Techniques for fishing the spring walleye run in the Maumee River haven’t changed that much during the past 10 years, or for that matter, for the past 2,000 years.

After the great glaciers receded from what is now Ohio, most people who traveled on or along this great river probably knew that fish swarmed upstream as the days grew longer and warmer. According to historians, these ancient people brought in large catches of fish using spears, traps and hooks whittled from animal bone. Assuming that human nature also hasn’t changed much over the millennia, it’s likely that at least one ancient angler stretched apart his arms as well as the truth  to show his fishing buddies the incredible size of “the one that got away.”

The river and the walleye still run strong, and so do their stories. Colorful accounts of the Maumee’s great fish populations appear in Louis A. Simonis’  book, “Maumee River 1835.”

“So numerous are they at the Rapids of the Miami [Maumee River] that a gig may be thrown into the water at random, and it will rarely miss killing one! Some hundreds have been taken in the river at Fort Meigs in this way during the last spring. The writer saw, last summer, nearly half a barrel of them killed in less than an hour on the rapids with clubs and stones by three and four persons.”

Another excerpt from the book offers more testimony to the great fishing near the fort: “The quantity of fish taken at this place is most surprising. Some days there are not less than 1,000 or 1,500 taken with the hook, within three hundred yards of the fort, of the most excellent kind.”

Fort Meigs in Perrysburg is now a reconstruction of the original, but the walleye fishing here continues to attract thousands of anglers. The ubiquitous spirit of this fish has spread to Toledo’s semiprofessional hockey team, the Toledo Walleye, and local libraries carry volumes of books about this popular member of the perch family.

As the walleye crowd the rapids, customers clad in chest waders and rubber boots line up before sunrise at bait and tackle shops and wait for the doors to unlock so they can scour the aisles for the right lure to tempt an unwitting walleye onto the dinner plate. These mom-and-pop shops share fish tales and scuttlebutt like appetizers at a dinner party. According to many of the patrons, the best baits for walleye are floating jigs tipped with white, yellow, or fluorescent-colored twister tails.

Gary Lowry, owner of Maumee Tackle, is thankful for the annual walleye run and spring fishing that accounts for more than half of his annual sales. If his work is a labor of love, then the romance continues, and Lowry has fond memories of his first fishing jaunts on Bluegrass Island, decades ago.

“We used to ride our bikes down to the river,” he said, “then wade over to the island. My first fishing experiences there were just bringing home a bunch of fish, but I didn’t know what kind. Later, I found out I had caught walleyes.”

The walleye run on the Maumee didn’t become a fishing frenzy until the mid-1970s, Lowry explained, when sportswriters began touting the Maumee as a premier fishing destination. During the six or seven weeks of the season, SUVs  and pickup trucks dominate the popular fishing locations such as Side Cut Metropark and Orleans Park, and finding a parking space  becomes as challenging as landing a lunker walleye.

The annual pilgrimage is a boon for many area businesses that cater to the 50,000 or more anglers who converge in Northwest Ohio.  A day on the river might require buying pliers, sunscreen, fishing tackle, ice, and stopping at the grocery store to pick up lunch supplies, and local bricks-and-mortar stores enjoy an advantage over online stores for these daily purchases.  Hotels and restaurants also benefit from the seasonal business boost.

The Econo Lodge on Fremont Pike in Perrysburg offers special hotel rates during the spring fishing season. Hotel Office Manager Art Balderas stays abreast of daily fishing reports to “give guests accurate fishing reports,” he said. As an added attraction, the hotel provides a fish cleaning station and ample parking for boat trailers.

If catching and cleaning fish doesn’t appeal to one’s sensibilities, The Andersons offers fresh Canadian walleye fillet for $15.99 per pound. Walleye is widely considered one of the best-tasting freshwater fish in the world, and its price-per-pound approaches that of saltwater favorites such as grouper and snapper. If one prefers upscale ambiance and the convenience of ordering from a menu, then perhaps Stella’s on Louisiana Avenue in Perrysburg will satisfy. Their fresh fillet of walleye, topped with herb butter, roasted on a seasoned cedar plank and served with wrapped lemon, mashed potatoes and vegetable du jour,  costs $22.95 and has been a favorite since the restaurant opened more than 10 years ago, according to chef John Kerstetter.

The walleye season peaks in late March and early May when water temperatures reach 50 degrees and spring rains raise the water level in the river. The best fishing spots are in or near the rapids,  from the Conant Street bridge upstream to the end of Jerome Road in Lucas County,  according to the Ohio Department of Natural Resource’s website.

Optimum conditions for the 2013 walleye season may fall around the middle of April, according to John Windau, wildlife communication specialist with District 2 Ohio Department of Natural Resources in Northwest Ohio. “Conditions in the Maumee are pretty good, the Sandusky River is really, really good right now. The Maumee water level is low, but recent rains should help. In the meantime,” he said “the deeper holes in the Maumee River, near Fort Meigs, are providing good catches.”

Holes and drop-offs provide likely hangouts for walleye, but they also pose a hazard for anglers who are often clad in cumbersome, rubber-soled boots that can fill with water in just seconds. Twenty pounds of waterlogged boots and a current strong enough to uproot trees can be a deathtrap. Anyone wading the river is advised to wear a life jacket, and wearing a belt cinched tightly across the waist will help keep water out of hip and chest-waders.

The Maumee River is still quite cold during the walleye run, and a person immersed in its chilly water can quickly become hypothermic and die in one to three hours. For boaters, tying the anchor off from the bow, not from

Fisherman cast for walleye in the Maumee River.

the stern, is essential. A boat anchored from the stern, which usually has less freeboard than the bow, is subject to waves and water entering and possibly capsizing the boat.

Walleye fishing methods vary, but a common technique is to cast out directly in front — in the 12 o’clock position — then slowly reel in while keeping the line tight in the current.

There is an unspoken etiquette among fisherman here, and most anglers will stay at least a rod’s length from the next person. When the fishing action is good, hundreds of anglers will stretch out along the river in single-file lines.

An evolution in walleye fishing tackle is helping protect the environment while increasing fish catch. The Carolina rig, with its floating jig head, is less likely to snag in the rocky stream bed than is a lead-head jig, which sinks to the bottom. The floating jig also offers a more enticing presentation to a hungry walleye by floating off the bottom of the streambed. Hence, more fish are caught, less lead is ingested, and less line is left to snag fish and birds that may have the misfortune of getting snared in the discarded line.

Law enforcement officials keep a high profile and a keen eye on fish limits and boating activities. The Ohio Department of Natural Resources sets annual and seasonal limits on walleye catches.  The current daily limit is four walleye with a minimum length of 15 inches each.  Regulations also limit fishing to sunrise to sunset. Fines for keeping a snagged fish — hooked anywhere other than by the mouth — varies depending on court jurisdiction. In Maumee, the fine and court costs total $145. The fine and court cost for one fish over the limit totals $145, plus $25 for each additional fish over the limit. Fishing without a license incurs a total penalty of $145.

As the buckeye and cottonwood trees begin to bud, the numbers of walleye and their human predators will diminish and finally fade into the memory of another season on the Maumee.  The old men of the river will add a few new tales to their catalog, and the newcomers, christened with a first catch, will tell their buddies about that exciting day and about the “big one that got away.”

Tags: Fishing, Fort Meigs, Maumee River, Walleye

This entry was posted on Tuesday, April 23rd, 2013 at 11:19 am and is filed under Outdoors, Sports.
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With spring in the air and the worst of winter over, northern Ohio residents will be rejoicing not only for the warmer weather in the coming months, but also the opportunity to get back out on the water and do some fishing on Lake Erie. Recently, more than 260 professional anglers made the trip to Port Clinton to kick off the 2011 National Guard FLW Walleye Tour.

“I love going to Lake Erie and the western basin,” Professional angler Pete Harsh said in a phone interview with Toledo Free Press. “It’s always one of my top favorite tournaments. It’s a place where you catch huge walleyes, good numbers of fish, and there’s such a variety of ways to catch them. I love the area. The people have been so nice and friendly. I love going to Lake Erie.”

Unfortunately, Harsh and the other pro anglers came to Port Clinton at a time when the area was experiencing lots of storms and rain, which churned up the water on Lake Erie and didn’t make for the best walleye fishing conditions. Though Harsh didn’t win any prize money at last week’s kickoff tournament, the Sauk Centre, Minn. native is no stranger to success on the water. The 2009 FLW Walleye Angler of the Year, Harsh has earned more than $800,000 as a pro angler, including more than $230,000 on the FLW Walleye Tour since 2002.

Pete Harsh

Harsh did his first local tournament in 1984, won Professional Walleye Trail Rookie of the Year in 1993 and has been fishing full-time since 2002. Lake Erie is still the site of Harsh’s largest day’s catch on the FLW Walleye Tour (weight total of 38 pounds, 15 oz. in 2003), and in 2008 he also caught the largest fish taken on either the FLW tour or the PWT tour at the time, a 33-and-a-half incher that the Ohio Department of Natural Resources said was unusually long for that system. Harsh first came to Lake Erie in 1993 and says it’s still one of his favorite places to fish.

“I’ve fished from New York to Montana, fished walleyes as far south as Kentucky, Kansas, Missouri, Arkansas, and everywhere in between,” Harsh said. “I was looking one time at all the different states I’ve fished. Port Clinton —your area — I could easily adapt to living there and be very happy with the fishing. Extremely happy.”

Fellow Team Evinrude member and pro angler Mark Courts also enjoys making the trip to Lake Erie.

“It’s awesome,” Courts said in a phone interview. “Every time Lake Erie pops up on the schedule, we look forward to it.”

Like Harsh, Courts is also a Minnesota native and one of the sports’ top fishermen, having earned nearly $140,000 to go along with eight top-10 tournament finishes on the FLW Walleye Tour since 2002.

“There’s no other fishery in the country that the fish grow as fast as Lake Erie, so every time we get the opportunity to go there, you look forward to catching big fish,” Courts said. “The first time I came out to Lake Erie had to be right around that 2001-2002 era, and [I’ve] been looking forward to it on our schedule every year, whether we start out somewhere in Michigan, or typically Ohio will be one of those two spots usually every year at the start of the season.”

Also sponsored by the National Guard, Courts took the opportunity while in the area to visit Camp Perry and spend time with local troops, also doing a fishing tournament between 20 soldiers from Indiana and 20 soldiers from Ohio on May 14.

“I represent 350,000 soldiers,” Courts said. “For me to be able to represent those people that put their life on the line every day is quite the deal.”

And while Lake Erie has seen its fair share of ups and downs, Harsh feels the conditions today are better than in the past.

According to the Ohio DNR, in 2010 walleye fishing on the Maumee River was its best since 1990.

Tags: Fishing, Mark Courts, National Guard FLW Walleye Tour, Pete Harsh

This entry was posted on Tuesday, May 31st, 2011 at 10:04 am and is filed under Sports.
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When I compare Walleye fishing in April on the Maumee River to fishing for white bass in May, I am reminded of an old George Carlin routine that compared the intensity of football to the laid-back attitude of baseball.

In April the Maumee is usually high and fast moving. Anglers stand shoulder to shoulder, and tempers sometimes flair. The weather can be downright nasty with wind, cold, and yes even an occasional snowflake.

Venders line the shore selling fishing tackle, and anglers travel from all over the country to take part in the big walleye run. Game wardens must be on the lookout for illegal snaggers, and the rules are strict: one hook only, four walleyes per angler, 15 inch size limit, no fishing after dark.

Fast forward to May. Temperatures turn balmy. Breezes are calm, and if it rains at all, it’s a gentle shower. OK, that might be stretching it a bit, but in general the weather is a lot nicer.

The one hook rule is relaxed. Beginning May 1 anglers can use multiple hook rigs and treble hooks. As a result, lures like small spinners and plugs can be used.

There is no size limit on white bass, and you can keep as many as you want. Although many anglers take advantage of the white bass run, fishermen still have lot more elbow room. Wading in slower, shallower water is much easier.

If you do fall, the water temperature is about 10 degrees warmer; not a pleasant experience, but nothing like the shock of 46-degree water in your waders.

White bass are caught in pretty much the same area as walleyes. Most anglers stick with the jig and twister-tail combo that worked so well for walleyes, but with the relaxed rules, many add a second jig in a tandem set-up that often produces doubles.

Small spinners and plugs also work well, and as an added bonus, sometimes a nice smallmouth will grab the lure. Anglers are reminded that bass season on the Maumee is closed in May; so all bass must be returned.

Techniques that worked well for walleyes also work on white bass. Cast upstream and keep a tight line as the jig or lure comes back to you. White bass are real scrappers and give a good account of themselves on light tackle. They average ten to twelve inches, but can reach 16, which is a real trophy.

Live bait is another option. Some fishermen like to float a bobber with a lively minnow underneath. Most just cast upstream and let the rig drift through a hole. Remember, in moving water your line is often bowed, so reel in the slack before you set the hook.

Now many fishermen keep white bass and enjoy them on the table. I don’t. But don’t judge by me. I only eat walleyes or perch, and bluegill when I get them big enough. I enjoy catching white bass, and release them after a good fight.

So whether you’re looking for a meal or just some relaxing fishing hit the Maumee on the next balmy May afternoon and try for some white bass. You won’t be disappointed.

Tags: Fishing

This entry was posted on Thursday, May 20th, 2010 at 2:04 pm and is filed under Outdoors, Sports.
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I ran into an old friend quite unexpectedly last summer. His name is Ictalurus Punctatus a.k.a. the channel catfish.

We had been invited to the home of some friends in Sylvania for a 4th of July party, and since they lived on a small pond, Don suggested I bring some fishing gear. Expecting some small bluegill and bass, I threw in my ultralite outfit and a small tackle box.

Sure enough, everyone was trying for bluegill.  We caught a few small ones, when I noticed a nice swirl next to shore. “Probably a catfish,” Don said. “There are a ton of them in here.”

I reeled in my line, removed the bobber, attached a sinker to the line and pitched it back out. In a few minutes, the line began to tighten. I set the hook into a small channel cat of about 12 inches. On the ultralite gear, he gave a good account. I landed three more, the biggest a respectable 16 inches.

I had not fished for catfish intentionally for many years, and these fish brought about a flood of memories from my youth.

I grew up along Swan Creek in Newport, Mich. As a kid my buddies and I fished it whenever possible, and the biggest prize was a channel cat. The muddy waters yielded plenty of bullheads, carp and some sunfish, but we always hoped for a big cat.

Our gear was simple, a fiberglass or steel rod with a Pflueger level wind reel loaded with 20- pound test braided line. We tied on a bell sinker, attached a pair of snelled hooks baited with a gob of night crawler, then pitched the whole thing as far out as we could. We propped the rod in a forked stick and waited for a bite.

If the rod jiggled and bounced a bit, the fish was probably a bullhead. But if the line went out hard, pulling the rod out of the holder and making the clicker “sing,” you could bet a channel cat had taken the bait.

We weren’t much for finesse, reeling in as fast as possible, but sometimes you just had to let the fish run a bit. Those old reels didn’t have any drag to speak of, so a thumb on the spool had to do.

Our favorite time to fish was at night. We had a special spot called “the point.” It had access to a little deeper water, and the creek widened to a couple hundred yards as it neared the end of its journey to Lake Erie.

After dark, we’d build a campfire and put the lines out. The fish always seemed bigger in the firelight, and there we learned to tell stories, an important part of every angler’s repertoire.

And the cat fishing spawned other activities. We made sinkers in my dad’s garage, pouring the hot lead from melted wheel weights into a cast iron mold.

After a warm summer rain, we spent evenings looking for night crawlers with a flashlight and soup can. We never imagined anglers would someday pay $2.50 a dozen for crawlers. If we sold our excess, it was for 25 cents a dozen and we were amazed anyone would pay us for doing something so much fun.

Somehow, over the years, I got away from catfishing. Bass, pike and walleye were a lot more glamorous. But occasionally I would hook into a catfish while fishing for other species, and I was always impressed with their dogged runs. A nice cat will put a walleye to shame, and while they don’t jump, their runs are every bit the equal of pike and bass of a similar size.

So this summer I plan to get out at least once and go after catfish on purpose. After all, once you are reacquainted with an old friend, you have to keep in touch!

E-mail Lew Horn at letters@toledofrreepress.com.

Tags: Fishing

This entry was posted on Friday, May 7th, 2010 at 12:00 am and is filed under Outdoors, Sports.
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