# pay lake/ ponds



## metalzone (Nov 9, 2007)

My Friends,

I am very new to fishing and fairly new to Cleveland.
I was wonderiong if any of you would be willing to share information about available "Pay Lakes" or private ponds (to whose owners I would gladly pay a reasonable amount to be allowed to fish) within reach of the downtown Cleveland area.

Last season was my first attempt at fishing ( mostly in Lake Erie - always from the shore- I dont have a boat) , and although there was some excitement, all too often I was bitterly disappointed with my results- which were almost certainly due to my lack of knowledge and skill.

I have been reading everything I can get a hold of in attempt to improve my catch, and was hoping to get some experience (practice?) in inland bodies of water to build my skills. 

I mainly seek panfish, crappie, perch, catfish, and bass, but would be thrilled to catch any game species ( i.e. NOT sheepshead/gobies )

Also since I have only lived in large cities my whole life, I crave to experience fishing amid the tranquility and beauty of small inland bodies of water, settings which I have only dreamed of or read about.

Any information will be most appreciated !


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## neocats1 (Oct 14, 2006)

Rohr's Lake is about 45 minutes south of Cleveland. Nice place for $10.00 a day. They have campsites too. Nice catfish, bluegill, crappie and bass.


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## leadcorebean (Jul 17, 2006)

plenty of good lakes out there where u dont need to pay.. when things thaw out i would be more than happy to take out on the big lake for some eyes.im sure theres lots of guys on here that would do the same and show ya a few tricks at the same time.


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## archman (Apr 30, 2004)

If you have been fishing the shores of Lake Erie you will be in store for the walleye night bite this spring. Last year was my second best spring, so let's hope it's a good one.


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## jcustunner24 (Aug 20, 2007)

meta - don't waste your time on pay lakes - it's not worth it imo. Ohio has a lot of great lakes for nearly every fish you listed. I find that different lakes appeal to different people, but some of the ponds in the CVNP system offer decent panfishing.


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## metalzone (Nov 9, 2007)

My belated thanks to all who kindly replied. I plan on taking some of this advice !


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## seanb19 (Aug 10, 2007)

Hit me up if your in the Akron area. I know of a few public and private places to fish.


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## boss302 (Jun 24, 2005)

Don't overlook stream/river fishing. Try hooking up with some people from here to "get your feet wet" looking for steelhead or smallies in the cleveland area streams, or driving westward for walleye &/or white bass in the sandusky or maumee rivers. 

AS others have said, Northern ohio has a lot of decent to great public fishing access. 

Another idea is to look up the inland water trout stocking schedule on the ODNR web site.


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## Steel Cranium (Aug 22, 2005)

Cleveland metroparks lakes on the west/south side offer good opportunities from shore without having to pay. Wallace lake is stocked with trout during the winter/spring. The river that runs thru that area is stocked with rainbows as well thru the end of April (limit is two). They stock wallace full of catfish for the kids derbies and many are not caught, leaving a lot of channels in there for others to catch. Find a rainy day or evening, fish with hot dogs on a slip sinker to get some nice ones. Some big cats available, with some exceeding 30".

Since it's made up of two old quaries, deeper water is found on the south and north sides of the lake. The stretch between (near the swimming area) is only 5-6' deep . Don't overlook this area, even during the day, since the cats will often hang out there while feeding. Some decent bass and crappies are available as well. Bluegills are all pretty small.


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## williamonica0214 (Aug 1, 2006)

Steel you just gave away my seacret cat fish bait at wallace. Hot dogs work great there. I took my son out there one evening for cats evrytime i casted out he had one on in less the 5 mins. And not one was under 18 inches. I was fish wallace alot for bass from shore. Just don't let the kids go to the bath rooms alone there . I have heard of some creeps hanging out around there . I have never had a problem though


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## Lewzer (Apr 5, 2004)

> Just don't let the kids go to the bath rooms alone there . I have heard of some creeps hanging out around there .


I have had a problem with a creep there William. I think it is called the North Quarry/Cook House parking lot/bathroom. Good advice.


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## Steel Cranium (Aug 22, 2005)

williamonica0214 said:


> Steel you just gave away my seacret cat fish bait at wallace. Hot dogs work great there. I took my son out there one evening for cats evrytime i casted out he had one on in less the 5 mins. And not one was under 18 inches. I was fish wallace alot for bass from shore. Just don't let the kids go to the bath rooms alone there . I have heard of some creeps hanging out around there . I have never had a problem though


I was taught that method over 30 years ago. The heavier the rain/runoff, the bigger the hotdog pieces. We would fish with 1/2 hotdogs on a circle hook when the conditions were right. Also caught some huge carp and turtles the same way. There were a few big flatheads in there as well. The trick is to fish the dogs below a slip sinker with a small shot to keep the dog floating within a foot of the bottom. Keep the bail open and wait for the line to take off. Another good cat spot is in the deeper quarry (south) end of the lake during the early spring (now-April). We catch quite a few on small black jigs & maggots fishing for trout. The biggest issue with that park (aside from the restroom folks) is that it closes at 11:00pm, often when the cats really get going.


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## CRAPPIE LOVER (Feb 11, 2007)

Guys you get to talking about hot dogs for bait for cats....you just triggered something from the past.....55 years ago give or take...Short story...I lived in Pa. and I would go down to my grandpaps and help him on the farm..when I was out of school on summer break....He would take me down to the river to fish....He raised his own nightcrawlers we took a bucket of crawlers...And he always threw 3 or 4 hot dogs on top of the bait bucket....Always bottom fished used homemade sinkers ...made them himself used teaspoon and tablespoons to make them.. poured lead in the spoons and after cooled drilled holes....tied the hook about 16 inches off the bottom...with what they called back then catgut....well we would catch catfish all day long and most of them came on the HOT DOGS....I don't know what kind .....back then to me they were catfish.....Well guys moral of the story ...worked back then should work now.
:F GOOD FISHING GUYS:F 
Just a small story from the past...


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