Blade Fishing Report: Ohio's 'other' fishing catches the spotlight

Jun. 16—The best angling information from area experts.

—Fish Ohio II: For a long time the official government focus on fishing in Ohio had been on Lake Erie and its bounty. The annual Fish Ohio Day with the governor, which was started in 1979 by former Gov. James Rhodes, was always held on the big lake with catching walleye getting the attention. Most Ohio governors attended, although former Gov. John Kasich was a frequent no-show. Current Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine expanded the format in 2019, adding a second Fish Ohio Day with this one putting the spotlight on the many inland waters in the state and the wide range of angling options they offer. At the second Inland Fish Ohio Day over the weekend (there was no 2020 event due to the coronavirus) Gov. DeWine, Ohio Department of Natural Resources Director Mary Mertz, and Division of Wildlife Chief Kendra Wecker, and other state officials and their families along with members of the media fished Hook Lake in the Appalachian Hills Wildlife Area, located near McConnelsville in southeastern Ohio. The Appalachian Hills region has more than 300 lakes and ponds that are stocked with bluegills, catfish, and largemouth bass. The more than 35,000 acre Appalachian Hills Wildlife area covers parts of Guernsey, Noble, Morgan and Muskingum counties — reclaimed mining land that features 63 million trees, 293 campsites, and a section of the 1,400-mile Buckeye Trail. "Ohio's inland lakes offer wonderful opportunities to get out and enjoy a day on the water," Governor DeWine said. "With hundreds of lakes and thousands of acres, Appalachian Hills Wildlife Area and Jesse Owens State Park and Wildlife Area are two of Ohio's best public inland fishing locations. I encourage all Ohioans to experience the beauty and tranquility of these unique wild spaces."

—Free fishing: On Saturday and Sunday residents of Ohio can fish for free in any of the public waters in the state, including Lake Erie, the Maumee River, area reservoirs, and park ponds. This is the only time of the year when the Division of Wildlife of the Ohio Department of Natural Resources waives the requirement that anyone 16 years of age and older obtain a fishing license in order to fish those public waters. Ohio's six state-run hatcheries stocked some 46 million sportfish in more than 200 locations around Ohio during 2020. The stocked fish included walleye, saugeye, yellow perch, rainbow trout, brown trout, steelhead, muskies, channel catfish, blue catfish, and hybrid striped bass. All fishing rules, limits, and size restrictions remain in place for the free fishing weekend.

—Lake Erie: The mayfly hatch has altered the environment in the big lake and fishermen should adjust their approach to meet the more challenging circumstances. The pros at Netcraft recommend anglers down-sizing their baits when trolling for walleye, moving to the use of Hot 'N Tots, Wiggle Warts and Flicker Minnows. Those smaller baits should also be trolled at a little faster speed in an effort to provoke reactionary strikes by fish that have likely been gorging on the billions of mayflies rising from the lake bottom. For the drift-and-cast anglers, the approach changes to baits that imitate the hatching insects, such as those with smaller spinner blades and lures colored with gold and brown to look like mayflies. In recent days, anglers have reported having success trolling the water northwest of the island complex, and in the deeper water off Huron.

—La Su An lakes: The lakes in the Lake La Su An Wildlife Area in Williams County are open for the 2021 season, with fishing permitted on Sundays, Mondays, Fridays, and Saturdays from sunrise to sunset. The Lake La Su An Wildlife Area, which has been operated with a special set of fishing regulations that have produced some of the best largemouth bass and sunfish fishing in the state, is closed to fishing at all other times. The sunfish daily limit is 15, with no more than five sunfish eight inches or larger. Largemouth bass have an 18-inch minimum length limit and five fish daily limit. Channel catfish have a two-fish daily limit. Daily limits are posted on-site and are in effect throughout the area. One limit is permitted each day regardless of how many lakes an angler fishes. The special regulations at La Su An have been established by Division of Wildlife fisheries biologists to produce quality bluegill fishing on the Lake La Su An Wildlife Area lakes. The Division of Wildlife maintains fish populations at Lake La Su An Wildlife Area by limiting the number of days the lakes are open to fishing, limiting the number of bluegill taken each day, and limiting the number of anglers who fish the area at one time. All other statewide fishing regulations apply to the area's lakes and no fish may be used as bait in any of the Lake La Su An Wildlife Area lakes. Visitors are reminded that reservations are no longer needed to fish the Lake La Su An Wildlife Area lakes, but all vehicles are required to park in a designated parking space. The season runs through Sept. 6.

—Sandusky River: With the recent end of the white bass spawning run, this waterway has settled into summer mode, with shore anglers targeting catfish in the deeper holes and fishing with nightcrawlers, shrimp, and crayfish worked just off of the bottom. Evenings and the post-dusk hours have been the best for catfish anglers. Fly fishermen have reported tangling with the river's smallmouth bass by working the edges of the runs from Tiffin down to the former site of the Ballville Dam.