GREAT OUTDOORS: State record Green sunfish certified; Maumee fish kill; perch biting?

According to a press release issued by the Ohio Division of Wildlife, a new Ohio record Green sunfish has been certified. Ohio's record fish are determined on the basis of weight only and are certified by the Outdoor Writers of Ohio State Record Fish Committee with assistance from fishery biologists with the Ohio Division of Wildlife. It weighed 1.35 pounds and was caught by Jaret Stevens of Pioneer, Ohio in a Williams County farm pond May 18. It measured 11.45 inches long with a 10.82 inch girth and was landed with a spinning rod spooled with six pound test monofilament and baited with a red worm. His catch replaces the previous state record Green Sunfish which was caught from a Richland County farm pond by SueAnn Newswanger of Shiloh, Ohio on May 13, 2018, weighing 1.2 pounds and measuring 11.0 inches long. For more information on Ohio's state record fish program contact Fred Snyder, Chairman, Outdoor Writers of Ohio State Record Fish Committee, 754 Co. Rd. 126, Fremont, Ohio 43420, phone (419) 307-1515, email fnsnyder@gmail.com or see www.outdoorwritersofohio.org. Estimated Maumee River fish kill toll released Andy Chow, Chief of the Ohio Department of Natural Resources Communications provided an estimate Thursday of the number of wild animals killed in Henry County when a liquid fertilizer spill discharged into Huston and Wade Creeks, then flowed into the Maumee River near Napoleon. Division of Wildlife Investigators submitted a tally of 24,568 dead fish, two turtles and one mussel that were seen as far as 11 miles down the Maumee River as a result of a Urea Ammonium Nitrite (UAN) spill attributed to Tri-Way Nitrogen LLC and Farmers Elevators Association. Despite their attempts to clean up the liquid fertilizer product, heavy rains caused the earthen dams that were constructed to contain the spill to fail before it could be pumped up which allowed it reach the watershed. Bacteria in the water consumes ammonia which depletes the supply of dissolved oxygen in the water, suffocating aquatic life including fish, crayfish, mussels, invertebrates and others. Reports of perch catches trickling in As of the time of this writing, catches of yellow perch have been sparse to date but this is the period of the summer which has produced the best catches in recent years. Water temperatures have risen into the upper 70's and low 80's as a result of hot weather experienced over the past 2 weeks. At these water temperatures, Spiny water fleas cease to reproduce and become less dense, forcing perch to seek alternative prey. Coincidently, many species of young-of-year fish are becoming available and are targeted by predatory fish of all stripes, including perch. Maumee Bay is the warmest portion of the lake at the present time and often provides an earlier bite window for notable perch catches. The area around the Toledo Lighthouse, Turtle Island, the Toledo Water Intake, man-made island and Little Cedar Point are hot spots this time of the year. According to the owners of Al Szuch Live Bait and Buckshot's Bait & Tackle, each located on Corduroy Road in Curtice who have been providing fish cleaning services for decades, they have been seeing some worthwhile catches of perch arrive in recent days along with coolers of still locally abundant walleyes. Additionally, reports of perch that have been caught along the eastern edge of the firing range and around Green Island have been made. So far, emerald shiners have remained available as bait at the shops that I have surveyed.