Wednesday, February 22, 2012

Photo of The Week



Congratulations to Steve Waterwash of Concord, OH.  His photo of this Brown Trout was selected for the Photo of the Week.

Walleye Divers



For all you walleye fisherman out there that troll Lake Erie....  Here are some new deep divers from company right here in Ohio.  Dan Heyne from Coldwater, Ohio, is an avid fisherman that started Big Fish Tuff Tackle Company.  Dan launched his new product, the Tru-Trip 50 Deep Diver.  




Thursday, February 16, 2012

Pymatuning Walleye 2012

Photo by Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission

The 2011 DNR netting surveys showed the walleyes had bounced back to healthy population levels, and those stocked in 2009 were near or over the 15-inch legal size.  Biologists in both Ohio and PA  predict outstanding walleye fishing at Pymatuning in 2012.

Wednesday, February 15, 2012

OFS Gear


Support the site with a OFS Lake Erie Grand Slam T-Shirt.

Sizes
 

Musky Country



Musky Country: Zero2Hero is a visually stunning introduction into what it takes to go after the toughest fish in freshwater - the mighty musky - with a fly rod.   Zero to Hero will transport you into the heart of the beast and along the journey shows you an angling frontier right in the heartland - Nothern Wisconsin.












Tuesday, February 14, 2012

New State Record Steelhead



The new state record Steelhead was caught off Avon Point in Lake Erie.  The fish was measured and weighed at Erie Outfitters weighing in at over 21 pounds.  The fish was caught on Reel Thrill Fishing Charters.  The fish measured in at 38 inches and weighed 21.3 pounds.  Great catch....

Fly Fishing Film Tour



The Fly Fishing Film Tour will be making two stops in Ohio this year.  The first stop will be in Columbus on Thursday, March 8, 2012 at the Gateway Film Center located at 1550 N. High Street
Columbus, OH 43201. 
The doors will open at 6:00 with the show starting at 7:00.


The second Stop will be in Cleveland Heights on Tuesday, March 20, 2012 at the Cedar Lee Theatre located at 2163 Lee Road Cleveland Heights, OH 44118.  Doors will open at 6:30 with the show starting at 7:00.
 

Monday, February 13, 2012

State Records


HOOK AND LINE DIVISION
Type
Pounds
Length
Location
Name
Date
Bass, Hybrid Striped
17.68
31"
Deer Creek Lake
Rosemary Shaver, Logan
May 4, 2001
Bass, Largemouth
13.13
25 1/16"
Farm Pond
Roy Landsberger, Kensington
May 26, 1976
Bass, Rock
1.97
14 3/4"
Deer Creek near London
George A Keller, Dayton
Sept 3, 1932
Bass, Smallmouth
9.5
23 1/2
Lake Erie
Randy Van Dam, Kalamazoo, Mich.
June 16, 1993
Bass, Spotted
5.25
21"
Lake White
Roger Trainer, Waverly
May 2, 1976
Bass, Striped
37.10
41 1/4"
West Branch Reservoir
Mark Chuifo, Ravenna
July 2, 1993
Bass, White
4
21"
Gravel pit
Ira Sizemore, Cincinnati
July 1, 1983
Bluegill
3.28
12 3/4"
Salt Fork Reservoir
Willis D. Nicholes, Quaker City
April 28, 1990
Bowfin
11.69
33 1/4"
Nettle Lake
Christopher A. Boling, Montpelier
May 9, 1987
Bullhead
4.25
18 1/2"
Farm Pond
Hugh Lawrence Jr., Keene
May 20, 1986
Burbot
17.33
36"
Lake Erie
Bud Clute, Chardon
Dec.20, 1999
Carp
50
40"
Paint Creek
Judson Holton, Chillicothe
May 24, 1967
Catfish, Blue
96
54 1/2"
Ohio River
Chris Rolph,
Williamsburg
June 11, 2009
Catfish, Channel
37.65
41 1/2"
LaDue Reservoir
Gus J. Gronowski, Parma
Aug. 15, 1992
Catfish Shovel/Flathead
76.5
58 5/8"
Clendening Lake
Richard Affolter, New Philadelphia
July 28, 1979
Crappie, Black
4.5
18 1/8"
Private Lake
Ronald Stone, Wooster
May 24,1981
Crappie, White
3.90
18 1/2"
Private Pond
Kyle Rock, Zanesville
April 25, 1995
Drum, Freshwater (Sheepshead)
23.5
37 1/8"
Sandusky River
James S. Williams, Fremont
July 21, 2001
Gar, Longnose
25
49"
Ohio River
Flora Irvin, Cincinnati
Aug 31, 1966
Muskellunge
55.13
50 1/4"
Piedmont Lake
Joe D. Lykins, Piedmont
April 12, 1972
Muskellunge, Tiger
31.64
47"
Turkeyfoot Lake
Matt Amedeo, Akron
April 28, 2006
Perch, White
1.72
14 1/8"
Lake Erie
Terry R. Patton, Galion
January 29, 2011
Perch, Yellow
2.75
14 1/2"
Lake Erie
Charles Thomas, Lorain
April 17, 1984
Pickerel, Chain
6.25
26 1/4"
Long Lake
Ronald P. Kotch, Akron
March 25, 1961
Pike, Northern
22.38
43"
Lyre Lake
Chris Campbell, Dayton
Oct. 3, 1988
Salmon, Chinook
29.5
42 7/8"
Lake Erie
Walter Shumaker, Ashtabula
Aug 4, 1989
Salmon, Coho
13.63
34 3/4"
Huron River
Barney Freeman, Kansas
Dec.1, 1982
Salmon, Pink
3.06
20 1/8"
Conneaut Creek
Andy Janoski,
Chagrin Falls
Sept. 24, 2004
Sauger
7.31
24 1/2"
Maumee River
Bryan Wicks, Maumee
March 10, 1981
Saugeye
14.04
30 1/8"
Antrim Lake
Roger Sizemore,
Orient
November 24, 2004
Sucker, Buffalo
46.01
42"
Hoover Reservoir
Tim Veit, Galena
July 2, 1999
Sucker, (other than buffalo)
9.25
27 1/2"
Leesville Lake
Wayne Gleason, Wellsville
April 3, 1977
Sunfish, Green
.99
10 5/8"
Farm Pond
Timothy C. Hively
May 8, 2005
Sunfish, Hybrid*
2.03
12 1/4"
Champaign County Farm Pond
Ray Durham, Mechanicsburg
July 21, 2003
Sunfish, Longear
.20
6 1/2"
Big Darby Creek
Brian Zimmerman, Hartville
June 6, 2004
Sunfish, Pumpkinseed
1.10 
10 1/2"
Portage County Farm Pond
Scott Boykin, Uniontown
June 12, 2009
Sunfish, Redear
3.58
15"
Licking County farm Pond
Bert Redman, Newark
Oct 2, 1998
Sunfish, Warmouth
1.32
10 3/4"
Mahoning County Farm Pond
Douglas Koenig, Salem
July 19, 2009
Trout, Brown
14.65
29 1/4"
Lake Erie
Timothy L. Byrne, Brooklyn, Mich.
July 15, 1995
Trout, Lake
20.49
34"
Lake Erie
Tom Harbison, Natrona PA
April 20, 2000
Trout, Rainbow (Steelhead)
21.3
38"
Lake Erie
Jason Brooks, Tallmadge
June 25, 2010 
Walleye
16.19
33"
Lake Erie
Tom Haberman, Brunswick
November 23, 1999
BOWFISHING DIVISION
Type
Pounds
Length
Location
Name
Date
Bowfin
8.79
31"
East Harbor
John Ehrman, Brook Park
April 30, 1989
Carp
47.65 
38"
Sandusky Bay
Rich Cady, Newark
May 28, 2008
Gar, Longnose
14.72
50 1/2"
Little Miami River
Jake Kerstetter, Springboro
July 11, 2008
Sucker, Buffalo
37
40 1/4"
Hoover Reservoir
Don Paisley, Columbus
May 14, 1983
Sucker, (other than buffalo)
11.21
31 1/2"
Maumee River
Brent McGlone, Toledo
May 18, 2007

Maumee Walleye Run

I have been traveling to Maumee, Ohio for the annual walleye run for many years now.  Every spring I look forward to the chance of landing into a big one. The Maumee River is located in Lake Erie's western basin. Every spring the walleye migrate from Lake Erie into the Maumee River to spawn. This spawn makes up the largest walleye run east of the Mississippi River.

The start of the run differs from year to year.  Most anglers start fishing for the walleye in early March, but the local say that they start fishing a couple weeks after the ice is through melting.  The start of the run depends on two aspects; the weather and water temperature.  The more rain in the forecast, the more water flow that will be coming out of the river.  The walleye need the water flow to be up to get into the river.  If there is a minimum flow out of the river, then not as many fish can get up river.  Even if there is the right amount of flow coming out of the river, the water temperature needs to be right for the fish to start the run.  The water that reaches the lake needs to be between 35 to 40 degrees to trigger the walleye to migrate up the river.



The fishing technique that most anglers utilize is the swing technique.  This consists of throwing your line straight out in front of you and letting your bait swing downstream.  As your bait is swung downstream it will be bouncing on the bottom.  Once your bait swings downstream, reel your bait in with a slow retrieve.  This technique is the best for the Maumee River because of the amount of people that will be fishing.  This trip will definitely be a crowded one.  There will literary be hundreds of anglers lined up and down the river.

Most anglers use floating jigs with a twister on a Carolina rig.  The Carolina rig consists of a swivel, an 18" leader, a slip sinker, a floating jig, and a twister.  To make a Carolina rig: 1. Make a 18" leader of line. 2. Put your slip sinker on your main line.  3. Tie on your swivel to main line (The swivel acts as stopper for your slip sinker and also gives you something to tie your leader onto).  4. Tie your leader onto the swivel.  5. Tie your jig onto the leader.  6. Put twister on jig.  The anglers use the Carolina rig to prevent snags, the river bottom is very rocky.  The females migrate to these rock beds to lay the eggs.

The run usually lasts from March to the first part of May.  During the run, there will be fresh fish coming into the river when the water levels are up.  From past experiences, a great time to fish is when the water level is descending.  At this point the high water levels are going down, and the high water levels bring fresh fish into the river.  These fresh fish will be more willing to bite because they have not yet spawned.  The peak of the spawn is usually the second or third week of April, but can differ from year to year as well.   The best time to catch the big females is in the pre-spawn to the peak of the spawn.  The females are the first to migrate into the river, and this is why anglers are trying to fish the very first run to come into the river.  During the post-spawn most of the females migrate back to the lake, but the jacks stay in the river to feed.

Hopefully this was helpful to anyone looking to make the trip up for the walleye run.



Link for Lake Erie Walleye Tee...