# ODNR Fish Report 5/2/07



## Big Daddy (Apr 6, 2004)

Wildlife News 
Division of Wildlife
The Fish Ohio Report

May 2, 2007

CENTRAL OHIO
Alum Creek Lake (Delaware County)  Fish for crappie with jigs and minnows in the flooded timber areas of the recessed embayments and around woody cover in the upper end of the lake. Crappie fishing is very popular near submerged trees above State Route 36 and in Big Run Cove. There is a nine inch minimum length for keeper crappie. Use minnows, jigs, and small spinners in the upper end of the lake north of Howard Road when seeking white bass. The area above Howard Rd. has good numbers of channel catfish and large carp.

Deer Creek Lake (Fayette, Madison, and Pickaway counties) - In the creek above the lake just north of Cooks - Yankeetown Road, use small jigs and twisters, or small rooster tails when seeking white bass. Most of these fish will measure eight to 12 inches. This is their spawning period which causes them to be active and offers great fishing. Crappies can be caught around submerged woody cover using minnows suspended under a bobber. Crappies must be nine inches long or longer to keep. Channel catfish can be taken on chicken livers, shrimp, night crawlers and cut shad. 

NORTHWEST OHIO
Lima Lake (Allen County)  Crappie and perch have been taken in good numbers on minnows and wax worms. Twister tails and hair jigs have been working good as well. Fishing from the dock or the shoreline is working well.

Bucyrus Reservoir #2 (Crawford County)  Some good catches of channel catfish have been taken here by chicken liver off of the bottomnightcrawlers have been working as well. Early afternoon till dusk have been the best times to fish.

Maumee River (Lucas and Wood Counties)  The water temperature is 56°F and water is very high and muddy. Fishing effort is very light. The high water is making fishing very difficult. Anglers should use caution. After the water recedes, the outlook should improve.

Sandusky River (Sandusky County)  The water temperature is 57°F and the river is high and muddy. Fishing effort is light. The high water is making fishing difficult. Anglers are catching only a few walleye and white bass. After the water recedes, the outlook should improve.

Reminders:

-Black bass season is closed, from May 1 through June 29, 2007; any caught must be 

released. 

-Walleye have a 15-inch minimum length limit for the entire season.

-Walleye daily bag limit is four (4) from March 1 through April 30, and six (6) from 

May 1 through the last day in February.

-Other Fishing Regulations pertaining to the walleye run are listed in the 2007-2008 

Fishing Regulations publication available where ever fishing licenses are sold or they

may be viewed at http://www.dnr.state.oh.us/wildlife/default.htm or simply do a 

search for Ohio Division of Wildlife.

-New 2007 fishing licenses are required as of March 1, 2007.

View sunrise/sunset table http://www.sunrisesunset.com/calend...;-5;1&month=3&year=2007&time_type=0&use_dst=1

NORTHEAST OHIO

Nimisila Lake (Summit County)  Anglers are catching largemouth bass on crankbaits in this 727-acre lake located two miles south of State Route 619 on South Main Street. Both shoreline and boat fishing provides successful results. Fifty-two percent of fish sampled (base size of 8-inches) were at least 12-inches. Twenty-eight percent of the fish sampled also measured at least 15-inches. An impressive 53% of anglers that were interviewed at the lake were seeking bass (based on 2006 creel survey results). The best access is Christman Road or South Main Street. Electric motors only please. 

Mahoning River (Stark County) - White bass are in the Mahoning River and while anglers are not catching large numbers, twister tails and minnows on floating jigs are doing the trick to catch a few here and there. Fishing slowed up a over the weekend but most anglers were catching a dozen or so. The best access is just north of Alliance, off State Route 225 and back toward the Water Department. Crappie are also being caught with minnows on jigs suspended under bobbers. Anglers should focus on the areas of Stroup Road, Reeder Avenue, or Price Street. While fishing, anglers may be fortunate enough to spot eagles and/or ospreys fishing as well. Dont forget the binoculars! 

Wellington Upground and South reservoirs (Lorain County)  Anglers are successfully catching decent numbers of both channel and bullhead catfish in the upground and south reservoirs. Channel catfish have been stocked in every odd-numbered year from 1993-2005. A total of 531 yearling catfish were stocked in 2005. The hot spot of a recent tournament is located just west of the boat ramp at the Upground reservoir, fishing from the shoreline. Fishing on the bottom using cut shad was used to bring in the majority of the larger fish. Shrimp also brought anglers success.

West Branch Reservoir (Portage County)  Crappies are being caught in good numbers off of Cable Line Road. Anglers seeing the best results are using simple jig and minnow setups fished near the bottom of this 2,616-acre lake. Wheelchair accessible shoreline fishing facilities are available. Unlimited horsepower. 

SOUTHWEST OHIO

Caesar Creek Lake (Warren County)  Largemouth bass are being caught around shoreline cover and rip rap shorelines using crank baits, jigs, and soft plastic lures. Saugeyes are starting to bite in 6-12 feet of watertry using jigs with twister tails, or a plain jig tipped with a minnow. Some white bass are being caught in the extreme upper end of the lake where the two creeks pass under SR 380 and Roxanna-New Burlington Rd. Use small spinners or white jigs for the white bass. 

Paint Creek Lake (Highland County)  Crappie fishing has really turned on. Anglers are taking good numbers of crappies from 2-5 feet deep around standing timber, fallen trees, and rip rap. The most popular techniques include still fishing with a small minnow fished under a bobber, or casting lightweight jigs with plastic twister tails or tube bodies. Bass anglers are having success using jigs and plastic baits around fallen trees, standing timber, and rocky shorelines. 

SOUTHEAST OHIO

Lake Logan (Hocking Co.)  Saugeye angling success continues to be good this week with catches running in the 15  19 inch range. Saugeye can be caught on bottom bouncing jigs tipped with night crawlers fished in 6-10 feet depths. Saugeye anglers have also been successful trolling crank baits in 6-10 feet of water. Results from netting surveys conducted in 2006 indicate good numbers of 15 inch and larger saugeye with some fish up to 28 inches. Trap netting surveys indicate a moderate number of white crappies in the catchable size range. Crappie anglers should begin to look for white crappies moving into shallower water around shoreline structure to spawn. Crappie can be caught using small plastic bodied jigs or live minnows fished below bobbers in depths less than six feet. 

Monroe Lake (Monroe Co.)  Water temperature is 56 F with clear conditions and normal water elevation. Good numbers of largemouth bass are being caught on shallow running crank baits fished at a depth of six feet. Productive areas for largemouth include the areas along submerged weed beds or woody cover in 6 feet of water. The majority of the largemouth bass being caught are in the 8-12 inch size range. A 15 inch size limit for largemouth bass is currently in effect at this lake. Bluegill angling should be good at this lake in 2007. Over 30% of the bluegill sampled in the 2006 electroshocking survey measured over 6 inches. As temperatures continue to warm this week, bluegill anglers should seek out shallow areas in the upper end of the lake in hopes of catching some of these bluegills on spawning beds. Submerged structure maps of this lake can be obtained by contacting the District Four, Division of Wildlife office in Athens at (740) 589-9930. 

LAKE ERIE 

**The yellow perch daily bag limit on Lake Erie has been reduced to 30 fish per day. The change in yellow perch bag limit occurred after the printing of fishing regulations brochure. The 2007-2008 fishing regulations brochure incorrectly lists the Lake Erie yellow perch bag limit as 40 fish per day, which has now been changed to 30.**

**As of May 1 the walleye daily bag limit returned to 6 fish. The minimum size limit for walleye is 15.**

**From May 1 through June 29 black bass (largemouth and smallmouth bass) are illegal to possess on Ohio waters of Lake Erie. It is legal to fish for black bass during the closed season, but any that are caught must me immediately released.**

**The steelhead trout bag limit 2. The minimum size limit for steelhead is 12 inches.**

Walleye fishing continues to be excellent on Lake Erie. The best areas for quick limits have been the Toledo Harbor Light outside of Maumee Bay, nearshore from Turtle Creek to Wild Wings and on the Camp Perry reefs. Hair jigs are still producing fish, but crawler harnesses drifted on bottom bouncers are starting to catch fish. Trollers are catching large post-spawn females around the Bass Islands, along the Canadian border east of North Bass Island, and north of Kelleys Island. The best trolling lures have been deep diving crankbaits and worm harnesses.

Surface temperatures range from 54 degrees off of Toledo to 45 degrees off of Cleveland.

Maumee and Sandusky River walleye report- For recent updates on the tributary walleye fishery visit the Division of Wildlife web page at: http://www.dnr.state.oh.us/wildlife/fishing/freport/walleyerunreport.htm

Steelhead- For recent updates on the steelhead fishery visit the Division of Wildlife steelhead web page at: http://www.dnr.state.oh.us/wildlife/fishing/fairport/steelhead.htm

To view the predicted weather forecast for Lake Erie visit: http://weather.noaa.gov/cgi-bin/fmtbltn.pl?file=forecasts/marine/great_lakes/le/lez160.txt 

OHIO RIVER

Ohio River (Monroe Co.) - The Ohio River water temperature at Hannibal Tailwater is 54 F. The Willow Island pool is two feet above normal pool level and slowly falling. Water clarity is near normal (slightly cloudy) for this time of year. Walleye in the 12-16 inch range are being caught on 2-3 inch yellow and orange twister tail jigs. Channel catfish success continues to improve in the Willow Island Pool and Hannibal Tailwater of the Ohio River as water temperatures approach 60 degrees. Most channels can be caught on the bottom using tight-lining techniques with cut bait, night crawlers, and chick


----------

