Rivers, Lake ready for spring walleye opportunities soon

After a brief, but very productive ice fishing season, it is now time to plan for open water walleye fishing opportunities that are available each spring locally for shore, wading and boating anglers.With the current walleye population rivaling modern all-time highs, the next few years of fishing will prove to be lots of fun and well worth the effort. The ice fishing at Put-in-Bay and elsewhere locally in January and February was nothing short of awesome.Once the ice floes pass through and floodwaters recede, resident walleyes can be caught in the Sandusky and Maumee rivers, with spawning runs adding significant numbers of fish as water temperatures rise.Although no steelhead trout are stocked into these rivers, lost fish that currently find the river conditions to their liking can also be located and caught this time of year.Sandusky-run walleyes often come from Central Lake Erie and spawn on cobble habitat in the Sandusky Bay and favorite spots upstream. Eventually, they may discover new suitable spawning locations further upstream now that the Ballville Dam is being removed.The east bank from Robert L. Walsh Memorial Park downstream to The Tackle Box restaurant hosts mostly shoreline fishermen, with a few anglers wading just upstream from the Hayes Ave. Bridge and the State St. Bridge from Howland St.On the west bank, anglers work from Rodger Young Park downstream to the old sugar plant. With water levels dictating where, most wading on this side occurs between the pedestrian bridge to the floodplain downstream of the Hayes Ave. Bridge. Boaters normally stay downstream of the State St. Bridge.Walleyes taken in the Maumee River not only come from Lake Erie, but also from the Detroit River and Lake Huron, according to tagging studies conducted by Ohio Division of Wildlife and neighboring fisheries departments.Here, the most popular locations to fish from shore, wading into the river and from boats includes the shallow water beginning at Orleans Park in Perrysburg to the series of pools and rapids that stretch upstream along Side Cut Metropark to Jerome Road — depending upon the current water level.Blue Grass Island is particularly favored whenever fishermen can wade across the side cut of the river over to it and fish along its south bank.Meanwhile, trollers will be able to resume their activities on the lake in areas that were recently covered by ice. In recent weeks, boaters have already been out off of Huron and closer to home whenever conditions allow launching at local ramps.Long, stick baits are the preferred baits this time of year, due to their subtle swimming action and the ability to run true at slow trolling speeds, often under one mile per hour.Some boat anglers prefer to vertically jig for walleyes on calm days or while anchored using ice fishing lures and techniques, especially in the islands area. By watching fish approach their lures on their fish finder, it is similar to playing video games when a fish approaches and reacts to angler's jigging actions.As the lake warms, male walleyes (jacks) will accumulate on the reefs and other spawning locations and aggressively snap at or feed on jigs or other baits that pass within reach. Again, with the huge population now reaching maturity, the action is expected to be off the charts.Female walleyes hang out in deeper nearby until they are ready to deposit her eggs on the reefs, typically at night, with several males simultaneously fertilizing them. While many anglers pound the reefs in search for the fast action of the jig bite, trollers target these hens looking for a trophy fish.The weight of these female walleyes are likely the heaviest that they will be all year. With many of the 15 year-old 2003 year class fish still in the population, there are likely state records present now until the eggs are dropped.To protect walleye from illegal snagging, special rules are in place that specify legal fishing locations, hours and hooks allowed during March and April.Walleyes must be 15 inches or longer to legally be kept, with a daily catch limit of four during March and April and six per day the remainder of the year. During ice fishing, there were still many under the legal size.All foul-hooked game fish must be released. Remember that the 2017-18 resident fishing license expires on Wednesday and a new annual fishing license is required beginning Thursday.