GREAT OUTDOORS: Rivers yielding walleyes early

Given the recent cool weather, hearing about the number of anglers finding success with catching walleyes in both the Sandusky and Maumee rivers surprised me. Both Bernie Whitt at his Anglers Supply bait store in Fremont and Mario Campos, owner of Maumee Tackle Fishing Outfitters, are reporting that some anglers have been catching walleyes since the rivers dropped to fishable levels over a week ago. As a veteran of this "combat fishing" and more recently a 3-time Ohio Division of Wildlife spring creel survey clerk of these rivers, I expect the smaller and quicker-to-warm Sandusky River run to begin and end a week or so earlier than the Maumee. From their published reports, this held true. However, Campos also had fishermen return to his store with limits before 9 a.m. already, primarily from the Buttonwood, Jerome Road, and Ford Street areas. By later this week, the river dropped further, and anglers spread out more widely. I stopped by the Maumee River on Wednesday afternoon and saw numerous fishermen returning from the river with empty stringers but witnessed a couple of others with a pair of walleyes on their stringers. River lure vendor Dennis Davis also told me of seeing some female walleyes brought to him by successful anglers as they sought his fish filleting services. Although fewer fish migrate through the smaller Sandusky River now than before the major flood control project in 1972 due to reduction of bottom habitat used for spawning, the river concentrates fish while they are funneled through the narrowed river in downtown Fremont. Limits have been taken by several anglers, especially in the Rodger W. Young and Robert L. Walsh Park's shorelines. This deeper section of the river is not typically waded but is fished from the banks opposite of each other. Whitt said that 1/8-ounce jigs were working there. During normal water levels, wading fishermen will enter the Sandusky River between the State Street and Hayes Avenue bridges. The Maumee River's bigger cavalcade is likely the result of spawning fish it draws from various sources, including Lake Erie, the Detroit River and possibly beyond to create a more prolonged season. High water locations there include the backwaters of White Street in Maumee and Orleans Park directly across the river in Perrysburg, and the Ft. Meigs and the Side Cut Park shorelines. Maumee River normal flow locations for wading include Buttonwood, Schroeder's Campground, Side Cut Metropark, Towpath and Fort Meigs. Low water conditions allow anglers to wade into the Sandusky River below the State Street bridge and upstream from near the high banks to the former Ballville Dam location. With the removal of the Ballville Dam, anglers are also able to try locations upstream of where it stood seeking areas where walleyes have migrated to in search of suitable rocky spawning habitat. In the Maumee River, wading anglers favor getting to the south edge of Blue Grass Island and upstream to the Jerome Road rapids for best fishing at lower river levels. The most popular lures remain lead head jigs in the Sandusky River, but floating jig heads behind an egg sinker most often separated with a 4-foot leader are becoming the go-to combination in the Maumee River. Bright-colored rubber tails are used to permit the lure to be more readily seen in the normally stained spring river water. Walleyes are usually present in the Sandusky River through mid-April before white bass carry the load for angler attention, which is highly anticipated there. Walleyes can be caught in the Maumee through the end of April before beginning to fade away from the scene by the beginning of May in most years. White bass are easily caught in good numbers for those who choose to pursue this species but have far fewer devotees than those who fish for walleyes there. Make no mistake — despite seeing some walleyes on stringers, the runs are just now getting underway. There is lots of time for more pulses of fish to enter the rivers as flows increase and water temperatures rise.