# How far will the walleye/white bass run up the Sandusky?



## Coach_B

Now that the Ballville Dam has been removed, how far do you think the walleye and white bass runs will extend up the Sandusky River?
Just curious as to if the ODOW has changed the fishing rules for that part of the river?
Thoughts?


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## Brutus Bluegill

Here is a decent article about it:

http://www.sanduskyregister.com/story/201903080024


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## AtticaFish

It will be interesting to hear how it goes. Going to open up a lot of the river, especially now that they have the log jam dam taken care of in Fremont. What exactly is the purpose of those structures they built?? Not clear how they help with ice or ice jams.

Sure think they (walleye/white bass) will keep moving and make it all the way down to Tiffin. Some people are saying they will jump the dam at Pioneer Mill. Not sure about that. The stretch of river between Fremont and Tiffin have what i think is the prime spawning areas so maybe they won't even need to get to Tiffin. Only a couple spots closer to Tiffin that i can think of that have gravel bottom, mostly bedrock with only small pockets of gravel. There are a couple stretches around Old Fort and Fort Seneca that have HUGE gravel flats.


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## odell daniel

the old golf course along the river is now a park, you can fish all through there now, river was iced over Saturday, not sure now, I'd say its open, ready for a jig.


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## Skip Hoffman

video on you tube from yesterday shows it running pretty good ( an aerial viewpoint ) flies alot of that area and just did 2 videos yesterday from downtown al the way to old dam.


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## WLB

w


AtticaFish said:


> It will be interesting to hear how it goes. Going to open up a lot of the river, especially now that they have the log jam dam taken care of in Fremont. What exactly is the purpose of those structures they built?? Not clear how they help with ice or ice jams.
> 
> Sure think they (walleye/white bass) will keep moving and make it all the way down to Tiffin. Some people are saying they will jump the dam at Pioneer Mill. Not sure about that. The stretch of river between Fremont and Tiffin have what i think is the prime spawning areas so maybe they won't even need to get to Tiffin. Only a couple spots closer to Tiffin that i can think of that have gravel bottom, mostly bedrock with only small pockets of gravel. There are a couple stretches around Old Fort and Fort Seneca that have HUGE gravel flats.


why do they need gravel bottom? most of the walleye in the lake spawn on sand bottom.


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## AtticaFish

WLB said:


> w
> 
> why do they need gravel bottom? most of the walleye in the lake spawn on sand bottom.


This is from the ODNR website......

"Walleye spawn throughout the month of April when water temperatures are between 40 and 55° F. Walleye deposit their eggs in the riffle areas of tributary streams or over gravel to boulder-sized rocks in reef areas of Lake Erie. The eggs hatch in about 10 days. Females can lay as many as 400,000 eggs. Young walleye feed on zooplankton and insect larvae for several months before shifting over to a diet of small fish. No parental care is given by the adults."


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## WLB

AtticaFish said:


> This is from the ODNR website......
> 
> "Walleye spawn throughout the month of April when water temperatures are between 40 and 55° F. Walleye deposit their eggs in the riffle areas of tributary streams or over gravel to boulder-sized rocks in reef areas of Lake Erie. The eggs hatch in about 10 days. Females can lay as many as 400,000 eggs. Young walleye feed on zooplankton and insect larvae for several months before shifting over to a diet of small fish. No parental care is given by the adults."


ok, but somebody better tell the few million that spawn between turtle creek and the Maumee bay on "the beach" to read that info.


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## Blue Pike

You can now fish at the Blue Banks area of the Sandusky.


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## odell daniel

I've had my boat in the river for white bass and have seen schools of baby walleye headed for the lake, a pod of walleye fry bigger than my boat, pretty cool to see them, they have to get through the gauntlet of white bass though.


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## FISHIN 2

Why are the pilons drove in the river ?


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## AtticaFish

FISHIN 2 said:


> Why are the pilons drove in the river ?


To break up ice? Prevent ice jams? Honestly, it doesn't make any sense to me why they put those in. I believe they built them just before the dam demolition started. There was a MASSIVE log jam stuck on them just a week ago that the city pulled out.


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## Blue Pike

From the local news paper ---The Fremont News Messenger Nov. 2016
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FREMONT - As the city waits on a final U.S. Army Corps of Engineers permit allowing it to notch and remove the Ballville Dam, a new ice control structure has been completed as part of the dam removal project's first phase.

Safety Service Director Ken Myers said the structure has 15 pillars — center-to-center — that stand 21 feet apart and are 6 feet in diameter.

The pillars were put in holes drilled in the river bed about 200 feet downstream from the dam and rising 15 feet above the river's normal water level.

Myers said the pillars go down into the ground 20 feet.

The city started work on the ice control structure in September and completed it in October, Myers said, with the installation taking about four weeks.

The ice control structure is designed to break up ice jams from the river and provide protection to flood walls in downtown Fremont.


Fremont has a $1.6 million contract for the project's first phase with MWH Constructors.

To pay for that portion of the project, the city had $1.6 million available in state grant funds to build the ice control structure. The city also has a $2 million U.S. Fish and Wildlife grant for the dam-notching project and seeding of the embankment along the Sandusky River.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service released its final supplemental environmental impact statement on the dam project Oct. 28.

In the SEIS, the agency announced that incremental removal of the dam and construction of an ice control structure remained its preferred option.


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## AtticaFish

Blue Pike said:


> .....provide protection to flood walls in downtown Fremont.......


The part i quoted above must be the main reason for them and does make sense. Look at the damage Toledo has had in the last couple years from ice jams. Still not exactly sure how they would work except that they would cause the ice jam to occur upstream from their flood protection walls? Just wild guessing now. I will have to Google ice control structures and learn how they work i spose.


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## dgfidler

It makes me wonder if Sandusky Bay will some day become a prime post spawn fishing area as the fish work their way back to the lake after the spawn. I imagine it would take a few years for significant numbers of fish to run the river, but who knows. 


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## AtticaFish

There was a study done a while back saying that there was a substantial population of walleye that actually spawn IN the bay. It is somewhere on the ODNR archives, have to see if i can find it again.


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## ErieEye

There are quite a few walleyes that spawn around the railroad bridge. I used to do quite well there before they changed the regulations. The water was/is typically so muddy the only way I could catch them was on a blade bait. You needed to use something with lots of vibration. All the snaggers that would tie up directly under the bridge ruined that fishery for everyone (no treble hooks allowed now). As far as it being a post spawn fishery I have heard of guys catching walleyes around with shipping channel later into may. My opinion is the majority of the bay is just too turbid to be a reliable post spawn fishery.


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## AtticaFish

ErieEye said:


> ...You needed to use something with lots of vibration...


Sounds like a shaker blade with a smallish swimbait is in order.


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## Northern Reb

Any word on how far south fish have been caught?


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## the_waterwolf

Northern Reb said:


> Any word on how far south fish have been caught?


Supposedly a few guys have caught a handful around the Huss Street bridge. Another guy stated that he and a buddy went down at night when the water was still clear and observed a few hundred walleye pressed to the bank spawning.


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## AtticaFish

I saw those reports also. Some reports from Wolf Creek park as well. Had every intention of getting out on Saturday early afternoon but couldn't get stuff done around the house quick enough. Ran out of time and it started dumping. As high as the water is now.... there might be a few up and over Tinker's Dam at the Pioneer Mill.


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## Fisher1672

Nice bonus is less logs in lake for boat traffic


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## ejsell

AtticaFish said:


> I saw those reports also. Some reports from Wolf Creek park also. Had every intention of getting out on Saturday early afternoon but couldn't get stuff done around the house quick enough. Ran out of time and it started dumping. As high as the water is now.... there might be a few up and over Tinker's Dam at the Pioneer Mill.


I was hoping to check it this week after work but looks like it may be a while.

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## AtticaFish

Ive been out fishing a few times now North of Tiffin up to the CR 38 bridge. No walleye but have been catching some smallmouth. Was hooked into something much bigger today, but it came off before I saw it. No actual bite, just added weight and then started to swim off.... assuming I probably had it snagged, whatever it was. Water is down and clearing up quickly. 





































Was hearing some word of mouth reports and reading a few on Facebook about people catching walleye in this stretch of the river. Talk of limits even. I will say I have seen only 1 other person even fishing. Honestly haven't even seen any fish that looked like walleye rolling or moving up/down stream. I will keep trying for a few more days.... sure better than eating a cold cut sandwich in front of my computer.


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## ejsell

Nice plump looking bass. Almost went today but had to change plans. I think I heard the same reports. Regardless smallies are my second favorite fish to catch.

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## AtticaFish

ejsell said:


> .......Regardless smallies are my second favorite fish to catch......



Now i gotta ask, whats your first favorite?


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## ejsell

AtticaFish said:


> Now i gotta ask, whats your first favorite?


Got to go with trout in general but steelhead jump to the top of those.

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