Maumee River

[Jig_Head]

Oh those daily reports are awesome!

[rivereddy]

FYI for those interested.

From March 1 to May 1 the limit is 4 walleye and the size minimum is 15"
Single hook lures/jigs only and the hook has to have a  1/2 " or smaller
gap between the point and shank of the hook.  No trebles. No bait.

The river is not for the timid.  It is usually cloudy and always moving
swiftly.

Like the other guys have said,  Maumee Tackle has an awesome website.

fish on,

rivereddy

[Greg2ha]

Thanks for the great info!

[bigr]

I know it's early and don't expect fish in the river quit yet but if this weather doesn't change to much when do any of you expect the fish to start showing up. Anyone have any records or memory of similar type of winters.

[rivereddy]

It's early, true, and the water level is high (585) but the temp is 42 deg F. and has been for
24 hours..... It may not be too long.


fish on,

rivereddy

[tater140]

Under about 22" eat the best.  Im not aware of any advisory on the maumee during the run.  I wouldn't think the fish caught during the run would be toxic as say the resident eyes here near fort wayne. The eyes during the run come in off of erie briefly then back out.

[rivereddy]

The walleye I take are typically jacks between 17-20 inches. That seems to be pretty much the size of most fish taken.
I don't worry about eating a few each year. I only get over there once or twice a year.  (Jerome Ave exit is 205miles from
my door.) A typical day finds me with a couple of kept fish.

Maumee tackle encourages release of the big females by making their "big fish" contest jacks only.  Like musky at Webster
most of those fishing release the big females.  I once saw a guy parading around with a stringer of 4 fish once that must have
totaled out better than 35 pounds.  I didn't have to say a thing, but I'm pretty sure the response he got from those he walked
by was not the one he was looking for. A once in a life time trophy for the wall? Go for it, but those big females are the ones
dropping the next generation in the spawning gravel.

fish on,

rivereddy

[hounds]

River Eddy, I knew about the hook size, but was not aware of the no bait.  Was thinking about tipping jigs with minnows til I read your post.  They must have forgot to tell me that at the shop?  I did ask about using a bobber, and the guy replied only if I wanted to end up in a fist fight.

[Jig_Head]

I like em in the 15 to 20 inch range

[indianahooker]

not interested in eating anything over 20" from ereie.  where do you think the toxins go in the maumee?  do they just evaporate? lol  not to mention all the other polluted rivers flowing into erie, along with the shoreline pollution.  if the odnr ever told us what was in those fish, it would create a catastrophic chain reaction in their economy there.  yet you see millions of them taken home to feed families/kIDS.  we dont want it to be true so most just ignore the probability i guess.  just think about it for yourself.

personaly i cant understand why you would want to fight all those people.  i used to do it in the late70s-early80s, but not these days.  besides the COs treat you like a criminal from the start.

[bigr]

The feeling you get when you know the Co's are watching you even tho your doing nothing wrong makes you almost afraid to jerk unless your totally sure of a hook set. Odnr makes a great deal of money from the run threw violations. As someone on this thread mentioned that he knew nothing about a special Run rule, live bait as well as others. You will run into a lot of inexperienced fishermen and those that just don't give crap and yes confrontations. For me, I'll stay close to home and put my time in and could come home with that fish of a lifetime without the other issues or expense. Trust me, our Indiana waters have big fish without the hassles.   

[rivereddy]

It's true.  The Maumee run is not a pensive "River Runs Through It" experience and yes, enforcement is highly
visible and not afraid to make it's presence known, but it can make for a great experience.  I don't go every year,
and when I do go, it's during the week.  It is still crowded, but weekends are flat crazy.  I try to hit the right numbers
for temp and water level and make the best of it.  A typical trip involves driving over, (about 3.5 hours),  fishing
the afternoon, camping over night, then fishing 'til about noon the next day before driving home.  It's not a "fly in"
expedition but a decent trip.

Last week the water temp on the river shot up to nearly 44 degrees which got my attention, but within 24 hours it
began to drop with the new cold.  Today it is mid 30's - a tad cool.  Not yet.......

fish on,   n e e d   t o   f I s h.......

rivereddy





 

[hounds]

I actually went through the week and it was raining and their were several people out.  If the walleyes are running there is bound to be a crowd.  Back in the 80's in Northwest Indiana you should have seen the crowds fishing little streams for Steelhead.  That was crazy and almost shoulder to shoulder.

[Jig_Head]

Yeah I won't go there on weekends

[hounds]

How do you tell the difference between a Jack and a Female Walleye?