Got a nice pic of our Goose friend, she squaked a little at me as I was making my way down from the road.


----------



## leovpin (Mar 18, 2009)

I won't be able to go out again until Wednesday  I am itching to run into a 
smallie bonaza....


----------



## Littlelunker (Mar 20, 2009)

Yeah, I don't know if I'll get out tomorrow afternoon or not. I want to hit Maumee sometime this week too, trying to balance everything, lol.


----------



## Curly (May 15, 2006)

> They are technically in the "black bass" family , but also within this family is a strain of bass along side the largemouth, spotted, and smallmouth, etc. that is literally called black bass.


Again, i'm not trying to proove anyone wrong. Never have i heard of an actuall scientific species of bass called a black bass. I am sorry, i just need documented proof of a strain of bass named black bass. I have litterally studied bass for years on the internet and have several books about bass and i have never ran accross a strain named black bass. The only strains i know of are northern and florida for the largemouth and northern and neosho for smallmouth. 

Black Bass
Scientific classification 
Kingdom: Animalia

Phylum: Chordata

Class: Actinopterygii

Order: Perciformes

Family: Centrarchidae

Genus: Micropterus
Lacepede, 1802 

Species 
M. cataractae - shoal bass
M. coosae - redeye bass
M. dolomieu - smallmouth bass
M. notius - Suwannee bass
M. punctulatus - spotted bass
M. salmoides - largemouth bass
M. treculii - Guadalupe bass


----------



## ress (Jan 1, 2008)

Wow curly, looks like you know your bass. The one from the river was built like a SM.
The coloring was real dark black with the normal markings of a SM. I have caught, what I thought were rock bass before, they are for lack of a better word, "stumpy".
Most of the fish that day were caught out away from the bank, the black one came from under the trees in the rotting leaves and sticks, maybe he was in camo mode.lol


----------



## Curly (May 15, 2006)

> Wow curly, looks like you know your bass. The one from the river was built like a SM.
> The coloring was real dark black with the normal markings of a SM. I have caught, what I thought were rock bass before, they are for lack of a better word, "stumpy".
> Most of the fish that day were caught out away from the bank, the black one came from under the trees in the rotting leaves and sticks, maybe he was in camo mode.lol


Well...a little. I,m currently collecting unemployment....gotta lot of time on my hands to post on here....lol. Yah, it was a rock bass (which isn't even in the black bass family). If it looked more like a dark sunfish but a larger mouth than a bluegill then it was a rock bass. They can be any color from white to black depending on the water.


----------



## ress (Jan 1, 2008)

Thats the description of the bass from the res. but the one from the river was thin , narrow and around 12 inch long with a mouth like a SM. I'll try to settle this by takeing a camara and catch him again lol


----------



## fbcoachfisherman (Jun 9, 2006)

A rock bass is a bulldog of a little fish and is fun to catch. Most I catch are between 6 and 9". They are prevelant in NW Ohio streams. I catch a ton out of the Portage River. They get pretty big in Lake St. Clair. I have caught some out of Lake Erie, but not like Lake St. Clair. I've heard they are good eating, but have never harvested one to find out.


----------



## fbcoachfisherman (Jun 9, 2006)

ress said:


> Thats the description of the bass from the res. but the one from the river was thin , narrow and around 12 inch long with a mouth like a SM. I'll try to settle this by takeing a camara and catch him again lol


yes, sounds like a small stream smallmouth. Fun to catch and acrobatic. Even they can throw a bait like no other.


----------



## hazmat247 (Mar 1, 2006)

Ya it had to be a rock bass or a dark colored smallmouth or largemouth. there is no such thing as a "black bass" other than the black bass family name. Spotted bass look like largemouths but the black lateral line is broken, but these are found in southern OH, not around here. I catch huge rock bass in Canada and they fight hard and are fun to catch!


----------



## leovpin (Mar 18, 2009)

The spot ress is talking about has lots of rockbass. I think they usually start hitting when the water is a bit warmer. I don't think that the little ones fight as hard as they hit. You think it is a smallie and then they just don't complain much while you reel them in 

I have caught smallies that had red eyes and others that didn't. What is the deal with that, are they suppose to have red eyes?


----------



## flytyer (Jan 3, 2005)

Can that part of the river be waded or is bottom mud? I'm not too familiar with the river around Findlay, I usually fish between Gilboa and Ottawa.


----------



## Littlelunker (Mar 20, 2009)

I don't think you really need to wade, its pretty thin, I can cast almost all the way across. I'm not sure of the bottom make up or the depth in some of the spots.


----------



## ress (Jan 1, 2008)

Before the rain came it felt like bed rock on the bottom. Jig would bounce along with the current. Casting away from the area I would get into leaves and sticks. Seemed shallow but I not sure.


----------



## flytyer (Jan 3, 2005)

Thanks guys. I usually use my fly rod that's why I asked about wading.


----------



## Littlelunker (Mar 20, 2009)

I've never seen anyone fly fishing on the Blanchard, but I'm sure it can be done when the waters lower. I know its bedrock and fairly flat in town near Riverside park (below the dam), but I don't know how far downstream that kind of terrain extends, I only know from wading out a few times in past summers to retrieve snagged jigs, lol.


----------



## leovpin (Mar 18, 2009)

Went out to the river for a couple of hours caught exactly one good bass. The river is high and the water is very muddy. Tomorrow might be a better day.


----------



## flytyer (Jan 3, 2005)

A few guys I know and myself are about the only people I see fly fish it. I catch quite a few smallies and a few cats with flies.


----------



## fisher (Feb 7, 2008)

....and an ocassional carp that can snap you 5 wt rod like a firecracker.


----------



## Littlelunker (Mar 20, 2009)

I got a Sheephead (thanks for the correction coach b) today, about 14", bent my pole down pretty good. Hooked him on a tube with a flat jighead on the front, had to bend the barb down flush to get it out of his mouth.

he wasn't too happy about me wanting to ge a pic, but this is the best I could get with him flopping around so much, he got set back pretty quickly.


----------



## Coach_B (Jun 5, 2006)

It's not a carp...it looks like a freshwater drum or better known as a sheephead. They run pretty decent size in that part of the river.


----------



## Littlelunker (Mar 20, 2009)

I thought it looked a little odd for a carp... its been so long since I've caught sheephead (usually out of the Maumee) that it just didn't click when I got him. I didn't realize the blanchard had Sheep's in it.

Thanks for correcting me.


----------



## leovpin (Mar 18, 2009)

I have heard of sheepheads in the river but had never seen one until now. They are considered trash fish but they get pretty large and put on a decent fight. I like catching them.


----------



## Weekender#1 (Mar 25, 2006)

Just think how good the Blanchard would be for bass if the dams are taken out. A small quickly flowing stream like it is out by the Res. The fishing would be great right though town with the river level down. The bike and running path could be put on the rivers edge and no land would need to be purchased, after a few years, the trash would be picked up and it would be very nice. 
Those in Findlay, dumpsters will be out a Litzenburg on Sat from 11 am to 1 pm for trash you pick up from the road sides. I will be cleaning up the road sides on a farm that I hunt, someone dumped carpet and all kinds of trash, so I (old man) can pick it up and haul it out there. Just thought I would let you know if you can help in the county,it looks nicer when clean.


----------



## ress (Jan 1, 2008)

Thanks weekender1, I would be in on that but my back and other issues keep me from doing so. The Blanchard could be a great place to fish if it did'nt have so much debrie in the water. The res are ok, but only if you can find the fish!


----------



## flytyer (Jan 3, 2005)

fisher said:


> ....and an ocassional carp that can snap you 5 wt rod like a firecracker.


Yea, I hear that! I think I still have the picture of you fighting that monster just before the big "SNAP"!! Ha! Ha!


----------



## Littlelunker (Mar 20, 2009)

I don't have a ton of experience on the Blanchard, whats the movement pattern like throughout the summer? Are the usual holes pretty good no matter the conditions, or should I be skipping around a bit more?

I've been fishing every couple of days around the Water Plant outlet, with mixed results, just trying to learn a little and get a handle on things.

I'm not really targeting any specific fish species, just throwing a few different things out and seeing what I get, which is mostly due to my lack of knowledge about this specific waterway.


----------



## Weekender#1 (Mar 25, 2006)

Little Lunker try moving around the river a bit, I hear near the country club you can catch all the bass you like, not real big but in the 12 inch range. Ever since this has been posted concerning the sewer outlet spot every time I go over the river on the interstate there is a different vehicle parked at the outlet fishing for that one bass, which must be very tired by now. Find a little sweet spot and keep it to yourself, sure tell everyone what you caught and even show pictures but don't give the exactspot away, example the sewer outlet, it will take some time before a person can catch fish regularly there now. Try where creeks and ditches empty into the river the extra current will draw the fish. Out by the res there is some current and a person should do all right. But the river has never been a tackle busting place other than hooking into old tires or stuff. Try Again and don't be eating fish from our mighty blanchard.


----------



## Littlelunker (Mar 20, 2009)

cool, thanks. I've got a few places in mind, so i'll start hitting them up this weekend. I don't think I've ever eaten anything out of the Blanchard, and probably won't start now, lol. I'll see what comes out of the Reservoir for the dinner table.


----------



## leovpin (Mar 18, 2009)

Weekender, I am not sure I agree with you The point of having a fishing report forum is exactly to tell others where fish are biting. The water inlet is a nice spot and you can't really over fish it because you can only have 2 or 3 people fishing there at the same time which is far away from being "high fishing pressure". When I want to fish there I stop by even if someone is there, if it is only a person or two I usually ask if I can join them and things go just fine. Fish don't get used to lures and loose interest! Most of them eat the same thing over and over 

Of course that when I want to fish one of my favorite one-man spots and somebody is already there I get a little upset but it is life. It makes me go explore other sites! BTW, tell me more about bass fishing by the Country Club..hehehehehe


----------



## Littlelunker (Mar 20, 2009)

I've been looking at the GPS and trying to figure out some goo ways to get at that area of the river, aside from canoe/boat. East Main Cross follows the river pretty closely, but I'm not sure about parking. Might just be a lot of bank walking, which would be ok to get to a few really good hot spots, but even then not sure how the country club would feel about guys waking their side of the bank for fishing, lol. Guess I'll bring my hard hat sometime and see where I can get to.

I heard from some coworkers a couple of years ago there's a small section of the river out near where Res 1 & 2 come together (far East side) that's got good action. It's another area you'd have to hike a good distance to, I was out near there last year fishing the southeast corner of Res 2, but didn't venture down the hill to the river.

There's a few places in town where the smaller drainage creeks come in that might be good spots too, I planed to check those areas out over the next week or so and hopefully find some nice spots. I seen quite a few spot last year from the bike trail that looked interesting, and just was working too much to explore.


----------



## ress (Jan 1, 2008)

I agree with leovpin. OGF is a info and sometimes bragging web-sight. If a person does not want to share a good spot, thats ok. But to complain that someone shares info, thats not ok. If I find a good spot and want to share it, I do. I've had some success at the res the past few weeks and I did not post it, but I PM a few people that share their info.


----------



## Littlelunker (Mar 20, 2009)

My dad is getting the summer off... he's an Auto Worker like me, so we'll be taking his boat out to Res 2 quite a bit pretty soon. I did a bit of night fishing out there last year with a little luck, but I prefer being in a boat.


----------



## knottfishing (Apr 25, 2009)

I fished the feeder creeks last Fri in Putnam Co. and got 40 bass. One went about 2.5lb. I look for any kind of dams then fish above or below them. I was used a 1/16oz roadrunner with black twister and senko's in watermelon. They also were hitting on Mepps spiners.


----------



## Littlelunker (Mar 20, 2009)

Nice haul, hoping to see that kind of action around Findlay, We got 2 dams, and one of the they lowered recently, so we should be able to get some good catches around them.


----------



## leovpin (Mar 18, 2009)

Fished a private little pond today and only got one LM bite. The bass are guarding their beds and will chase the gills away put won't bite anything I showed them. I threw a tube at them, flukes, and burnt a spinerbait without success. I know the idea is to "irritate"them enough to bite but the didn't seem to care about my tube flopping around their beds 

PS - I know some people have mixed feelings about fishing for bedding bass but most biologists will say that if you release them right away it shouldn't hurt them...


----------



## knottfishing (Apr 25, 2009)

Did you try a lizzard? They worked for me in the past. But my go to bait is a white tube with a light weight about a 1/8oz. And you can try a senco if others fail.


----------



## leovpin (Mar 18, 2009)

I have some lizards, I will give it a try later this week. The place was sold and the new owners move in next month so I need to get as much fishing as possible there  The new owners might not want me on their back yard


----------



## leovpin (Mar 18, 2009)

Hit the Blanchard today. It was really windy! Started the morning with a spinnerbait tipped with a twister tail but that didn't produce. Switched to a 3/8 green jig with a chigger craw for trailer a caught a bunch of rock bass, one large mouth and a smalie. It was fun, specially considering that I am new to baitcasters and I am learning the whole pitching/flippping thing. I also tried a shaky head but I am not sure that works to well on the current. It was a nice couple of hours. Oh, I almost forgot, there was a pretty big snake swimming around, it was black with really thin red stripes on it. it gave me the evil eye and then went on its way


----------



## Littlelunker (Mar 20, 2009)

Your snake friend sounds like a Ribbon snake or one of the Garter families, they are fairly common in this area, but usually have more of a yellowish stripe. Sounds like you got some good fishing action though, good to hear the river is heating up. I'll be doing some river fishing tomorrow with my family at Riverside.


----------



## bassmaniac (May 10, 2004)

leovpin said:


> Fished a private little pond today and only got one LM bite. The bass are guarding their beds and will chase the gills away put won't bite anything I showed them. I threw a tube at them, flukes, and burnt a spinerbait without success. I know the idea is to "irritate"them enough to bite but the didn't seem to care about my tube flopping around their beds
> 
> PS - I know some people have mixed feelings about fishing for bedding bass but most biologists will say that if you release them right away it shouldn't hurt them...


Every bass bed has a "sweet spot" in it where if you hit it just right, the bass will pick up your lure. Just gotta keep trying till you hit it just right. Also, try diffent angles, that works most times too.


----------



## Littlelunker (Mar 20, 2009)

Was out at Riverside today with a few of my family members, got several Yellow Bullheads full of eggs, and my brother in law caught a good sized catfish, about 18". We were using worms, bottom and bobber.


----------



## leovpin (Mar 18, 2009)

I was out for a little bit and only got one bite. The river went down quite a bit in the last couple a days. Tomorrow I have some free time in the afternoon and I am thinking about exploring "city limits fishing" and hitting the creeks that meet the river on Main Cross.


----------



## leovpin (Mar 18, 2009)

Just came back from the river. Fished from around 7:00 until 9:00 pm. The action was pretty decent. 1 LM, 3 SM and a bunch of little rock bass. All on a 1/16 oz. green jig head tipped with a 3 in. black powerbait grub. I just jigged really slow and that did the trick.


----------



## ress (Jan 1, 2008)

Just stopped at my favorite spot on the Blanchard,,, 4 nice s/m.


----------



## creekrock (Oct 28, 2008)

Just started fishing the Blanchard last year and I have had pretty good luck. Have any of you ever caught a pike out of the Blanchard, grass pike or northern?


----------



## leovpin (Mar 18, 2009)

I've heard from some life long Findlay fishing residents that there is pike in the Blanchard but honestly I have never seen one.


----------



## Weekender#1 (Mar 25, 2006)

Yes Grass Pike are in the Blanchard river system, there are a bunch of grass pike in the series of ponds attached to Lye creek next to the Fairgrounds. The ponds are hidden but you see a couple of them off Sandusky St. The grass pike look like little musky, as they have a red tint to them. Thyey stay small though like the ones I have seen have never been over 14 inches.My buddy used to catch them in the old sewer outlet upstream from where the pipe now flows out.


----------



## Littlelunker (Mar 20, 2009)

I see the ponds you're talking about on the maps, but I'm not seeing anywhere close by to park and walk. I've never caught a pike, so it's something I'd like to check out in the near future, lol.


----------



## Weekender#1 (Mar 25, 2006)

I would think you would need to park in the fairgrounds or talk to one of the homes near the ponds, ask if you can park and fish. Training for when you need deer hunting permission.


----------



## creekrock (Oct 28, 2008)

Are those ponds public? A person would not get in trouble for fishing them would they?


----------



## Littlelunker (Mar 20, 2009)

The ponds are park of the creek, which is public, so aside from having to maybe walk through someones yard to get to them, it should be ok to fish.


----------



## Weekender#1 (Mar 25, 2006)

I don't know if you can just walk in and fish the ponds permission should not be taken for granted, if you can get one person to allow you in you are gold. I know there is one pond way at the back which is fairly large, you can drive to it if you go all the way down like Wyandot St to the East off Blanchard down by Pony Keg drive thru. The guy I knew died so you are on your own.


----------



## Littlelunker (Mar 20, 2009)

I was thinking the pond right off South St., East of Blanchard, its not far from the Sandusky St. bridge. From the auditors land use maps it doesn't look like where you would have to walk is Right through someones backyard. I'm sure someone owns that parcel of land, but it looks to be an empty field. I don;t know if street parking is allowed on South or not, I'll have to drive around a bit tomorrow and find out. 

I wouldn't walk through the middle of someones yard to get to a fishing spot unless I had their permission first, just out of respect. The waterway itself is a public use creek, so I don't see any problems there.


----------



## leovpin (Mar 18, 2009)

I went out tonight for a couple of hours before dark. Caught 4 smallies, a bunch of little rock bass and some dinky gills. The picture is of the biggest one, maybe 15-16in. She was skinny tough, post spawn maybe.


----------



## leovpin (Mar 18, 2009)

Here I am, resurrecting an old thread...

I fished the mighty creek today. Landed 1 LM, 3 SM. The picture is of the biggest one. Caught the LM on a Jig&Pig and the SM on half a Gulp crawler on a 1/8 oz. jig head.

Cheers!


----------



## ress (Jan 1, 2008)

I've been wondering if that area is still holding fish. Might have to give it another shot. Nothing wrong with bringing up an old thread!


----------



## leovpin (Mar 18, 2009)

There is usually some pretty big carp swimming around. I am set on targeting them next time I get out. I will post pictures of the results.


----------

