# East Fork saugeye



## crappiedude

Last year (2018) the state stocked 125,000 saugeye in EF. They stocked them again this year but I haven't been able to find any numbers. Anyone know? I heard 1 million but I can't find anything to confirm it.

It's about time....


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## garhtr

Haven't heard-- but a million-- wow ! 
Hope this isn't the end for the hybrids.
See ya there in 3 years 
Good luck and good fishing !


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## crappiedude

garhtr said:


> Hope this isn't the end for the hybrids.


It's the end of the musky's, they haven't done well at all. Once they put them in most of them disappeared. They ran nets in the winter a few years ago and the guys told us they had very few musky in them. They thought well maybe they slipped through the dam but they didn't have success locating them there either. My friends and I have caught a few but mostly it's little ones right after they stocked them.
I'd much rather see the saugeyes than the muskies or those mutant white bass (hybrids)


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## Southernsaug

They started a new program on Saugeye. They add a bunch of fry in the spring then stock the usual number of fingerlings. So the million number is mostly fry, but accurate. Muskies are a fish that require a narrow set of parameters to do well. They don't do well in shallow lakes with a lot of turnover. They also require good water quality and clarity. Some deep water for cool refuge and weed beds to feed in help. Actually, I think Rocky Fork would do well again. when they took them out it was a cesspool and no weed beds. After the new central sewage systems went in around the lake and the Hillsboro upgrades the water quality improved 10 fold. It is a good clean lake now. The fish show it too as all you catch are fat and healthy. I am not a big Muskie angler, but southern Ohio could use another Muskie lake. I frankly have a hard time understanding this new generation of Biologist and their management philosophies. They would have a hard time defending their actions around me. Things change and so should management practices.


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## garhtr

I don't do well consistently at CC and always thought it was the fault of the constant fluctuation in lake levels, I'll stick to the spillway lakes. We'll see, but I'm not overly optimistic regardless the numbers stocked. To me( I don't fish E frk a lot) water quality is suspect, ever catch a hybrid there in warm weather ?? They are a slimy red sided mess  disgusting!
I hope it works out and only time will tell and my hat's off to Odnr for trying.
Good luck and good fishing !


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## Ol'Bassman

Southernsaug said:


> They started a new program on Saugeye. They add a bunch of fry in the spring then stock the usual number of fingerlings. So the million number is mostly fry, but accurate. Muskies are a fish that require a narrow set of parameters to do well. They don't do well in shallow lakes with a lot of turnover. They also require good water quality and clarity. Some deep water for cool refuge and weed beds to feed in help. Actually, I think Rocky Fork would do well again. when they took them out it was a cesspool and no weed beds. After the new central sewage systems went in around the lake and the Hillsboro upgrades the water quality improved 10 fold. It is a good clean lake now. The fish show it too as all you catch are fat and healthy. I am not a big Muskie angler, but southern Ohio could use another Muskie lake. I frankly have a hard time understanding this new generation of Biologist and their management philosophies. They would have a hard time defending their actions around me. Things change and so should management practices.


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## Ol'Bassman

I would like to see another musky lake in SW Ohio. Rocky Fork is about the only lake left in SW Ohio that would be suitable for muskies. I still feel we got screwed out of muskies when they moved the stocking from East Fork to CW Brown and out of SW Ohio. Instead of forsaking East Fork, did they consider stocking larger muskies so they don't get eaten because of their size? I contribute to the minnow fund that allows the hatcheries to raise muskies from fry to advanced fingerlings but I've cut in half the amount I contribute in response. I, for one, would increase my contributions to compensate for my share of the cost of raising and stocking larger muskies. Would anyone else?


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## garhtr

Ol'Bassman said:


> Rocky Fork is about the only lake left in SW Ohio


 Paint crk ? It seems the trend is to move musky out of lakes with open spillways (Acton, Rocky,Cowan) and to lakes with tubes and gates- CC and the fail at East frk ??


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## crappiedude

Ol'Bassman said:


> I, for one, would increase my contributions to compensate for my share of the cost of raising and stocking larger muskies. Would anyone else?


I'm not a fan of the musky programs or the hybrids either (since we're at it).
I'd much rather see eyes or even sauger.
I'd be willing to contribute money to some of the stocking programs if I knew the stocking were taking place in some of the lakes I fish.


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## garhtr

I'm all in on the E-frk saugeye program, another spillway to fish in winter  plus some of those fish will end up in my haunts on the Lmr, hopefully it works out.
It doesn't seem like the musky or hybrids have a huge following and I have often wondered if it's worth the dollars spent.


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## Tom 513

garhtr said:


> I don't do well consistently at CC and always thought it was the fault of the constant fluctuation in lake levels, I'll stick to the spillway lakes. We'll see, but I'm not overly optimistic regardless the numbers stocked. To me( I don't fish E frk a lot) water quality is suspect, ever catch a hybrid there in warm weather ?? They are a slimy red sided mess  disgusting!
> I hope it works out and only time will tell and my hat's off to Odnr for trying.
> Good luck and good fishing !


East fork water quality, ever catch channel cats in the summer there? They have a strong smell of tar! what gives with that lake were does all the contaminants come from?


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## garhtr

Tom 513 said:


> what gives with that lake were does all the contaminants come from?


That smell is the normal summer E-frk algae bloom (yuck) and I always assumed in was caused by run off leached from upstream farm fields.
I don't get there often by to me it didn't seem as bad as normal this year.
Good luck and good fishing !


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## BigDave

CJ Brown is in South West. Less than 45 minutes from Dayton


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## crappiedude

Tom 513 said:


> East fork water quality, ever catch channel cats in the summer there? They have a strong smell of tar! what gives with that lake were does all the contaminants come from?


I catch a bunch of cats out of EF every year, the place is loaded with them.
They don't seem any different to me than the cats I catch out of Cowan, Paint Creek or Rocky Fork.
The only time I ever notice any odor at EF is after a major flood event. Like when the water has been up for a few weeks. Once they drop the water back down to pool there is a definite odor until every thing dries out again. I don't think it's anything out of the ordinary.


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## Travis Young

crappiedude said:


> Last year (2018) the state stocked 125,000 saugeye in EF. They stocked them again this year but I haven't been able to find any numbers. Anyone know? I heard 1 million but I can't find anything to confirm it.
> 
> It's about time....


How big are the ones you have caught from East Fork? Curious since they were just stocked last year.


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## acklac7

garhtr said:


> I'm all in on the E-frk saugeye program, another spillway to fish in winter  plus some of those fish will end up in my haunts on the Lmr, hopefully it works out.
> It doesn't seem like the musky or hybrids have a huge following and I have often wondered if it's worth the dollars spent.


I hope the DNR reads this, we in Columbus will take every last Hybrid you guys got! Dump them all over here, they do amazing! 

And i'm not quite sure the program is a bust @ EF, just saying...


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## Travis Young

acklac7 said:


> I hope the DNR reads this, we in Columbus will take every last Hybrid you guys got! Dump them all over here, they do amazing!
> 
> And i'm not quite sure the program is a bust @ EF, just saying...


Not sure which program is a bust, Muskie or Hybrids? If either of those are doing well, I need to get out there on the yak.


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## crappiedude

Travis Young said:


> How big are the ones you have caught from East Fork? Curious since they were just stocked last year.


I haven't caught any, they just started stocking them. I'm guessing it will be 3 or 4 years before we start catching them.



Travis Young said:


> Not sure which program is a bust, Muskie or Hybrids?


The muskie program was a bust, after they stocked them they disappeared. I catch hybrids on occasion but most are smaller like under 12".


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## garhtr

crappiedude said:


> The only time I ever notice any odor at EF is after a major flood event


 To me the lake has a major odor when the algae is in full bloom.The few times I have fished the spillway at nite mid summer I can often smell the water before I exit my vehicle, too me it smells like oil and the water will be a bright green color, it doesn't seem to effect the fishing but my wet shoes and shorts reek until I can wash-em off in the Lmr.
Good luck and good fishing !


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## DAVELEE

I spoke with the dnr officer for Hamilton county last Thursday and he said they had not started stocking saugeye in east fork yet only that it has been approved. they hope to start the stocking process this fall or next spring.


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## crappiedude

Somewhere on OGF a member posted a report from the ODNR and it was from last year and it was a list of lakes that were stocked with saugeye and the numbers stocked.
Like I said it was from 2018 and the report showed EF was stocked with the 125,000 fingerlings.
I can't find that report or any report for that matter. I wish I could find something for 2019 and maybe the 2019 report will come out at the end of 2019 once everything is complete.

I will say I saw a park ranger back in maybe June and he said he hadn't heard anything of a stocking but a few weeks ago I got stopped by a game warden and he confirmed that the stocking did occur.

I guess the only way we'll know for sure is if someone actually catches one and posts a pic.
I hope they do, that would be a great lake for eyes.


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## garhtr

Second one from the spillway this season, both about the same size.
Anyone catch any in the lake ??? Any stocking info???
Good luck and good fishing !


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## G-Patt

I fish EF quite a bit in the spring and summer. Over the last 2 to 3 years, I've noticed an improvement of the water quality. While not perfect by any means, the water isn't nearly as bad as it has been in prior years. I've heard some rumors that the DNR has cracked down on upstream farms, runoff fertilizer and pig farms contributing to the mess. The rumors might be true given the improvement I've noted. Like some lakes, it will develop an algae bloom during certain periods but clear up. Pros and cons for every body of water I suppose. I'm all for the saugeye stocking program. They should do well in that lake. I'm okay with the hybrid stocking as well and find them fun to catch. I haven't had too many issues with numbers and quality of fish out of this lake. The catfishing is off the charts in the summer, so looking forward to that in a couple weeks.


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## garhtr

G-Patt said:


> I fish EF quite a bit in the spring and summer


Any saugeye caught ?
Good luck and good fishing


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## crappiedude

garhtr said:


> Anyone catch any in the lake ??? Any stocking info???


Last numbers I saw stocked was 1.25k fingerlings in 2018 and 1million fry in 2019. 2020 was a mess so who knows.
Last year I caught six while crappie fishing on the lake. (all on jigs) I've revisited some of those same areas this year but haven't had an luck on the eyes so far. I tell myself to go out and spend a couple of days and just put a little effort to find a few. 
They're in there somewhere.


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## garhtr

crappiedude said:


> spend a couple of days any just and effort to find a few There in there somewhere.


Both the fish I caught were taken on large flies and
I thought about spending a morning or two in the spillway with some smaller curly-tails to see if I could find any numbers but I keep procrastinating---maybe this fall 
Sure will be interesting to see how they fair and how large they are in the future----- hopefully Odnr keeps dumping them in there.
Good luck and Good Fishing !


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## G-Patt

garhtr said:


> Any saugeye caught ?
> Good luck and good fishing


I've caught a few as a by-catch of crappie fishing, but they were small fingerling size. It would be really cool if EF becomes a good saugeye lake. Right now, I mostly target crappie and catfish at EF whenever I need a break from stream fishing or the rivers are too messy.


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## kycreek

Love to see these take hold at EF.


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## crappiedude

garhtr said:


> I thought about spending a morning or two in the spillway with some smaller curly-tails to see if I could find any numbers *but I keep procrastinating*---maybe this fall


That's me. It's less than 10 minutes from my house but I have yet to do it.
Yeah...maybe this fall.


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## G-Patt

Hit up EF yesterday to target crappie, and low and behold my friend caught 2 saugeyes, one of which was a keeper - pictured here.


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## crappiedude

Friend caught a nice one Tuesday


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## G-Patt

crappiedude said:


> Friend caught a nice one Tuesday


Very nice! Was your friend targeting them or a by-catch for crappie?


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## crappiedude

We were (unsuccessfully) crappie fishing some offshore cover. Moved over next to the bank and marked a bunch of fish. We casted jigs for about 20 minutes and caught 1 bass, 1 cat, the saugeye and a half dozen crappie.


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## nitsud

Nice fish! That has to be the 2018 class. Good to see, and I hope they take off.


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