Anglers making wrong choices might be left shivering
Winter, no bully this year, has proved reluctant to let go. Spring, however, arrives Monday with a just-in-time forecast of warming temperatures.
Water, to be sure, has remained cold enough in most of the state to be considered dangerous should an outdoor dunking occur. The temperature of the Maumee River, where walleye famously run to spawn this time of year and hopeful fishermen cast for them, stood at 39 degrees last week.
Coincidentally, 39 was the temperature reading of Lake Erie off Toledo.
Such a chill might be OK for fish, who, after all, have little choice, but humans adrift in such water will be too numb to swim in about seven minutes and deceased in 30 to 90. But cautious anglers who know how to dress for frigid water, including choice of waders, mostly do fine.
The popularity of kayak fishing, on the other hand, puts people at increased risk when they decide to challenge conditions that allow no mistakes. For that matter, large bodies of water, such as Lake Erie, can throw off frigid air even when temperatures a short distance inland call for shirtsleeves.
Dress for the temperatures of water and air, but remember that air temperatures can be misleading if you’re driving from, say, Columbus for a fishing trip out of Sandusky. Early in the spring, air temperature on Lake Erie can bring a lot of shivering misery to anyone not prepared for the miniclimate.
While the Maumee River temperature can fluctuate somewhat from day to day, the streams generally stay frigid to cool during early spring, making way toward temperatures that trigger a white bass run in April after the walleyes finish their business.
Lake Erie, on the other hand, can stay cool enough well into May to require jackets or other additional clothing to fend off a chill.
Most central Ohio anglers by midspring will be done with the cold unless a snowstorm sneaks through town.
Rivers run
The walleye run that occurs a short distance upriver from the settlements of Maumee and Perrysburg apparently has started in earnest, evidenced by photos posted on the Maumee River Report during the past week. Shots of anglers holding up lines of walleyes were numerous, some of the fish large, and some of the anglers with hauls of six walleye — the current daily limit.
The report, updated daily at the website, maumeetackle.net, offers information on water temperature, water level, clarity, where to fish, frequency of the bite and suggested bait. Depending on precipitation, the river’s water level can move up and down, and the flow occasionally can turn swift and treacherous. At times, some areas become inaccessible to waders.
During the run’s peak, fishermen sometimes are lined up shoulder-toshoulder along areas where the fish are known to be particularly abundant because of confined holes or bottlenecks of some sort.
It’s important to keep in mind that more fish are hooked than can be kept legally. The keeping of snagged fish is illegal, so any fish snared anywhere other than in the mouth must be released. Cheaters sometimes get caught. About 20 miles east, near downtown Fremont, a lesser —though still worthy — run of walleyes takes place on the Sandusky River. The removal of a dam a few years ago just above the primary fishing area was completed with the hope of giving a boost to the river’s walleye by adding to the spawning area.
It’s still too early to measure the impact, said Travis Hartman, Lake Erie program administrator for the Ohio Division of Wildlife.
outdoors@dispatch.com