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Funny things youve seen fishing the walleye run

8K views 42 replies 30 participants last post by  Steel Cranium 
#1 ·
Let me start this
I remember one time we were fishing and it was raining pretty good. Not super hard just steady. It was the heart of the run and the river was packed shoulder to shoulder..all of a sudden this huge tree on the other side of the river gets hit by lightening..
Now..
Picture this...probably a couple thousand people, all standing in water waist deep..TRYING, as fast as the could to get back to shore all at the same time...OMG we were laughing so damn hard we couldnt even get up on the bank
 
#2 ·
Years ago my father and I were fishing a river for the evening eye bite. A storm came up and all of a sudden we were pelted with roofing shingle and all kinds of debris. Before we couLd get to the car, we had to walk up a hill a shotgun fell from the sky and almost hit us. We made it back to the car and waited out the storm. Come to find out a tornado hit about seven miles from where we were.

It was when those big string of tornados went across Ohio and Pa.
 
#6 ·
My dad and I was fishing the Sandusky Run. This younger guy starts bragging to everyone about how he never gets caught snagging or even going over the limit. He had three on a stringer, plus took a couple up to his car. For two hours he was driving everyone crazy, some wanting to beat his you know what. All of a sudden, two game wardens come down the hill, right up behind him, and cuff him right there. His smiling face turned to shock very quickly. Find out he was a local who is always getting busted.
 
#9 ·
Another one was watching two guys fight over a parking space. One guy attempted to hit the other guy with his net, but it just went over his head. They went at it for a good 20 minutes before everyone broke it up.

One More, years ago dad and I arrive at Sandusky very early, 4am. No one there yet because you can’t fish before daylight. We went on top of the bridge and saw hundreds of walleyes in the water. We watched them and said we are going to have a banner day, limits for both of us. We start fishing at daylight, fished all day, didn’t legally catch one fish and accidentally snagged one.
 
#10 ·
On the "dudes will do anything to get away with keeping bad fish" line of thinking.....there used to be three guys that camped a Schroeders and fished out of a white/brown/orange tri-hull. Their anchor was a huge pile of chain. They fished in just about the same spot every day. To their landing net they had tied at least a dozen floating jig heads with tails. When they brought a fish to the back of the boat, they kept their rod tips in the water to keep the fish down, and then they quickly scooped it up and put it on the floor. There was no way that anyone could tell where the fish was hooked, because when they lifted it all you saw was multi-colored heads and tails. :)
 
#11 ·
Surprised the Game Wardens weren’t all over them guys! Geeze! I don’t think people realize that many of the guys fishing are actually Game Wardens! We used to park at Buttonwood and save a spot for a guy who sold tackle out of a van there. He was a part time Warden during the run, witnessed many people busted for illegal fish and tackle!
 
#17 ·
I saw the multicolored yarn tied in a guys net also, my father loved fishing maumee during the run. went with him in a small v bottom boat a few times in the late 80s or early 90s. one time he was hooked on something, I told him it was a snag, took a while to bring it in...finally got it up beside the boat, it was a metal stringer with two 8 to 10 lb walleyes...we laughed our butts off, and that's all I heard on the way home...about catching 20 lbs of walleye on one cast...he's gone now, I could write a book on hunting and fishing with him...I miss him...sorry so long....
 
#22 ·
Fishing Fremont several years ago and the water was flowing pretty good, we watched a couple guys walk the railroad tracks over the river and reach over and grab the telephone pole and shimmy down to the island and fish. I just went on google maps and grabbed a street view from the adjacent (Hayes ave.) bridge. Not sure how they got back
Sky Mesh Wire fencing Wall Composite material
 
#28 ·
There used to be a couple guys who fished Buttonwood who had colored yarn covering their nets. 15-20 years ago, there was a guy (in his Oakland Raiders stocking cap) who would cast 1 oz leadheads(twisted sideways), hook a fish, and stick his pole half way down in the water as he reeled it in. When he got it in, he would stick his arms down in the water to his elbows, unhook the fish, and stringer it - without anyone ever seeing the fish. Everyone knew what he was doing, but you couldn't prove a thing. And just think how cold that water was!! He was down there almost every week day.

I've seen a guy catch a small bicycle, & another guy caught a tackle box. I have seen multiple stringers pulled in loaded with fish - dead and alive. I have caught 2 fishing poles myself.

The craziest thing I have seen - I was fishing Orleans early in the run about 15 years ago. I start talking to the kid next to me, and he says "I've got one"!. I look over and his pole isn't bent and he's not reeling in his line. I'm thinking the guy is crazy. I said it doesn't look like it. He said, I have one between my knees. He asked me to help him walk back to shore, which I did. When we got into the shallow water, sure enough he had a 5+ lb jack between his knees. He grabbed it & put it on the stringer & left!! :)
 
#31 ·
This is about 15yrs ago now, fishing Orleans park on the Maumee. We have 10 or so people in our group all fishing together. One of the guys in our group, Curry, went to pee, some dude in his 50's comes in and swoops on his spot, we tell this guy our buddy just went to bathroom and will be right back and we are all together. Guy was a prick and didn't let Curry have his spot back. Guy starts trying to talk to us about his new setup this and that, we didn't care what he had to say cuz he stole our buddies spot. Well about 3 casts go but and this guy slips mid cast tosses his rod in the rivers and joins the Maumee swim team. We are all laughing at him at this point. He tells us he is getting another rod in his truck and he will be back. He walk of shames away never to be seen again. Curry gets his spot back. This is how first walleye run trip and only brought a 5ft ultra light rod. Everyone around us knew he had this rod cuz we were busting his balls all day for it. He finally hooked a fish and I swear like 50 guys stopped fishing to watch the ultra light battle an eye. Few tense moments later and the 3lb jack was in the net to the eruption of cheers all around us. It was awesome. About an hour goes by, Curry reels in the rod the guy that stole his spot lost. Curry switches to using it cuz it's a decent Fenwick with heavier action than his ultralight and then preceded to catch a 10lb eye. So many good times at the run
 
#32 ·
Fished the MT tourney with a buddy one time out of my boat. We fished in front of Schroeders and had a helluva day. Great, but not quite great enough. It paid three places as I recall, and after the last team weighed, we were in fourth. Until.....the last team to weigh (who were in first and had been winners several times in the past) got DQ'd for snag-marked fish. Maybe the first indication that they wanted to cover up was that they dragged their fish across the pavement the entire time they waited in line? :) Either way, those dudes had some impressive catches over the years.

We fished it from the beginning until about 2005. Once it got to more than 25 teams, it became a clown show.
 
#33 ·
Ok snother good one for yas
My son and i are up there fishing one day in water a lil paste or waist..my son says i got a fish...i look over and hes got his jig in his hands...i just laughed and said yea right i can see your jig in your hand...he says...no seriously i have a fish..so im like ok smarta$$ where is this fish you supposedly have...he says..between my legs...the guy on the other side of him hears us and says well reach down and grab it...he reaches down all of a sudden he comes up with about a 4 pound walleye in his hand..we all start laughing and he asks can i keep it...told him as farcas i know theres no regulation says you cant catch a gish with your bare hands...guy next to him tells him if he doesnt want it he would take it..
Lots of good times up there
 
#43 ·
I might have seen the same guy. Was there around 12 years ago and had a guy come up to the line, ask if there was room for him to fish, walked in past his waist without waders - just jeans. Was a pretty tall guy so went in pretty far to get to the line. Didn't last 15 minutes since the water was pretty cold, even with chest waders on. Wandered into the woods and didn't see him again. Couldn't have been too pleasant since the air temperature dropped pretty quick closer to sunset.


Found out the hard way that some folks don't like people in business casual clothes lurking behind them. I worked in Maumee for a few years and used it as an opportunity to fish the run for a few years. Took some advice from some vets and spent much of the first spring I was there (April, (late start) just taking a walk after work in different areas and seeing what others were doing and where they were fishing, followed by the same walks in late summer to see the structure where they were fishing. Was up and running the next season since I also found some other similar areas with less crowds. Was yelled at by some and advised it was "best to leave now", with some asking if I was the law as I stayed out the way and observed from a distance. Most folks were didn't care and some shared some advice, but the potentially guilty ones stood out, especially with the underwater release and stringer methods.
 
#36 ·
Fished Orleans years ago with success. As i'm standing thigh deep I hear a Plop in front of me. I turn around and there's a family behind me with several small kids and snoopy poles with bobbers casting towads us guys who are standing in the river.

Another time i was getting ready at my truck in the Fort parking lot. I look over and a dudes getting his waders on like normal, but his buddy puts on rubber galoshes and thin rain pants, duct tapes the pants to over shoes. He walked to the bank and in the water and turned right back around. He was soaked LOL
 
#37 ·
At the rock pile on Maumee there is a tree about 20-30 yards down stream, a very steady steam of fishermen walking up the trail to the tree, look around, think to themselves no room on shore here but no one just out there. I used to yell to warn the guys of deep water there but they just keep coming, It drops to 4 ft or deeper within 2 feet of shore, some good times. Careful if you don't know what you are doing.
 
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