# ODNR Fishing Report 7/28/04



## Big Daddy (Apr 6, 2004)

Here you go. Go catch a bunch.

Wildlife News

Ohio Department of Natural Resources

Division of Wildlife



The Fish Ohio Report






July 28, 2004



Tip of the Week - Take your kids fishing at the Ohio State Fair. The Ohio Department of Natural Resources Division of Wildlife has kiddie fishing, archery, and BB gun range to try your skills. The ODNR park is located in the southeastern corner of the fair grounds. For more information on fishing, check us out on the web at www.ohiodnr.com. Enjoy.



CENTRAL OHIO

Deer Creek Lake (Fayette and Pickaway counties) - Fish at night or early morning along the lake bottom with cut shad in the upper creek channel and near the shoreline when seeking channel catfish. Extended shoreline points and areas near rocky shorelines are good places to fish for largemouth bass. Use stick baits, surface plugs, and live baits. The Tick Ridge area is one of the best locations to fish for white bass that will measure 8 to 12 inches. Saugeye fingerlings (326,000) were stocked in late May. Nine inch minimum length limit on crappies.

Indian Lake (Logan County) - Saugeye are beginning to move deeper. Try fishing the top of the thermocline at the old Indian Lake (east side) portion of the lake. Many good largemouth bass can be caught using plastic worms and tube baits. A nearly seven pound bass was caught in June. Channel catfish should be active. Fish the channel openings containing current. Pieces of fresh gizzard shad or chicken liver make the best bait. 952,000 saugeye fingerlings (1 ½") were stocked in late May.



NORTHWEST OHIO

Upper Sandusky Reservoir 1 (Wyandot County) - Channel catfish are biting well during the evening hours in eight to 10 feet of water. Anglers are still using night crawlers. Water temperature is 80 degrees.

Clear Fork Reservoir (Richland County) - Anglers are reporting nice catches of channel catfish near the Baker Road Bridge during the evening hours. Still-fishing with night crawlers in five to 10 feet of water seems to get the best results. Water temperature is 80 degrees.



NORTHEAST OHIO

Beaver Creek (Columbiana County) - Smallmouth bass are being caught on spinner baits, clunkers, both artificial and live crayfish, or shallow running crankbaits. At Beaver Creek State Park, Lus Lock or Gretchen's Lock off Sprucevale Road, north of Calcutta are hot spots. Also, try Willowgrove Park off of State Route 30 in Lisbon for some nice bass. Recently, a stream life shocking demonstration by the EPA at Beaver Creek State Park produced many results including a 13-inch smallmouth bass and smaller suckers. This is an excellent opportunity for campers to throw a line in the stream and maybe reel in a "hawg" to show off back at the campsite. To find Beaver Creek State Park, follow State Route 7, south of Rogers.

Fairport Harbor (Lake County) - Perch limits are booming just off the Lake County shoreline near Fairport Harbor. All it really takes to catch some perch is a decent-working rod and reel with a crappie rig of 2 or 3 (size 6 or size 8) hooks and a sinker weighing 3/8 of an ounce or more. A perch spreader works too- a rig made of thin wire with a sinker in the middle and attachments for a hook with a short segment of fishing line, called a "snelled" hook, at either side. Lake shiners are usually the best bait, but try minnows, chubs or worms for bite. Fish at the bottom or just a few cranks up off the bottom (40 feet or so). Sometimes, if the water is murky, anglers have attached flicker spinners and beads to their rigs for flash and attention-getting action. As fall progresses, perch will move closer to shore, increasing the action for anglers who fish from piers and bays. So get out there and warm up for FISH OH! perch season! For fishy recipes, visit http://www.ohiodnr.com/wildlife/Fishing/recipes/frecipe.htm.





SOUTHWEST OHIO

Acton Lake (Preble County) - From I-75 take SR 725 West to SR 732 South and follow the signs to Hueston Woods State Park Marina. Channel catfish are being caught using chicken livers, shrimp, cut bait, earthworms, or chubs as bait. Still fish from a boat, pier, or the shoreline. Place the bait on a #4/0 to 7/0 baitholding hook and keep the bait between five and nine feet deep. Use several sinkers to keep bait close to the bottom. Good fishing opportunities are in the headwater area. Largemouth bass are being caught by anglers using small top water lures (dark colored), surface poppers, crankbaits (baby bass colored), spinner baits (white, yellow, or chartreuse), or plastic worms as bait. Cast into areas with woody debris, submerged trees or brush. Fishing is good from a boat, pier, or the shoreline. Keep the bait three to six feet deep on a 1/0 or 2/0 hook. Cast and slowly retrieve baits. Troll if fishing from a boat. 

Caesar Creek Lake (Warren County) - From I-75 take S.R. 73 East about 17 miles, OR From I-71 take S.R. 73 West about 7 miles, OR from S.R. 42 take S.R. 73 East about 5 miles. Bluegill and sunfish are being caught by anglers using a 1/16 - 1/32 ounce jig tipped with a wax worm or by fishing a wax worm on a small hook. Keep the bait between three to 10 feet deep. Cast into areas with woody vegetation and fallen trees and brush. Channel catfish are being caught by anglers using chicken livers or night crawlers as bait. Still fish from a boat, pier, or the shoreline. Place the bait on a #4/0 to 7/0 baitholding hook and keep the bait between five and seven feet deep. Use several sinkers to keep bait close to the bottom. Good fishing opportunities near the North Pole boat ramp and along the beach. 

Cowan Lake (Clinton County) - Located nine miles southwest of Wilmington on SR 730. Access points from S.R. 350 are Beechwood Road or Yankee Road. Access points from S.R. 730 are Sprague Road and Osborn Road. Bluegill and sunfish are being caught by anglers using crankbaits, earthworms or wax worms as bait. Good artificial bait colors are green or chartreuse. There are good fishing opportunities from a boat or along the shoreline and pier areas. Look for additional opportunities in the mouth of Cowan Creek. Keep the bait five to six feet deep. Choose a #6 long shanked hook.

Channel catfish are being caught by anglers using chicken livers, cut bait, shrimp and earthworms as bait. Cast from the pier area. Keep the bait off of the bottom and about three to six feet deep. Use a #5 baitholding hook.

SOUTHEAST OHIO

AEP ReCreation Land Ponds (Morgan County) - This scenic area affords a variety of fishing opportunities for those willing to walk in to the more remote ponds. Hours after dark provide the best fishing, and bass averaging five pounds in size can be caught. Preferred baits for bass are black jitterbugs, black buzz baits, and black worms.

Muskingum River (Washington and Morgan counties) - For the "catfishermen", conditions are good at Rokeby and Lowell Dams. Both channel catfish and flathead catfish, 20 pounds or larger, can be caught on bluegills that are attached to slip-circle hooks. Heavy sinkers will keep the bait on bottom.

Scioto River (Scioto County) - North of Portsmouth at the railroad bridge along U.S. 23, channel catfish four to six pounds in size are being caught. Fish frozen shad or skipjack herring on the bottom. For best results, go to the east side of the river underneath the bridge and cast out into the current. Let the current bring the bait to the bridge and hold it there.



LAKE ERIE 

** The 15" walleye minimum size limit remains in effect for the entire season. The smallmouth and largemouth bass season opened on June 26. The daily bag limit for bass is 5 with a 14" minimum size limit.**



Surface temperatures are in the lower 70's.



Western Basin



Walleye - The best walleye fishing has been in the area near the US/Canada border south of Middle Sister Island around where "G" can used to be, between West Sister Island and the turnaround buoy of the Toledo shipping channel, between Crane Creek and "A" can of the Camp Perry firing range, and the northwest reef area west of North Bass Island. Casting mayfly rigs, drifting worm harnesses with bottom bouncers, and trolling with spoons or worm harnesses produce the most fish. Walleye hatched in 2003 (ranging in size from five to 10 inches) are already being caught. Please handle these sub-legal fish as gently as possible and quickly return them to the water.

Yellow Perch - Yellow perch fishing has been best at the Kelleys Island airport reef, around Ballast Island, and near "C" can of the Camp Perry firing range. Fish just off the bottom using perch spreaders tipped with shiners.

Smallmouth Bass - The best smallmouth bass fishing has been around the Bass Islands, Kelleys Island and Sandusky Bay.



Central Basin



Walleye - The best walleye fishing has been N of Lorain east of the sandbar, 11 miles NE of Ashtabula in 72 feet of water, and 10 miles NW of Fairport Harbor in 65 to 70 feet of water. Trolling spoons or worm harnesses using divers or downriggers has produced the best catches.

Yellow Perch - Yellow perch fishing has been best 3 to 4 miles N of Euclid in 48 to 52 feet of water, 3 miles NW of Fairport Harbor in 45 to 50 feet of water, and 4 to 5 miles out from Ashtabula to Conneaut in 60 to 65 feet of water. A perch spreader tipped with shiners is the most popular set-up.

Smallmouth Bass The best smallmouth bass fishing has been around Ruggles Reef and the shoreline and harbors in 15 to 30 feet of water from Fairport Harbor to Conneaut. Jigs tipped with shiners, tube jigs and crankbaits have been the most productive lures.

Steelhead - Steelhead have been caught by anglers trolling spoons 10 miles NW of Fairport Harbor in 65 to 70 feet of water. Target areas with schools of baitfish where walleye are also being caught.

White Bass - White bass have been caught by anglers using shiners at Edgewater and the Cleveland lakefront in 15 to 30 feet of water.



To view the predicted weather forecast for Lake Erie visit: http://seaboard.ndbc.noaa.gov/data/Forecasts/FZUS61.KCLE.html





OHIO RIVER

Washington County - The area behind the Lafayette Hotel in Marietta is the best site for catching large catfish. Catfish the 10 to 31-pound range can be caught on bluegills, shad, or goldfish.

Scioto County - Water temperature is 77 degrees. The river is in good shape at normal pool or slightly below and clarity is good. Fishing for hybrid striped bass at Greenup Dam has slowed. Persistent fishermen are catching hybrid stripers first thing in the morning and around 8:30 p.m. or just before dark. Use white rattlesnakes with heavy casting bobbers to get out into the current or white or silver flukes with casting bobbers and cast way out into the turbid water. At Popcorn Beach, a sandbar located ½ mile downstream from the railroad bridge at Sciotoville, channel catfish four to eight pounds in size are being caught on night crawlers or cut bait of frozen shad and skipjack herring fished on the bottom


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