# ODNR Report 10/12/05



## Big Daddy

Wildlife News 
Ohio Department of Natural Resources

Division of Wildlife
The Fish Ohio Report

October 12, 2005


CENTRAL OHIO
Knox Lake (Knox County)  The vegetated areas and those with shoreline cover are good places to fish for largemouth bass. Anglers should use small spinners, jigs, soft plastic baits, and live bait for best results. The shoreline cover also produces good catches of bluegills when using larval baits and small worms fished beneath a bobber. Channel catfish up to ten pounds may be taken when fishing along the bottom with traditional baits such as chicken livers, night crawlers, and prepared baits. 10 horsepower limit.

OShaughnessy Reservoir (Delaware County) - Excellent largemouth bass fishing can be found at this lake of 845 acres in the northwest Columbus area. The western shoreline around brush and fallen trees are productive. Use spinner baits and plastics. Crappie can be taken in the same area using minnows suspended by a bobber. Catfish can be caught in the upper end of the lake, use cut baits and night crawlers fished on the bottom. Saugeye can be taken at night along the east shoreline on the rocky flats, using jigs and crank baits. 

NORTHWEST OHIO
Maumee River (Lucas County)  White bass have been hitting on minnows and twister tail jigs. Just below the Grand Rapids dam and the dam at Mary Jane Thurston State Park are the hot spots.

Findlay Reservoir #1 (Hancock County)  Some perch are being taken by jigging off of the bottom.

Van Buren State Park (Hancock County)  Catfish are being taken in the deeper holes along the west dike. Worms and liver are working the best.

Ottawa Reservoir (Putnam County)  Bluegills are being taken during the morning hours. Wax worms under a slip bobber or jigs are working the best. 

Ottoville Quarry (Putnam County)  Channel cats are being taken at night by fishing night crawlers. The north bank of the big pond is still the best spot.

Willard Reservoir (Huron County)  Channel cats are being caught in the evening and after midnight. Use night crawlers, cut bait, shrimp and liver fished on the bottom. 

NORTHEAST OHIO
Four locations in northeast Ohio are to be stocked with 10 to 13 inch rainbow trout in the next two weeks. Trout fishing provides an exciting fishing experience to any angler and offers great rewards when it is time for dinner (especially freshly caught fish). Anglers 16 and over must possess an Ohio fishing license and a statewide bag limit of five trout per person per day applies. 

To be stocked October 14th:

Petros Lake (Stark County)-. Fishing permitted sunrise to sunset.

To be stocked October 21st:

Granger Pond (Lake County) -- Fishing permitted sunrise to ½ hour after sunset.

Painesville Recreational Park (Lake County) -- Fishing permitted sunrise to sunset

OHIO-ERIE Canal (Cuyahoga County) -- Fishing permitted 6am to 11pm.

For directions to the named locations and for tasty recipe ideas, visit: http://www.ohiodnr.com/wildlife/Fishing/trout/falltrout_04.htm and http://www.ohiodnr.com/wildlife/Fishing/recipes/frecipe.htm or call Wildlife District Three at (330) 644-2293.

SOUTHWEST OHIO
Adams Lake (Adams County)  Bluegill are being taken by anglers using any of the following worms: red, earth, wax, or meal. Fish from a boat, along the pier, or along the shoreline. Keep the bait about two to three feet deep under a bobber. Use a long-shanked 9-10 sized hook.

Acton Lake (Preble County)  Largemouth bass are biting on black plastic worms. Fish from a boat or along the shoreline. Cast into areas with woody debris such as fallen trees and brush. Keep the bait about four to five feet deep. Anglers are doing well along the east shoreline between the cabins and the spillway. Bass must be a minimum of 15 inches to keep. The best times to fish are early morning and dusk. 

SOUTHEAST OHIO

Cutler Lake (Muskingum County)  First in line for the annual fall rainbow trout releases! Rainbow trout, measuring 10 to 13 inches in length will be stocked into Cutler Lake on Wednesday, October 12. Keep bait and lure presentation for rainbow trout in still-water as simple as possible. You can catch trout by still-fishing or casting natural and artificial baits, but trolling often produces several more fish in the course of a day (limit five trout per person per day). Trolling shallow-running baits like spinners and minnow baits at their normal running depth can be effective. To get to Cutler Lake, located in Blue Rock State Park, depart Zanesville, Ohio using SR 60. Turn left (east) onto Shaver Rd. Turn left (north) onto Poverty Ridge Rd. Turn right (north) on ODNR Local Road. 

Rainbow trout stocking locations for Friday, October 14 - Scioto Trail State Park (Ross County), Timber Ridge Lake (Lawrence County), Yoctangee Park Lake (Ross County), Lake Alma State Park (Vinton County), and Rose Lake (Hocking County). For directions to release areas, visit http://www.ohiodnr.com/wildlife/Fishing/trout/directions.htm or call Wildlife District 4 at (740) 589-9930

Tycoon Lake (Gallia County)  Great catches of crappie occurred over the weekend, with some crappie measuring up to 15 inches! Use minnows or twister-tails in three to five or eight to ten feet of water. Some of the best crappie fishing is going to be near submerged structure along the shoreline near felled trees and stumps.

LAKE ERIE 
Western Basin

*High winds from Thursday October 6 through Tuesday October 11 severely limited fishing on Lake Erie. The following fishing report is from the previous week. It might take most of the week for the lake to calm down and clear up following the high winds. Western basin water temperatures have fallen into the lower 60s.*

Walleye - Walleye fishing has remained slow with little targeted effort. A few walleye, mostly from the 2003 year class, have been caught by trolling spoons or worm harnesses around Gull Island shoal and Kelleys Island shoal. As water temperatures drop larger adult walleye will migrate back towards Kelleys Island, the Bass Islands, and the area around Marblehead and Lakeside.

Yellow Perch - Last week the best western basin perch areas included the Toledo water intake, the northern cans of the Camp Perry firing range, E of the Gull Island shoal buoy, south of C can of the Ontario border, east of the Kelleys Island airport, and south of Kelleys Island shoal. Most fish are still running on the small side, but larger fish (10 to 12 inches) are starting to appear in the catch. A perch spreader tipped with shiners is the most popular set-up.

Central Basin

*High winds from Thursday October 6 through Tuesday October 11 severely limited fishing on Lake Erie.  The following fishing report is from the previous week. It might take most of the week for the lake to calm down and clear up following the high winds. Central basin water temperatures have fallen into the lower to mid 60s.

Walleye - Walleye fishing has been fair in Ohio waters of the central basin. The best areas were the northern end of the sandbar off Lorain, seven to nine miles north-northeast of Ashtabula in 68 to 70 feet of water, and seven to eight miles north-northeast of Fairport Harbor in 65 to 70 feet of water. Trolling 30 to 50 feet down with spoons or crawler harnesses, using planer boards, jet divers, or dipsy divers have produced the best catches. Fish have ranged from 15 to 24 inches.

Yellow Perch - Yellow perch fishing has been excellent four miles north of Wildwood State Park and Euclid in 51 feet of water, three to four miles north of Ashtabula in 52 feet of water, and two to five miles north between Eastlake and Fairport Harbor in 44 to 60 feet of water. A perch spreader tipped with shiners is the most popular set-up. Fish have ranged from seven to 13 inches.

Steelhead - Steelhead are starting to be caught by casting off of the Fairport Harbor pier, the Chagrin River and Euclid Creek with small spoons or spinners. Fish have ranged from 16 to 28 inches. 

To view the predicted weather forecast for Lake Erie visit: http://weather.noaa.gov/cgi-bin/fmtbltn.pl?file=forecasts/marine/great_lakes/le/lez160.txt

OHIO RIVER
Gallia, Lawrence, Meigs, and Scioto counties - River conditions are clear and normal to low at about 71 degrees Fahrenheit. Some largemouth bass have been caught in the middle and lower pool of the Greenup tailwaters. Try fishing in embayments, near stream confluences, and near warmwater discharges. Spinner baits, jig/pork combinations, and crankbaits are good lures to try. In the R.C. Byrd pool, warmwater discharges and stream confluences in the upper pool as well as the Racine tailwaters are good areas to fish for sauger - try using twister tail jigs and minnows. Sauger and hybrid striped bass have also been caught on big creek chubs or any deep-diving bait that resemble minnows. For hybrid striped bass and channel catfish stay in any of the tailwaters. Channel cats are being caught on cut bait, live shad, chicken livers and worms.


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