Plenty of white bass have been caught by tossing an inline spinner or twister into the middle of jumps in the hazard zone. That’s also a good place for saugeyes. Anglers are casting Shad-Raps. Catfish are biting in the creek arms on cut shad, liver and nightcrawlers.
Grand Lake St. Marys: The channels are muddy and the water is a bit green, but conditions in the main lake are still clear. Anglers are catching crappies along the rocks with about a third being keeper size (9-inch minimum). Anglers are using bass minnows, jigs and Gulp minnows (chartreuse and black). Catfish have been steady, but not spectacular. The periodic Outdoorsman catfish tournament last week was won with 28 pounds (6 fish). The best baits have been cut shad, nightcrawlers and chubs. Bluegills have been hitting waxworms around docks.
Lake Loramie: Catfish have been plentiful in recent days and they're hitting just about every bait you can toss at them, including plastic minnows and jigs. Of course cut shad, nightcrawlers and bass minnows or chubs have been working well, too. Crappies are still being caught, but most are below keeper size. For bluegills, use waxworms or Gulp Waxies. Spillway fishing for saugeyes has been good, using twisters or bass minnows under a bobber. Bass fishing has slowed. Work the banks with spinnerbaits or jigs.
C.J. Brown Reservoir: Plenty of nice-size bluegills have been caught around the boat ramp and along the west bank near the visitor center. Use waxworms and fish around structure. Walleye fishing has been productive over the humps and old road bed, trolling with a crawler harness or jigging a nightcrawler or 2-inch Gulp minnow. Bass are scattered with a few being caught as deep as 10 feet around wood. Carolina rigs have worked fairly well. Crappies are deep.
Caesar Creek Lake: Tightline and drift over the flats with nightcrawlers or bass minnows to catch saugeyes. Anglers are also trolling crankbaits, spoons and crawler harnesses around the island. Crappies are deep in the mouths of coves around any kind of wood or structure. Use jigs tipped with bass minnows and fish 20-25 feet deep. Bluegills are hitting waxworms in the brush. Catfish are all over, but concentrated where creeks feed into the lake. The best bass bite is on topwater lures early and late.
Indian Lake: The hot spot is the spillway with plenty of crappies, saugeyes and catfish being caught. If you put a bass minnow under a bobber, you are likely to catch one of those three species. In the lake, anglers are trolling for saugeyes, using crawler harnesses, crankbaits and Vib-Es. Fish around docks and brush for bluegills with rubber spiders tipped with waxworms. Crappies are hitting minnows in about three feet of water. Bass fishing has picked up around Blackhawk and by the campground. The annual Indian Lake Catfish Tournament starts July 30. Call (937) 843-2551 or visit indianlake.com/catfishform.htm for details.
Lake Erie: Walleyes have been caught on the Gravel Pit, southeast of West Sister Island, near the turnaround buoy of the Toledo shipping channel, near Crib Reef in the Camp Perry firing range and around Gull Island Shoal.
Yellow perch have been caught near the Toledo harbor light, on the Gravel Pit, near West Sister Island, between Rattlesnake Island and Middle Bass Island, around North Bass Island and off of the Marblehead Lighthouse.
Smallmouth bass have been caught along the shorelines of the Bass Islands and on some of the reefs of the Camp Perry firing range. Largemouth bass have been caught on the main lake shoreline around Catawba and Marblehead and also in harbors in the same area. For Lake Erie information, call (888) HOOK-FISH or visit wildohio.com.
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