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maumee river snagging

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#41 ·
REEL GRIP said:
Any where else in the US and Canada, if you get caught fishing
in a river during the Walleye spawn, you will go to jail, the Ohio DNR
is out of their minds,by letting the go on. Snagged or Caught
its BS. We are talking spawning fish here, leave the alone.
Click to expand...

really man?? No where else in the entire united states has a run consisting of hundreds of thousands of walleye in a single river either..and that being just a small percentage of the walleye population..thats why its legal..and we have terrific populations that are sustained EVERY year..consistently..i think there are WAAAY more ethical fisherman up that way that legally catch fish than there are that snag them..
 
#42 ·
I'll say it again.....the monster hatch of 03 wasn't due to the overabundance of females!!!!! The stars lined up.....as for keeping fish during the spawn....EVERY fish caught is a spawner no matter when its caught so if you don't want to fish them in the spring how do you justify taking them after? I'm sure the DNR guys know better than us about managing the fishery

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#43 ·
This thread has been an interesting read. Thanks for all the info.


Seems like the large amount of spawning walleye are a direct result of management of the species through one way or another. There probably wouldnt be as many without it even if there was nobody catching them. In other words the fishery is indirectly man made , as large as it is. I cant say for sure but the fish population what it is seems artificial to me , a direct result of mans influence. Part of that management though is thinning them out to a point so that other top predator species have room to exist and enough available food. Theres steelhead and pike and lake trout and others out there too. Even with all the walleye caught , there are fish in excess. Looks like taking some spawners is a good thing to me , its worked for a lot of years now. Snagging or taking fish illegally should never be tolerated but taking fish legally is a part of the management process.
 
#44 ·
That's one of those things. If you feel inclined to throw the females back, then do so. By if you want to keep them, go ahead and do that too. I think the main thing that people need to do is respect the bag limit and clean up after yourself. But I think I am preaching to the choir here. If there was a danger of hurting the spawning run by keeping the females, there would be a regulation for it, and signs posted. Plus it's hard enough to catch a walleye most days, they aren't going to be an endangered species anytime soon.


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#45 ·
i havent fished the maumee in years. but when i did i snagged 2 or 3 fish for every fish i caught leagle. i have made some trips that the only thing i caught was snagged. i have come home without a fish at times. and that can be alittle hard on a guy thats just drove 185 miles each way. but for me its in the fishing and not how many i bring home. theres just no reason to keep a snagged fish.

as for keeping legal fish i dont see anything wrong with fishing the spawn as long as its legal. i fish the central basin of erie now and most of the fish thats caught are big females. whats the difference when and where you catch them if your taking the big females out?? the dnr uses limits on the fish to adjust for the human factor on the fish population. im sure if the fishery was in danger they would cut the limits. and if needed they would stop fishing all together during the spawn.

if you really want to stop the taking of big females then they should close the central basin for a couple of years. there is alot more big females caught in the central basin each year than in the river or on the reefs. but to close the river to fishing would be like putting a bandaid on a bruise. its not going to help anything its just going to look like it is.

as long as the population of eyes is at a leval where its not in any danger then theres nothing that should be done. i would really hate to see them cut the limits. because i have to drive 335 miles each way to fish the central basin. it would just be hard to justify the trip if the limit was 3 fish. even tho i consider it a good trip if everybody on my boat gets 3 fish each. but its nice to know 6 fish is possable.

we have been fishing the spawn for as long as i can remember and this subject has been at the top of the list for as long as i can remember. but we are still catching eyes every year and there still there. the limits has changed a few times but the dnr hasnt seen fit to close river fishing or fishing on the reefs. things would have to be very bad for them to close fishing all together when they can control the fish with limit changes.

the walleye fishery in ohio is a billion dollar income for the state of ohio. if fishing the spawn put this money in danger they would have closed fishing the spawn many years ago. so lets all just enjoy the way we like to fish and have fun. and keep it legal
sherman
 
#47 ·
I like the idea of a slot limit. Slot limits have done a lot in the way of improving the quality of fisheries in other parts of the country. I just don't see a need in keeping the big hogs, weather it's a female or a jack. The big fish aren't the the best table fare anyways. If its a trophy you're after, a good option is to take some measurements and weigh it, then take a couple of pics. You can take the pics and info to your taxidermist and have a replica made. If your taxidermist is good the replica should look just as good if not better, and it will last longer than a skin mount.


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#48 ·
I remember the first time a fish bumped my leg. I thought it was halarious. As far as snagging goes. Completly unsportmanship thru and thru! Just cause they have no skills to catch walleye. I personally never keep any species of snagged fish!
 
#49 ·
People can say whatever they want, but I've watched several walleye jigging videos on the 'net over the past week or so and without a doubt, there are a lot of fish that come to the net with the hooks outside-in, or the fish is hooked only with the stinger, not the primary.

It is what it is...reactionary strike or whatever...both on the lake and in the river.
 
#50 ·
BFG said:
People can say whatever they want, but I've watched several walleye jigging videos on the 'net over the past week or so and without a doubt, there are a lot of fish that come to the net with the hooks outside-in, or the fish is hooked only with the stinger, not the primary.

It is what it is...reactionary strike or whatever...both on the lake and in the river.
Click to expand...
Stinger hooks? On the river, those are very illegal during the run. Same with treble hooks.


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#53 ·
I think that more snagged fish on the lake are kept compared to the river. I have witnessed people ripping blades as hard as they could possibly rip them. You think to yourself wouldnt it be easier to try to fish for them? Its alot harder to enforce on the lake compared to the river. On the river fisherman are bunched up shoulder to shoulder. Its easier to focus on a group of fisherman there. On the lake the boats are drifting over the reefs. So the DNR would have to take a boat out there and spot check them while pretending to fish. Its easier for them to focus on the ramps and check for over bagging and double dipping.
 
#54 ·
fish4wall said:
this will be my 22nd year fising the river and i think your 100% right!!! if you can hook them in the mouth you don't need to be fishing!!! but i think the snagging has gotten better.but its still BAD!!! i do remember a day when youd feel the fish hit you in the leg there was so many on the river. good luck to you all this year...i do think we'll have a better run this year..:)
Click to expand...
Hey FISH4WALL I gotta remember your motto this spring " ask your wife....s*x or fishing? Take a sweater its cold outside!" Too funny! I'm sure my wife will have the same reply. As far as this years run goes I feel its will be better. The river had to of froze more this year than last. Buttonwood is one my more productive spots especially at the end of the run! Good luck this year!
 
#56 ·
I'd like to start a poll here. Do you really think a walleye caught on the outside of the lips is a snagged fish? Did that fish go for the bait or was he lined? I'll step out on a limb here and cast the first vote. I do not believe that a fish caught in the lips should constitute a snagged fish. I think it was going for the bait. Ive watched my kids and grandkids eat and they're lucky to hit their mouth half the time. A walleye in a fast moving cold muddy river is doing good to eat it at all. Your opinion?
 
#57 ·
DeathFromAbove said:
I'd like to start a poll here. Do you really think a walleye caught on the outside of the lips is a snagged fish? Did that fish go for the bait or was he lined? I'll step out on a limb here and cast the first vote. I do not believe that a fish caught in the lips should constitute a snagged fish. I think it was going for the bait. Ive watched my kids and grandkids eat and they're lucky to hit their mouth half the time. A walleye in a fast moving cold muddy river is doing good to eat it at all. Your opinion?
Click to expand...
I agree.... but.... the rule comes from the need to draw a line somewhere. Imagine if the rule was "any fish hooked behind the eye is a snagged fish". The arguments over that description would be daunting to say the least....

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#59 ·
Quite a long time ago (back in the day) the local game warden (John M decreased) said it was ok to keep anything hooked in the head. How times changed. But back then almost everybody used lead, a lot of lead.
 
#60 ·
2 Years ago friends and I were fishing the Sandusky. We snagged at least 6 walleye which we promptly released. When we left the river we were checked by the ODNR. I told them that we released all the snagged fish and that's why we were skunked. The ODNR officer confirmed everything I said because they were spotting us. He also mentioned that the 2 fishermen across the river from us were going to be ticketed as they kept their snagged fish. They could tell even though they were netting under the water.

The ODNR spotter was in a deer stand in a tree at least 100 yards from the river. Be careful and, if in doubt, release the fish.
 
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