Weekly Ohio fishing report

Weekly Ohio fishing report
mrodnr
COLUMBUS, Ohio -- The weekly fishing report provided by the Division of Wildlife of the Ohio Department of Natural Resources.
CENTRAL OHIO
Antrim Lake (Franklin County) -- This lake in northwest Columbus will be stocked with catchable size rainbow trout Oct. 21. Rainbow trout will bite on twister tails, corn, miniature marshmallows, and even cheese. Channel catfish can also be caught on night crawlers and cut baits.
Delaware Lake (Delaware County) -- As the water cools, crappie fishing can be productive. Using a minnow suspended by a bobber or jigs, fish the shoreline areas with good cover. Crappie must be nine inches or longer to keep. Largemouth bass can be found in the same areas by trying spinner baits and tubes. Catfish measuring between 12 and 16 inches can be caught using shrimp and cut baits in the upper part of the lake.
NORTHWEST OHIO
Pleasant Hill Lake (Richland County) -- Good catches of crappie in the 10-to 12-inch range are being taken. A minnow fished under a bobber is working the best. Try fishing near fallen brush. Excellent catches of saugeye in the 14-to 21-inch range are also being taken. Drifting jigs tipped with night crawlers or a worm harness fished off of the bottom is good as well as trolling small crank baits such as shadwarps or hot-n-tots. Fishing around the beach area or along the south shoreline is working the best.
Fostoria No. 5 (Seneca County) -- Saugeye, channel catfish and crappie are being taken in good numbers by using minnows.
Fostoria No. 6 (Seneca County) -- White bass in the 10-to 12-inch range are being caught in fairly good numbers.
Oxbow Lake (Defiance County) -- Largemouth bass in the 12-to 19-inch range are being taken in the mornings by casting plastic jigs. Anywhere along the bank is working well.
Auglaize River (Defiance County) -- Crappie are being caught in the morning by fishing minnows on slip bobbers as well as casting small jigs. The Power Dam to Oakwood is the best location.
NORTHEAST OHIO
Punderson Lake (Geauga County) -- This lake located in Punderson State Park is providing excellent bluegill and channel catfishing. Catfish stocked in 2001 will provide good opportunities to catch 16-to 18-inch fish. The daily bag limit on channel catfish at this lake is six fish per person. Surplus broodstock rainbow and golden-strain rainbow trout will be stocked generally on the Tuesday before Thanksgiving. The bag limit for trout is five fish per person daily. Electric motors only.
Berlin Lake (Mahoning County) -- Below the dam of the Mahoning River, anglers are catching 6-to 9-inch white bass on earthworms with a few anglers catching fish exceeding 12 inches in size. This lake lies in Mahoning, Portage, and Stark counties. Unlimited horsepower.
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-to 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
AEP ReCreation Land (Morgan, Muskingum and Noble counties) -- Cooler temperatures have spurred bass and bluegill activity in these smaller ponds. Use worms or wax worms suspended under a bobber for the best bluegill results. For largemouth bass, fish close to shore using crank bait in the late evening. Catches of largemouth bass have been reported with some bass weighing in over five pounds. In addition to a fishing license for those 16 years and older, a free Lifetime Recreational Users Permit is required to access the numerous fishing sites on the ReCreation Land. Permits and maps are available by calling 1-800-WILDLIFE.
Muskingum River (Washington County) -- Fishing for saugeye, white bass and hybrid stripers is improving below the Devola Dam. Try casting jigs or crank baits into the current and floating them back.
Tuscarawas River (Coshocton County) -- Saugeye and smallmouth fishing is heating up as the temperature cools. Fish in the evening or early morning hours. Use small creek chubs and twister tails, rapala jerk baits, or crank baits imitating minnows while doing a steady cast-and-retrieve.
LAKE ERIE
Western Basin
Walleye fishing has improved on Gull Island Shoal and Kelleys Island Shoal. Most of the fish caught have been from 15 to 18 inches from the 2003 year class, but a few bigger fish are also present. Drifting with crawler harnesses or casting weight forward spinners have been the most productive techniques. As water temperatures drop larger adult walleye will migrate back toward Kelleys Island, the Bass Islands, and the area around Marblehead and Lakeside. The best western basin perch areas have included the Toledo water intake, the northern cans of the Camp Perry firing range, the gravel pit west of West Sister Island, between Rattlesnake and Green Islands, and east of the Kelleys Island airport. Most fish are still running on the small side, but larger fish are starting to appear in the catch. A perch spreader tipped with shiners is the most popular setup.
Central Basin
The best walleye fishing recently has been offshore from Lorain to Huron in water over 40 foot deep. The sandbar and deeper water to the west of the sandbar have been productive, along with 42 to 44 feet of water from Cranberry Creek to Huron. Many of the fish being caught have ranged from 15 to 18 inches from the 2003 year class, but a few larger fish up to 11 pounds have been reported. Spoons or crawler harnesses trolled deep with dipsy divers, jet divers or downriggers have produced the most consistent catches. Yellow perch fishing has been excellent two to three miles north of Geneva, two to three miles north from Ashtabula to Conneaut in 52 foot of water, and from the Cleveland Crib to four miles northeast of Edgewater park in 52 foot of water. A perch spreader tipped with shiners is the most popular setup. Fish have ranged from 7 to 13 inches. 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. Lake Erie surface temperatures range from 58 to 64 degrees.
OHIO RIVER
Lawrence and Scioto counties -- River conditions are low and clear to slightly cloudy in some areas, with a water temperature of 72 degrees in the Greenup tailwaters. At Greenup Dam, sauger have been caught on 1/4-ounce jigs and white grubs or by dropping minnows straight down off the fishing access walls. Channel catfish are being caught in good numbers near the Portsmouth boat ramp using cut bait and live shad. Crappie 8 to 10 inches in size can be caught in the embayment near the Shawnee State Marina. Use minnows and fish around brush piles and docks in 4 to 6 feet of water. Largemouth and spotted bass were caught in good numbers over the weekend using black/silver and blue/silver crank baits. Hybrid striped bass in the 4-to 6-pound range were hitting on similar colored crank baits.
On the Net:
For a map of lakes in Ohio, visit:
http://www.ohiodnr.com/wildlife/Fishing/lakemaps/lmaps.htm
To view the predicted weather forecast for Lake Erie visit:
http://weather.noaa.gov/cgi-bin/fmtbltn.pl?fileforecasts/marine/gre at--lakes/le/lez160.txt