05-28-2002, 05:36 PM
CENTRAL OHIO<br>Kokosing Lake (Knox County) – This 149-acre lake holds crappies, channel catfish, and largemouth bass. Areas with submerged shoreline cover and aquatic vegetation are good places to fish for bass. Use small spinners, live bait, top-water buzz baits, plastic worms, or crankbaits for best results. Areas of downed trees and submerged brush are the best places to fish for crappies. Use a minnow suspended beneath a bobber. This lake has a 10-horsepower motor limit.<br>O’Shaughnessy Reservoir (Delaware County) – This 845-acre lake immediately northwest of Columbus has a good largemouth bass fishery. Using crankbaits, plastics, and live bait along shoreline cover can be productive. Bluegills can be caught using small worms and insect larvae suspended under a bobber around shoreline cover. Crappies are found in deeper water along the west bank; use minnows under a bobber for these fish. Channel catfish can be taken in the upper section of the reservoir. Use cut baits, shrimp, or night crawlers fished on the bottom.<br><br>NORTHWEST OHIO<br>Bresler Reservoir (Allen County) - Anglers are taking 18- to 24-inch channel catfish in the evenings. The best location is along the west bank. Use tight-lining methods with shrimp and chicken livers for bait. <br>Lake LeComte (Hancock County) - Anglers are taking yellow perch with night crawlers fished on the bottom using a two-hook rig with three weights between the hooks. Perch are running between 7 and 9 inches. Anglers are also catching catfish 20 inches long off the bottom with the same setup as perch.<br><br>NORTHEAST OHIO<br>Atwood Lake (Tuscarawas and Carroll counties) – Angling for catfish remains good despite high water levels. Both night crawlers and chicken livers are working well for catching cats. Live bait is also the most successful method for catching crappies, with minnows working for the few fishermen picking up crappies. A few medium-sized saugeyes are being caught as well. <br>Pleasant Hill Lake (Ashland County) – Anglers are beginning to catch saugeyes by bumping the bottom with white twister tails, tipping the jigs with a bit of worm. They are also catching some white bass.<br><br>SOUTHWEST OHIO<br>Caesar Creek Lake (Warren County) – Largemouth bass are being taken using plastic worms and spinnerbaits. Cast from either the shoreline or a boat into areas around boat docks or submerged trees and brush into water 4-6 feet deep using a #2 - #4 long-shanked hook. Work the lure off of the bottom. The best spots are near woody debris and undercut banks. <br>Grand Lake St. Marys (Auglaize and Mercer counties) -- Channel catfish are being caught along the shore, rock rip rap, east bank, Harmon’s Landing, and Fry’s Point. Leave the bobber in the tackle box and fish tight-line on the bottom. Use worms, shrimp, or cut bait on a long-shanked bait-holding hook. Most anglers are catching channel catfish ranging in size from 12-14 inches long with some fish weighing up to 7 pounds. Best times to fish are late in the day and early in the morning. Also, fish for bluegills or sunfish near submerged trees or brush in water two feet deep. Use waxworms under a bobber on a small fine-wire hook.<br><br>SOUTHEAST OHIO<br>Lake Rupert (Vinton County) -- Anglers are catching channel catfish on shrimp, liver, and night crawlers fished on the bottom. Several catches of 2-3 pound channel catfish are being reported. Crappies are being caught on minnows fished under a bobber. Most crappies are less than 8 inches in length. Submerged fish-concentration structures made from Christmas trees have been placed at several locations in this lake to attract fish and improve fishing success. Marked maps indicating these locations may be obtained by calling the Wildlife District 4 office at (740) 589-9930.<br>Lake White (Pike County) -- Water temperature is 59 degrees and the water level is near normal, but slightly muddy. Boat anglers fishing near the inlet of the lake are making nice catches of bluegills 7 to 7 1/2 inches in length. The bluegills are hitting wax worms with anglers using small hooks (#10 to #12) suspended under a bobber.<br><br>LAKE ERIE<br>Western Basin - Lake Erie water temperature is 52 Degrees F. Mother Nature is finally cooperating with Lake Erie anglers and walleye fishing picked up significantly over the weekend. Much of the angling pressure was in the "Triangle Area" west of West Sister Island and along the Toledo Shipping Channel from the Toledo Harbor Light to the outer buoys of the shipping channel. Other areas that have produced fish include A Can, north of Kelleys Island, off Davis Besse, and the Reef Complex. Anglers are drifting weight-forward spinners, mayfly rigs, and bottom bouncers with crawler harnesses tipped with night crawlers, as well as trolling deep-diving lures. Walleyes are measuring 15 to 20 inches with some larger fish. The legal bag limit for walleyes for Lake Erie and its tributaries is six fish from May through February. Perch fishing remains excellent with hot spots reported around Kelleys Island and Ballast Island. Perch anglers are catching many limits of nice-sized perch in the 9- to 13-inch range using perch spreaders or crappie rigs tipped with minnows. The yellow perch bag limit is 30 perch per angler per day. Smallmouth bass fishing is fair to good around the islands. Most fish will measure 14 to 18 inches. The legal limit for smallmouth bass is five fish per angler per day with a minimum length requirement of 14 inches.<br>Central Basin - Water temperature is 51 Degrees F off Cleveland. Perch fishing has been good off Cleveland and Fairport Harbor. May is the peak month for smallmouth bass fishing in the Central Basin. Once the weather improves, smallmouth bass angling should be excellent at Ruggles Reef, the artificial reefs in the Lorain/Cleveland area, and harbor breakwalls from Cleveland to Conneaut. Most bass will measure 14 to 18 inches. National Safe Boating Week is May 18-24. Boaters and anglers are reminded to “Boat Smart From the Start; Always Wear A Life Jacket.”<br><br>OHIO RIVER<br>Pike Island Dam (Belmont County) -- Even though the river is high and muddy, anglers are reporting nice catches of smallmouth bass on tube jigs, twister tails, live bait, and crankbaits. Walleye and sauger catches are being reported by anglers using jigs tipped with minnows.<br>Monroe County -- Just prior to the recent 2" rainfall in the county, which left the river high and muddy, anglers were reporting catches of striped bass on minnows. <br><br>Source: ODNR<br><br>