# Northwest Ohio Maumee River Drought 2022



## bigbass201 (Oct 26, 2015)

I don't recall the Maumee River ever being as low as it was last weekend. I decided to take the drone up for a look at the Sidecut area of the river, Waterville, Wier Rapids, and Grand Rapids. Some cool stuff I hadn't seen before. I bet someone could have a field day down there picking up lost lures.

Northwest Ohio Maumee River Drought 2022 Video


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## Bucket Mouth (Aug 13, 2007)

Good video. I fished it last weekend....its near impossible. I have no idea where the fish went to, but in the spots people can get to, 2 ft of water is about as deep of a hole as can be found right now. It's wild.


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## bigbass201 (Oct 26, 2015)

Bucket Mouth said:


> Good video. I fished it last weekend....its near impossible. I have no idea where the fish went to, but in the spots people can get to, 2 ft of water is about as deep of a hole as can be found right now. It's wild.


You would think those darn fish would be bunched up on certain holes, but it's really weird when you're walking it. You don't see hardly any fish movement other than some minnows in the shallows.


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## matticito (Jul 17, 2012)

Where is this? I just want to walk the rocks while it's this low. I'm not even interested in fishing it like that 🤣🤣🤣🤣


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## bigbass201 (Oct 26, 2015)

matticito said:


> Where is this? I just want to walk the rocks while it's this low. I'm not even interested in fishing it like that 🤣🤣🤣🤣


This is the Maumee River. Beginning of the video is Sidecut Park in Maumee, then it jumps to Waterville and back to Sidecut Park again. Then Grand Rapids Ohio where the Providence Dam is. The video ends at Wier Rapids. Walking the rocks is lot of fun. See all kinds of neat things while down there.


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## Flathead76 (May 2, 2010)

If you walleye fish the run this would be the time to go down there with a gps and mark every trough. Plus you could probably pick up all the tackle that you would ever need.


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## bigbass201 (Oct 26, 2015)

Flathead76 said:


> If you walleye fish the run this would be the time to go down there with a gps and mark every trough. Plus you could probably pick up all the tackle that you would ever need.


100% agree. The crowds are too much for me in the spring. I do pick up tons of fishing line and garbage every time I go down there. Amazing how people can just leave their trash after they are done fishing.


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## Flathead76 (May 2, 2010)

bigbass201 said:


> 100% agree. The crowds are too much for me in the spring. I do pick up tons of fishing line and garbage every time I go down there. Amazing how people can just leave their trash after they are done fishing.


When Gary owned Maumee tackle he would pour 6k pounds of inline sinkers every year. There is a lot of lead to be had.


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## Sasamafras (Oct 13, 2011)

Nice video! Thanks for posting. I have not seen the River this low for this long of a period in past 15 years. Especially in the fall


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## bigbass201 (Oct 26, 2015)

Flathead76 said:


> When Gary owned Maumee tackle he would pour 6k pounds of inline sinkers every year. There is a lot of lead to be had.


That could be some money to be had there. I think Gary moved to Costa Rica or somewhere like that. I work with his nephew, and I think he mentioned that to me.




Sasamafras said:


> Nice video! Thanks for posting. I have not seen the River this low for this long of a period in past 15 years. Especially in the fall
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


It's been a long time for me too. See if it comes up at all this week. I may head down there and give it try fishing next weekend.


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## matticito (Jul 17, 2012)

bigbass201 said:


> This is the Maumee River. Beginning of the video is Sidecut Park in Maumee, then it jumps to Waterville and back to Sidecut Park again. Then Grand Rapids Ohio where the Providence Dam is. The video ends at Wier Rapids. Walking the rocks is lot of fun. See all kinds of neat things while down there.


Thank you! Maybe this weekend I go for a walk. There isn't much river you can walk without making property owners mad. I used to walk Huron at the blue bridge but it's now posted.


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## Morrowtucky Mike (May 2, 2018)

matticito said:


> Thank you! Maybe this weekend I go for a walk. There isn't much river you can walk without making property owners mad. I used to walk Huron at the blue bridge but it's now posted.


Between Maumee and Perrysburg is mostly all public parks. From orleans park to Jerome road walk wherever you want along the river.


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## bigbass201 (Oct 26, 2015)

Morrowtucky Mike said:


> Between Maumee and Perrysburg is mostly all public parks. From orleans park to Jerome road walk wherever you want along the river.


That is one nice thing about the Maumee. There are tons of places to walk from shore. Waterville to Grand Rapids has some really nice shore areas that can be walked too. Only when the water is this low.


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## matticito (Jul 17, 2012)

Morrowtucky Mike said:


> Between Maumee and Perrysburg is mostly all public parks. From orleans park to Jerome road walk wherever you want along the river.


Thank you! Sounds like what I might do before my karaoke gig Saturday.


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## loomis82 (Nov 27, 2012)

Gary did move to Costa Rica


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## TRIPLE-J (Sep 18, 2006)

All the rivers are low
I live by cleveland and ive never seen the rivers as low as they are right now at this time of the year
Ive fished rocky river for over 50 years and ive never seen it as low as it is right now at this time of the year...and we have had alot of rain over the last few weeks


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## DeathFromAbove (Oct 21, 2008)

matticito said:


> Thank you! Maybe this weekend I go for a walk. There isn't much river you can walk without making property owners mad. I used to walk Huron at the blue bridge but it's now posted.


I'm pretty sure the trail that starts at Farnsworth Park, just upstream from Waterville, goes all the way to Grand Rapids. Pretty good hike. I know it goes up past Wiers rapids.


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## Steel Cranium (Aug 22, 2005)

TRIPLE-J said:


> All the rivers are low
> I live by cleveland and ive never seen the rivers as low as they are right now at this time of the year
> Ive fished rocky river for over 50 years and ive never seen it as low as it is right now at this time of the year...and we have had alot of rain over the last few weeks


This has been in process for many years. I started fishing the west branch of the rocky around 50 years ago. Back then and through the 80s the west branch always ran cleared than the east branch and would stay higher for longer after a rain. Since then, much of the orchards, nurseries, farms and fields that held and filtered water are now subdivisions that drain a lot quicker after a rain event. Seems like the levels in the rocky spikes and drops quicker with a much lower dry level than in the past. I’m sure many Lake Erie tribs are seeing the same issues.


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## bigbass201 (Oct 26, 2015)

I fished a new stretch of the river between Farnsworth and Grand Rapids. Probably 2 miles east of Grand Rapids. I have a buddy that lives there and he invited me to check it out. Would have been a long walk if I didn't get the invite. That section of the river had lots of boulders in the water, and shallow slate with nice little falls that went all the way across the river. The problem with the falls there was no deep water on the other side of it. Probably 6" of water. The boulder area was running around 3 1/2 to 4 ft of water. My friend said he had caught walleye there in the spring, but he doesn't fish much. It wasn't holding anything that was biting yesterday morning. Didn't spook any fish up, so I had to suspect they probably moved on to other areas in the river. It was a short trip with the massive winds that moved in. Plus, my cheap waders sprung a leak in both legs by the boot. Guess I should have spent the extra money and got some decent ones. The highlight of the morning was kicking up two huge bucks on a grass island in the middle. I got probably 10 ft from them before they bolted. Scared the heck out of me as I wasn't expecting that. I was completely amazed at how fast they were able to run across the river without ever breaking stride.


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## odell daniel (Nov 5, 2015)

besides walleye what do you guys fish for in the northern part of that river? Looks like it shpould hold some nice smallies


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## Bucket Mouth (Aug 13, 2007)

channel cats and gar are the fish du jour. Right now the only thing that I can get to bite are the buffalo.


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## bigbass201 (Oct 26, 2015)

odell daniel said:


> besides walleye what do you guys fish for in the northern part of that river? Looks like it shpould hold some nice smallies


It holds some decent ones. There is a growing largemouth population as of late too.


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## RevKillj0y (Nov 16, 2018)

Morrowtucky Mike said:


> Between Maumee and Perrysburg is mostly all public parks. From orleans park to Jerome road walk wherever you want along the river.


There's a couple folks on the Perrysburg side who's property extends to the midpoint in the river. I believe they're somewhere between Davis and Orleans. I've personally never met them but a buddy has witnessed them giving guys a hard time. Personally I didn't think it was possible to own land in a public waterway like that, just doesnt seem right


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## bigbass201 (Oct 26, 2015)

RevKillj0y said:


> There's a couple folks on the Perrysburg side who's property extends to the midpoint in the river. I believe they're somewhere between Davis and Orleans. I've personally never met them but a buddy has witnessed them giving guys a hard time. Personally I didn't think it was possible to own land in a public waterway like that, just doesnt seem right


I think as long as they weren't walking on the land to that point in the river there wouldn't be a problem. Long as it can be navigated by boat I don't see how they could claim that. It would be interesting to look up the property parcels how they are in that area. I'm curious myself. I might have to look that up.


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## Morrowtucky Mike (May 2, 2018)

Took a look at Hunt Stand app and it shows all properties ending at the river bank. Looks like if you’re in the water you should be good. But you have to be able to get there without getting back on the bank. Most waterways are private property. I own to the center of the creek behind my house as does my neighbors on both sides of the creek. You’re good in a boat as long as you don’t touch the ground under the water. The water itself is public but the land under it is private. So if your wading your trespassing. From what I can tell the Maumee between Perrysburg and Maumee is public within its banks, but not positive.


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## bigbass201 (Oct 26, 2015)

Morrowtucky Mike said:


> Took a look at Hunt Stand app and it shows all properties ending at the river bank. Looks like if you’re in the water you should be good. But you have to be able to get there without getting back on the bank. Most waterways are private property. I own to the center of the creek behind my house as does my neighbors on both sides of the creek. You’re good in a boat as long as you don’t touch the ground under the water. The water itself is public but the land under it is private. So if your wading your trespassing. From what I can tell the Maumee between Perrysburg and Maumee is public within its banks, but not positive.
> View attachment 499571




That's a great app! What a great tool to have on you when you're out.


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## RevKillj0y (Nov 16, 2018)

Agreed, very cool app. And again, I am just repeating what I've heard "on the banks" so take it for what it's worth.

All that said, have been doing similar: walking my normal walleye spots and finding new holes. 

I had luck with some late summer/early fall smallies and walleye between blue grass & river rd @ jerome. I try to go out at least once a week. Havent caught anything in the Maumee since Halloween 
(this excludes catfish. They are out there, guys are targeting and catching them still. Just not for me is all)


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## mn4 (Oct 14, 2020)

Morrowtucky Mike said:


> Took a look at Hunt Stand app and it shows all properties ending at the river bank. Looks like if you’re in the water you should be good. But you have to be able to get there without getting back on the bank. Most waterways are private property. I own to the center of the creek behind my house as does my neighbors on both sides of the creek. You’re good in a boat as long as you don’t touch the ground under the water. The water itself is public but the land under it is private. So if your wading your trespassing. From what I can tell the Maumee between Perrysburg and Maumee is public within its banks, but not positive.
> View attachment 499571


That’s also a question I’ve had. I used to use OnX and now use Far Wide and they both show pretty much all of the Olentangy and tribs as private property (except for public access - parks, launches, etc). However, most, if not all, of the main stem Scioto shows property lines stopping somewhere on the bank - all the Scioto tribs I’ve ever looked at are private property (really unfortunate because there are some super fishy looking tribs that I’ve convinced myself are packed with smallies). In talking with a landowner along a stretch of the Scioto I fish, she also confirmed that they only own part of the bank and their property does not extend into the river bed. It seems pretty clear from this conversation, the hunting/fishing apps as well as county auditor GIS sites (which I assume is the source data for the apps) that this is the case. However, I asked a a county wildlife officer about this and he said he is not aware of any river where the property owner doesn’t also own the stream bed - and no I wasn’t getting busted for trespassing at the time - LOL. I mentioned the apps and auditor GIS info and he more or less repeated what what he’d said earlier about property ownership extending into the river. As much as I respect wildlife enforcement officers and law enforcement in general, I’m inclined to think that he may have been incorrect on this issue but, at the same time, it doesn’t really matter what I think if he’s the one writing the ticket.


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## bigbass201 (Oct 26, 2015)

RevKillj0y said:


> Agreed, very cool app. And again, I am just repeating what I've heard "on the banks" so take it for what it's worth.
> 
> All that said, have been doing similar: walking my normal walleye spots and finding new holes.
> 
> ...


I haven't caught any fall walleyes out in the river, but it's good to know they are swimming around in there. Haven't had much luck with the water so low. Up around the dam is the only place I was able to get some bites. My waders started leaking my last trip out, so probably have to get some new ones eventually.

[QUOTEThat’s also a question I’ve had. I used to use OnX and now use Far Wide and they both show pretty much all of the Olentangy and tribs as private property (except for public access - parks, launches, etc). However, most, if not all, of the main stem Scioto shows property lines stopping somewhere on the bank - all the Scioto tribs I’ve ever looked at are private property (really unfortunate because there are some super fishy looking tribs that I’ve convinced myself are packed with smallies). In talking with a landowner along a stretch of the Scioto I fish, she also confirmed that they only own part of the bank and their property does not extend into the river bed. It seems pretty clear from this conversation, the hunting/fishing apps as well as county auditor GIS sites (which I assume is the source data for the apps) that this is the case. However, I asked a a county (either Franklin or Delaware can’t remember) wildlife officer about this and he said he is not aware of any river where the property owner doesn’t also own the stream bed - and no I wasn’t getting busted for trespassing at the time - LOL. I mentioned the apps and auditor GIS info and he more or less repeated what what he’d said earlier about property ownership extending into the river. As much as I respect wildlife enforcement officers and law enforcement in general, I’m inclined to think that he may have been incorrect on this issue but, at the same time, it doesn’t really matter what I think if he’s the one writing the ticket. ][/QUOTE]

Really makes you wonder. Certainly, wouldn't want to get a ticket over it,


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