# ODNR Fish Report 10/18/06



## Big Daddy

Wildlife News 
Ohio Department of Natural Resources

Division of Wildlife
The Fish Ohio Report

October 18, 2006

CENTRAL OHIO
Alum Creek Lake (Delaware County)  Fish continue to move to more shallow water as temperatures cool. Shoreline areas and bays that have woody cover and aquatic vegetation are good places to find largemouth bass. Use six-inch plastic worms, small spinners, and top-water lures during the morning and early evening for best results. This lake also boasts an excellent population of smallmouth bass. Try crank baits and tubes along points and drop-offs with rocks or woody structure. As the weather cools and boat traffic decreases, look for muskellunge action to pick up near the dam. A 48¾- inch muskie was pulled out of this lake recently. Anglers should be trolling at depths of five to eight feet with jerkbaits. Saugeye may be caught along the dam and causeways by trolling live bait rigs and crankbaits near the waters surface.

Hoover Reservoir (Delaware and Franklin counties)  Saugeye, up to 26 inches, can be taken just beneath the surface during evening hours when casting or trolling small crank baits. Saugeye are also in deep drop-offs this time of year. Shoreline cover around the lake provides good locations to take bluegills when using wax worms, meal worms and larval baits suspended beneath a bobber. Largemouth bass action in this underutilized lake usually picks up as water temperatures cool. Use six-inch plastic worms, small spinners, and top-water lures during the morning and early evening for best results. Largemouth bass must measure at least 12 inches. Crappie are present in good numbers. Try minnows or jigs in the middle and upper basins around shoreline cover. White bass are also present in good numbers. 10 horsepower limit.

NORTHWEST OHIO
Findlay Reservoir #1 and #2 (Hancock County)  Smallmouth bass fishing is good in #2. Anglers are using soft crawlers and crank baits along the shoreline. Catfish fishing has been very good in #2 either by drifting or trolling shrimp along the bottom anytime of the day. Anglers looking for perch have been successful in #1 in the morning or evening. Try shiners or worms on spreaders or crappie rigs in the northeast corner or along the south dike. Best times are in the morning or evening.

Lake LeComte (Hancock County)  Anglers are catching yellow perch with worms or shiners while trolling or drifting along the east dike. Anglers are also catching channel cats using the same methods using shrimp or worms. Best times have been in the morning or evening.

NORTHEAST OHIO
Nimisila Reservoir (Summit County)  Walleye are being caught by anglers who are actually casting for crappies along the shoreline. These fish are swimming into the shallows to feed on smaller bait fish during the night and can be caught on crankbaits such as husky jerk lures as well as weight-forward spinners tipped with night crawlers. Walleye have replaced saugeye in the stocking efforts of these toothy and tasty predators as of 1999. A total of 75,364 walleye fingerlings (averaging one to two inches) were stocked in 2005. Sample results indicated fish range between 15 and 28-inches in this lake. This 727-acre lake is located two miles south of State Route 619 on South Main Street. Electric motors only. 

Punderson Lake (Geauga County)  This 82-acre lake located in Punderson State Park on State Route 87 is providing excellent bluegill and channel cat fishing. Catfish stocked in 2001 are providing good opportunities to catch 16 to 18-inch fish while over 2,000 yearling catfish, stocked in 2003, are also providing good fishing. Also to note: a total of 2,052 yearling channel catfish were stocked in 2005. The daily bag limit on channel catfish at this lake is six fish per person. Surplus broodstock rainbow and golden-strain rainbow trout (averaging 16 to 24 inches) are stocked generally on the Tuesday (afternoon) before Thanksgiving. The bag limit for trout is five fish per person daily. Electric motors only. 

SOUTHWEST OHIO
Paint Creek (Highland County)  Crappies are being caught by anglers using crappie minnows or black or chartreuse jigs as bait. Keep the bait 10 to 14 feet of water. As the water cools the fish are moving into the shallows. Fish the bait around any type of woody structure such as downed trees and overhanging brush and around the campgrounds. Channel catfish are being caught along the sandbars and the flats near the creek arms especially near Paint Creek. Fish night crawlers and cut bait where the water is about five to seven feet deep. Largemouth bass are being caught by anglers using crankbaits (shad colored shad-wraps) fished along the main lake points. Bluegills are being caught by anglers using wax worms under a bobber as bait. Fish the bait two to four feet deep. Good fishing spots are back in the coves, near stumps, and around fallen timber. Saugeye are being caught by anglers fishing the spillway waters with chartreuse twister tails. White bass are being caught along the shores. Troll small in-line spinners such as a Rooster Tail or white twister-tails between the beach and the island. Currently, the water is muddy but fishing is still good.

Grand Lake St. Marys (Auglaize and Mercer counties)  Channel catfish are being caught by anglers using night crawlers, cut shad, or chicken liver as bait. Fish the bait along the bottom of the lake. Anglers are having great success with #2/0 and #4/0 sized circle hooks. Keep the bait along the sides of underwater structure such as stumps. Keep the bait right around two to three feet deep. Bluegills are being a caught by anglers using wax worms as bait. Keep the bait under a bobber and near the bottom. Fish the bait along the shore, near any type of structure including the rocky areas and seawalls, and into the channels. Yellow perch are being caught on tip a jig with night crawlers, minnows, or wax worms. Fish the bait in three to five feet of water and about six-inches off of the bottom. Good spots include state beaches and fishing piers with the wind blowing into you. Anglers fishing from the Auglaize shoreline are having good success. Largemouth bass are being caught by anglers using slow baits such as jig, jig and pig, Carolina rigs, or rubber worms fished back in the bays. Shad color variations, pink, purple with green head, or a black or white head colored lures are working well. Fish the main lake points. 

SOUTHEAST OHIO

Forked Run Lake (Meigs County)  Anglers fishing for bluegill had excellent success over the weekend fishing below the spillway. Bluegill up to seven and a half inches were reeled in while fishing wax worms or meal worms under a bobber.

Seneca Lake (Guernsey and Noble counties) - Angler success for crappie, bluegill and white bass have recently been improving with cooler temperatures. Fish minnows under a slip bobber or with jigs over submerged structure throughout the lake. Submerged structure is marked along the shoreline with florescent paint on nearby trees. Maps including the location of submerged structure are available by calling the District Four office at (740) 589-9930. Nine inch minimum length limit for crappie in effect on this 3,508-acre lake.

Salt Fork Lake (Guernsey County)  Lake temperatures have been in the mid to low 60s and beginning to cool. Anglers fishing for crappie over submerged structure or in eight to 10 feet of water using minnows have had success. Saugeye fishing is picking up - anglers report catches of saugeye in the 14-inch range caught in the tail waters using jigs and twisters tipped with a minnow.

LAKE ERIE 
**The walleye daily bag limit is six fish. A 15 inch minimum size limit for walleye remains in effect for the entire season. The Lake Erie daily bag limit for yellow perch is 40 fish. The daily bag limit for black bass on Lake Erie is five. The minimum size limit for black bass on Lake Erie is 14 inches. The steelhead trout bag limit is two. The minimum size limit for steelhead is 12 inches. **

Western Basin

Fishing effort directed towards walleye has greatly decreased as western basin anglers have switched to perch fishing. Some success has been reported on Kelleys Island Shoal. Drifters are using mayfly rigs or weight forward spinners, while most trollers are using worm harnesses or spoons with jet or dipsy divers, and crankbaits.

Yellow perch fishing has produced good numbers of fish in the Western Basin, but on average fish have been under nine inches. Over the past week the best areas have been D can of the Camp Perry range, Green Island, Rattlesnake Island, Lucys Point of Middle Bass Island, north of North Bass Island, and the Marblehead lighthouse. Perch spreaders with shiners fished near the bottom produce the most fish.

Smallmouth bass should start moving shallower as water temperatures drop heading into fall. Fish rocky drop-offs and reefs around the Bass Islands and Kelleys Island along with near-shore areas from Catawba Island to Sandusky Bay to find active fish. Tube jigs and drop shot rigs with goby imitations are the most popular set-ups for smallmouth. 

Central Basin 

Walleye fishing from Huron to Lorain has been good as the fish continue to migrate west. Farther east most fishing effort has been directed at yellow perch. Walleye have been taken north of the Huron dumping grounds, on the north end of the Sandbar, and sporadically around Ruggles Reef. Fish have been caught on worm harnesses or spoons trolled with dipsy divers or jet divers, and also on deep diving crankbaits.

Yellow perch fishing is excellent in the central basin in 25 to 30 feet of water off of the Vermilion breakwall and off of the condos east of Vermilion near Beaver Creek, within one mile of Lorain and Avon point, one to two miles northwest of Cleveland (E. 72nd St. lighthouse) in 38 feet of water, two miles northeast of Eastlake in 38 feet of water, three miles north of Fairport in 50 to 55 feet of water, and two to three miles north of Ashtabula 45 to 55 feet of water. Fish have ranged from seven to 12 inches. Perch rigs with shiners fished near the bottom have produced the most fish. 

Smallmouth bass fishing has been good along the shoreline from Fairport Harbor to Conneaut in 15 to 25 feet of water. Fish have been caught on goby color tube jigs, goby color drop-shot rigs, jigs tipped with minnows or leeches, or by trolling crankbaits.

Steelhead fishing has been fair to good in the Vermilion River, Rocky River, Euclid Creek (Wildwood State Park), Chagrin River, Grand River, Arcola Creek, Geneva State Park, Conneaut Creek and along the Conneaut west breakwall. Shore anglers are using small spinners and spoons, and jigs and maggots rigged with a split shot under a light bobber. 

Lake Erie surface temperatures range from 52 to 58 degrees.

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

Clermont County - Meldahl Dam Pool  Sauger are being caught near the dam. Successful anglers are using minnows baited on a floating jig head. Anglers are also catching crappies by fishing a minnow. The best spots to cast are into the creeks that enter the Ohio River.


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## crawdiddy

"Anglers should be trolling at depths of five to eight feet with jerkbaits."

interesting


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