# Darby Creek Metro Parks quarry



## sbreech (Jun 6, 2010)

Crappie are HOT at this place! 3 hours, 96 crappie, 14 LM bass, and 4 bluegill later, my family and I were finally ready to come home and relax!  Most of the crappie were between 7-10 inches, but we did manage 27 over 10 inches (keepers if we didn't catch and release, with the biggest one today at 14 inches. We were all fishing ultralight, so the fun was on.

Family, sun, and fishing! It couldn't get any better than today!


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## zztrent (Jul 13, 2009)

sbreech said:


> Crappie are HOT at this place! 3 hours, 96 crappie, 14 LM bass, and 4 bluegill later, my family and I were finally ready to come home and relax!  Most of the crappie were between 7-10 inches, but we did manage 27 over 10 inches (keepers if we didn't catch and release, with the biggest one today at 14 inches. We were all fishing ultralight, so the fun was on.
> 
> Family, sun, and fishing! It couldn't get any better than today!


Sounds like fun! What setup were you using? And where is that at? I just moved up here i was thinking about hitting Darby though.


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## sbreech (Jun 6, 2010)

Bass minnows under a bobber. Almost every cast yielded a fish.  The place is right on S.R. 62 in Harrisburg. Pretty nice facility with about a mile or so walking trails. Also has direct walk-in access to Darby Creek.


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## twistertail (Apr 10, 2004)

Glad to see a good report from that place. I live just down the rd and went over last year a few times when it first opened but did not fish. Thanks for the report.


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## richard78 (Mar 28, 2011)

sounds like fun, Having trouble locating on google maps the park your talking about. what side of town are we talking about.


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## twistertail (Apr 10, 2004)

If you take 62 south from 71 about 1.5 miles its on the left or east side of the rd. The entrance is across from a used car lot. If you are looking on google it would be the frist place you can turn left after you cross over Darby Creek. There is a road that goes back to a parking lot between 2 lakes.


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## Live2Fish (Apr 7, 2004)

http://www.metroparks.net/ParksBattelleDarbyCreek.aspx


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## MJP (May 10, 2011)

It's a great spot, one of my new favorites. Still biting this evening. Crappies, sm bass, and some catfish. Only took home 3 keepers but still caught a lot and had a blast.


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## Big Joshy (Apr 26, 2004)

In the words of don henley "you call some place paradise, kiss it goodbye!"


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## BassBlaster (Jun 8, 2006)

Big Joshy said:


> In the words of don henley "you call some place paradise, kiss it goodbye!"


I was thinking the exact same thing. That place is doomed!!


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## browns_jr88 (Aug 5, 2008)

lol local broadcast system.. attention world.. great fishing at darby creek quarry... well at least for the next few days til empty..lol.. sound like it is a nice place.. ill have to check out the next time im down that way... thanks for info


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## skycruiser (Aug 7, 2009)

the last 2 years have been great until they opened it up to the public. thanks for helping make it prairie oaks version 2


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## zack pahl (Mar 8, 2009)

skycruiser said:


> the last 2 years have been great until they opened it up to the public. thanks for helping make it prairie oaks version 2


I've heard alot of guys say "until they opened it to the public" when talking about that place. So I take it that it was private before, and everyone had 'permission' to fish it? curious.


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## streamstalker (Jul 8, 2005)

skycruiser said:


> the last 2 years have been great until they opened it up to the public. thanks for helping make it prairie oaks version 2


Hehe...Three people with a total of eight posts between them chimed in on this thread. Probably a hundred others who do not belong to the site will view it.

He did you a favor. It was time for you to move on. You have all of the pictures to show people what it used to be like. Once they built access to it, it was doomed anyway. Besides that, anyone with the slightest sense of how to use the Internet could have found that place in five minutes with a search of your own posts.

Honestly, doesn't stalking the bank of the same pond get boring no matter how big the fish are? Maybe it's just me. I'm a "new-water" junkie.


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## mevers (Sep 26, 2009)

It was good while it lasted!


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## mevers (Sep 26, 2009)

streamstalker said:


> Honestly, doesn't stalking the bank of the same pond get boring no matter how big the fish are? Maybe it's just me. I'm a "new-water" junkie.


It's actually quite large, there are 2 good sized quarrys and it backs right up to the Darby. It's about as diverse as you can get on foot.


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## streamstalker (Jul 8, 2005)

mevers said:


> It's actually quite large, there are 2 good sized quarrys and it backs right up to the Darby. It's about as diverse as you can get on foot.


If it's not a reservoir, it's just a barrel to shoot fish in at this point. I'll salute as I float by.


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## MJP (May 10, 2011)

streamstalker said:


> Hehe...Three people with a total of eight posts between them chimed in on this thread. Probably a hundred others who do not belong to the site will view it.
> 
> It's a _Public_ park. I don't think he's giving anything away. Oh and thanks for making us new guys feel so welcome here.


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## BassBlaster (Jun 8, 2006)

MJP said:


> streamstalker said:
> 
> 
> > Hehe...Three people with a total of eight posts between them chimed in on this thread. Probably a hundred others who do not belong to the site will view it.
> ...


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## sbreech (Jun 6, 2010)

Perhaps we should change this section of the forum's name from "Central Ohio Fishing Reports." That way, nobody would ever fish because they never look anywhere *BUT HERE* to find a place to fish. I'm sure that people from thousands of miles away will flock to this place to catch a stringer full of of small to average size crappie...geez...

I've got a plan, I'll get everyone away from there...

*"Senko Worms on sale at Wal*Mart for $1.97 per pack!"*

Fixed.


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## hang_loose (Apr 2, 2008)

MJP said:


> streamstalker said:
> 
> 
> > Hehe...Three people with a total of eight posts between them chimed in on this thread. Probably a hundred others who do not belong to the site will view it.
> ...


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## thegcdawg (May 26, 2008)

skycruiser said:


> the last 2 years have been great until they opened it up to the public. thanks for helping make it prairie oaks version 2


Exactly what I was thinking.


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## richard78 (Mar 28, 2011)

streamstalker said:


> Hehe...Three people with a total of eight posts between them chimed in on this thread. Probably a hundred others who do not belong to the site will view it.
> 
> If i had 800 posts would you feel better about me taking my kids to the public park to fish. Sorry i live on the north side and did not know where this super secret honey hole was. Don't worry it won't be overfished on my account. The people you need to worry about are the idiots like who ever left a basket on the shore with 10 crappie in it left to die.
> 
> Can't wait till the ol'tangy and Alum go down so I dont have to drive 30 min to fish


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## streamstalker (Jul 8, 2005)

richard78 said:


> If i had 800 posts would you feel better about me taking my kids to the public park to fish. Sorry i live on the north side and did not know where this super secret honey hole was. Don't worry it won't be overfished on my account. The people you need to worry about are the idiots like who ever left a basket on the shore with 10 crappie in it left to die.
> 
> Can't wait till the ol'tangy and Alum go down so I dont have to drive 30 min to fish


I don't care how many posts you have or where you take your kids to catch bluegill, you won't see me there (or here) anyway. My point was that the OP's post was enough to get two people to stop being lurkers and join the site. There are probably a hundred other lurkers who did not need to sign up and join because they actually know how to use the internet: http://lmgtfy.com/?q=Darby+Creek+Metro+Park&l=1

It's one thing to post on how fish are biting at Hoover or Alum, but it has a lot more potential to have a negative effect if you post a pond or have a bridge in the background of where you were killing the smallies this weekend (as I once did ).


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## streamstalker (Jul 8, 2005)

BassBlaster said:


> Your right it is a public park. One that many wouldnt have known about untill they read this post. Us guys that have been around here awhile have seen the results of posting hotspots. I dont fish there so no sweat off my back. I'll keep my hotspots to myself!!
> 
> BTW, welcome to OGF!!!


BassBlaster, you quoted that entire post and are attributing the public park comment to me. That is MJP's comment. Hangloose did the same.


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## BassBlaster (Jun 8, 2006)

No, I know it was his post. I dont know what he did when he quoted you but thats why it was all weird.


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## dre (Aug 14, 2009)

After seeing sooo many of these posts go bad just because somebody posted a good report and others don't like it confuses me. The guy gave a good fishing report and had a good day with his family. Give him some props instead of whining. There are plenty of known and uknown places to fish in Central Ohio, just go to another place if you feel a post ruined your spot. Also, did someone on this site make official 'guidelines to posting a proper fishing report'? No, I didn't think so. If they did I imagine it would go a little something like "I caught a fish today. Can't telll you what species, what lake, what time of the day, what lure, but i caught a fish. They are biting!" Lame. Until then, keep on posting good reports guys, no shame in letting guys know how you did, sharing fishing stories, and feeling proud of yourself while helping out others. I'm sorry just had to let that out, not offending anyone personally by any means, just frustrated with fishing report complaints instead of praise.


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## BassBlaster (Jun 8, 2006)

dre said:


> After seeing sooo many of these posts go bad just because somebody posted a good report and others don't like it confuses me. The guy gave a good fishing report and had a good day with his family. Give him some props instead of whining. There are plenty of known and uknown places to fish in Central Ohio, just go to another place if you feel a post ruined your spot. Also, did someone on this site make official 'guidelines to posting a proper fishing report'? No, I didn't think so. If they did I imagine it would go a little something like "I caught a fish today. Can't telll you what species, what lake, what time of the day, what lure, but i caught a fish. They are biting!" Lame. Until then, keep on posting good reports guys, no shame in letting guys know how you did, sharing fishing stories, and feeling proud of yourself while helping out others. I'm sorry just had to let that out, not offending anyone personally by any means, just frustrated with fishing report complaints instead of praise.


Posting specifics about small park quarries and even rivers and creeks isnt the same as posting about large reservoirs. These places cant handle the pressure they recieve after these posts. As I said earlier, I could care less cause I dont fish there but I understand why people dont want these kinda posts. The same people posting specific spots will be whining in a couple weeks that thier spot has been ruined. Happens here every day. Prairie Oaks is a prime example.


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## skycruiser (Aug 7, 2009)

i'm not complaining about the OP's post. it was a good report and i'm sure very accurate from the experience i've had. i guess i'm more upset that it finally opened to the public after a long time of technically tresspassing to access it. i aint above it...it takes a long time to find a special spot like this and you show up one day and there's a gravel parking lot. it's a bummer dude. as an avid angler that doesn't have a boat, finding a huge lake that has massive shore access and hella fish is about as good as it gets. i'm passionate about catch and release, and now i see people leaving there with stringers loaded with fish. its a crappy deal mang...it was cool while it lasted


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## hang_loose (Apr 2, 2008)

Streamstalker, My apologies to you. Didn't mean to put any words in your mouth.


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## gogger (May 16, 2011)

After driving 3 hours up to lake erie sunday morning and getting a speeding ticket in the good ole delaware speed trap. It was one 20 years ago, can't believe I forgot about it. And then the boat not being able to go out due to the wind and waves. And then a 3 hour drive back. I decided to swing by here just to check it out. It is a neat place, and would be great to take the kids so they can catch some fish. Seems maybe it was recently stocked. Caught a lot of little large mouth bass. Anyways seems the serious fisherman probably would want to go some where else. It was kinda like shooting fish in a barrel. Still I had a great time, released everything. Caught about 5 largemouth no keepers. A nice crappie and a couple dozen bluegills. It did help relieve some stress.


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## ohflyfisher614 (Apr 2, 2010)

Thanks guys! I didn't know about this place until I saw this thread and actually stopped by for my first time this past weekend. Not much luck for me though, I was searching for bass but saw tons of people with buckets full of crappie. I probably won't be going back to fish the ponds cause I doubt there will be any fish left. Place definitely has other potential besides the ponds though.


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## BassBlaster (Jun 8, 2006)

ohflyfisher614 said:


> I was searching for bass but saw tons of people with buckets full of crappie. I probably won't be going back to fish the ponds cause I doubt there will be any fish left.


You all get it now?!


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## BottomBouncer (Jan 20, 2005)

If you see people with "buckets full" of fish. Report them. Normally there are rangers around the area. I know they have limits one what you can keep out there. 

I reported a guy that had dink lm's in a paper bag. Ranger told me he would wait until I pulled away and confront the guy. 

I'm pretty sure you aren't allowed to use minnows. So, if you see people with minnow buckets then report them too. If they can't follow a simple rule like not using minnows, then I'm sure they'll fill a stringer if they think no one is watching.


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## CrappieTacos (Jun 22, 2010)

Im almost 100% sure that you can use minnows there. This place was a phenomenal fishery before they opened it to the public. The meat hunters are there in full effect, however, so there will be no fish left by summer. Prairie Oaks South is what it'll be in short order


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## sbreech (Jun 6, 2010)

They'll be there...just wary. You just have to know how to catch 'em, like at Prairie Oaks or Osprey.


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## Bubbagon (Mar 8, 2010)

dre said:


> The guy gave a good fishing report and had a good day with his family. Give him some props instead of whining.
> 
> ...Also, did someone on this site make official 'guidelines to posting a proper fishing report'? No, I didn't think so. If they did I imagine it would go a little something like "I caught a fish today. Can't telll you what species, what lake, what time of the day, what lure, but i caught a fish. They are biting!" Lame.


Alright then. If you read his "fishing report", all it really was saying is that the crappie are hot at THIS particular place. I learned nothing more.
That's no report. There was no info on what lure, what depth, what structure, water temps, weather, etc...nothing other than an advertisement for a small pond.

I'd MUCH rather read that a guy fished for 8 hours, fish turned on late morning around heavy structure, shallow depths and hitting reaction baits. Once the clouds moved in fishing dropped off, etc...

I don't give a flying poop about WHERE, other than the general area of the state.
The only people who care about WHERE are the ones looking to exploit the "fishing report" for new spots.

If more people left out the "where" of their reports, I GUARANTEE you that you'd end up with way better information to help your own fishing.

BTW, to the original poster, it does sound like an awesome day with the family. I don't want to distract from a great time, and great time together.


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## dre (Aug 14, 2009)

You are right, his report was not a good example of what I meant, even though he had a great day! I just meant what kind of report are you supposed to give without someone having a negative comment about it? I guess all I what you said would make a good report and would be very helpful to everyone if every report went like that. Anyway, I am over this, just hope if any of your are out fishing anywhere you are having some luck in this crappy weather!


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## Bubbagon (Mar 8, 2010)

dre said:


> I just meant what kind of report are you supposed to give without someone having a negative comment about it?


One that doesn't include specific locations of small bodies of water or small streams that can't handle the extra fishing pressure.


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## Bubbagon (Mar 8, 2010)

I grabbed a few reports that I gave last year. Here's how I give a fishing report: Something that will help people fish better, without inviting them all to my favorite spots.

http://www.ohiogamefishing.com/community/showthread.php?t=153262
http://www.ohiogamefishing.com/community/showthread.php?t=150596
http://www.ohiogamefishing.com/community/showthread.php?t=152459
http://www.ohiogamefishing.com/community/showthread.php?t=145566


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## dre (Aug 14, 2009)

Now those are good reports. I could see where that could help anyone river/creek fishing, without giving away a spot. Man after seeing those reports, when are the local flows going to be ready for smallies, this rain is killin me!


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## Bonecrusher (Aug 7, 2010)

streamstalker said:


> There are probably a hundred other lurkers who did not need to sign up and join because they actually know how to use the internet: http://lmgtfy.com/?q=Darby+Creek+Metro+Park&l=1


LMGTFY the keyboard cannon! Well played! 

I have to agree with a few of the senior members on here. Sorry you got berated so quick and blatantly but these guys are offering advice if you can read it that way, not neccessarily beating you up.


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