# 6/12 Grand Valley Preserve



## Vinman (May 15, 2014)

Hey guys, I've been lurking around here for about a year and figured it was about time to post a report. 

I normally like to fish the LMR but.. yeah its been tough this summer.

So, I go to Grand Valley Preserve and put in a canoe. As I'm paddling to my first spot I look down and see a big 4 foot range muskie staring right back up at me! I had heard rumors they were in GV but had never taken them very seriously. I tried to take a picture but by the time I had my camera ready it had swam away. It was an awesome encounter though, and I'll never forget it. Very cool to see one of the largest freshwater predators up close like that.

After taking time to fully appreciate the moment, I decided to wet my lines. I started off throwing a 1/2 ounce jig. I bounced around to a few of my favorite spots but after a few short strikes and no fish I decided to switch to a smaller offering: a finesse jig with a tube as a trailer. Not long after switching, I pitched the jig under at a likely looking tree, right at the shore. By the time I had reeled up the slack I had a fish on! A nice 16 incher: 

I tried to follow that pattern around the lake, but no dice. I ended up at a rocky point, where I threw the jig up in the shallows. A few seconds later and I had hooked this guy:

I continued to fish the same point, working deeper. A few casts later I felt a sharp tug and answered with my own. After a few short moments, I had this beautiful little fish in my canoe:

By this time the wind had picked up, making boat control frustrating. Those canoes love to blow around in the wind, so I paddled back to the launch. Now on foot, I decided to hit some high percentage areas then call it a day. I made a long cast out past a large pile of rocks about 10 ft deep. I crawled the jig back to me. Just past the pile, the jig began feel a little bit odd. Recalling that "hook sets are free" I swung away and was delighted to feel the weight of a fish on the other side. After a scrappy fight I had my thumb all up in this guys mouth:

I visited a few other places with no success. Finally I came to one of my favorite spots. There's no real structure but it always seems to hold fish. I've been over it with a fish finder but it just seems like any other stretch of 15 foot deep lake bottom. The fish love it though and thats all that matters. I cast out and begin bringing in back very slowly, inch by inch. The magic spot continued to produce today. I felt the characteristic thwack of a bass on the other end and set the hook immediately. About 3 seconds in I realized this was gonna be a big one. Moments later the fish rocketed towards the surface and performed one of the several jumps during the fight. At that point I knew it was going to be my personal best if I managed to land it. I worked her to the shore, but the fight was not close to over. It managed to run 3 times on me, stripping my 8lb line like no lake bass has done before. Luckily, the smooth drag on my reel was up to the task. A few nerve racking minutes later and I landed it. My personal best 20+" largemouth:

If you can't tell, I was a bit excited.

It started raining a few minutes after, so I decided to call it a day. I went home happy as a clam, PB largemouth and a huge muskie sighting in the same day? I guess I'll take it, haha!


PS: Don't use the OHUB app to write reports, unless you really enjoy writing the same report again on a computer.


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## greghal (Aug 22, 2013)

Welcome, what a great day of fishing


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## deltaoscar (Apr 4, 2009)

Nice looking fish there vin.


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## GarrettMyers (May 16, 2011)

Awesome day, thanks for posting. 


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## Dandrews (Oct 10, 2010)

That IS a nice lmb, congratulations!!


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## ML1187 (Mar 13, 2012)

Awesome report man and some beautiful fish! And GO Reds!!!!


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## gibson330usa (May 15, 2012)

Looks like a "Day Of The Eagle" for sure. Great report!


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## Crawdude (Feb 6, 2013)

Nice play by play. Thanks for the report!


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## TurtleJugger (Jun 2, 2013)

Very cool. Get the reports coming and welcome to OGF


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## TPfisher (Aug 31, 2009)

Very nice bass, especially for it not being all that great a time of year for them. I fish GV pretty frequently so i bet ive seen you up there. tight lines!


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## gulfvet (Apr 14, 2004)

Private lakes are usually the most productive. Nice fish!


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## snakedog (Feb 12, 2009)

Nice. That was a great fishing spot when it was a Dravo gravel pit.

When did they stock muskie?


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## Vinman (May 15, 2014)

Thanks all for the kind words! 

As for the Muskie, I've also been wondering how it got there. I talked to a ranger a year ago about the species in the lake. He said that there was a guy that saw a muskie following his crankbait once but he kinda laughed it off though, so I doubt any have been put in recently. I guess the old quarry company put them in then? That or they washed in from the LMR or their eggs could have come off a bird. Any way you look at it, I doubt there is a population of any size in GV. As tempting as it is to try for them, I think I'll stick to bass haha.


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## snakedog (Feb 12, 2009)

There's some big 'gills in there, too.


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## dgcrew09 (Jun 23, 2011)

I fish there frequently and for the first time I also saw a muskie 2 weeks ago. We were rowing our canoe in the middle of the main lake and it swam past us about 2 feet under water. Really cool to see one up close. It was huge


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## TIC (Sep 9, 2009)

I fish at GV a lot. I probably average more than 50 days/yr there over the last 4 years and I've never seen a Muskie. Not saying they aren't there, but I would only believe it if I see it myself or saw a verifiable photo. I do however see plenty of fish approaching 4' long in GV. There are huge common carp in there and even bigger white armur or grass carp in there. I've seen some of the silvery beast that are at leas 48" long.

I would like to believe that there are muskie in GV. No reason why they couldn't survive there with the 60' max depth and spring fed water supply. I've heard the stories and believe they could have flooded in from the LMR during the last great flood a few years ago.

But seeing is believing for me. I've caught many hundreds of fish in GV and I've never seen a muskie or had one follow my lure or my catch to the boat or shore.

Since we're talking about Grand Valley, does anyone besides me think the fishing is getting worse year after year? 4-5 years ago there were huge weedbeds that grew from the bottom to the surface in up to 8' of water. Anywhere there was shallowish water, there were weed beds and there were bass. Lots of bass! Now there are no major weed beds. Just annoying coontail on the bottom. All the cover is gone and the bass are spread out all over the place. A few years ago I would go to GV and catch 20+ bass in 3-4 hours. Now I average only about 6-8 fish in that time if I'm lucky. I think the introduction of the grass carp has taken a bad toll on the lake.

What do you guys think? Have you noticed the same trend?

Tight lines and happy Muskie hunting....


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## Vinman (May 15, 2014)

I've seen those big ass carp.. When I initially saw the musky out of the corner of my eye that's what I thought it was. Dgcrew, was the one you saw spotted? I thought that was pretty strange.

I've only been going to GV for a year now but I do find lack of visible cover to be annoying. The fish are indeed real spread out.


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## fishing on credit (Mar 16, 2010)

Do you have to live in Indian Hill to be able to fish there? I pass there twice a day on the way to work and always wondering how to get in?


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## fishing247 (May 12, 2007)

those could be gar that washed in from the lmr. the body type and marking (except for the snout) are pretty similar.


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## Vinman (May 15, 2014)

Credit: you need to get Indian Hill water, so if you live in IH, Terrace Park, or Camp Denison (maybe other places too) you can get a card.

247: I'm 100% sure this was a Muskie. I know there aren't any great reasons why it would be in GV but it definitely is. I'm well aware of what all the freshwater fish in this area look like, including gar. The Duck bill head is a dead give away. That and the whole rest of the body really. The only other fish it could possibly have been is a big northern but that would be even harder to explain in SW Ohio. That's why I went for my camera, it was crazy seeing one!! 


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## Nubes (Dec 3, 2012)

I love GV! I thinks shes one of the best if not best body of water around here! The LM in my avatar came from GV and she was around 22 inches 5-6lbs. Such a good fishery! Now if they would only add aerators, FL strain LM and tons of trout fingerlings, then maybe that OH state record would fall?? LOL


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## snakedog (Feb 12, 2009)

I pulled a couple of five-pounders out of there when it was a gravel pit. The weeds were so thick that by the middle of summer, it seemed you could almost walk across parts of it. At one point, before my time (mid-90's), it was known as a crappie lake.


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## Smittyfisher (Dec 11, 2012)

I would love to catch that musky! This spring their have been at least three, twenty seven inch lm cought! I have become totaly crazy about trying to catch the big girls. Right now the bass have had some fat bellies on them, i believe the state record is in there jyst waiting to being cought.


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## Buzzy (Jul 2, 2011)

No musky in that lake. 

Never heard of a pike or musky having a duck face either. 

Bet they take a hell of a selfie.


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## Vinman (May 15, 2014)

Dang! 27"?! I guess I'm going to be spending even more time there haha!

Quack!


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