# Findlay Reservoir



## stex1220

Anybody know how thick the ice is there? Im thinking of trying it this weekend and this is my first time there. Any tips on where to get started?


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## bassmanmark

This isn't going to answer your question specifically but....Willard has about 6 inches on it and people have been ice fishing there for at least a week now. My pond has about 5 inches on it and deer are using it as a highway now.


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## yonderfishin

I went out there yesterday and the day before but didnt stay long , no bites and nobody else was catching anything either. I heard someone say they were seeing fish but they just have lockjaw. Just a wild guess but I think the fish may have been affected by the bad weather moving in ????


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## ohiobuck

stex1220 said:


> Anybody know how thick the ice is there? Im thinking of trying it this weekend and this is my first time there. Any tips on where to get started?


Ice is around 6 " early morning late evening small glow jig with 2 wax worms and i have been catching fish but not in front of the dock hope this helps o yeah 1 pound test line no weight on it


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## stex1220

Thanks Ohiobuck! It helps alot


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## yonderfishin

I hope to be out there tomorrow , if the cold dont freeze me first , but I have to work all night tonight so I dont know when I will be out there. Hopefully I can get out there somewhat early.


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## Perchy101

Making yet another trip to Findlay tomorrow... Probably be fishing #1


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## Perchy101

Anyone else going up??


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## yonderfishin

I went out and did some serious fishing today and absolutely nothing at all going on. The 2 times I went last week and today , at both reservoirs I had not even a bite and the other guys out there werent getting anything either. I dont know whether its the weather system we have in place right now affecting them or if we caught too many out of there this past year since it was awesome for perch , or what the deal is but I usually catch atleast a couple small perch or have some bites or something but its been a bust.


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## Perchy101

Yonder - We are still sitting out on the lake and have marked some nice fish and even have had them chase the bait off the bottom but nothing!!

Grrrrr
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## Perchy101

Landed a nice jumbo and a really small eye. Lake has cleared out.. Only ones left.
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## Perchy101

Here is a crappy cell phone pic of the nice Jumbo.

11" on the nose... Ended up with a 10" Crappie later on... They'll make a tasty sandwich.


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## leovpin

Nice perch! I'll try to get out there this coming weekend. I like this real time cell phone report deal


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## Perchy101

leovpin said:


> Nice perch! I'll try to get out there this coming weekend. I like this real time cell phone report deal


LMAO - It wasn't like we were pulling fish out by the buckets.... I believe I had a spare minutes or two on my hands today.


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## yonderfishin

Perchy101 said:


> Here is a crappy cell phone pic of the nice Jumbo.
> 
> 11" on the nose... Ended up with a 10" Crappie later on... They'll make a tasty sandwich.


Congratulations on the nice perch. Except for one or two fish here and there it looks as if everybody is having the same kinda luck out there as I had. Its always a tough place to fish but they REALLY arent cooperating now.


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## ress

Just got back from #2. 3 and a 1/2 hrs = 0 fish. Saw a 12 inch perch caught on minnows. Also a desent bluegil and crappie was on the ice. If you go, couple inches of slush, but ice is 7-8inches and no cracks.


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## ufaquaoiler

i tried fishing #2 targeting perch over the christmas tree reefs tuesday evening and caught nothing. drilled several holes and only found 2 small bluegill with my underwater camera the entire day. there was one other guy out there and he got nothing as well. anyone have any clue where the schools may have moved to? checked several more areas around the dropoffs and still found nothing.


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## woody18

any location tips? On #2


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## ress

640 acers,,, could be anywhere.


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## woody18

Thanks that helps.


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## leovpin

Drove by today and saw some cars on the parking lot. There was one green shanty on the ice, any OGFers out there today? Any luck? A friend was out there today and got two gills.


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## yonderfishin

Hows the ice lookin lately ? Anybody know what shape the ice is in?


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## ress

Drove around today,,, looked ok. the slush and water has refrozzen


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## ufaquaoiler

ill be around findlay anyways tomorrow and probably have a little time to fish findlay reservoir in the evening for a little while but dont get off work until 4. as long as the ice is safe does anyone know the odds of catching a walleye at night there? i have no objection to perch, bluegill, crappie, or anything else there either.


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## ress

All I can say is, "Good Luck".


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## yonderfishin

Since not many fish are being caught there on the boat ramp side of each reservoir Im wondering if the other side opposite of the ramps may be better. I looked around last week and didnt see any sign that people have fished over there. Has anybody tried fishing the far sides of the reservoir ?


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## ufaquaoiler

im thinking about trying the northwest corner of #2 in the conservation pool where it drops off deeper since the reefs dont seem to be working much. by the time i get there it would be later in the evening, but walleye being night biters that might be better anyways. ive also read of people getting catfish through the ice so if thats true it would be fun to hook into one of those at night. anyone ever pull that off?


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## ufaquaoiler

tried the northwest corner for a bit tonight and found nothing but bare open bottom on my camera and needless to say caught nothing. talking to other anglers a few found baby walleye on camera, but they caught nothing as well. saw 2 trucks in the parking lot by the #2 boat ramp but have no idea if anyone out there was an OGF member. where i was the ice was about 8 inches thick but had some cracks in it. for sure im not about to go out very far if the ice is cracking!!!


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## JDBrown

read something before bout following parrallel across res. #2 with tr-207 till u get where drop offs from 15-25+ft which are just about smack dab in the middle to 3/4 across it...dont know exactly what ice looks like there but if its safe that far may be worth the walk....


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## ohiobuck

got 10 crappie tonight 9 to 11 " lost 5 more and got one walleye about 9" lol


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## yonderfishin

I was hoping to get out there today but I am really afraid the ice has taken the warm rainy weather hard , has got to be degraded a lot by now.


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## ress

Yeh, same here Yonder. Maybe by this weekend it could be fishable again. Good to see someone has had a bit of luck. Talked to an old timer saturday that beleives the fish are out on that drop. Its worth a try if she frezzes real good again.


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## ohiobuck

I think after this weekend the ice out there will be good to go


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## ufaquaoiler

any luck i can actually find something willing to bite down there! not asking for anyone's favorite spot or secret lures but what tackle seems to work best through the ice? perch is the main thing im after but i wont complain about anything else i catch either. i got a good sized bass out of a private pond with a jigging spoon and minnow but that hasnt worked at the resevoir yet for me. any suggestions?


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## yonderfishin

I drove out there today and looked at the ice , Looks pretty bad.....first 10 feet from the bank is almost just open water but farther out looks interesting I just wouldnt trust it. I hope it will all freeze up again but I wont hold my breath. As for what to use out there ... Ive had best results with teardrop jogs that have flutter blades on them or very tiny teardrops and either wax worms or regular earth worms on them. Except for this winter,....neither I or anybody Ive talked to have had any luck.


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## ress

I noticed they are pumping in water from the river. Its slow but might add to the safe ice issue. One way of rigging bait I have had some luck with would be to make a "T" with two wax worms on a tiny jig.


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## BIGDIPPER

Ive been using a pink teardrop jig and been having good luck with it.


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## Weekender#1

The Res II (new) has opened up along the shoreline, from the dock and as far as I can see 10 -15 yards of open water. They are pumping in at the North side and have floated the ice, so don't be coming round here for a while guys. It could refreeze but that river water is warm and will take a while to cool down, then freeze, could be real tricky for the rest of the winter if at all.
Hey locals if you get the chance drive over to the Fostoria res, the new one across from Beerco, drive up the ramp and that water is so low that the stump fields that were spoken of around the campfire are very exposed to the eye, straight across from the ramp. I would not walk out there but just a look so you can get a boat in the area this spring if they get it filled back up. Something to see and make mental notes of where they are exactly.


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## leovpin

I stopped by today to see what the Reservoirs look like. #2 had some open water by the banks, it looked like some ice broke off and the froze again. #1 looked solid except for the pump by the ramp. There were a couple of people out fishing.


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## ress

NICE PICS LEOVPIN!! I thought about it on saturday but would have been the only one there and thats not a good idea.


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## yonderfishin

As cold as it has been the ice "should" be good and solid by now , atleast not on the pump side. I am considering trying it this week but may try Fostoria #5 or 6 instead since there has been such a lack of fish being caught at Findlay.


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## ufaquaoiler

ill be in findlay tomorrow night anyways so im giving number 1 a try slow or not.


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## ohiobuck

I will be checking #2 tomorrow if its good i will be fishing


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## leovpin

My fishing buddy got a new Hummingbird flasher and he wants to try it before the season is over. We might head out on Sunday. Probably hit Fo-town for cold crappies.

Ress, I always like posts that have pictures so I include them whenever I can 

Cheers,

Leo


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## Weekender#1

Careful on # 2 findlay the ice is very very thin for the first 1-15 yards from shore, go to #1 the old res. It is just not worth getting wet.


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## ufaquaoiler

poked around reservoir 1 a bit and could not find any fish or good cover, so moved to #2. ice on reservoir 1 was about 8 inches or so. don't know where weekender was, but on the opposite bank of the boat ramp the ice was a foot thick even near shore! i found a few good sized bluegill on camera and my fish finder was marking fish right near shore in about 12 feet of water, but nothing hit on maggots or a jigging spoon. only other people i saw were 2 guys prolly 200 yards off shore out and they had 5 perch between them after several hours, so despite them having a very good sandwich, nothing fast and furious out there.


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## BIGDIPPER

Hey ufaquaoiler thats a nice walleye. Do u fish a findlay res. in the summer much?


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## ufaquaoiler

ive fished it a lot more in the fall when i was a student at the university of findlay, but living 25 miles away yea i did fish it in the summer a few times. ive gotten plenty of bluegill outta there, good amount of white bass, a few largemouth and smallmouth (got a nice 16 inch smallmouth by casting into a shad school that kept exploding on the surface once before), perch, crappie, and a few small walleye, but my favorite way to fish that reservoir by far is at night for catfish with either dead baitfish or the nastiest thing i can find at the grocery store. beef kidney works really well for me since it stays on the hook very well and you can cut a piece as big or small as you want. id say my average cat from there is around 18-20 inches, but theres the biggest 1 i got last year that measured in at 28. gotta love hearing that bell on the end of my rod ring like crazy at night! 

by the way that walleye is from maumee a year or 2 ago and i believe it was 27 or 28" and around 10lbs.


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## westtoledofisherman

hoping theres no more ice so i can go out there and do some fishing!


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## leovpin

Nice. I am here talking about ice fishing and you wish the ice is gone....

It will take a while westoledo, a month or so before that reservoir is anything close to having fishable open water. But when it does, I will wish the fish aren't bitting


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## ress

Saw a few nice perch come off #2 today. The guy said he has had a couple good days there this week. East side, out about 100 - 200 yards from the steps. 9 inches of ice, wax worms. He said it may have helped to jerk a vibe in another hole a few feet away


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## ufaquaoiler

sounds like the same guy i saw the other day.


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## ufaquaoiler

tried #2 today 100 yards from the stairs at the east bank and on top of the christmas tree reefs near the boat ramp. both places i was marking fish like crazy, but again i caught 0. i saw 2 perch caught by other people but that was all. ice is about 10-12 inches thick.


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