# Alum vs. Hoover: Smallmouth & Largemouth populations



## RiparianRanger

Given the similarities of Hoover Reservoir and Alum Creek Lake I have often wondered why they are not more alike in the primary populations of game fish that can be found there. Perhaps nowhere is the difference between the two lakes more apparent than when comparing the dominant species of black bass found in each lake. Anyone that has fished Alum with regularity knows it is a quality smallmouth fishery. While smallmouth, and good sized ones at that, are found in Hoover, it has a reputation as more of a largemouth lake. This seems odd at first glance since the two lakes are quite similar. Separated by three miles and connected via pipeline, though seldom opened for an extended period of time, both lakes are upland reservoirs (having characteristics of both ‘plateau impoundments’ and ‘hill-land impoundments’ as per definitions found in In-Fisherman) created by the damming of area creeks. They each are relatively young as far as lakes go – Hoover completed in 1955 and Alum around 1974. Similarities don’t stop there. Both lakes have an upper, middle, and lower section partitioned by causeways with depth increasing to an approximate maximum of 50’+ at full pool in their southern sections. Meandering creek channels, culverts, old roadbeds, points and ledges are plentiful in both, though one could argue the incidences of these structural features are more plentiful in Alum while Hoover’s may be larger (i.e. more coves vs. larger coves). 

This is not to say these sister lakes are twins. For starters, differences lie in regulations. City of Columbus law limits Hoover to a 9.9 hp and 10 mph limit whereas Alum is unlimited. Regulations certainly have an impact on the type and number of anglers drawn to each respective lake. The rules governing each lake also determine the sorts of recreational activities undertaken on each body of water. Stocking is another area where the lakes diverge. While both see stockings of saugeye, Alum is one of a few lakes that receive regular stockings of muskellunge. Hoover on the other hand has recently been a test case for a blue catfish stocking program that is gaining accolades. Seasonal depth fluctuation is another area where the lakes are dissimilar. Hoover, serving as the primary drinking water source for half the city’s population, may see its water level decrease by a dozen feet or more from spring to autumn in a given year. Alum does not fluctuate nearly to such degree. Clarity is yet another differentiating feature of the neighboring lakes. Hoover is murky year round with visibility rarely exceeding a couple of feet. On the other hand, it is not unheard of for anglers to see down six feet or more on Alum. 

Each lake developed its own reputation via word of mouth and individual angler experience. In the last three years of fishing these two reservoirs I can count on one hand the number of smallmouth I’ve personally netted from Hoover. And while I don’t fish Alum nearly to the extent of Hoover I’m struggling to think the last time I caught a largemouth over 12 inches. Some of this could be self selection bias. When I go to Alum I’m usually trying for smallmouth and that means targeting habitat where smallmouth are often found (i.e. deeper ledges and points), whereas on Hoover I’m fishing for anything that’ll bite or whatever shows up on the graph regardless of species of bass. Dialing the lens out further and looking at a small sample of tournament data supports the profile these lakes have earned – Alum being a smallmouth lake and Hoover more of a largemouth lake, although the latter is hardly a classic bass lake of the southern lowland variety – where Alum's bags are often loaded with hefty brown bass and Hoover tournaments dominated by green bass. Perhaps the closest thing to a quantitative analysis is Fish Ohio award data, albeit the self-reporting feature of this program introduces sampling error, a multi-year timeline should prove somewhat instructive. 

Attached below are five years of Fish Ohio data for smallmouth and largemouth bass reported for Hoover Reservoir and Alum Creek Lake. The data show more Fish Ohio specimens are reported for both largemouth and smallmouth at Alum Creek though this may have more to do with the comparatively greater angling pressure on that lake than its limited-horsepower cousin. When looking at the difference in the ratios of the two species is where the data corroborates the reputation each lake has earned. From 2013-17 there were 65 FO smallmouth bass reported at Alum compared to 46 FO largemouth bass over the same span for a ratio of 1.4:1. At Hoover the relationship is inverse. Hoover anglers reported 0.6 smallmouth for every largemouth, or 1.6 largemouth for every FO smallmouth (36 LMB vs. 23 SMB) for the five years ending 2017. Comparing the lakes to each other, Alum’s 46 LMB to Hoover’s 36 LMB yields a ratio of 1.3:1, whereas Alum claims 65 SMB to Hoover’s 23, for a ratio of 2.8:1. Clearly the data support Alum’s reputation as a superior smallmouth lake compared to neighboring Hoover Reservoir. 

So the question for the OGF community is what makes this so? Why are largemouth bass the more prevalent species in Hoover and smallmouth bass more common in Alum? It’d be great if those OGF members with fisheries experience could weigh in on this question.


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## Earthworms

Probably has something to do with something.


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## Govbarney

That extra 20 years in age might have more of an impact than you would think. The extra 20 years of silt build up in Hoover has created a more muddied murky environment more conducive to Largemouth, where as Alum is has less silt built up and is still relatively rocky with a exposed clay bottom, hence the generally clearer water more conducive to Smallmouth. Give it another 20-30 years and maybe Alum starts looking more like Hoover. (if the fish Ohio data goes back 20-30 years, check to see if numbers are more similar)


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## RiparianRanger

Govbarney said:


> That extra 20 years in age might have more of an impact than you would think. The extra 20 years of silt build up in Hoover has created a more muddied murky environment more conducive to Largemouth, where as Alum is has less silt built up and is still relatively rocky with a exposed clay bottom, hence the generally clearer water more conducive to Smallmouth. Give it another 20-30 years and maybe Alum starts looking more like Hoover. (if the fish Ohio data goes back 20-30 years, check to see if numbers are more similar)


Is it the siltation or the zebra mussels that primarily contributes to the clarity? (Maybe someone more knowledgeable than me can chime in if zebra muscles are in Alum. I’ve just heard others say so since there’s likely boaters hitting Alum after going to Erie due to no HP restrictions). 

But bottom line, Barney, your thesis is that the primary factor behind the population differences is water clarity, correct?


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## percidaeben

When there were weed beds in Alum, it was a great largemouth/bream fisherie. The smallmouth have really only gotten started to me, in the last 6 years or so.


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## Govbarney

My "thesis" would be differences in substrate due to age of reservoir (rocky vs silt/muddy).

Also I don't remember ever seeing a zebra mussel in Alum, and when I ice fish it I have a aquascope camera so I can see the bottom. Not saying they are not there, but if they are its not to the scope they are in Erie.


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## gumbygold

It's all the giant catfish in hoover eating the baby smallmouth. Just like the muskies in Alum


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## Saugeyefisher

Govbarney said:


> My "thesis" would be differences in substrate due to age of reservoir (rocky vs silt/muddy).
> 
> Also I don't remember ever seeing a zebra mussel in Alum, and when I ice fish it I have a aquascope camera so I can see the bottom. Not saying they are not there, but if they are its not to the scope they are in Erie.


Alum is LOADED with zebra mussel... but there in hoover to just dont seam to be as many. 
But i agree i dont think the mussels have anything to to with it either.... the further north you get on alum the less small mouth u see. 
I just think the middle and south sections of alum have more hard bottomed areas. And better spawning areas for smallies then all of hoover and north of 36/37 on alum. 
For as long as i have been fishing alum and hoover [20 yrs] alum has always veen tbe better smallie lake. And if hoover is a better large-mouth lake its not buy a lot.


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## percidaeben

Saugeyefisher said:


> Alum is LOADED with zebra mussel... but there in hoover to just dont seam to be as many.
> But i agree i dont think the mussels have anything to to with it either.... the further north you get on alum the less small mouth u see.
> I just think the middle and south sections of alum have more hard bottomed areas. And better spawning areas for smallies then all of hoover and north of 36/37 on alum.
> For as long as i have been fishing alum and hoover [20 yrs] alum has always veen tbe better smallie lake. And if hoover is a better large-mouth lake its not buy a lot.


I totally agree with this for sure but...... Ha! Can not believe how incredible the smallmouth fishing has become over the last 10yrs?


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## Saugeyefisher

percidaeben said:


> I totally agree with this for sure but...... Ha! Can not believe how incredible the smallmouth fishing has become over the last 10yrs?


It has been great! But if you talk to a lot of bass guys that fish alum,and they will tell you its no where near what it was 10+ years ago. For both numbers and size. I have never specifically targeted bass at alum so dont really know. 
For me,just a guy out there fishing for bites. The current smallmouth population seams amazing!!! 
So yes i agree with that. But talk to some other alum old tymers an they will say its just now getting right again compared to years past....


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## Gottagofishn

Old timer here... I started fishing Alum as soon as it was impounded. My PB smallie is from Alum. It was caught back when the weed beds flourished, in IMHO it's always been good for smallies. And then.... my PB LM also comes from Alum. It was also caught way back. 
The one thing there is more of now than there was then is
PEOPLE!

When they impounded Alum they did make a stab at making it more fish friendly. Don't know if that has anything to do with it or not.


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## Saugeyefisher

Lol its funny. Alum the reservoir =better smallie fishing then hoover.
Alum creek,the actual creek worst smallie stream then big walnut (at least in my experience) ...

Gotta, you know its a good smallie fishery when so many people,me included,that fish erie/alum/st.clair. but are pb smallies are from alum.....


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## jray

I would say wait 3 years and see. Fisheries diversity is ever changing and I think the largemouth in alum are coming on strong. Saturday during a tournament we boated well over 50 largemouth in the 10-12 inch range. I think the weed beds we’ve seen the last couple years have skyrocketed survival rates. It also helps that alum is one of the best lakes around in runoff acres to surface area which helps with silt. Also the way it is long and has 3 pools helps the water to progressively silt out as it moves south. I also believe the largemouth north of 36 is an untapped resource that very few including myself have taken the time to figure out. I’m far from a good bass fisherman but that lake just makes my head spin with all of the options of where and how to catch fish. If I had to guess though I would say fishing pressure will begin to impact smallmouth soon and the largemouth guys will probably benefit.


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## Marshall

Hoover has more water drawn down every year. Its not uncommon for hoover to be 10 to 15 feet down from summer pool each fall. Exposed shorelines and wind muddy up the water. All those large draw downs kills off a lot of the zebra mussels. 

15 years ago alum was full of weedbeds and zebra mussles. They did some ramp improvements and had a few large drawdowns and you saw the weed beds go away along with the zebra mussel population. Now the water has been more stable and weed beds are returning and zebra mussels are getting thick again. The bass fishery is also doing much better with more weeds and more zebra mussels. 
Around 5 to 7 years ago the lake was insanely full of musky. I believe the musky population is down now and you see other species flourishing. We were catching musky on all the good smallmouth spots and even on shallow wood in the cooler months like crazy. It was not uncommon to catch 5 musky over 38 inches or more a day while fishing for bass. No large lures were needed. Now we are catching smallmouth and not as many musky on the points. I dont think the population of bass declined as much as they were displaced by the musky. What i found was that the bass were suspending a lot over deep water almost like white bass. Thats my take on it.


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## ebay_bob

Totally agree with Marshall's assessment of the musky population and the impact on open water fish like smallmouth. Haven't read all the posts in detail, but there are some fundamental differences in the structure between the two lakes. Hoover is loaded with willow trees and rocky bottom cover. In comparison, Alum has a small number of spots with rock on them and everyone knows where they are. In addition, there isn't near the amount of wood cover along the shallower water for the green fish and the cover that is there gets pounded. Both great fisheries in their own ways.


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## bman

The weeds in Alum are really boosting the largemouth population. Far more 10-12” fish last year. I also think the smallies still suspend most of the summer and that makes them harder to consistently catch. I’ve always caught more largemouth on Hoover but have had some days where I caught more than just a couple brown bass and some of good quality.


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## Joyo

More fishing pressure and advanced electronics


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## percidaeben

Cool thread.


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## bman

I would say “more fishing pressure” applies more to largemouth than smallies. Green bass are just more easily located for the bank beaters.


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## striperfreak

My thoughts are water clarity difference and much more abundant cover for largemouth at hoover. Hoover has acres and acres of flooded bushes and trees in depths of 2-20 feet.


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## RiparianRanger

jray said:


> I would say wait 3 years and see. Fisheries diversity is ever changing and I think the largemouth in alum are coming on strong. Saturday during a tournament *we boated well over 50 largemouth in the 10-12 inch range.* .


One boat or for the entire tournament field?


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## RiparianRanger

Saugeyefisher said:


> ... the further north you get on alum the less small mouth u see.
> I just think the middle and south sections of alum have more hard bottomed areas. And better spawning areas for smallies then all of hoover and north of 36/37 on alum.


Never ventured up that far north. Is it good green bass habitat (weeds or shoreline cover)?


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## Saugeyefisher

RiparianRanger said:


> Never ventured up that far north. Is it good green bass habitat (weeds or shoreline cover)?


I dont fish up there to often,but id guess theres more weeds south with the clearer water. But there is shoreline cover for days up there...


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## chriscreek

i will second that there is a nice population of 10 to 12 inch largemouth in alum this year


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## RiparianRanger

After this latest multi-day rain spell Hoover pool is up two feet in two days. Discharge at the spillway has been ramped up accordingly from < 100 CFS to nearly 1,700. Presumably this would result in increased current in the main lake. Anyone fish the lake differently when it’s up and being drawn down? If so, how?


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## Bleeding Minnow

RiparianRanger said:


> After this latest multi-day rain spell Hoover pool is up two feet in two days. Discharge at the spillway has been ramped up accordingly from < 100 CFS to nearly 1,700. Presumably this would result in increased current in the main lake. Anyone fish the lake differently when it’s up and being drawn down? If so, how?


For me when the water 1st comes up I go shallow due to all the fresh nutrients in the water. When the water is actively dropping though, I usually look towards the 1st break where those shallow fish can feel a little more secure. Or will move off the bank and fish deeper as those fish don’t seem to be as affected by dropping water.


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## RiparianRanger

I don't fish Alum as much as I would like (pleasure boat traffic ruins it for me) but we were able to make it out after dark this week to take advantage of a clear moonlit sky. Found a few around well known structure in middle pool. That lake has an unbelievable amount of structure in the form of points, ledges, humps, and creek channels. 

Surface temps 81. Water stained more than usual for the lake given the recent rain. Also, it looked like they drew it down a few feet below normal pool. Found ourselves in 5' of water when the graph said it should have been 10' and it looked like there was a visible water line on the rip rap. Best of the bunch was the muscular 16 incher below caught crashing cranks.


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## float4fish

__ https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=1853443821373254



Interesting


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## RiparianRanger

float4fish said:


> Interesting


So zebra mussel = clearer water = better for smallmouth. Good find. Thanks 

PS: was just watching Al’s show the other day. That dude is a wealth of information when it comes to angling.


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## RiparianRanger

Curious how the smallmouthing has been at either Hoover or Alum so far this year. Anyone have any notable catches or hear/see anything that suggests it's a good or bad year at either lake for bronzebacks?


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## crittergitter

From the reports that I am seeing, the smallmouth bass fishing at Alum has been on FIRE!!! I have no first hand knowledge though as I haven't fished Alum much this year and haven't bass fished much at all.


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## bman

I’ve been on Alum about 7 times so far this season. I never found big numbers of smallies but was generally able to catch 5-10 each outing but never more than a couple per spot. And most were 12-15”era with only an occasional bigger one. The largemouth on the other hand...let’s just say those 2018 posts correctly predicted a bright future for the green bass population on Alum. It’s fishing great since last year really. 

All of my usual spring smallie spots were pounded over and over by me and just about everyone else fishing during the covid pause, lol. Anecdotally looking at tourney results, I can’t say I saw nearly as many guys putting 15lbs of smallies in the boat for a tourney on Alum this year. I’ll also freely admit that I am not a great spawn fishermen. I have little confidence dinking around with small plastics in stained water, which is often the clarity on Alum in the spring. I’m sure I’m missing the boat a little on some days by not dropshotting, tubing and shaky heading as much as I probably should. 


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## bman

I’ll also say that there have been several outings I’ve had over the past 4 months where I could have kept my best five bass in the livewell, dragged them around all day in spite of not being in a tourney, taken a photo of me holding those five bass and posted on OGF with the title “Smallies on Fire at Alum” and it would have garnered all sorts of attention. But no one would really know if I was out there all day and caught just those five or those five were the best I caught out of 20 in a half day of fishing. Big difference between those two experiences IMO. But there are definitely guys that kick butt at Alum pretty regularly for brown fish. I’m really not one of them. I’m inconsistent at best for the browns in Alum. 

Photo of my biggest Alum smallie this year but haven’t caught many others that size so far in 2020. 


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## Pinchweed1

The lake has been fishing really well for both green and brown fish in my opinion. This past Sunday saw an 18lb bag at a tournament I fished(4 green 1 brown).

The green fish tend to be much more reliable day in day out for me. However, in a tournament, I feel a guy can win on brown fish in 5 casts simply by pulling up on the right point at the right time. I've done it before fun fishing 15/16lbs in literally 10 mins on a spot I fished without a bite multiple times throughout the day. After that 10 mins it was like a ghost town. At Alum in general smallmouth after the spawn for me tend to be hard to pattern and I'm curious as to others' experiences. 

They don't seem to hold on any one piece of structure for more than 15-30mins at a time then they are gone to who knows where, most likely suspending over deep water like others have brought up.


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## sixtyminutes

Lots of good information in this discussion. The smallie fishing at Alum is better than it is at Hoover. They both grow big bass. I think the difference is in cover and structure. The clearer water at Alum favors smallies as they are sight feeders. Not that they can't find food in muddy water but the clear water is a characteristic the best smallmouth lakes in the country. Smallmouth are just more successful in clear water than they are in muddy water. Lg mouth are more successful in the off color water. The stained water and water level changes limit weed growth and Zebra Mussels in Hoover. Alum has the edge in rocky points and stumps on main lake structure. Hoover has some areas like that but they are fewer in number and they are often deeper than the shad in certain seasons. As many have mentioned, weeds are coming back at Alum and that will help the green fish. The amazing electronics we have these days allows us to find those sweet boulder piles and stumps so that we can put our baits right where they like to live. Perhaps we are catching more smallmouth now because we are fishing those deeper spots rather than just beating the banks? With the HP limit at Hoover you can't cover water as efficiently as at Alum. 20lb bags are caught in many tournaments, so they are both pretty good for an OH lake. Alum is better for brownies and Hoover is better for ditch pickles.


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## Snookhunter52

You can catch good numbers of largemouth in alum if you know where to look. There's a large flat in the south pool that has soft sand. This flat is full of largemouth in spring mostly because it has weeds and sediment soft enough to spawn. That area to my knowledge is the only spawning habitat for largemouth except the softer sediment around the feeder creeks.

The main reason for the difference is the substrate composition. Hoover is full of sand and mud flats that are great for largemouth spawning habitat. There is very little spawning habitat for smallmouth except for the rip rap along the dam. Alum's substrate is very different. It mostly consists of shale flakes that don't provide good spawning habitat for largemouth but suits smallmouth just fine. You notice the same thing in rivers. Very rarely you'll catch largemouth in the same area as smallmouth. This is mostly because smallmouth prefer habitat with gravel sized substrate whereas you'll mostly catch plenty of largemouth where the river has been choked with silt.


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## fishslim

Water clarity,weedbeds,Zebra mussels all on the up tick again at Alum.last few years really seen the smallies and largemouth population really take hold. 

Hoover largemouth should be staple bass found there now. Water clarity loads of shore cover and largemouth more adaptable to the large decreases an increases of water from Hoover. 

Years back and I am 40 years into fishing it the Smallmouth were very prevalent in Hoover. But as the population of people and housing continued to grow there thru the years. The smallies population slowly declined again due to fluctuations in water and silt built up and clarity.

Also as to size of the bass,I feel is really on the rise. As many who know me know I fish alot at night. The amount of big 19 to 23" largemouth I have caught and hooked in the last 2 seasons is unreal. The 12 to 17" even more so. The last 3 weeks have been unreal day and night fishing for bass.I am saugeye fishing and catching them as well making for fun nights.

Let's say this enjoy the fishing because it has been fantastic. Here is a pic of a 22"largemouth I got on a redeye trap about 2 in morning few mornings back. Also a 20" and a 18" smallmouth on a swimbait that night. 

Future looks strong at Alum but the fear of losing weeds again has to be in the back of fishermans minds at Alum. Something soon has to be done about Chesire boat ramp. A major draw down will hurt the lake again.


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## odell daniel

Saugeyefisher said:


> Lol its funny. Alum the reservoir =better smallie fishing then hoover.
> Alum creek,the actual creek worst smallie stream then big walnut (at least in my experience) ...
> 
> Gotta, you know its a good smallie fishery when so many people,me included,that fish erie/alum/st.clair. but are pb smallies are from alum.....


7.2 and 7.9 lb smallies in october at Erie......


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## sixtyminutes

Whoo. Breaking the 7lb mark with Smallmouth is rare. Congrats man. Those are special fish.
I don't often weigh fish or even photograph them. Every once in a while I snap a pic so that guy that posts " pictures or it did not happen" on this site will be quiet. Anyway, I am not sure, but I think Hoover may have produced my PB LM and SM. Here is a fat one from this spring at Hoover. The photo is for " that guy". Alum and Hoover are not in the same league with the Great Lakes but we are blessed that Alum and Hoover hold some real respectable bass. You know if you ever go LM fishing in the harbors at Lake Erie that it kind of ruins fishing here in in-land OH. The SM fishing out in the main lake is the same. The numbers and average quality
is something special.


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## Saugeyefisher

odell daniel said:


> 7.2 and 7.9 lb smallies in october at Erie......


Ya when I made the comment you quoted I was an am well aware of the pigs that lake Erie has.haha an so are you those are big fish! I was just saying for alot of people that fish both alum an Erie to have there pb from alum is saying alot


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## RiparianRanger

Speaking of fish species mix, how has the walleye stocking program been doing at Hoover?


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## Snookhunter52

Also curious about this. This is year 2 of the 3 year stocking program. The fish stocked in 2019 should be big enough to bring home by now.


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## Gottagofishn

They’re still stocking them. Give ODNR a call. They are very free with their info and love to talk.


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