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03-01-2005, 10:22 PM
Article published Sunday, February 27, 2005
First walleye, onset of cabin fever hit about same time
It's close, river anglers, it's close. But not quite yet.
If the foregoing means nothing to you, then you haven't been working up a case of extreme cabin fever while awaiting the popular spring walleye runs up the Maumee and Sandusky rivers.
The translation of the seemingly vague introductory message above is that the river flows have been too high and too cold for the annual spawning runs to start, even though, as usual, a few anglers already are down streamside, wishin' if not fishin'.
Fishing the runs is the annual rite of spring for hundreds, if not thousands of anglers hereabouts and across much of the Midwest and beyond. If you don't believe that, just scan the licenses plates in the parking lots at popular public access sites at Maumee-Perrysburg during the peak of the runs. Don't be surprised if your count exceeds 20 states.
Anyone who happens to take a walleye now likely is catching a resident fish. Some of them are present year-round.
Jan Lowry, who with her husband, Gary, runs Maumee Valley Bait and Tackle, agreed that little activity is under way, what with runoff still high and muddy and water temperatures in the low 30s. Throughout the fishing season the Lowrys provide updates and tips on their shop Web site, maumeetackle.net.
A check of the Maumee Friday by the shop showed the water level was at 583 feet above sea level, as measured by the gauge on the I-475 bridge. That is about four feet above the normal spring level of 579 feet. Water temperature was 34 degrees and clarity was just four inches.
Walleye do not spawn until the waters are between 40 and 50 degrees, though some "scouts" start heading upstream earlier.
But the Lowrys said they have seen a seven-pound steelhead trout, taken below Grand Rapids Dam, at their shop, and a few anglers have been taking buffalo carp at the mouth of North Turkeyfoot Creek above the dam.
Northern pike, early spawners that usually become active right after ice-out, should be chasing large creek chubs or similar baits, fished under large bobbers, any day now, according to Larry Goedde, fish management supervisor for Ohio Wildlife District 2.
In regard to walleye, he said that several factors combine to trigger the main runs in the Maumee and Sandusky rivers, the most important of which is called photoperiod, or simply, increasing daylight. Next important is water temperature, then water flow. Walleye will run in periods of high flow, though stream access then limits fishing access. Low flows generally delay or retard runs.
The fisheries manager noted that it may be mid-March, or possibly a little sooner, before fair numbers of river-runners start upstream from staging areas in Maumee and Sandusky bays.
Goedde advised anglers not to expect many of the super-abundant 2003 fish to be in the run, inasmuch as it takes female walleyes three years to mature enough to spawn. Generally males also begin to spawn at age three, though a few two-year-olds may make the run up from Lake Erie.
The 2005 runs should include good numbers of 1999 walleye, ranging from 20 to 24 inches, and 2001 walleye, ranging from 17 to 20 inches. Some trophy-size fish from strong hatches in the late 1980s and 1990s will provide Fish Ohio-award action at 28 inches-plus.
After March 8, the Ohio Division of Wildlife will provide a toll-free fishing hotline, 1-888-HOOKFISH, for updates on action. Detailed questions on the fishery can be directed to Wildlife District 2 headquarters in Findlay, 419-424-5000.
----------
Tuesday is an important day for Ohio fishermen in general and river-run fans as well. New Ohio fishing licenses will be required. They are available at vendors around the state, or on-line at www.ohiodnr.com.
Also, special seasonal walleye fishing regulations drop into place Tuesday and remain in effect through the end of April. These include a daily creel limit of just three walleye, a ban on use of treble hooks in the Maumee and Sandusky rivers and in Maumee and Sandusky bays as well.
Fishing in the special regulations zones on the rivers also is limited to sunrise to sunset in March and April. Details on the zones - at Fremont on the Sandusky River, and from Maumee-Perrysburg to Waterville and at Grand Rapids on the Maumee - are available at the above wildlife Web site. Or check the digest of Ohio fishing regulations, available wherever licenses are sold.
Note that the 15-inch minimum walleye keeper length remains in effect year-round.
Some strong advice: Pick up after yourself. Coils of spent monofilament line left as litter are a deadly, entangling threat to wildlife, from small mammals to waterfowl and other birds.
Empty food and beverage containers, tackle packaging, and the like all signal "slob" to any eyes that see them. Litter brands all fishermen as careless pigs, which some anglers are.
Other anglers, however, are spearheading personal campaigns to show ethical stream stewardship. They carry small plastic grocery bags or trash bags afield with them, and on the way back to the truck after fishing they pick up after the careless ones.
"Law enforcement is going to be hitting it hard this year," warned Terry Sunderhaus, law enforcement supervisor for Wildlife District 2, about littering. A first offense for stream littering carries a maximum fine of $500 and 60 days jail. A second offense threatens a $1,000 fine and six months.
On a safety note, know that Ohio Division of Watercraft officers will be conducting courtesy safety inspections of boats at popular launch sites during the runs. They also will be reminding anglers to wear life jackets - the number one protection against drowning.
Remember, too, that floatcoats and similar flotation gear are an excellent idea for wading anglers.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Steve Pollick is The Blade's outdoor writer
» E-mail him at spollick@theblade.com
» Read more Steve Pollick columns at www.toledoblade.com/pollick
http://www.toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050227/COLUMNIST22/502270349
First walleye, onset of cabin fever hit about same time
It's close, river anglers, it's close. But not quite yet.
If the foregoing means nothing to you, then you haven't been working up a case of extreme cabin fever while awaiting the popular spring walleye runs up the Maumee and Sandusky rivers.
The translation of the seemingly vague introductory message above is that the river flows have been too high and too cold for the annual spawning runs to start, even though, as usual, a few anglers already are down streamside, wishin' if not fishin'.
Fishing the runs is the annual rite of spring for hundreds, if not thousands of anglers hereabouts and across much of the Midwest and beyond. If you don't believe that, just scan the licenses plates in the parking lots at popular public access sites at Maumee-Perrysburg during the peak of the runs. Don't be surprised if your count exceeds 20 states.
Anyone who happens to take a walleye now likely is catching a resident fish. Some of them are present year-round.
Jan Lowry, who with her husband, Gary, runs Maumee Valley Bait and Tackle, agreed that little activity is under way, what with runoff still high and muddy and water temperatures in the low 30s. Throughout the fishing season the Lowrys provide updates and tips on their shop Web site, maumeetackle.net.
A check of the Maumee Friday by the shop showed the water level was at 583 feet above sea level, as measured by the gauge on the I-475 bridge. That is about four feet above the normal spring level of 579 feet. Water temperature was 34 degrees and clarity was just four inches.
Walleye do not spawn until the waters are between 40 and 50 degrees, though some "scouts" start heading upstream earlier.
But the Lowrys said they have seen a seven-pound steelhead trout, taken below Grand Rapids Dam, at their shop, and a few anglers have been taking buffalo carp at the mouth of North Turkeyfoot Creek above the dam.
Northern pike, early spawners that usually become active right after ice-out, should be chasing large creek chubs or similar baits, fished under large bobbers, any day now, according to Larry Goedde, fish management supervisor for Ohio Wildlife District 2.
In regard to walleye, he said that several factors combine to trigger the main runs in the Maumee and Sandusky rivers, the most important of which is called photoperiod, or simply, increasing daylight. Next important is water temperature, then water flow. Walleye will run in periods of high flow, though stream access then limits fishing access. Low flows generally delay or retard runs.
The fisheries manager noted that it may be mid-March, or possibly a little sooner, before fair numbers of river-runners start upstream from staging areas in Maumee and Sandusky bays.
Goedde advised anglers not to expect many of the super-abundant 2003 fish to be in the run, inasmuch as it takes female walleyes three years to mature enough to spawn. Generally males also begin to spawn at age three, though a few two-year-olds may make the run up from Lake Erie.
The 2005 runs should include good numbers of 1999 walleye, ranging from 20 to 24 inches, and 2001 walleye, ranging from 17 to 20 inches. Some trophy-size fish from strong hatches in the late 1980s and 1990s will provide Fish Ohio-award action at 28 inches-plus.
After March 8, the Ohio Division of Wildlife will provide a toll-free fishing hotline, 1-888-HOOKFISH, for updates on action. Detailed questions on the fishery can be directed to Wildlife District 2 headquarters in Findlay, 419-424-5000.
----------
Tuesday is an important day for Ohio fishermen in general and river-run fans as well. New Ohio fishing licenses will be required. They are available at vendors around the state, or on-line at www.ohiodnr.com.
Also, special seasonal walleye fishing regulations drop into place Tuesday and remain in effect through the end of April. These include a daily creel limit of just three walleye, a ban on use of treble hooks in the Maumee and Sandusky rivers and in Maumee and Sandusky bays as well.
Fishing in the special regulations zones on the rivers also is limited to sunrise to sunset in March and April. Details on the zones - at Fremont on the Sandusky River, and from Maumee-Perrysburg to Waterville and at Grand Rapids on the Maumee - are available at the above wildlife Web site. Or check the digest of Ohio fishing regulations, available wherever licenses are sold.
Note that the 15-inch minimum walleye keeper length remains in effect year-round.
Some strong advice: Pick up after yourself. Coils of spent monofilament line left as litter are a deadly, entangling threat to wildlife, from small mammals to waterfowl and other birds.
Empty food and beverage containers, tackle packaging, and the like all signal "slob" to any eyes that see them. Litter brands all fishermen as careless pigs, which some anglers are.
Other anglers, however, are spearheading personal campaigns to show ethical stream stewardship. They carry small plastic grocery bags or trash bags afield with them, and on the way back to the truck after fishing they pick up after the careless ones.
"Law enforcement is going to be hitting it hard this year," warned Terry Sunderhaus, law enforcement supervisor for Wildlife District 2, about littering. A first offense for stream littering carries a maximum fine of $500 and 60 days jail. A second offense threatens a $1,000 fine and six months.
On a safety note, know that Ohio Division of Watercraft officers will be conducting courtesy safety inspections of boats at popular launch sites during the runs. They also will be reminding anglers to wear life jackets - the number one protection against drowning.
Remember, too, that floatcoats and similar flotation gear are an excellent idea for wading anglers.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Steve Pollick is The Blade's outdoor writer
» E-mail him at spollick@theblade.com
» Read more Steve Pollick columns at www.toledoblade.com/pollick
http://www.toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050227/COLUMNIST22/502270349