# ODNR Fishing Report 5/4/05



## Big Daddy

Finally! Some nice weather!!!

Wildlife News 
Ohio Department of Natural Resources 
Division of Wildlife 

The Fish Ohio Report 
May 4, 2005


CENTRAL OHIO
Kiser Lake (Champaign County)  Hybrid striped bass measuring up to 26 inches can be caught in this 387-acre lake. Experimental stockings have proven very successful. Try fishing on the bottom with chicken livers. All shoreline areas with submerged brushy cover are good places to take crappies when fishing with minnows beneath a bobber. These same areas produce good catches of bluegills measuring six to eight inches. Due to deed restrictions, no motors of any kind are allowed on boats. However, the Ohio Department of Natural Resources has provided additional shore access by building numerous stone T fishing piers.

OShaughnessy Reservoir (Delaware County)  Fish shoreline cover throughout the lake with small worms and larval baits suspended beneath a bobber when seeking bluegills. The deeper areas that have submerged cover are good places to fish for crappies when using minnows. This time of year, go for saugeyes using twisters. Saugeye fingerlings (about 85,000) are stocked annually. Due to changing weather, the catch at this lake has been sporadic but the occasional saugeye has been caught and crappie fishing is starting to turn on. Areas along the west shoreline that have fallen trees and brush piles are good places to fish for largemouth bass. Use a variety of surface lures, small spinners and crank baits, six inch plastic worms, and live bait for best results. 

NORTHWEST OHIO
Killdeer Reservoir (Wyandot County)  The water temp is 48 degrees. Walleye are being caught along the east and south shores early in the morning. Night crawlers and leeches being trolled or under a slip bobber is working well.

Killdeer Pond 30 (Wyandot County)  The water temperature is 50 degrees. Largemouth bass are being taken along the dikes often in the morning hours. Minnows fished under a slip bobber at a depth of 4 feet is the best bet. 

Tiffin River (Defiance County)  Channel cats, 12 to18 inches, are being taken on night crawlers fished off of the bottom. The best spot is the SR 15 bridge.

Maumee River Lucas and Wood Counties)  The water temperature is 48 degrees. The river is high and muddy with fishing effort low. Anglers are catching an occasional walleye using heavier jigs (½ oz. or larger, depending on water flow) with brightly colored twister tails. The best locations are White Street Access and Orleans Park upstream to the Conant Street Bridge.

Sandusky River (Sandusky County)  The water temperature is 46 degrees. The river is muddy and very high, but the water level is dropping. Weather permitting, the river should be fishable.


NORTHEAST OHIO
Guilford Lake (Columbiana County) - Crappies ranging 6 to 13 inches in size are biting on live bait and white twister tails at this 328-acre lake. Black crappie is the dominant species in these waters, but white crappie can be caught as well. Largemouth bass, 3 to 5 pounds on average, are hitting on rubber worms. Boat anglers are having the most luck along the docks. Wheelchair accessible shoreline facilities available, 10 h.p. limit.

Zepernick Lake (Columbiana County) - Nearly 40 acres of lake is providing good bluegill fishing with anglers reeling in 4 to 7 inch fish on worms and minnow. The best places to find these bluegills are in the shallows along the lily pads. Largemouth bass up to 16 inches are also biting, but please keep in mind that bass smaller than 15 inches must be returned to the lake. Electric motors only.

Killbuck Creek (Wayne County) - Carp are rolling into the backwaters of Killbuck Creek, providing a good opportunity for bow fishing. Bow fishing for carp is low cost, low tech, and offers some highly successful fishing returns. Any type or pull weight of bow can be used to bow fish for carp. An inexpensive longbow in the 35 to 45-pound pull weight will do the job just fine. Fish can be approached by quietly wading from shore or by poling a boat; however, you may have equal success sitting quietly among a group of fish and waiting for movement. Once youve found a target, draw the string and let that arrow fly! Bow anglers are reminded that a $19 annual fishing license is required to bow fish public waters. A license can be obtained by visiting www.ohiodnr.com or at most bait and tackle stores, outdoor outfitters or major department stores.



SOUTHWEST OHIO
Lake Loramie (Auglaize and Shelby counties) - Crappies are being caught being caught by anglers at this 1,500 acre lake using small plastic jigs or live minnows as bait. A variety of artificial lures in color combinations of black, blue, chartreuse, and white are working well. Fish the bait near and around submerged trees and brush. Keep the bait about one to three feet deep. There are a variety of good fishing opportunities from the shoreline all around the lake. Saugeyes are being caught by anglers using jigs with twister tails as bait. Good color choices are white, chartreuse, or pink. Cast into the area beneath the spillway and keep the bait between two to five feet deep.

C. J. Brown Reservoir (Clark County)  White Bass and Crappies are being caught by anglers using live minnows on a #4-6 long shanked hook as bait. Fishing is good from the shoreline beneath the dam. Keep the bait under a bobber and between four to seven feet deep. 

East Fork Lake (Clermont County)  Crappies are being caught by anglers using white or chartreuse colored curly tails, tubes on 1/32 ounce jig heads, or jigs tipped with live minnows as bait. Cast into areas with submerged trees and brush or near other woody debris. Keep the bait between four and seven feet deep. Choose a #6 to #8 sized baitholding hook.



SOUTHEAST OHIO

Hocking River (Athens County) and Tuscarawas & Walhonding River (Coshocton County) - Water levels have returned to slightly above the norm for the season on the Hocking River. Conditions remain above the norm for the Tuscarawas River and the Walhonding River. However, anglers are contending with the cooler weather pattern with some successful catches of smallmouth bass and saugeye. The preferred lures used would include: white/chartreuse colored twister tails or grubs fished by slow jigging and use of live bait (3"-4" shiners) with bobber. Catches of crappie at or near low-head dams have also been reported from anglers using only live bait or white twisters tipped with a minnow/shiner fished by tight line or slow retrieve. Although smallmouth bass may be found at all these river systems, the saugeye is primarily found within the Tuscarawas River and Walhonding River. 

Jackson Lake (Jackson County) - Water conditions are slightly stained but stable. Water temperature has modified significantly from the mid 60's to the lower 50's. Bass anglers have had success fishing with motor oil colored tube baits and slowly retrieved spinners. Crappie anglers have landed fish up to 14" using jigs with white grubs tipped with a minnow.

Hammertown Reservoir (Jackson County) - This water area remains clear and stable under the worst rainfall events. It is a welcomed fishing haven for the early spring bass angler. The recent stocking of catchable trout has yielded good catches for anglers using pink, orange or yellow Powerbaits. Anglers are also catching saugeye in the 1 lb. to 3 lbs. range using white or chartreuse twisters tipped by with a minnow and also from incidental catches using the methods above for trout. 

Seneca Lake (Noble Co.) - The Wills Creek tributary has been hot and cold for anglers seeking white bass. When actively feeding, anglers have successfully landed fish using practically any type of spinner or twister. The prime site for angling success remains in reaches of Wills Creek above Seneca Lake.



LAKE ERIE 
** The 15 walleye minimum size limit remains in effect for the entire season. Beginning May 1 the walleye daily bag limit on Ohio waters of Lake Erie returned to 6 fish. Anglers are reminded that the daily bag limit for trout and salmon on Lake Erie and its tributaries is 2 through May 15. The minimum size limit is 12 inches.**



**From May 1 until Saturday June 25 is a no-possession season for smallmouth bass on Lake Erie. Anglers can legally target smallmouth bass, but they must be immediately returned to the water.**



Although some walleye are still spawning on the main lake reefs and in the western basin tributaries the spawning season is wrapping up. Walleye can be caught as they migrate out of their spawning grounds and begin to feed. The best areas to fish this time of year include Maumee Bay to West Sister Island (including the Toledo shipping channel), the flats around the Camp Perry firing range, the Bass Islands area, Kelleys Island, and from Sandusky to Vermilion as post-spawn females begin to migrate east. Popular techniques include drifting with mayfly spinner rigs or trolling crankbaits, crawler harnesses or spoons. Yellow perch fishing should be good off of Marblehead, near Lucy Point of Middle Bass Island, east of Kelleys Island, around the Sandusky Bay foghorn, and within 1 to 2 miles of the ports from Vermilion east to Conneaut. Spring is a great time to catch trophy yellow perch over 12 inches.



Lake Erie surface temperatures are generally in the mid to upper 40s.



To view the most recent Maumee River and Sandusky River fishing reports visit: http://www.dnr.state.oh.us/wildlife/fishing/freport/walleyerunreport.htm



To view recent updates regarding the tributary steelhead fishery visit: http://www.dnr.state.oh.us/wildlife/Fishing/fairport/steelhead.htm



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


OHIO RIVER
Ohio River (Scioto County) - Earlier conditions provide some spectacular catch rates for hybrid striped bass and striped bass at the Greenup dam angler access. When river levels return to fishable conditions target hybrid stripers using 3"-4" white grubs, tipped with a river shiner on a 3/8 oz. jig. Striped bass anglers were successful using river shiners or shad fished by bobber near the face of the dam. The size of hybrids ranged from 2 lbs. to 8 lbs. each and the stripers were 12 lbs. to 15 lbs. each.


----------

