The remnants of Hurricane Beryl swept through northwest Ohio midweek and left rivers and creeks swelled and made travel on Toledo’s streets dicey. Wednesday’s early morning commute was quite an expedition that felt more like steering a canoe down I-75 than a Kia Forte.
So it seems apropos as of now to describe the fishing recently: wet and rainy, as it has been for most of this summer. The annual down time for the grass to go dormant has not occurred yet, and it might not this year.
Everything should have subsided in time for this weekend’s fishing, but that depends on whether it stays dry. Accuweather was forecasting an 80 percent chance of rain in the Toledo area for Sunday.
Mario Campos, proprietor of Maumee Tackle Fishing Outfitters, said the water levels should recover nicely in time for a day along the shore or in a kayak.
“Yeah, the water is going to come up about a foot and a half today [Wednesday] and tomorrow [Thursday],” he said. “It should be settled and perfectly fishable both in the river and the lake by this weekend.”
Though the Maumee River is known mostly for its April and May spring walleye spawning run, the smallmouth bass and channel catfish are making their presences known.
“Channel cats have been biting good, especially the good eating size,” he said. “Shallow diving crank baits in a little bit of topwater have been producing some smallmouth bass out on the river.”
On a Maumee Tackle Facebook post, there were several anglers holding up smallies and even a largemouth.
This steamy, damp weather has brought back wonderful memories of past bass outings I used to go on with the ex-inlaws in West Virginia, especially to Stonewall Jackson Lake. Some of the best times were just shooting the breeze in our canoes and small boats under an overpass waiting for a storm to pass on a muggy summer afternoon.
Lake Erie Walleye Trail director Jason Fischer was upbeat about the weather predictions for this weekend.
Last month’s Fairport Harbor event was a blow day for both June 8 and 9. That event was held Friday, and Saturday the tournament, which included the Master Walleye Circuit, was in Geneva.
“Should be good to go Friday and Saturday with the forecasted wind,” he said in a text recently. The charts he sent over all had wind speeds under 10 mph. “Hope that’s accurate.”
Fischer said “over 60 MWC and 75 LEWT” boats were registered. For more on LEWT, visit lakeeriewalleyetrail.com .
On Lake Erie’s Michigan waters, anglers in search of walleye would do best to head to the dumping grounds off Luna Pier and use silver-colored artificial spoons, according to the DNR’s weekly fishing report.
Perch anglers are finding them outside of the River Raisin in about 18 feet of water with 20 to 30 being caught at a time when using minnows.
HUNTING APPLICATIONS: The period to apply for Ohio’s public land controlled hunts for the 2024-25 season began July 1 and will go until July 31. These are great opportunities to gain access on land to hunt deer, waterfowl, and various small-game animals in areas that are not commonly available. There is even a special pheasant hunt being offered this year.
According to the ODNR news release, to apply online through Ohio’s Wildlife Licensing System, hunters will be charged $3 at ohiodnr.gov . Applications done over the phone at (866) 703-1928 incur a $5.50 service fee.
Those who are successful will be notified by Aug. 8, and provided information for the permit, rules, and an area map.
And please note, I found this one out myself: If you try to apply for a deer hunt, you will need a valid deer permit first in addition to having your hunting license.
LAND AUCTION: In Michigan, the state will be auctioning off close to 100 parcels of Department of Natural Resources’ managed land ranging anywhere from less than an acre to 160 acres this year, according to a DNR news release.
The parcels are mostly forested and include either road or river frontage or both that make better home sites for private ownership.
Two dozen counties and more stretched from lower Michigan all the way to the Upper Peninsula ranging from Macomb and St. Clair counties in the Thumb, west to Berrien County, northeast to Alpena, across to the northwest in Grand Traverse, and clear across the Upper Peninsula to Ontonagon County are some of the counties include when the bidding starts online between Aug. 2 and Sept. 5.
Potential bidders can get more information on the properties they are interested in at Michigan.gov/LandForSale . Registration is required: Pre-register at www.taxsale.info .
The DNR holds auctions and sells surplus land as part of its strategy to use the proceeds to acquire more land that can be used to provide recreation opportunities for future generations.
DEER HUNT CHANGES: If you hunt in Michigan, mainly for white-tailed deer, there will be a couple of major changes coming after Thursday’s Natural Resources Commission meeting, some of which are fairly volatile to the deer hunting community.
The changes currently at the forefront of the conversation are making the Youth and Liberty hunts doe only beginning in 2025, allowing the use of any legal firearm during the muzzleloader season in Zone 2, and expanding opportunities for hunts in January.
There is still more that the NRC says it needs to work out, with updates coming as they are made available.
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